The Buffalodown, Vol. 2, Issue 39
Stories & Events for Social Connection
By Seamus Gallivan
- Next phase of parkway revival in Buffalo begins next week
- Musings on Music: George Caldwell headlines new holiday market
- Featured Events: 23 this week, always encouraging submissions!
- Links to the Deep End: A happy update on an ICE detention; NPRx2
Thank you for your attention!
Please forward this to kindred souls, and subscribe here if you haven’t yet!
I’m grateful for you all in this growing list of subscribers who’ve been reading and clicking through this newsletter at increasing rates – especially the roughly 1 in 9 subscribers who’ve supported with a paid membership!
The recent spike in subscribers along with an upcoming event bring a reminder of the original inspiration behind Reconnecter – the fight for parkway revival in the heart and lungs of Buffalo, Humboldt and Scajaquada Parkways, which I entered around a decade ago by joining both the Restore Our Community Coalition and Scajaquada Corridor Coalition.
Representatives from the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) have recently responded to the community and court dismissal of their band-aid proposal for Humboldt with a rebranded attempt at community engagement called Queen City Forward. We’ll meet again for a “listening session” this coming Tuesday, December 2nd, form 5-7pm in the Schiller Park Senior Center at 2057 Genesee Street, and I’ll be a guest on the East Side Parkways Coalition radio show with India Walton this Saturday from 11:30am-12pm on WUFO Radio – Power 96.5FM, Mix 1080AM, and power965radio.com, please tune in and call in if you’d like! 716-834-1080.
While the flyer below refers to the DOT homepage for more information, there’s none to be found on said homepage – only by searching through the the site did I find just a press release about Queen City Forward.
Reminder that the next event presented by Investigative Post will be Geoff Kelly and Jim Heaney interviewing Mayor-elect Sean Ryan on Friday, December 12th, at 7pm in the Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave., as part of the Burchfield Penney’s Second Fridays free event including an exhibition opening, live music and all-ages art-making. More details to come, please stay tuned!
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Musings on Music
George Caldwell headlines new holiday market
‘Tis peak season for pop-up markets, and while they’re usually not my cup of tea, those that include live music more likely draw me in.
Shout out to Reconnecter supporters Mary Joy and Bill Murphy for organizing just that, through their new venture “…just Playful events” – as artist Mary Joy was feeling a void from the closing of multiple annual art markets at which she’d been a vendor, she and Bill ventured to create the Christmas in the Village Holiday Craft Art Market, taking place this coming Friday-Sunday in the Elmwood Village – see below for details.
Mary Joy being a music lover – we first met through her booking support of Buffalo music mainstay Neville Francis – she and Bill added live music to their market with the joyful sounds of a true gift to our community, longtime Buffalonian and Mississippi native George Caldwell, whose residence in Buffalo traces back to a fateful stop in his many years as a touring musician.
A veteran of the Count Basie and Duke Ellington Orchestras and many more across an illustrious career, George is now a music professor at UB and frequent presence in local clubs – he was on a short list of artists who came to mind for a feature I wrote here over the summer about Buffalo musicians whose presence alone is worth the price of admission to any given show. His joyful presence pours into his playing as he performs in service of the song and moment – he more invites attention than commands it, such a lovely choice to grace an art market with soulful sounds.
The Christmas in the Village website designed by Bill mentions “George Caldwell and Friends” as well as the list of vendors, so expect a group of first-call players joining George, and see below for a video primer including a solo set from Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center’s Sequester Series in 2021 – and speaking of Hallwalls, see the events listing for more pop-up markets including one from them that includes a DJ.
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Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org
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Links to the Deep End
Deeper dives into subjects that matter for social connection
- A happy update on the case of Congo native and beloved Buffalonian Gary Kabeya, who was reported by The Buffalo News to have been taken into custody by ICE while biking to church – a new headline, “Immigration judge grants release of asylum-seeker who was volunteering across Buffalo,” aided by an outpouring of outrage, as immigration judge Lena Golovnin ruled that he was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk: “In fact, it appears that he is participating in the community where he resides, and evidence demonstrates significant involvement in the City of Buffalo.”
How many more like Gary are still behind bars in Trump’s America? - In case you’re thinking we can end this madness by simply voting out the Trump cult beginning with next year’s midterms, NPR invites you to consider, “How could Trump interfere in the midterms? Here’s what voting officials are watching.”
- Closing with a holiday nod here on Thanksgiving Eve – over the past week I’ve been binging on NPR’s Hidden Brain podcast, which offered this week, “The Power of Family Stories” – “Sometimes these stories are funny; sometimes they make us roll our eyes. No matter how we feel about them, we rarely pause to consider how these stories shape who we are and how we view the world.”
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for next week’s Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome!
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