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After the success of its first effort a year ago, the First Presbyterian Church of Elba has organized another 5K Run/Walk in Elba for 9 a.m. Aug. 20.

The course is a lovely country route through some of the back roads of Elba. (See the website for a specific course map.) There will be a water stop at the turn around point, and refreshments will be available after the race.

The first 75 registrants will receive a T-shirt.

Participants can pre-register, either online at www.elba5k.com or by sending the completed registration form (available online) and payment to Dave Bateman (address listed at the bottom of the article), or they can register on race day.

Race day registration begins at the Elba Veterans Memorial Park at 8 a.m. and ends at 8:45 a.m. All participants must meet at the park during that time to receive their number and confirm their attendance. 

Registration fees are as follows: 

Before Aug. 13: $15 (under 18: $12)

Race Day: $18 (under 18: $15)

Family rate before Aug. 13: $12 per runner (multiple runners at same household, mail forms together)

Sponsorship forms are also available online.

All proceeds of the race will be used toward the mission and ministry of the First Presbyterian Church of Elba.

For more details, see www.elba5k.com. 

Where to send your registration form and payment: 

Dave Bateman, 5 Lincoln Ave., Batavia, NY 14020

Sorry for the shaky camera!

Twenty five years ago, Gene Baur and some friends began taking notice of the cruel and inhumane conditions inside industrialized animal farms and slaughterhouses and decided that something needed to be done -- and thus, with nothing but determination and the profits of a vegetarian hotdog stand, Farm Sanctuary was born.

Today, the peaceful organization attracts thousands of visitors a year to its two sprawling farm shelters for previously abused animals in Watkins Glen and California, and has inspired a bestselling book by Baur. 

At 4 p.m. on Aug. 8, Baur will visit Minty Wellness in Darien Center to discuss his book and Farm Sanctuary itself, which is currently the nation's leading farm animal rescue, education and advocacy organization. 

Local animal advocate Danielle Legg is hoping to raise $2,000 by that date, and has pledged to "Go Bald for Bob Harper" if her goal is met. (Despite his very human name, Bob Harper is a pig -- one of more than 400 animals living at the organizaton's Watkins Glen location.)

To help raise funds, Legg is holding a raffle for several vegan items, including: two gift baskets from Lush Cosmetics (valued at $140); a gift basket from Hugo Naturals, containing vegan bath and body products (valued at $95); a gift bag by Michelle Dermaceuticals, containing vegan beauty products; handmade gift tags and greeting cards; a necklace and earring set made by Julie Sheremeta; a massage donated by David Kimball LMT; and a Minty Wellness Getaway package, including an overnight stay and breakfast for two at the Minty Wellness hotel, restaurant and spa. 

For further information, contact Danielle Legg at veganleggs80@yahoo.com or the Minty Wellness hotel, restaurant and spa. It's located at 1961 Church Road in Darien Center. Phone is 591-3939. Email is www.mintywellness.com.

Note: A few days ago Drew was moved up to Quad Cities.

Despite its small size, Batavia has long been a hub of music and culture. Five years ago, Bill McDonald, Bill Pitcher, Mike Murray and Kay McMahon decided to celebrate the Batavia music scene with an all-day event featuring local musicians, many of whom have been playing together for years.

On July 2, some of these old friends and bandmates will reunite in Jackson Square for a day of jamming and seeing old friends at the 6th Annual Ramble Music and Arts Festival. 

"Our hometown area is so rich in artisitic heritage and we felt that we had the ability, resources, time and means to make a daylong musical arts event happen for folks in Batavia and surrounds," says McDonald of the first Ramble in 2006.

"There was nothing at the time to give our town and its musicians a chance to ramble around Jackson Square and downtown and bring many musicians together."

This year's festival will feature more than 30 local bands that range in genre from acoustic bluegrass to electric rock. The bands will be performing on two separate stages -- one acoustic and one electric -- throughout the day. (See below for the full schedule.) McDonald's own band, The Ghost Riders, will kick off the festival on the electric stage.

Although today McDonald performs mainly with The Ghost Riders and his other band, the Hips, over the past 50 years he has played in countless groups -- "way too many to remember, as 50 years of playing music is a long time." 

"It's in my heart and soul and it allows me to fly free over times when I play and sing," he explains. "If one person meets my eye during a song, smiles, sings along or makes contact with me, I feel I'm doing something good while giving great pleasure and purpose to my being."

There are fewer musical venues for young people in Batavia now than there were when McDonald began performing in the '60s, but the music scene has remained strong nevertheless.

"Our small community and the surrounding areas have always had great music with many places for musicians to perform," he says. "The folks in this area have been so supportive over the years. We've made so many friends with music and have tried to keep them entertained.

"You can call it civic spirit, as our hometown and its people have been good to us and we wanted to give something back with a music and arts event of sorts, have some fun, along with a purpose, because that's what we do."

The festival has grown substantially since its humble beginnings five years ago, but still remains a "work in progress with zero-dollars funding." 

"We work with what resources and lifelong area connections we've gathered to make it happen," McDonald explains. "It was a challenge and a yearlong effort to try and pull this free event off. We had a get-together attitude, as many did who've contributed. We succeeded with Ramble Number One and decided to make it a yearly event."

The "arts" aspect of the festival doesn't end at the music, as there will also be the opportunity to complete the beginning of a story prompt written by Batavia author Bill Kauffman. All in all, it will be a fun day of music for people of all ages.

The music schedule is as follows:

Electric Stage                                                       Acoustic Stage

10:50-11 - Intro                                                   11:10-11:40 - Steve Kruppner

11-11:30 - The Ghost Riders                             11:45-12:15 - Sebastian

11:35-12:05 - Bush Hogs                                   12:20-12:50 - Muggs

12:10-12:40 - Revival                                          12:55-1:25 - Good Morning

                                                                                                 Hellen

12:45-1:15 - Twilight Rangers                             1:30-2:00 - Uncle Rog

1:20-1:50 - Red Creek                                         2:05-2:35 - Dick Cantry

1:55-2:25 - The Fools                                          2:40-3:10 - The Hips

2:30-3:00 - Warren Skye and Friends                 3:15-3:45 - Gridder

3:05-3:35 - Destined                                            3:50-4:20 - Tim Pitcher and 

                                                                                                Friends

3:40-4:10 - Just Got Lucky                                   4:25-4:55 - Anthony DelPlato 

                                                                                              Memorial  Celebration 

 4:15 5-4:45 - Sierra                                                 5:05-5:35 - Erin Elizabeth

                                                                                                   Jeffords

4:45-5:00 - Memorial & Presentation to Rose     5:40-6:10 - Chris Humel

5:00-5:30 - Buffalo Road Show                           6:15-6:45 - Ken & Jeannie Veltz

5:35-6:05 - Julius                                                 6:50-7:20 - Tom Stamp

6:10-6:40 - The Dob Artists                                 7:25-7:55 - Tim Luttrell

6:45-7:15 - OSHA                                                8-8:30 - HoKoMo Dave Armat

7:20-7:50 - Taken                                                8:35-9:05 - Misty Mountain

7:55-8:25 - Ps100

8:30-9 - Bluesway Jam

This morning, Miss Daviau's and Mrs. McAllister's fourth-grade classes presented a donation to the Elba Historical Society: several copies of a guidebook they created for a walking tour of Elba, as well as mp3 players loaded with an audio version of the guidebook. 

They handed over the gifts to the historical society's grateful president, Ronald Komar, as students Mark Anauo, Elizabeth Kowalski, Madeline Augello and Collin Knapp read exerpts from the book. The project was inspired by a recent walking tour around Elba, which has been a fourth-grade tradition for more than 35 years.

The guidebook includes many of Elba's historic buildings and houses, and can be found at the Elba Historical Society Museum.

Due to a tabulation error made by the Gorham Pageant of Bands officials, the first-place status of the Elba Jazz Ensemble has been changed to third-place.  The results of the Class C jazz ensemble competition were announced incorrectly at the June 4th awards ceremony, and the error was not realized until a week ago.  In a recent conversation with Elba band director Phil Briatico, the Gorham Pageant of Bands officials apologized profusely and noted the improvement in the ensemble since last year. 

Despite the final results, Briatico is still proud of the jazz ensemble, and says that he "did believe we were first place because the band's performance was first-place worthy."

This weekend the Elba Jazz Ensemble brought home the gold from the 50th annual Gorham Pageant of Bands when they placed first in the Class C Jazz Band competition.

This was the jazz ensemble's third year participating in the pageant, having placed third and second in the past two festivals.

Elba, normally a Class DD school, was the smallest to partipate in the pageant and was therefore bumped up to the Class C level to compete against Naples, Dundee, Gananda and South Seneca.

The Elba Concert Band placed fifth in its category.

The jazz ensemble is directed by Phil Briatico. Its members are: Marissa Tomczak, Mark Hare, Dillon Hirsch, Dan Starowitz, Ann Marie Georgia, and Connor Rohan on saxophone; Emily Tomczak on clarinet; Dakota Hirsch, Alexandra Lacey and Dixie Hirsch on trumpet; Andrew Lacey, Steven Perez-Gangi, Becky Vlack and Christopher Vlack on trombone; Jenna Bird on French horn; Laura Accardi and Matt Anauo on guitar; Gretel Kauffman on keyboard; Alex Jasinski on bass guitar; and Liz White on drums.

UPDATE 12:38 p.m.: Due to illness, the Benny Baker comedy performance that was scheduled tonight at the Batavia Party House has been cancelled. Tickets will be refunded.

Like Johnny Cash's boy named Sue, Benny Baker's fate was determined when he was just a lad.

"I was ugly and my name was Benny Bobby Baker," he says. "I had to be either funny or tough."

Forty-something years later, it's obvious which path he chose.  The semi-retired comedian has been in the funny business for 25 years and has made quite a name for himself, having toured internationally and in 49 states, including a 3-year stint with Carrot Top. Apart from performing his own critically-acclaimed Las Vegas act, "Hellbent 4 Humor," Baker has also appeared on and written for TV and films and co-hosted a morning radio show in San Diego. This Saturday night, he will be returning to Batavia to perform one show.

"It's edgy, critical, and just more common sense," he says of his act. "I don't believe that kinder and gentler is always the answer. If you're tired of society being molded to satisfy the few square pegs that don't want to go into round holes while all the other round pegs suffer, then you'll like my show."

No topic is safe from this "common sense" with his routine touching on a wide range of subjects, from the Octo-Mom to his own family.

"After a while you develop a perception of life that you just can't take it too seriously," Baker says. "I guess I would say that your mind does immediately evaluate the humor in every situation no matter how tragic."

And what kind of humor does he find in his native Western New York?

"I grew up in this area as a kid," he explains. "It has its humor because it really still is small-town, and there are a lot of things that really are funny about being from a small town.  It does have that family elemnt that you don't find in other places. It has that blue-collar, small-town family charm in it, but there is always humor in that."

Although Baker was born in Batavia and attended Greece Arcadia High School, he moved to Florida soon after his graduation. 

"I had a job on the muck when I was a teenager," he explains. "I didn't really see any future in rotating crops, so I left."

Baker has recently taken up residence in Orleans County. Much of his family still lives in the area, and will be there supporting him at Saturday's show.

"I don't mind performing in front of family members," he says. "They enjoy it because I do talk about my family - the struggles, my brother being a big hunter, things like that.  It gives them a kick to be brought into the show and makes them laugh because a lot of it's true."

The act can be enjoyed by audience members of any age--Baker gives the example of an elderly couple who came to his show and needed an extra oxygen tank brought in because they were laughing so hard--but parents should know that the material is what could be described as "R-rated":

"I'd say the cutoff is 18, maybe 16 if you're sharp.  If you're 16 and walking around with your pants around your ankles and smoking 20 blunts a day, you're not going to like it or get the jokes. But if you're 16 and with it and carry a C average in high school, you'll be fine."

The show will be tonight at the Batavia Party House. Dinner starts at 6 pm and the show begins at 8 pm. Tickets for the prime rib buffet and show are $40 per person at the door. Show only tickets are $15 at the door.

This Thursday, the London smash hit "Blood Brothers" will make its local debut at Genesee Community College. 

The show, written by Willy Russell, is based on the 1844 novella "The Corsican Brothers." It has won multiple awards, including the 1983 Olivier Award for Best New Musical and a Tony nomination.

The current West End revival is one of the longest-running productions in history due to its nearly 20-plus year run. But despite its immense popularity across the pond, the musical is rarely heard of, much less performed, in America. 

Director Maryanne Arena says its obscurity is one of the reasons she chose "Blood Brothers." 

"I like doing shows that not everyone does," she said.

The story centers around two twins who are tragically separated at birth, grow up in radically different environments, and become best friends, all the while unaware of their biological connection.

It is a musical, with songs that Arena describes as "a cross between '70s pop and Broadway tunes." Much of the score is accentuated with dancing by Tara Pocock and Leland Fuller.

The director chose the show for both personal and professional reasons.

"The show has always been very close to me because I'm adopted, and it's partially about adoption. I think the topic of nature versus nurture is very interesting: are the genes our parents gave us ones we can't get away from, or is it a matter of our environment and how we're raised? And also, I always pick a show where the kids learn new things. In this case, it was the dialect."

Said dialect is a British accent -- but not the traditional posh one that first comes to mind when thinking of the English. The actors had to learn to talk with a "Northern British" accent, which Arena describes as having stronger Irish and Scottish undertones.

Cal Young, the first-year theater major portraying the twin Mickey, says that prior to the auditions he hadn't ever heard of "Blood Brothers."

"At first I was a little skeptical," he says. "But after a while I began to really relate to the characters emotionally."

Mickey's other half, Edward, is played by Anthony Shoap. Like his fictional twin, he is also a first-year theater major, and also wasn't familiar with the show before this production.

"At first I didn't really like it," he admits. "But I've come to like it a lot more in these past few weeks now that I'm starting to understand all the underlying subtext better."

The story is partially told by a narrator, who is alternately played by Alex Grayson and Patrick Dodge. The role of Mrs. Johnstone, the real biological mother of the twins, is also double-cast with Kiley Conklin and Emily Jones.

"I really couldn't make up my mind," Arena explains of her decision to double-cast the roles. "They all auditioned equally well."

All four of the actors agree that sharing a role improves their performance. 

"It lightens the load," Grayson explains. "It's nice having someone else there to check your performance and help you out."

Although they may be playing the same parts, each of the double-cast actors has created a slightly different character. 

"It's hard to justify the narrator," Dodge says. "He isn't exactly a person. He's sort of a devil-type character. It's interesting to see how Alex interprets the character -- he's not as evil and devilish."

Jones agrees that although being double-cast is "definitely a challenge," it's "something to learn from. We do things differently and have different takes on the show."

For the performances, when they are not playing their main parts, the other narrator and the other Mrs. Johnstone are in the background chorus. 

"Going back and forth gives you so much energy," Conklin says. "When I'm in the chorus playing a little kid, I get so much energy, and that gives more energy to my performance when I'm playing Mrs. Johnstone."

Ian Gayford is the musical director and Patti Simmons is the choreographer.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 7-9 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and there is a matinee at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 10. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for seniors, students, and GCC faculty/staff, and $3 for GCC students with a valid ID. There is a $2 discount for GCC alums with Alum ID.

Tickets can be reserved in advance or puchased at the door. For more information or to make reservations, contact the GCC Box Office by e-mail (BOXOFFICE@genesee.edu) or telephone (345-6814). The box office is open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and also one hour prior to a performance.

The beat is thumping, the energy is high, and the sound is thunderous as hundreds of tiny feet stomp the floor and just as many tiny hands smack together enthusiastically. Two hundred children chant, "We will, we will, READ YOU!" in deafening unison.

Welcome to Reading Month at Elba Central School.

In past years, the students have celebrated books in more traditional ways. This year, elementary art teacher Stephanie Rudman decided to mix things up a bit by inviting children's entertainer Glenn Colton to perform for the students. Colton's hour-long show entertained both students and teachers alike with silly jokes, oldies music references, and a message that reading can be fun.

Rudman says that she had remembered Colton performing at Elba years ago, and decided to bring him back in order to add a more musical aspect to the month.

The Orchard Park-based entertainer performs in about 250 locations per year, mostly staying in the Western New York area. He has a variety of educational concerts available, featuring themes such as bullying, cyber safety, and staying drug-free. Along with writing songs, he has also authored two children's books, "Mr. Ducky Wucky -- The Wonderful Secret" and "Browser the Mouse and His Internet Adventure." 

For more information on Colton's shows and book signings, go to www.glenncolton.com