The phrase “rain or shine” is on everyone’s lips during this summer of 2009.  So it was Tuesday night for the 27th Annual Canal Fest Parade that marched from the City of Tonawanda into the City of North Tonawanda.  This is a huge tradition in the Tonawandas and, as the News Four crew learned Tuesday night, a little rain – or even a LOT of rain will not keep Tonawandans from watching their parade.  As Parade Chairman Joe Boccolucci told me, he had only five units cancel and “if you look at the sidewalks, they’re full of people watching.”  Joe was right. For their resilience on a rainy July night, I salute the friendly folks in the Tonawandas.

A parade's-eye view of Main Street during the parade. That's Meteorologist Don Paul in the red car in front of me under the black and white umbrella.

Smiling through the rain. This parade is a big draw for families. Parents who watched the parade as children are now bringing their own little ones.

Canal Fest draws big crowds so the Marines are on hand for recruiting….

….and so is the Air Force.

It's become a News Four tradition. This gentleman from the Salem Church in the City of Tonawanda is always kind enough to deliver dessert to us on the parade route!

This is North Tonawanda resident Julie Klahn (with the tan purse) and her enthusiastic friends who formed a cheering section. Cheers to Julie, too!

With some good-natured ribbing along the way, Meteorologist Don Paul smiled during the rainy ride. And, note the top on this convertible (supplied by Don Davis Auto World) was DOWN for much of the parade.

There was a huge crowd on and around Delaware Avenue yesterday for the 52nd Annual Allentown Art Festival. Certainly, the sunshine helped draw the crowd, but, understandably some vendors expressed concern before the festival opened about how the ongoing recession would affect sales. I talked to at least six artists, all festival veterans, who described their sales to me pretty much in one word: “Fantastic!”  And, I was surprised to learn that most of these vendors had better sales on Saturday with chilly temperatures and threatening skies, than on sunny, warm Sunday.

I do understand that with more than 400 vendors, a half dozen is a small sample.  News Four’s Lindsay Schwarzwaelder talked to a couple of artists who said they thought people were making smaller purchases this year.  For them, that’s true, and there’s no way to get a true handle on total sales, except by these personal anecdotes.  I can only say that I was heartened by what I saw and heard in Allentown yesterday.  Maybe, just maybe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel..and it’s shining on a painting purchased at the Allentown Art Festival!

Can you believe bunny dogs (carrots on a bun) were hot sellers?

Big dogs rule at Allentown... but we were captivated by a red toy poodle from Tonawanda named Lilly.

Buffalo firefighters provided their services to the Allentown crowd.

Wheatfield artist Jody Ziehm extended her winning streak. After a blue ribbon last year, she captured a red this year for her watercolor of Aretha Franklin at the Presidential Inauguration.

Not sure how sales went for the Original Flower Shower, but it sure attracted a crowd!

Photographer Mark Callen says his third Allentown outing is his best. Photos of Buffalo landmarks, including the Aud, were big sellers.

The End (for this artist after a long weekend in Allentown!)

Judy Clare, Cathy Weiss, Judy Weidemann of AAUW announce the Jacquie Walker Scholarship

The 55th Scholarship Book Sale of the Buffalo branch of the American Association of University Women opened today in the Office Depot Plaza at Sheridan and Eggert in the Town of Tonawanda.  This group of active local women has been working for MONTHS to categorize, organize, and neatly display more than 100-thousand used books for sale at prices as low as 50 cents. The sale runs through Sunday (May 31st) and by the time the doors close at 5 p.m., the AAUW hopes to have sold every book and raised tens of thousands of dollars for scholarships. The college scholarships are given each year to local female students who have demonstrated success beyond their studies.

I have been pleased to work with the AAUW in recent years on their book sale. They do ALL the heavy lifting, and I have been named Honorary Chair.  But, this year the honor is greater than ever. This year the group is giving a $5,000 scholarship in my name!

At my request, the scholarship will be given to a woman who is already in college and who believes in serving her community. The AAUW Jacquie Walker Scholarship will be awarded in September and the deadline to apply is August 1st.

You may download an application from WIVB.COM. You’ll also find more information about the other AAUW scholarships through a link on the AAUW Buffalo web site.

I urge you to apply. As the mother of two college students, I know how important this helping hand can be. Isn’t it great that it is made possible by Western New Yorkers who all share the joy of reading!

Thousands of books on sale - May 27-31, 2009

Waiting for T.O.

You’ve seen the video on News 4 of Terrell Owens’ thunderous welcome Sunday night at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.  I happened to see it quite by accident.  It was one of the times when your personal life clashes with your professional life and leaves your head spinning!

I spent last weekend in Virginia attending events related to my eldest son’s graduation from college. (Go Matt!)  I was pretty well cut off from internet use and news from home – which is very unusual for me.  It poured rain during the commencement on Sunday and everyone was drenched.  By the time my flight touched down at BNIA at 11:45 Sunday night, I was exhausted, looked like a drowned rat, and was anxious to pick up my suitcase at baggage claim and head home.

I walked through a quiet, deserted concourse (even the lights in the ladies room were turned off!) and turned the corner to run smack into news cameras from all local stations.  My first thought was that a local soldier was returning home from duty overseas and everyone wanted to record his welcome.  I spotted News 4 Videographer Chris Broadbent who told me T.O. was expected momentarily on a flight from Cincinnati.

I decided to run downstairs to baggage claim to pick up my suitcase (I’ve lost a suitcase before…and didn’t want to go through that hassle again!) and gamble that I had enough time to run back upstairs to help Chris with interviews.  What a mistake!

I didn’t know that I’d be descending on the escalator and wading straight into a cheering crowd of a couple hundred pumped up Bills’ fans, jumping Jills, and roaming characters.  Someone spotted me and started chanting: “Jacquie, Jacquie, Jacquie!”  What a scene!

I’m sure folks thought I was there to cover T.O.’s arrival – but I was just another weary traveler looking for my luggage.

As it turned out there was a big delay and mix-up in the baggage area – and T.O. and his entourage descended the escalator to a roar from the crowd, signed a few autographs, answered a couple of questions, and quickly exited the terminal.

Everybody left.  Everybody, except a few of us who spent about 40 anxious minutes roaming the baggage claim area searching for any sign of our belongings.  Finally, about 12:30 I discovered my suitcase on a distant carousel, wrestled it to the floor, and headed for the door.

I never got a good look at T.O….but, I sure got a sample of his traveling road show.

Get the shot!

Waiting for luggage

What a way to start a sunny spring Saturday — surrounded by more than 1200 people determined to help fight MS!  The big annual fundraising walk for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society stepped off at 10 o’clock this morning from Coca Cola Field.  Mayor Byron Brown joined us to declare this “Walk MS” day in Buffalo. Many in the crowd had formed teams sporting T-shirts to support individual MS patients.  With some people using wheelchairs and canes, pulling dogs on leashes, pushing toddlers in strollers, snapping photos with Mayor Brown, trying to study route maps, and bundling up in sweatshirts and jackets against the chilly morning air, it was a lively, diverse, and happy group.

Western New York has one of the highest rates of Multiple Sclerosis in the country — and nobody knows why. We DO know that the money raised today will go to fund research and support programs for local patients through the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I’ve had a strong affiliation with this organization for almost a quarter century, have seen great strides taken in the understanding and treatment of MS, and am so pleased that WIVB-TV Channel 4 has sponsored Walk MS all these years.  I’ve met a lot of people with MS who deserve and appreciate support!   Chances are you know someone with MS, too.

I had the opportunity this week to learn a lot more about a Buffalo civil rights organization when I emceed the 46th Anniversary Celebration and Annual Meeting of Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) at the Buffalo Convention Center.  The HOME staff and volunteers work to prevent discrimination in housing in Western New York and it’s estimated they helped about 5,000 individuals last year.

The group is currently engaged in a Capital Campaign to raise money to rehab structures at the corner of Main and Ferry in Buffalo. The site will serve as a new home for HOME and also provide apartments on the upper floors.

The event featured awards, a scholarship presented to Cheektowaga Central student Joshua Moffett, several fundraising opportunities, and outgoing HOME chair Janet Barnes welcoming newly elected chair Gil Hernandez.

Dean Angle, Michele McClintick, Mark Parrotte, Don Paul, Tricia Cruz, Aaron Mason, Jacquie Walker

Lisa cutting Don's cake

What happens when you work on your birthday?  You hope your co-workers remember so you at least get a little cake during your work day. Our Chief Meteorologist Don Paul is celebrating his birthday today and we’re celebrating with him.  Lisa Flynn was nice enough to pick up a delicious chocolate cake on her dinner break tonight.  We whipped out the well-used newsroom candles, hopped up from our computers, and took five minutes to sing, devour a few bites of cake, and rib Don mercilessly about gaining another year. Every shift at News 4 tries to take care of each other during our hectic days, night, and overnights.  Tonight, the night crew sends its very best wishes to Don for a happy birthday – and many, many more!

Buffalo Philharmonic musicians can say their family concert Sunday afternoon was a real beast – or at least it featured one! Conductor Robert Franz added to the musical fantasy of a concert titled: “Tubby the Tuba meets Beauty and the Beast” by dressing as The Beast!

The concert had 150 students from three local high schools – Grand Island, Amherst, and Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts – onstage singing with the BPO during the Beauty and the Beast Suite. It was the grand finale of a lively performance of a number of classic favorites including “Tubby the Tuba.” I was truly honored to be asked to narrate the story of Tubby and, boy, did all those childhood music lessons pay off! When the BPO emailed me a 74 page score to practice, I suddenly discovered this would be much harder than simply reading a children’s story while the Orchestra played.

Two days before the concert, you might have gotten a kick out of seeing Conductor Franz and me sitting in a coffee shop while he conducted with his hands and hummed the score and I read my parts. He gave me some tips and I went back to practicing at home while listening to a CD.

I had my first rehearsal with the BPO three hours before the concert and then passed the time reading backstage until the 2:30 start time. Conductor Franz likes to surprise, not only the audience, but also his musicians with his costume choices. So, the pictures and video you are seeing here were taken backstage BEFORE any of the BPO musicians had seen him. As you can imagine, he got a big, sunny reaction from everyone when he stepped onstage.

Jacquie and Robert Franz, conductor in costume!

This marked Robert Franz’ last family concert at Kleinhans. He is leaving the BPO this summer after four years to pursue conducting opportunities in other cities, including Houston. His legacy here will live on in the thousands of local children who have come to know and love fine music because of his outreach, excitement, and dedication.

As for me, I have retired my bullfrog imitation which figured so prominently in the Tubby narration. And, what a thrill for this former church organist and high school marching band flute and piccolo player to have shared a small role sitting among the accomplished and world-class musicians of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra!