On the second floor of Midtown Plaza,
taking up a small amount of the space that the old Scrantoms once inhabited, is
one of downtown’s best (and most needlessly) kept secrets. In its 20-year
existence, owner Nel Adams’ Village Yarn Shop has done time in Village Gate
(hence the shop’s name) and on Monroe Avenue, but for the last decade or so
it’s been cozily nestled into the upstairs corner that also houses Jeff’s
Books.
Alyssa Foos has worked at the Village
Yarn Shop for the past two years and hears the phrase “I didn’t know you were
back here!” regularly. The shop is primarily frequented by downtown workers,
though many in the know make the trip to Midtown for the spectacular array of
yarn, which ranges from the most luxurious natural fibers (angora, alpaca,
mohair) to the increasingly popular novelty threads (ribbon, eyelash, faux
fur).
Knitting became all the rage a couple
years ago, with classes and Stitch-n-Bitch type groups sprouting up everywhere
(the Village Yarn Shop offers a class of its own on Mondays). But Foos has
noticed that business has died down slightly over the past year, though she
doesn’t blame it on the evolution of a trend, since she says knitting will
always be a fashionable form of self-expression.
She attributes it instead to the
growing exodus of downtown businesses and their employees, a sad fact that has
adversely affected many companies within the Inner Loop. But the Village Yarn
Shop’s loyal fan base continues to get the word out, resulting in orders from
as far away as England.
The Village Yarn Shop, as well as
other local fiber arts groups, will participate in the Rochester Museum &
Science Center’s 2005 Artistry in Thread Festival, Saturday and Sunday, April 9
and 10, in RMSC’s Eisenhart Auditorium.
For
further information about the Village Yarn Shop, call 454-6064.
— Dayna Papaleo
Dust
in the wind
The
report came with all the obligatory components of the scary environmental
story: the unpronounceable toxics, the proclamations that they’re everywhere
even if you can’t see them, and the environmental groups calling for government
to do something.
The
study, available online at www.safer-products.org, found a witch’s brew of
obscure chemicals in typical household
dust at about 70 homes coast to coast. Among the main culprits? A fairly
new bunch of chemicals designed as flame retardants and added to typical
household items.
So
how scared should you be? It’s probably a little too early to tell, since
several of the chemicals have only been around for a few years. But research
conducted so far links many of them with all kinds of unpleasant effects, from
cancer to birth defects to nervous system damage. And some share the quality
that eventually helped DDT get banned a few decades ago: they persist in the
environment and build up over time in people’s bodies. That makes these
“persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals,” or PBTs for short, particularly
dangerous to nursing infants who can get proportionately higher doses from
their mothers’ breast milk.
That’s
one of the reasons the City of Buffalo passed legislation phasing such
chemicals out in December. The Citizens Environmental Coalition is using this
new report to urge similar legislation from Albany and push for the formation
of a statewide flame-retardant task force.
They
may have an ally in local Assemblyman David Koon, whose house was one of two in
the Rochester area to participate in the test.
Tree-huggers
unite
Looking
for quality organic veggies? How about lectures on Christianity and the
environment, alternative building conferences, or demonstrations about how to
make biodiesel?
Then
you’ll be interested in the latest offering from the Center for Sustainable Living for everyone from small farmers to
tree-huggers to the earthy types in all of us.
The
Center’s 20-page booklet of 2005 season activities hit the shelves at Abundance
Cooperative Market in Rochester and Lori’s Natural Foods Center in Henrietta
over the weekend, as well as area libraries and the Rochester Folk Art Guild’s
East Hill Farm in Middlesex (where many of the events take place).
The
chapbook sports about 10 pages of events running from April until September,
plus a directory of related services.
Can’t
find it? Send a dollar to cover postage to the Center for Sustainable Living,
PO Box 10836, Rochester, 14610, and they’ll mail one to you.
—
Krestia DeGeorge
People
are people
It
may have been St. Patrick’s Day, but March 17 wasn’t just for the Irish this
year.
That
was also the day that several prominent figures in Rochester’s Latino community
announced the formation of Latinos for
Duffy, a campaign effort on behalf of former police chief and Democratic
mayoral hopeful Bob Duffy.
In
a press release, city school board member Domingo Garcia calls Duffy “the
person that we believe has the best understanding of the issues affecting all
city residents, but in particular, those of the Latino community.” County
Legislator Jose Cruz and activist Julio Vasquez also had words of praise.
The
reactions from the two other announced campaigns, those of Tim Mains and Wade Norwood,
were starkly different. Asked if they had planned something comparable, Mains
for Mayor Co-Manager Aaron Wicks replied in an email “The answer is ‘yes,
absolutely.’ We are actively seeking the support of Rochester’s many
communities. We cede no ground to anyone in our effort to bring the entire city
together behind Tim’s positive vision for Rochester.”
Meanwhile,
the Norwood campaign’s Chris Christopher wrote tersely of Norwood: “His support
cuts across every demographic.” She then took on the “Latinos for Duffy” effort
by writing that the Norwood campaign feels “it was inappropriate and even
offensive for three people to put forth the perception that they speak for an
entire community.”
“We
all — citizens, elected officials, journalists — do well to remember that
no community is monolithic in its thinking. It is clearly Mr. Cruz, Mr. Garcia,
and Mr. Vasquez’s right to support any candidate of their choosing, but it is
wrong to assume that they speak for all,” she wrote.
“So
the answer to your question is no — we will not be doing a Latinos for
Norwood event. Neither will we be doing a Whites for Norwood event or a Blacks
for Norwood event. We are People for Norwood.”
—
Krestia DeGeorge
Correcting
ourselves
In
the Annual Manual 2005, included in the March 23 issue of City,there were several
errors that need correcting:
In
the festivals chart, called “The big picture,” the information for Clarissa
Street Reunion and Carifest was garbled. The correct information is: Clarissa Street Reunion, on August 20,
takes place in the Clarissa Street neighborhood, with musical performances. For
information: csrc1995@yahoo.com, www.csrc.info. Carifest, a Caribbean-themed festival, is on August 13 at the High
Falls Festival Site. For information: 254-7569.
The
Rochester International Jazz Festival is older than we gave it credit for: It’s now in its fourth year. And an RIJF
artist’s name was spelled wrong. The trumpeter’s name is Cuong Vu.
Finally,
the Rochester MusicFest, scheduled
for July 16 and 17, is a festival for contemporary and legendary r&b.
This article appears in Mar 30 – Apr 5, 2005.
