By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 20 October 2014 at 10:01 am
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – Firefighters were dispatched at about 8:30 this morning to a fire at the grain facility at Lynn-Ette and Sons Farms, 1512 Kent Rd.
The fire was quickly put out in the central tower of the grain drying and storage facility for the farm. This is the second fire in less than a week at the site. The other one was on Thursday morning.
Darren Roberts, co-owner of the farm, said the central tower would be emptied of corn today while a crew investigates what is causing the problem.
Roberts said the farm is using more propane this season to dry corn. The wet fields has delayed harvesting by about a month. Roberts said the corn has been wet, requiring more heat to dry.
Carlton and Kendall firefighters were on the scene this morning.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 19 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – A field of pumpkins along East Countyhouse Road in Albion awaits to be harvested.
Looks like lot of rain in the forecast this week. The National Weather Service in Buffalo forecasts a high of 56 on Monday with showers likely, followed by a high of 55 on Tuesday with a 90 percent chance of rain. On Wednesday, it is forecast for a high of 52 degrees with a chance of rain.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 October 2014 at 12:00 am
‘This is a lifetime dream for me.’ – Taras Salamaca
Photos by Tom Rivers – Taras Salamaca, left, and his brother Alex today opened Salamaca Estate Winery at the corner of Hindsburg Road and Route 104 in the Town of Murray. The winery and its tasting room are located in a barn from 1898.
MURRAY – When they were kids, Taras Salamaca and his brother Alex remember their father Illa making wine.
Taras, in particular, enjoyed helping his father ferment the home wines. Taras, now 50, has worked with his brothers at the Murray Superette on Ridge Road and a number of other jobs. But winemaking has always been a passion.
Today, Taras achieved a goal. He and Alex opened their own winery near the corner of Hindsburg Road and Route 104. Salamaca Estate Winery is debuting with four different wines, with two more to soon be released (once the labels are approved). Two more could then follow by New Year’s.
Taras Salamaca is pictured in the vineyard by De Chaunac grapes.
“This is a long-time dream of mine,” Taras Salamaca said this afternoon at the winery, 2660 Hindsburg Rd.
The brothers have been working on the project for five years. Taras worked with Jonathan Oakes, the winemaker at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery. Taras learned the art of wine-making and also studied with the Oakes family in growing grapes. Taras has 15 varieties growing next to the winery.
His brother Alex will manage the wine sales, the tasting room and the retail side of the business. They worked together remodeling a barn from 1898. They have kept original wooden beams, built wine racks from the old wood, and kept an original door and hardware from a horse stable inside the barn.
Alex Salamaca is pictured next to wine racks with the tasting area behind him.
“There are a lot of commercial wineries out there,” Taras said. “We wanted it to be rustic.”
Even in the vineyard, Taras picked wooden posts over metal ones to give the farmland an old-time look.
The brothers believe the winery will be a draw from Rochester, especially with the Niagara Wine Trail being extended last year from Niagara County through Orleans and to Route 390 in Rochester. Salamaca was approved by the Niagara Wine Trail for inclusion on the trail and should benefit from the group’s marketing efforts, especially into the Rochester market.
“We’re in an excellent location,” Alex said. “We will try to draw the crowd from Rochester.”
The winery has a rustic look and includes lots of repurposed wood. The horse stall was reused as a wine containment area.
The brothers also want to honor their heritage. They are sons of Ukranian immigrants. Their father Illa and mother Sophia left the Ukraine and settled in Rochester. They operated a small grocery store in Rochester before moving to Murray in the 1970s. They preferred life out in the country. They purchased the barn that is now the winery about 40 years ago.
Two of their sons – Oleh and Myron – own and operate the Murray Superette.
The logo for Salamaca Estate Winery is similar to the trident symbol for the Ukraine.
The Salamacas expect to have a bigger grand opening in the spring. For more information, visit the winery’s website at salamacaestatewinery.com.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 16 October 2014 at 12:00 am
File photo – Rachel Gregoire is shown competing at the Orleans County 4-H Fair in this photo from July with an Australian cattle dog.
HOLLEY – An Orleans County 4-H’er has placed eighth in the country in the National Junior Horticultural Association contest. Rachel Gregoire, 14, of Holley also was part of a team from New York that beat all the other state teams.
Gregoire can identify numerous plants from flowers to woody ornamentals to fruits and vegetables. The national test included 100 samples to identify. Participants were also quizzed in a written exam.
Rachel travelled to Lexington, Kentucky, for the competition, leaving last Thursday and returning home on Tuesday. She competed against more than 50 people in the individual competition.
“There’s not a lot of kids that do it,” Rachel said about the horticultural study. “It’s not like Facebook.”
She said she enjoys learning about plants, and is able to pinpoint them based on their characteristics.
“It’s really useful,” Rachel said about the ability to identify plants. “It’s like detective work. There are so many. It’s been a great learning experience.”
Rachel is primarily coached by her mother, Kellie. They connected with several horticultural enthusiasts from St. Lawrence County while in Lexington.
Rachel is also a member of the Rabbit Raisers 4-H Club. She is a sophomore at the Cornerstone Christian Academy in Brockport.
She can compete in the national events until she is 21. Next year’s event will be in Orlando, Fla. It shifts closer to home in 2016 when it will be at Erie, Pa.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 10 October 2014 at 12:00 am
ALBION – A state grant will pay for advanced soil testing at 25 farms in Orleans County, a project intended to help farmers boost yields and better utilize fertilizer and resources for soil health.
Orleans County Soil and Water Conservation District received a $20,674 grant from the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. It will contract with BCA Ag Technologies to do the samples and take them to Cornell for testing.
Dennis Kirby, the Soil and Water district manager, would like to do the soil sampling in the spring. He welcomes interested farmers to call Soil and Water at 585-589-5959 to inquire about participating in the project.
Kirby would like to have a cross-section of farms of different sizes and crop types across the county.
The samples will provide a baseline for soil health. The goal is to improve soil health so farmers can maximize their yields while maintaining optimum soil health and reducing the impact of farming practices on the environment.
The soil tests will an expansion of the typical soil tests done at farms, Kirby said. The Cornell Soil Health test emphasizes the integration of biological and physical measurements along with the chemical measurements done in the existing test.
Soil and Water will look at water holding capacity, organic matter content and soil microbial activity. The report card on the soil will point to the best soil management practices.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 7 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Photo by Tom Rivers
ALBION – The Albion FFA is partnering with a local farm, Panek’s Pumpkin Pile, to sell pink pumpkins for the first time. The FFA planted the pumpkins last spring at the district’s land lab. The pumpkins are for sale at $8 each with $5 going to the American Cancer Society.
Kerry Panek, owner of the Pumpkin Pile, is pictured with FFA President Sara Millspaugh, center, and FFA member Logan London at Panek’s, 13420 West County House Rd.
Panek’s will be selling the pink pumpkins. The FFA also will have them for sale on Wednesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at ag shop by the high school.
Proceeds from the sale will be presented to the Cancer Society during the Oct. 26 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Watt Farms.
The FFA grew the pumpkins with a specialty seed. They are also selling giant pumpkins 80 pounds and heavier, apple cider and mums.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 October 2014 at 12:00 am
District uses $25K grant to build barn, pasture
Photos by Tom Rivers
MEDINA – If you drive down Mustang Drive to Medina High School, you may do a double-take. New this school year is a small barn and fenced-in pasture. There are llamas, sheep, a goat and a calf out munching on grass.
Students in boots are doing farm chores, hauling feed and water.
Welcome to the district’s agriculture program, which is taking students out of the classroom for more direct hands-on learning.
Justice Snook, a student in Medina’s introduction to agriculture course, pets a goat in the district’s new farm, which will enhance Medina’s agriculture program.
Monsanto approved a $25,000 grant for Medina to bolster its agriculture program. The grant paid for a small barn, a fence around the 1-acre pasture, security cameras, and a hydroponic system that will produce about 80 pounds of a feed a day.
“It’s fun to come out here and learn about it,” said Justice Snook, a freshman.
One class of students is pictured near the pasture and a new barn. The grain bins in back have been there for several decades.
In previous years, the 100 students in the agriculture classes were confined to the classroom, listening to PowerPoint presentations by teacher Todd Eick. Rather than showing the students pictures of different types of feed, the students can feel the different textures and feed the animals themselves.
This year students in Intro to Ag, Vet Science, Agriculture Engineering and Technology, and Environmental Applications will all have experience getting outside and working with the animals.
Todd Eick, FFA advisor and agriculture teacher, talks with students while inside the new barn. Chickens and rabbits are also planned for the building.
“We’ll have about 100 kids daily interacting with the animals,” said Todd Eick, the agriculture teacher and FFA advisor.
He stressed with students on Thursday the farm is highly visible to the community and will need to be kept clean, as a showcase for education.
“This is a living laboratory for us,” he said.
Chantelle Kidney, left, and Alexis Maines show the different pelletized feed for the animals. Students will learn how animals have different nutrition needs for protein, fiber, calcium and phosphorus.
The animals will be used for either their fiber – llamas and sheep – or for meat – goats, chickens and rabbits. The calf may join a dairy herd at another farm when it gets bigger.
Eick tends to the animals on the weekends and over the summer, with help from some FFA members. The FFA program has grown to 130 in the high school and another 95 in the junior FFA program.
The agriculture program also has apple trees in a partnership with local grower Jeff Smith. Eick also is working with the FFA to develop two community gardens on district property.
“Even if these kids don’t become farmers, one of my goals is for them to become more self-sufficient, to show them how much you can do on 1-acre,” Eick said.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 1 October 2014 at 12:00 am
Watt Farms hosts several schools each fall
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Chris Watt, owner of Watt Farms in Albion, gives kindergarteners tips on how to pick an apple during a visit to an orchard today. The students are from Cayuga Heights Elementary School in Depew.
Watt Farms hosts about 15 school visits each fall with most from Erie County. Watt said the farm used to do about 30 tours with schools, but many of the schools scaled back on field trips.
The school from Depew has been coming to Watt’s for many years. Tara McCormick, one of the teachers, said the farm is very accommodating to students and their parents. The students rode out to the orchard in a train, which is actually a tractor trailer resembling a locomotive.
“We’ve been talking about apples in the classroom,” said teacher Nicole Valint. “Here they see you actually have to grow them. They don’t just come from the grocery store.”
One of the classes is pictured by the train. About 60 students from Cayuga Heights rode the train out to the orchard.
Each student picked four apples. Mary Krawczyk, center, walks in the orchard with her daughter MacKenzie, right, and Alivia, one of the kindergarteners.
Besides picking apples and riding the train, the students learned about the importance of bees and pollination from Karen Watt. Another station at the farm showed students how to make apple cider.
Contributed Story Posted 29 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Provided photos
ALBION – Albion FFA students and about 150 fourth-graders ventured out to the Land Lab on district property today to harvest squash. Last spring, FFA members and all of the then third-graders planted a squash seed in the Land Lab with the goal to harvest the squash the following school year when they were in fourth grade.
Anni Skowneski, case manager for Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, talks with students about how some of the produce will go to a food pantry for needy families in the community. Some of the students will go to the food pantry to help distribute the produce.
“This gives the kids a chance to give back to the community and show them that even though we only planted a seed and harvested the crop that it can make all the difference in someone’s life who doesn’t have much,” said Sara Millspaugh, FFA president. “This was a great experience for the students to take part in. This is something that they will always remember.”
Adam Krenning, FFA advisor and agricultural teacher, talks with students about growing food.
Photo by Sue Cook – Simon poses for the camera at Stoney Meadows Alpacas.
By Sue Cook, staff reporter
Two Orleans County alpaca farms are holding open houses this weekend to celebrate National Alpaca Farm Days. It is an opportunity for the public to see the animals up close and learn from their farmers.
Tacha Gennarino and her husband John own Genna-rations Farm in Kendall. Tacha has been happily educating people about the alpacas and encouraging questions to help people understand what happens at their farm.
“We want people to come in and educate them on why we raise alpacas, about the fiber industry in America and how to take care of them. We let the kids feed them and pet them,” said Gennarino.
The Gennarinos began their farm in 2003 with three animals. They moved to Kendall after needing more space. They use their pack for fiber and breeding purposes.
Photo by Sue Cook
The female alpacas at Genna-rations Farm enjoy some lunch together.
Genna-rations teamed up with three other farms, including one from Monroe County, one from Genesee as well as Stoney Meadows Alpacas in Holley. They have created a mini fiber-education trail.
“The trail we have today, people can go to four different farms and see the different operations,” Gennarino said. “Here, we’re teaching people about the processing of fiber. We teach what we do once the animal has grown it all year long from shearing right into when it’s made into a product that can be used by fiber artists and textile mills.”
Gennarino also explained to people how alpacas and llamas are different animals. The most obvious difference is the size with llamas running much larger. Llamas can average 400 pounds, while alpacas can be about 150 pounds. Llamas can be almost 6 feet tall and alpacas are about 4 feet. Llamas also have an underlayer to their fiber.
Gennarino submits her fiber to the Northeast Alpaca Fiber Pool. It gets graded for quality, then farms can purchase items made in the United States out of the submitted fiber. This year Tacha is beginning to make items at the farm herself to add to her store. She has made boot cuffs, scarves, fingerless gloves and is starting on teddy bears.
Photo by Sue Cook
Genna-rations farms sells items made from alpaca fibers that demonstrate how versatile it is.
“Alpacas come in 22 different colors and their fiber is water repellant and flame retardant naturally,” she said, explaining how the material is great for both practical and fashionable clothing, especially in wet or winter weather.
Theresa Jewell opened Stoney Meadows Alpacas and Fiber Boutique in Holley today to provide a similar education to the public. Her farm does not use the animals for breeding. Instead, Jewell focuses on the art side of raising alpacas and other animals to create fibers. Jewell takes the process from start to finish at her farm from shearing to spinning to making clothing, toys and jewelry. She does send some of her fibers out to mills as well.
When she was pregnant with her daughter almost 16 years ago, Jewell saw a magazine article in a doctor’s office about alpacas during the height of their popularity. Many of the animals cost as much as $20,000, which caused them to be much more of a rich person’s hobby.
“Thank goodness for me the market in alpacas dropped,” she said. “For me it was wonderful because I was able to purchase alpaca for just a couple thousand. It helped me as a blue-collar person. Before only doctors, lawyers, and people with a great deal of money at their disposal could afford it.”
Theresa Jewell demonstrates her spinning wheel for visitors. She is using fiber from her black alpaca Merlin.
Her farm also includes cashmere and angora goats that mingle with the alpacas. She encourages the public to bring their kids because many of the animals want to be petted and are a good size for children to approach them without being afraid. Because she raised many of them from a very young age, even bottle-feeding some, the animals are very friendly and enjoy human attention.
“Today for our open house, we invite the community to come see the animals up close and to get their hands in the fiber and feel it to truly understand why we’re doing this and what it really is to wear and have organic fiber,” Jewell said. “I really pride myself on the art side of fiber and I do consider myself a fiber artist.”
Because of her variety of animals, Jewell creates items that blend several organic types of fibers along with some items that also contain acrylic yarn. She has many cold weather items for sale including winterwear and blankets. She also teaches spinning lessons that people can create on spinning wheels that she has using fiber from the animals on the farm.
Jewell also hand dyes some of the fiber in bright colors.
For the National Alpaca Farm Days, Jewell is demonstrating many of her techniques and skills, while letting the public meet the animals that the materials come from.
“My farm is more of a petting zoo,” she said. “It’s very clean and it’s a different atmosphere than a ranch. They’re not livestock, they’re my pets and I love them. I like my farm to be open and comfortable where kids can walk through and feel comfortable and be able to pet the animals and get a feel of what farming is like.”
Both farms will be open tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. for National Alpaca Farm Days. Genna-rations Farm is located in Kendall at 1536 West Kendall Rd. Stoney Meadows Alpacas is located in Holley at 16038 Glidden Rd.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 25 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Helena Chemical has operated out of village since 2007
Photo by Tom Rivers – Helena Chemical plans to leave this site on Platt Street in Albion for a new complex on Allis Road in Ridgeway. The Orleans County Planning Board supported the project during its meeting today.
RIDGEWAY – Three years ago Helena Chemical made a push to build a new facility serving the agricultural community on Long Bridge Road in Albion.
Helena first set up shop in Orleans County in 2007 on Platt Street in the village of Albion. The company wanted a site out in the country, closer to its many fruit and vegetable farmers.
The company withdrew its plan for Long Bridge Road after some residents voiced concerns about the added truck traffic. The company believes it has found an ideal location for its expansion. On rural Allis Road off Route 31 in the town of Ridgeway, Helena wants to gradually build a complex of six structures.
The company will use the site as a distribution point for chemicals, seeds and other products for the agricultural industry. Helena won’t manufacture any chemicals there. It mostly sells bags of seeds and bottles of chemicals.
“What we do is distribute products,” Mitch Wilber, Helena branch manager, told the Orleans County Planning Board tonight.
The company would only have one neighbor on Allis Road, the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Helena isn’t open on Sunday when the church has services. The church also has some Wednesday evening programs.
The company has been operating out of the densely populated village the past seven years, and there haven’t been any complaints from residents about noise or odors, said Ron Vendetti, the village’s code enforcement officer.
“We’ve never had any issues with them in the village since 2007,” Vendetti told the Planning Board.
The Allis Road property is zoned industrial and includes access to the railroad, which Helena wants to utilize for some shipments. The company plans to put in a railroad siding. It will also extend a 10-inch waterline from Route 31 to the property.
The six buildings would be about 75,000 square feet collectively. The company is planning a 23,000-square-foot processing plant building, a 20,000-square-foot agri-chemical warehouse, a 20,000-square-foot packaging seed warehouse, a 7,140-square-foot liquid fertilizer building, a 3,260-square-foot office building, and a 2,500-square-foot shop building.
The County Planning Board recommended the Town of Ridgeway Planning Board approve the site plan for the project, while urging there be an “adequate buffer” between the Helena property and the church. The town should also make sure the structures can be readily accessed by larger sized emergency vehicles, county planners said.
Helena opened the Albion site as a satellite of the Geneva office. Albion handles the company’s business west of Route 390 in Monroe County.
“The Albion site is kind of constrained,” Wilber told county planners.
Helena sees more potential in serving the farm community with the expansion, he said.
“The company has been pleased with our results in Western New York and would like to do more,” he said.
Staff Reports Posted 17 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Upstate Farms
ALBION – An ad by Upstate Farms features Jody Neal sitting in a pickup truck with his daughter, Kasey. Neal is co-owner of Poverty Hill Farms, a dairy farm on West Countyhouse Road in Albion.
His father, Ed Neal, is on the board of directors for Upstate Niagara Cooperative, the parent company of Upstate Farms, which highlighted the ad of Jody and Kasey Neal yesterday on its Facebook page.
“There are so many reasons to support family farmers like Jody Neal and his daughter, Kasey, of Orleans Poverty Hill Farms in Albion. What’s yours?” Upstate asks on Facebook.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 17 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Packing House – The Chamber’s Agricultural Business of the Year – employs 90 workers in peak season
Photos by Tom Rivers – John Russell, general manager and partner at Lake Ontario Fruit, stands inside a new controlled-atmosphere storage building that was constructed last year. The site holds 200,000 bushels of apples and slows down the ripening process say the fruit can be stored for nearly a year.
SweeTangos head down the packing line. Lake Ontario Fruit packs about 1.1 million bushels of apples each year for the fresh market. The state’s total apple crop tends to be 25 to 30 million bushels each year.
GAINES – Lake Ontario Fruit put up another new building this year, this time a 5,766-square-foot storage warehouse. The company also redid its parking lot, which serves 90 employees and tractor trailers delivering apples or taking them packed in boxes to grocery stores.
Lake Ontario Fruit has invested about $7 million in upgrading its facilities on Ridge Road since 2008. The company has added a second packing line, built a new controlled-atmosphere storage and upgraded other equipment.
When the new packing line went in in 2010, the company was able to add about 30 employees. It keeps 12 to 15 workers year-round with employment peaking at about 90.
Workers fills bags and boxes with SweeTango apples. Lake Ontario Fruit packs all the SweeTangos in New York that are grown west of Rochester.
The company is a partnership of several local fruit growers as well as John Russell, the general manager. The packing, storage and sales facility is well positioned to serve the local fruit growers for years to come, Russell said.
The company is being recognized by the Orleans County Chamber of Commerce as the “Agricultural Business of the Year.” It will be honored on Saturday during an awards dinner at Tillman’s Village Inn.
Shane Lewis, the production manager, checks data on the packing line for SweeTango apples on Tuesday. Lake Ontario Fruit has technology, an internal defect sorter, that checks apples for pressure and other quality issues.
Russell said it is a good time to be in the apple business. Customers are willing to pay a premium for apples such as Honeycrisp, and new varieties coming into the market: SweeTango, SnapDragon, RubyFrost and Zestar, with apple breeders working on others as well.
“Customers want apples with different flavor profiles,” Russell said Tuesday at the complex at 14234 Ridge Rd., located about a mile west of Route 98.
The local fruit growers are swapping out some of their trees, removing less popular varieties with the more popular ones. Lake Ontario Fruit then packs, stores and sells the apples, working with New York Apple Sales, Inc. to market the product.
John Russell is pictured inside the new CA storage. Operators lower the oxygen and raise the carbon dioxide, which acts to put the apples to sleep so they can be stored longer.
Lake Ontario Fruit used to contract with other sites to store some of the apples. But the new CA building from a year ago allows the company to keep all of the apples on one site.
The CA also uses the latest storage technology, allowing Lake Ontario Fruit to lower the oxygen and raise the carbon dioxide levels, which slows the ripening process for apples. That extends the time apples can be in storage and allows the company to put them on the market when the command a higher dollar.
This new 5,766-square-foot storage warehouse was constructed earlier this year and is used to store pallets, cardboard and packing supplies. Lake Ontario Fruit now has enough storage space for fruit and equipment to have everything on site at 14234 Ridge Rd.
Bins of apples are stacked high in this storage room, part of the original packing house in 1982. The room uses foam insulation.
The company has worked to implement the latest technology for food quality and safety. When the apples go through the packing line, they pass an infrared defect sorting system that checks apples for pressure, water core problems and any other problems. If the apple doesn’t meet the standard, it is directed off the line.
Lake Ontario Fruit also has the latest in traceability technology. Every apple gets a sticker and that label has information that can pinpoint which farm grew the apple, what day it was picked and from what lot and block.
A truck of Gala apples from Lamont Fruit Farm in Waterport stopped at Lake Ontario Fruit on Tuesday. John Russell and Teresa Cano, who works in quality control, take samples of the truck load. They also put labels on the bins that note when the apples were picked and from what orchard, block and lot.
“Any progressive produce company is doing this,” Russell said about the traceability technology. “We can trace every apple to the individual orchard it comes from.”
That technology will be critical if there is ever a food recall. It also is helpful for Lake Ontario Fruit and its growers, providing information that recognizes farmers for a good job if certain apples are highlighted for flavor, for example.
Russell said there is room for Lake Ontario Fruit to grow. Many of the growers in recent years have planted new trees that will be bearing full crops in the coming years.
‘There are a lot of young trees in the ground,” Russell said. “There is definitely an opportunity with more fresh fruit coming into the market.”
The Lake Ontario Fruit complex appears in the background while bins of Gala apples are on a truck at the site on Ridge Road.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 4 September 2014 at 12:00 am
Orleans County’s dirt roads
Photos by Tom Rivers
CARLTON – The trucks rumble down Fuller Road, carrying farm products as they wind through the countryside.
Fuller Road is a dirt route between Stillwater and Kendrick roads. It’s located in the heart of the fruit belt in Orleans County.
There are several houses along this road and a mosque, the World Sufi Foundation.
It’s a striking stretch of the rural landscape, with tree branches hanging over the road as it gets close to Kendrick. I’ll try to get back in the fall for some shots of the foliage.
By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 31 August 2014 at 12:00 am
Outrageous feats, costumes at Steampunk Fest
Photos by Tom Rivers MEDINA – Pyromancy Fire Performance Troupe members Fuego Vicki and Potter Dee blow fire in one of the group’s daring pyrotechnic displays on Saturday at the Steampunk Festival at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.
Pyromancy of Buffalo performed before a big crowd. Nearly 1,000 people attended the fourth annual festival.
“It continues to gain steam,” said Jerod Thurber, event coordinator for Leonard Oakes. “It’s a nice laid-back funky festival.”
Jacob Verghese plays the banjo and sings for the band, Pine Fever from Buffalo, at the pavilion at Leonard Oakes.
The five-member band plays American rag-time music. Besides Jacob Verghese, other members include Patrick “Thor” Johnson on upright bass, Andrew Pother on drums, Levi Van Cleve on guitar and Alex Cleve on trumpet.
Many of the festival-goers wore costumes that combined the Victorian era with the future. This group includes, from left: brothers Adam and Mike Florczyk of Hamburg, Chase from Buffalo, and Dave Lelito of Orchard Park.
The vendors sold items related to the Steampunk culture, included Victorian hats, dresses and other clothing.
George Lama of Medina takes a picture of a group of belly dancers from Batavia, the Troupe Nissa. They performed during the Steampunk Festival on Saturday at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery.
Several food trucks attended the festival, and the Steampunk logo was projected onto the cold storage building at Leonard Oakes.
Jonathan Oakes, the wine maker at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, serves up some Steampunk Cider from the tasting room. Oakes dressed up for the festival.
Asha from Pyromancy performs with fire for the crowd.
