08.31.09
Posted in Events at 11:20 pm by Administrator
It’s that time of year again. It’s almost fall when everything seems to be in a state of change. Families are preparing for kids returning to school, the weather is cooling down, the colors in nature are turning to oranges, reds and yellows, and the Fexpo center is gearing up for another busy season. The Monroe county Fair is our one big summer time event and that is “long past” and we are already planning for next July. Our other business, the Expo side of the FEXPO (Fair and EXPO center) is heading into the busy season.
One change we have been working on, besides the physical upgrades, such as new handicapped restrooms, is the inclusion of more self-promoted shows. We already have our World’s Greatest Garage Sales (WGGS), which bring many people in the community together for fun and fund raising. This year we are starting a couple of new events. The first is Treatfest, scheduled for October 30 and 31. Billed as a Halloween Party for the Whole Family, Treatfest is a safe alternative to traditional Trick-or-Treating. Working with Gary the Happy Pirate and the Pirate Toy Fund, we are developing indoor trick-or-treating, a haunted house, balloon creatures, face painting, and other fun filled family centered activities.
Our other major new event is the Rock-N-Country-Blues Festival. Taking place on October 9 and 10th, the Rock-N-Country-Blues Festival features six local, “home grown” bands over two nights. Expect to see many of the other ingredients Rochester festival goers are accustomed to such as great food and drinks, assorted vendors, and fun activities.
We believe that by these couple of changes we will be able to more completely fill the community building and affirmation and support of youth that are main stays of our mission statement. I am excited about the potential of both events to bring the FEXPO to the fore front of local awareness as a place for safe, affordable, family fun.
For more information on these and otehr events cheeck out this link: www.fairandexpocenter.org/calendar
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12.12.08
Posted in Events at 9:10 pm by Administrator
I was watching our cat, Frankie, this morning and it got me to thinking. Everyday when I finish my shower and open the shower curtain Frankie jumps up into the tub and tries to figure out where all the water is going. Her head actually goes in little circles as she watches the water go down the drain. then she sits and stares for a couple of minutes as if waiting for the water to come back.
After this she joins me in the bedroom where she stares at the “other” cat in the closet door mirror. She paws at this other cat, I am not sure if it is a rival cat or a playmate, and the she occasionally runs and jumps at the other cat. The loud band and the bump on her head do not seem to detour her at all, as she is right back at it again. When I open the closet door, Frankie quickly runs in to find her antithesis. She checks from one end of the closet to the other making sure this other cat is not hiding in any shoes or behind any boxes. Only when she is fully satisfied there is on cat there does she come out. Then when I close the closet door she is back examining this strange, disappearing, other cat.
For some reason as I was watching Frankie this morning, I was reminded of a quote from Albert Einstein that goes something like this; “A person should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.” And then I remembered another Einstein quote; “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
How many time do we do this same thing, at least I know that I do. I do the same thing at home or at work and then am surprised when it leads to the same results. This is not always a bad thing as good actions can lead to good results over and over again. However, as Tom at work says, “everything has a life cycle.” He is usually referring to a product or an recurring event at the Fexpo, and I am finding this more and more to be true. What worked five or ten years ago does not necessarily work today. That is one reason we are constantly bombarded for products that are “new and improved.” There are numerous shows and other events that once filled all of the buildings at the Fexpo and now have become smaller. It is often difficult for people to recognize and deal with this fact and because of this things (promotions, advertising, vendor relations, etc.) are still done the same way.
Change is necessary. It must be planned, researched, tested, and tweaked along the way, but if we do not change the way we do things, even the way we think of things, then we run the risk of becoming irrelevant.
The dearer some thing is to our heart, the more ownership we have of it, the more difficult this is to do. As Einstein also said; “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”
Here is hoping that as the new year approaches we are all able to take this to heart as we continue to grow and develop individually and with our specific groups.
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and New Year filled with change and growth to all!
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11.12.08
Posted in Events at 12:00 am by Administrator
I thought we could take a minute and try a quick multiple choice quiz about the Fair and Expo Center, so here goes:
1) Which of the following will you not see at the Fexpo in the next few weeks?
a) Young men throwing each other through the air
b) People dancing around the dome with no shoes on
c) A bunch of Woody (from Toy Story)’s friends
d) A hippo wearing ballerina shoes
2) Again, which of the following will you not see at the Fexpo in the next few weeks?
a) Young women throwing each other through the air
b) Fireworks
c) People coming to voluntarily get their arms pricked
d) Mean Al smiling
3) Which of these is not a recent update to our facilities?
a) Wireless internet throughout the buildings
b) Handicap restrooms in the Dome
c) Computerized heating and cooling system
d) A tunnel from the Marketing office to the donut department at the new Wegman’s
Ready for the answers? Here we go:
1) Flying men are at the NWA Upstate wrestling show this Saturday. Shoe-less dancers will be at the Meals-On-Wheels 50th anniversary sock hop, also Saturday. Sunday brings the Vintage Toy and Collectibles Show. So, despite rumors to the contrary, there will be no hippo in ballerina shoes any time soon. The correct answer is D.
2) See young women throwing each other through the air at the Empire State Spirit Nationals cheer leading competition Next Saturday and Sunday. Fireworks are coming to the Town of Henrietta New Year’s Eve celebration. People will be coming for Flu Shots on November 19th. So the correct answer is again D, though Mean Al has been known to smirk, his smile is still unverified.
3) Thanks to our ongoing renovations we now have WiFi in the Dome, Welcome court and Minett, newly renovated restrooms in the Dome, and an automated HVAC system. However, despite the best efforts of Tom, Chris, and Al, no tunnels were included in the construction! Once again the correct answer is D.
How did you score on our quiz? If you got all three right you win a free pass to all events at the Fexpo that do not charge admission. Other wise please stop at Mean Al’s Cafe to pay for your free tickets!!
Stay well until we meet again.
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09.25.08
Posted in Events at 6:40 pm by Administrator
this weekend is WeePeats and Wrestling and I was thinking it would be hard to have two more diverse groups at one time at the Fexpo Center. Then I remembered last winter when we had the gun show and the rabbit show both going on at the same time. you should have seen some of the eyes of the gun show people light up when they heard there was a rabbit show in the other building. For a while I thought it was going to be Haussenpfeffer (spelling?) for everyone! So I was wrong, WeePeats and Wrestling are not the
diverse groups we have had here.
The WeePeats show amazes me because of the amount of goods and people that come through here in a short period of time, and almost all done with volunteers. Last spring they had a line down the side of Minett Hall and over to the horse arena with people waiting to get in to the show. And wait they did, some people more than an hour! I don’t think I could wait that long to get into any event unless I was camping out and using “liquid stimulation” to keep warm and awake. I guess the deals on the children’s clothing, games, toys, and furniture must make it worth the wait.
The wrestling (NWA Upstate NY) amazes me for a different reason. The fans get into the show more than any other group at the Fexpo save for maybe the WBEE concerts, and the wrestling fans do not consume nearly the amount of alcohol that the country music fans do. To see the bodies flying around the ring and the fans yelling, screaming, and cheering it is easy to understand how people can get worked up and carried away with their favorite wrestlers.
All of this talk of kids and wrestlers is making me hungry. (Big surprise as basically anything like being awake or sleeping makes me hungry!) It is time for a great big bowl of Mean Al’s Homemade Chili, it is after all, tasty, spicy, and “knee deep to an armadillo!”
Until next time be safe and remember you can run, but you can’t hide!
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09.03.08
Posted in Events at 6:52 pm by Administrator
It’s that time of year again. Children are back to school, the night air has a wee bit of chill to it, the leaves are just starting to show some color, and the Fair and Expo Center is starting to get busy again. We start off slow this weekend with the Rochester Pigeon Fanciers Show. this is one of those shows that doesn’t generate a ton of outside interest, but is very noticable in the “pigeon community.” Before my first time with this show. I never knew there were so many different kinds of pigeons. I just thought there were the pigeons you see on the street that some people feed and others might try to eat. Was I wrong! there are more varieties than you can shake a stick at (and who hasn’t wanted to do that after a pigeon has dropped a little “gift” on your shoulder!).
There are pigeons that fly, pigeons that walk, and even pigeons that roll. There are many different colors of pigeons that fly in variety of different ways. I don’t know or understand the judging process, and that doesn’t hold my attention for long, but it is fun to speak with some of the pigeoneers to learn and see some new stuff.
Next weekend gets busier with the used and antique book fair and the ever famous WORLD’S GREATEST GARAGE SALE. check back soon for more information on these events and if you want to clear out some of the stuff around your house, we still have about 5 or 10 booths left at the garage sale!
Until next time remember the Fexpo Center is “Your place for events and banquets.’
Go Packers!!!
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08.21.08
Posted in Events, Uncategorized at 5:40 pm by Administrator
It is another beautiful day at the Fexpo and I can’t help but wish I was outside in the sun shine instead of in my tiny windowless cubicle. However, “the show must go on” and we have a meeting this afternoon with a young engaged couple. Looks like all of Tom’s work with the Wedding planner might be finally paying off.
As I prepare for this meeting I can’t help but look back 5 years to my own nuptuals. I had never been more excited in my life. It was a beautiful August day, the PGA tour was in town and all was right with the world for a couple of hours. Watching my bride walk down the aisle with her father, I had never felt such a rush of excitement, joy, love, or anticipation. Nothing else even comes close. I do reminiss, but I just can’t help it this time of year.
Back to the future, 2009 and beyond. Putting together a package for this couple’s wedding is fun and hopefully it leads to many more of the same. It is great to be part of their day and add, in some small way, to the event. I have to remember to tell the bride-to-be to bring a pair of slippers to change into. It kept my wife’s feet feeling great and it only made her an inch or so shorter! She had a great time showing her slippers off to the other people on the dance floor.
Until next time, stay young and in love!!
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