Lockport NY

The time has come to begin the 3rd installment of The Tracker. Here is where we will fill in the line up of the 2011 Molson Canal Concert Series in Lockport NY. This is the 4th year of the series in Lockport and there are to be 9 shows again this summer.

Will Rusted Root and Our Lady Peace open the series for an unprecedented third year? Will people gripe about the line up? Will commenters try to push Journey cover bands for openers? We shall See.

Past years' threads are here:
2010 Series
2009 Series

Artists will be added as they are leaked/found up to the official series announcement date. The date is usually early June but was annouced mid-May last year after the whole line-up was eventually discovered. If anyone finds any information feel free to drop them in the comments below. Recent updates will be shown in red.

All shows are held outdoors at the Ulrich City Center downtown on Main St rain or shine and are free. Visiting Lockport and looking for other things to do? Look here: "Lockport on the Erie Canal"

2011 Molson Concert Series Lineup:
opening bands in "( )"

6/24 - Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies                          
7/01 - Dennis DeYoung of Styx
7/08 - Burton Cummings of the Guess Who
7/15 - John Butler Trio   (with the Ragbirds and One World Tribe)                 
7/22 - The Tea Party (with the Pretty Reckless)
7/29 - Puddle of Mudd (with Rev Theory)
8/05 - B52s
8/12 - Queensryche
8/19 - Grand Funk Railroad with (Bruce Kulnick)

Official series website: http://www.canalconcerts.com/ Any inquiries about being an opening act etc. should be directed there as I am only a Lockport resident with no real ties to the concert promoters.

The LUSJ reported on the upcoming 2nd New Year’s Eve Rockin’ The Locks celebration at Ulrich City Center dowtown. It looks to be a relatively mild night. Let's all hope the rain stays out of the forecast for a wonderful event.

I hope every one is having a great holiday. See you next year!

This Friday is the Miracle on Main St event at the Palace Theater from 6-9pm.

Proceeds will benefit Lockport Main St Inc and The Palace Theater. Come in for a one-stop sampling of over 30 local businesses during this Christmas Season.

I noticed the NiagaraBuzz.biz website. It appears to be a nice way to keep up with what is going on with smaller businesses in Lockport, Medina, etc like SweetSixteen Cafe which had a ginger bread house building event last week and a teddy bear tea event this week. Hopefully it will continue to grow.

The 2011 Discover Buffalo Niagara Calender is now out (FB). For those of you that enjoy all of the events around our part of WNY this calender offers over 400 of them by date. This is the 11th year of publication.

And as a side-note plug, I created this year's cover and Lockport resident Olivia is on the cover.

Greetings~

Those of you that may have seen the Orange colored flyers last year  .. or maybe seen the "splash" in the LS&J  for haunted yards..

You WILL see these things again this year .. if you haven't already seen them in some area businesses..

Night Terrors IS returning  for antother fright filled Halloween night on Washburn Street ...

We currently have close to 20 actors involved with a combined experince of OVER 20 years doing haunted houses... all of our actors  are voulenteer.. and we enjoy what we do for Halloween..


We are planning on being bigger than last year.


Admission is FREE ..   but donations are welcomed.. they will go to either charity ( Lymphoma society) or to help to build next years haunt .. depending on what comes in.


Attached is the Flyer that you all will see floating around the city at various areas....

Hope to see ya.. If you enjoy Haunted  stuff.

~Jeff

-UPDATE: 10/26/10
To the top - originally posted 9/9/10

The LUSJ reported on Holloween events for the upcoming week:

• Pumpkin decorating contest: 405 pumpkins were delivered, one to each third-grade student in Lockport City schools, earlier this week for decorating. Today they’re being taken to 24 businesses that will display them and accept people’s votes for “best decorated.”...

• Downtown trick-or-treating: Main Street Inc. is joining forces with the city Youth and Recreation Department to throw a Halloween bash for kids in the City Hall parking lot from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 29. Pizza will be served and goody bags handed out to all party-goers; games will be organized; costumes are encouraged...

• Halloween decorating contest: Co-sponsored by the US&J, this one’s open to all home and business owners in the city and the town...

• Also downtown: Tours of the Haunted Palace will be ongoing Oct. 27 through 29; tours of the Lockport Haunted Caves are ongoing through Oct. 30. For wee ones who don’t like to be scared, Lockport Family YMCA’s “Happy House” will be open Oct. 27 through 30...

• Shredd & Ragan’s “10-town tour” Thursday afternoon at the Palace Theater.

The 10th annuall Taste of Lockport is coming this Sunday, August 15th to Ida Fritz Park. The Buffalo News and the LUSJ reported:

"...About 30 restaurants, wineries and organizations will take part from noon to 6 p.m. The Teasers will perform from noon to 3 p.m. and 90 West Country plays from 3 to 6 p.m..."

I enjoy the Taste of Buffalo for its size and the ablity to seek out new place or two to try out.  I enjoy the taste of Lockport just as much to see if anywhere local is offering anything new and because it is a quick walk from home with managable crowds.

"...Chapman said the stuffed peppers will not be on fire, but on the mild side. Customers can also try specialty chicken fingers, that’s a breaded chicken breast meat. “We have the largest chicken fingers in the industry, almost one-quarter of a pound. “We use the biggest and best when it comes to chicken fingers....”

I love Papa Leo's chicken fingers. They are the type I rememeber eating as kid from the pizza joints on the East Side of Buffalo. Once the bar has been set on fingers of this size, any others are just a let down ;)

The secret judges are a nice idea that should ensure the main public has the best chance at receiving a good sample.

"Although the public gets to vote for that award, other awards, such as best wine, best entree and best dessert, will be decided this year by about 10 undercover judges.

They will simply get in line and buy food, so no one will know who the decision-makers are.

“I put one person in charge of it. She’s sworn to secrecy,” Chapman said. “Last year, the vendors brought their entries over to the judges. Who’s to say they didn’t make the portions a little bigger, or put some extra whipped cream on them? This year, we’re going to catch them in the act.”

LUSJ Article on Papa Leo's
LUSJ Article on Indian Grill
LUSJ Article on the Basket Factory

Official Taste of Lockport Website

UPDATED 08/12/10

Greetings all~

Lockport Monday Night Cruise Nights kicks off tonight at Ida Fritz Park.


Lockport Monday night cruise features:

• Classic ( and some newer) cars. 
• Food and drink vendors.
• 50/50 Split raffle.
• Classic Rock Music "spun" by DJ  Hank Nevins.(with the occasional music trivia for prizes)
• Raffle Tickets with procedes going to various charities.
• Live entertainment on some cruise nights.
• Certain "themed" nights for "crusin" (such as Truck night, 60's night Salute to the Corvette, Firefighters night etc.) General "cruisers" ARE still welcome on "specialty" nights.

Lockport Monday Night Cruise Nights, runs every Monday night (weather(no rain) permitting) from tonight (May 10th) till September 2nd.

Time: 6pm - 9pm (approximately also weather(no rain) permitting). Other than Memorial Day and Labor Day, in which case there is a SUPER CRUISE that starts at 3p.m.

Hopw to see you there.
~Jeff

Admission: Free

If you have a classic car you can also register it each night for door prizes each week.

For more information and a detailed Schedule check out the website at the following: Lockport Monday Night Cruise Nights

Come on out and have a "cruisin' good time" .

Those of you that MAY be looking for me (not that you acctually would mind you )  I'm usually hanging around the gazeebo. Wearing either a Lockport Cave hat, a hat with Wolves on it  OR a black "fedora" style hat (kinda like what Frank Sinatra would wear :) )

Hope to see you there.
~Jeff

And now, for something a bit different.

One of the regular blogs that I read is Atlas Obscura (note: not necessarily safe for work) "A compendium of the world's wonders, curiosities and esoterica".  They are sponsoring a world-wide event called Obscura Day on March 20th.  From Toronto to Tokyo, there are special events taking place at locations features on their website.

And just what that has to do with this blog?

Over in Niagara Falls, at the Niagara Science Museum they are taking part in Obscura Day.

For more information about the Museum:
Official Site
Wikipedia
Buffalo News

Event Details

The event is free (but donations accepted) and is limited to 30 people.  So if you are intrested, please make sure to register.

-Erik

Lockport Main St. Inc has put together a chocolate tasting this Sat. Yummy treats and gift ideas throughout the city.

From their e-mail:

Attached is a flyer for the “A Taste of Chocolate in Lockport” event this Saturday...

Hope to see you all in downtown Lockport this Saturday, February 13th for this “tasty” event and the YMCA’s 39th annual Lockport Y-10! Runners will leave the Lockport YMCA, 19 East Ave in at 11:00 AM. Chocolate tasting starts at 12:00 noon at participating businesses.

Not the 'Stones song but an ultra-marathon (100 mile) scheduled to be ran along the canal towpath at the end of the month. Both the Buffalo News and LUSJ  reported:

The Beast of Burden Winter 100-Miler and 24-Hour Ultra Marathon will be run later this month between Lockport and Middleport….
…According to Pasceri, every ultra distance marathon (50 miles or more) has a unique feature: It’s run in the desert, through mountains or Death Valley, about the hottest place in the continental United States. The Beast of Burden run will be unique for following the Erie Canal towpath in winter.
“It’s already been deemed the official Winter 100 nationally and it hasn’t even happened yet,” Pasceri said.
The City of Lockport is signing on as a Winter 100 supporter, by allowing the restroom facilities and pavilion at Widewaters Marina to be used by racers. The facilities will be de-winterized and heated for the event, the Common Council decided by unanimous vote Wednesday.

The Winter 100 course consists of 12.5 miles of canal towpath between Widewaters and Middleport. Contestants will be challenged to run it forth and back, four times, in 24 hours or less. Middleport Fire Hall will be open to the runners throughout the race, Pasceri said…..

This is a great, unique event building off of what mother nature gives us in the winter. Kudos to Pasceri for imagining it and putting it together here in Lockport. Hopefully it is the start of many more. Not just for this event, but for any others that could add a unique flavor to our winters here in Lockport.


Official Winter-100 website.

The LUSJ reported that it is all set.

...A bigger, better New Year’s Eve Rockin’ The Locks is on the horizon this year, after the City of Lockport turned over the planning to a local promoter.

The annual celebration, moved to Ulrich City Centre from City Hall, will feature a fireworks show by Premier Pyrotechnics for the first time. The show is in addition to the ball drop.

Also lined up for family-style celebrating: Heated tents, a variety of local food and drink vendors, a full evening of live music and a range of children’s activities, including a bounce house, petting zoo and carnival games organized by the city youth and recreation department...

 Is great to see a local person creating a bigger better event for the city.

As a side note, it took me several seconds to notice my artwork was used on the flier. If permission was requested I would have said yes in return for a little credit. ;)

From Lockport Main St Inc. a listing of the events for the upcoming Halloween season:

Halloween Party & Trick-or Treat Downtown
- Join us for the annual Halloween Party on Thursday, -October 29th from 5:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the City all parking lot - One Locks Plaza in Lockport (sponsored by the City of Lockport Youth and Recreation Department).
-Begin at City Hall for pizza, games, and trick-or-treat bags!Then make your way Downtown for “Trick-or-Treating” from 5:00 -7:00 pm.
-Return to City Hall and check out the FAMOUS Kiss Concert! (from Livingston Place).

Pumpkin Decorating Contest
-3rd grade students from Lockport City School District and Market Street Art Center will be decorating about 400 pumpkins this Halloween.
- The decorated pumpkins will be on display at participating downtown businesses from October 26th – October 31st. Community members are invited to visit downtown businesses and vote on their favorite pumpkins!

The Haunted Palace
-October 27, 28, 29 from 6-10 pm and October 30 from 6-9 pm the Historic Palace Theatre—2 East Avenue in Lockport.
- Call 716-438-1130 or visit LockportPalaceTheatre.com for more information.

Lockport Haunted Caves
-October 14-30. Weeknights 6:30-9:30 pm. Friday & Saturday 6:30-10:30 pm.
- 2 Pine Street in Lockport.
-Call 716-434-CAVE or visit LockportHauntedCave.com for more information.

Happy House at the YMCA
-Happy House is an alternative to scary Halloween for children ages 6 months to 6 years sponsored by the Barge Canal Optimist Club and held at the Lockport Family YMCA—19 East Avenue.
-For a $1 donation, children play life size Candy Land, visit Pooh’s friends and share a friendly story.
-Times are Wednesday, Oct 28 from 6-8 PM, Thursday, Oct 29 & Friday, Oct 30 from 5-8 PM and on Sat from 9 AM to Noon, during the YMCA Fall Open House.

Main Street Masquerade
-Join us for “Main Street Masquerade” on Friday, October 30th from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am at the Historic Palace Theatre—2 East Avenue in Lockport.
-Tickets are just $10. With your ticket purchase, receive $1.00 off admission to both the Haunted Palace and the Lockport Haunted Cave Tours.
-Music and Dancing, Costume Contests, Prizes, Basket Raffle, Appetizers, Cash bar— beer and wine.
-18 and older. Costumes encouraged.

The LUSJ had an article a while back highlighting some of the activities of Lockport's Main St Inc with a focus on the Halloween events:

• A painted pumpkin display by merchants. Groups of elementary school-age youths would paint pumpkins donated by Niagara Produce Lockport and have them displayed in participating shops for four to five days ahead of Oct. 31. Parents, grandparents and others would be recruited to visit each displaying shop and vote for the best pumpkins.

• Downtown trick-or-treating from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 29. This one’s a go so long as a sufficient number of merchants sign up to participate, Main Street program manager Heather Peck said. The Main Street program will supply participating merchants with an identifying window/door sticker; the only expense for merchants is the cost of candy. “It’s a simple concept and one that works in other communities,” including Medina, she said.

• A “Main Street Masquerade” at the Palace Theatre on Oct. 30. This costume party for adults only is a Main Street Program fundraiser. Tickets will cost $10 per person; the organizing committee wanted admission kept affordable so that a wider cross-section of local residents will be encouraged to attend, Peck said. A basket raffle will be held and complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be donated by Lockport-area restaurants. With every ticket sold, coupons will be given for discounted admission to the Lockport Haunted Cave tour and the Haunted Palace tour.

• A Halloween decorating contest open to all residents of the city and town of Lockport. Prizes for best decorators will include a $100 gift certificate from Mills Jewelers, dinner-for-two at Garlock’s Restaurant and a Skateland admission package. All registered participants will receive a gift from Lockport Haunted Cave; contest entry details are still being worked out. The organizing committee is working with Haunted Cave/Lockport Underground Cave and Boat Ride principal Tom Callahan, Peck said. The cave tours are marketed to a regional audience; and Callahan suggested widespread decorating could create an additional attraction for visitors.

Elmwood Ave in Buffalo always puts on a very nice business strip trick-or-treat event. Let's hope Lockport does well with its first. Kids will enjoy the sweets and seeing their pumpkins and the adults have an opportunity to check out the local businesses.

The goal of not-for-profit Lockport Main St Inc. is to promote Lockport, attract new businesses to Downtown Lockport while supporting the existing ones. Shopping malls, large plaza's etc are ran and marketed to an exact science. Types of stores, their placements, operating hours, special events etc are all well laid out and give a large head start in the competition for customers and their money. DT Lockport will do well to have an organization to help level the playing field. I hope that all businesses find their way to participating in the endeavor and moving forward as a team. More posts on Lockport Main St Inc to come.

According to the LUSJ and The Buffalo News, the Town of Lockport has noted it is not participating in the joint city-town Halloween celebration this year. They have chosen to put on their own speparate "Fall Fest" earlier in the month. This has caused some last minute planning needs for the Melissa Junke and the rest of the city youth department.

“We’ve been thinking the last few years about doing something different, something to get people outside,” she said Wednesday. “The party last year was very successful, but there was a ton of people; we heard some concerns (from volunteers) about safety and the difficulty of showing everyone a good time when there are so many people.”

“This late in the game, the town pulling out definitely will have an impact on (the party). It’ll cost the city more money and, at this point, I don’t know where we’re going to have it,” Junke said. “Halloween seems like a long time off, but it’s not, really, to plan an event of this size.”

 The money shortfall and lack of location (was held at volunteer fire dept in town) leaves several questions to be quickly answered. The article mentions Mayor Tucker submitting Canal St. as a location. Not sure on the status of the buildings on the inside, but it could make a unique indoor-outdoor set-up. As for the extra money the LUSJ mentions today that Gary Chapman of Papa Leo's has started a fund raising challenge. Gary has been civic-minded lately for recent events and future ones including planning for this year's DT New Year's Celebration.

Has anyone attended the recent Halloween events and care to share their experience?

As for the lead in image, we decided to humiliate our lab as a Lobster this year. Keep an eye out for her handing out candy on the South Side this year. ;)

The general manager of Papa Leo’s restaurant, Main Street, wants to put on the city’s biggest and best New Year’s Eve celebration yet. He’s already holding fundraisers and courting sponsors to support a bash in the Ulrich City Centre courtyard, with heated tents, food vendors, live bands, kids’ games and a petting zoo, a ball drop and fireworks shot from the roof of the city parking garage.

Rockin’ the Locks “has the potential to be really big, like First Night Buffalo,” Chapman said. “I’ve always had visions of it being bigger and better, especially after my involvement in the Dog Day of Summer” fundraiser for Chet Secrist.

Also, a fund raising raffle is ongoing through Jan. 3. Prizes including a $100 gift card from Tops, dinner for up to 40 people from Papa Leo’s and a 60-inch LCD TV donated by Aaron’s Inc. will be awarded in time for Super Bowl XLIV. Raffle tickets can be purchased at Papa Leo’s and Aaron’s, 1 Walnut St.

Already, volunteers and sponsors are stepping up to support the event, Chapman said. The Palace donated space for the Blues Festival, Lakeview Animal Sanctuary will set up the petting zoo and Tom Brigham of Gasport, who arranges the July 4 fireworks show at Royalton Ravine, is taking charge of the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Depending on the size of their donation, sponsors will receive a number of free tickets to the Blues Festival and a V.I.P. heated tent at the New Year’s Eve event, plus publicity. To discuss a sponsorship, call Chapman at 990-5494; or mail donations (checks payable) to Lockport Promotions, 6290 Robinson Road, Lockport, NY 14094.