So Sunday, you’re hanging out, no football on TV yet, so go to the Opportunities Unlimited Golf Raffle and take a shot at winning a trip to California! Lots of other prizes can be had if you miss the big one, but the key is, it is a great afternoon to support a great organization, eat some real food and down a few cold ones. Head to the Sanborn Fire Hall on Buffalo road in Sanborn. Just look for the people with bright striped clothing on and white baseball caps walking into a building where fire trucks are parked!
Your Neighbors
Find your neighbors and community members right here on NiagaraHub. Who is who? Hey, I know you, don't I? Who is that person I always see? Not only will be we featuring stories and updates about the people in your neighborhood, but also our video section complete with random interviews of people who are lurking in the streets right in your backyard! Contact us if you want to introduce yourself to the NiagaraHub community, or maybe we'll bump into somewhere out on the town...
Opportunities Unlimited Golf Raffle – Sunday April 29.
April 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Falls band Whiskey Reverb needs your vote
April 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It’s T-minus two days and counting for Hard Rock Cafe’s latest winner of a battle of the bands to win recognition on the national stage.
All we have to do is spread the word and vote. Please go to the attached link, cast a vote for WHISKEY REVERB and then spread it out through your facebook, twitter, or what ever other network you are part of.
Let’s get Niagara Falls’ name out there in recognition of great music, lots of fun and a bunch of people who care for each other. Maybe we can get these guys to play in the parking lot in the snow on Monday, or if you have a better idea to help them get some publicity, send it on as a comment to this article. Good luck guys!!
Here’s a recent video from an appearance at The Bakery, and look below for a link to vote, followed by the press release from Hard Rock, and don’t forget to share it to all your peeps or tweets or whatever.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRXGZ5otfdQ]
Vote by hitting this link:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/hardrockcafeniagarafallsusa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Eileen Fox
Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls – USA Sales & Marketing Manager 716-282-0007
Meredith DeSanti Amanda Early Coyne PR +1-973-588-2000
WHISKEY REVERB WINS LOCAL ROUND OF HARD ROCK RISING
Hard Rock’s Global Battle of the Bands Competition Gives Niagara Fall’s Own Whiskey Reverb the Chance to Take the Stage at Hard Rock Calling 2012
NIAGARA FALLS, New York, March 27, 2012 – 12,000+ bands entered worldwide. More than 275,000 votes were cast. 841 bands competed. And now, the results are in and Niagara Fall’s own Whiskey Reverb has won the local round of Hard Rock Rising – the global battle of the bands! After battling it out with several of the area’s top bands at Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls-USA, Whiskey Reverb is one step closer to winning the chance of a lifetime – a spot on the bill at the 2012 Hard Rock Calling music festival in London’s Hyde Park, featuring headlining performances by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Paul Simon and more to be announced! Now, it’s up to you Niagara Falls to show your support and help these emerging artists live out their dreams!
Whiskey Reverb will now be pitted against 85 other Hard Rock Cafe local winners from across the globe. These local winners will be narrowed down to the top ten bands worldwide via fan voting on Hard Rock Facebook pages. Beginning April 9, 2012 at 10am EST, fans can vote and download free tracks from bands of their choice at Hard Rock Niagara Fall’s Facebook page. Once the global voting is complete and the top 10 are chosen, a panel of celebrity judges and music industry professionals, including Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band, John Gourley, singer of Portugal. The Man, Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit, Fyfe Dangerfield of Guillemots, Live Nation Vice President of Promotions Toby Leighton-Pope and Hard Rock International Chief Marketing Officer John Galloway, will select the top three winners.
The first place winner will be flown to London for the ultimate rock star treatment, including a spot on the bill at Hard Rock Calling 2012. Second and third prize winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500, respectively, in ReverbNation PROMOTE IT credits, a revolutionary tool that creates targeted, highly effective Facebook advertising campaigns for musicians and venues promoting songs, Facebook pages and concerts. For full rules and a list of participating locations visit http://www.hardrock.com.
Visit http://www.Facebook.com/hardrock.niagarafalls to vote or http://www.hardrock.com for additional details.
About Hard Rock Calling
Hard Rock Calling, an iconic festival now in its seventh consecutive year, has established itself as one of the UK’s premier outdoor music events. The 2012 festival will take place from Friday, July 13 to Sunday, July 15 in London’s Hyde Park. Headliners for the festival will include Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, who will take the Main Stage on Saturday, July 14 for their second Hard Rock Calling performance, followed by Paul Simon on Sunday, July 15. Hard Rock Calling 2012’s performers will join a long line of rock ‘n’ roll greats who have previously taken the stage at this iconic festival including: Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Pearl Jam, Peter Gabriel, The Killers, The Police, Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi. Hard Rock Calling, produced by Live Nation and presented by Hard Rock International, is a unique and historic musical event with a main stage, second stage, renowned bands, on-site Hard Rock Cafe, as well as a variety of additional attractions. For further information on the 2012 artist lineup and ticket details, visit http://www.hardrockcalling.co.uk.
-more-About ReverbNation
ReverbNation provides over 1.8 million artists, managers, labels, venues, festivals/events and other music industry professionals with powerful, easy-to-use technology to promote and prosper online. Their array of distribution and promotional solutions provide the hands-on tools and actionable insights that allow them to reach their goals in an increasingly complex music industry. The company operates worldwide with customers on every continent. Over 30 million visitors come to reverbnation.com every month. For more information, visit ReverbNation.com and follow ReverbNation on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/reverbnation.
About Hard Rock International
With a total of 173 venues in 53 countries, including 138 cafes and 15 Hotels/Casinos, Hard Rock International is one of the world’s most globally recognized brands. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world’s greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. In addition to the two flagship Seminole Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., Hard Rock Hotels/Casinos are located in Las Vegas, Biloxi, Orlando, Chicago, San Diego, Pattaya, Bali, Macau, Penang, Singapore and Punta Cana. Additional hotel and casino projects have been announced including Panama Megapolis, scheduled to open in 2012; Cancun and Vallarta scheduled to open in 2012; and Riviera Maya, Hungary, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, scheduled to open in 2013. Hard Rock International is owned by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. For further details on Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, visit http://www.hardrockhotels.com. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit http://www.hardrock.com.
LaSalle resident finds 1950 class ring in backyard; does it belong to you or someone you know?
April 19, 2012 by 12 Comments
While rototilling his backyard lawn (622 79th Street) in preparation for the upcoming summer season, Niagara Falls resident Brian Lee caught a glimpse of gold while maneuvering the machine through the soil.
This die hard full-of-LaSalle-pride former LaSalle student was floored when upon further inspection, he realized what he found was a small treasure of local LaSalle history – a men’s class ring from 1950 bearing the LaSalle insignia:
Brian Lee is asking the viewership of NiagaraHub for assistance in finding the original owner – the ring is a Jolsten 10k with the initials engraved inside (middle initial D, last initial M… you tell us the first initial for security’s sake). Anyone have any idea who this ring might belong to?
Hopefully, someone steps forward and matches all information and can reclaim their lost piece of nostalgia! We will follow up this story and hopefully reunite former student with the long lost ring – please email theniagarahub@gmail.com – stay tuned!
. . .
Hub’s Stoianoff receives ‘Emerging Leader’ Award
April 18, 2012 by 6 Comments
Niagara Hub’s own Chris “Stenz” Stoianoff has been chosen by the Niagara Falls Education Foundation as the recipient of its “Emerging Leader Alumni award.”
Foundation President, Vincent “Jimmy” Cancemi explains that this award is new this year and that Chris was chosen for the beneficial things he is doing in the community. “We hope this will give more young people the incentive to work positively to get things accomplished. I’m tired of all the negative,” Cancemi said.
A dinner on May 11 at Antonio’s Banquet and Conference center, 7708 Niagara Falls Boulevard will honor Chris and other recipients of awards to be delivered by the Niagara Falls Education Foundation.
Stoianoff grew up in Niagara Falls and attended Lasalle High School. He worked at Teletech as a customer support advisor and later became the computer technology instructor at Stella Niagara Education Park in Lewiston. Pursuing his passion for technology and communications, Chris started a website called StenzTV.com to highlight activities in, and capture the color of Niagara Falls, NY. StenzTV became an internet hit, and found itself serving as a nostalgic respite for locals. It provides the comfort of home to ex-residents who left the area in search of the Holy Grail, better Karma, an unemployment line in a different city, or fame and fortune somewhere else.
Chris is a fixture at the Niagara Falls Public Library digging through pictures of days gone by and researching historic events in newspapers and periodicals.
Library Executive Director, Michele Petrazzoulo describes him as passionate. “I have been working closely with Christopher on various projects since my becoming Executive Director of the Library in 2010. His advocacy of the Niagara Falls Public Library is demonstrated by his active role as Friends of Local History President. He utilizes the Local History Department on a weekly basis, is familiar with library operations, my vision for the future, the challenges we face, as well as the vital role it plays in the future of our community. He has an internal drive to assist the organization moving forward. He is business minded, self motivated, innovative, creative, and sincerely passionate about the city of Niagara Falls. He is very well respected and well recognized in our community. I look forward to working with him on many projects in the years to come.” (Good thing I asked for a just few words.)
Chris’s proactive approach to preserving Niagara Falls’ history led him to City Hall’s appointment of him as the City Historian. In talking with Chris, one learns he responds with more enthusiasm when asked “What’s old?” as opposed to, “What’s new?” As a co-founder of Niagara Hub, Chris manages the technical operations of the web based information source that is sweeping the nation. (Boy it’s fun to be able to just write what you want and publish it!)
He is constantly reviewing new ways to display, record, and produce the news, videos, and podcasts that change on a daily basis. As a contributing writer, he often surprises the readership with a new twist on an old story, or a totally off the wall video clip or observation.
At home, the thirty- something Stoianoff enjoys playing “grandpa” to his girlfriend Barb Nichols’ grand daughter, Raegan, when she visits. “I just love to be around when she’s there,” said Mr. Softee himself, “she gives me these big, ‘I missed you’ hugs, and I love it!” Awwwww.
Chris is a great partner and an even better friend. Tim and I are fortunate to be with him at Niagara Hub, and I’m sure you will realize that the community is lucky to have him around as well. So stop by the Hub and congratulate Chris on a well deserved recognition. Though we need more of him around here, we promise we won’t send him out for cloning.
New slogan chosen for Niagara Falls Public Library
April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Niagara Falls Public Library is kicking off National Library Week with a new slogan, chosen from entries in a contest that ran during the month of March and was open to all resident library cardholders. Entrants were asked to develop a phrase of ten words or less that captured all that the library offers to the community. A panel of six judges, consisting of representatives from library staff, the Library Board of Trustees, the Friends of the Library and community members, was tasked with selecting a slogan from nearly two hundred entries. The winning slogan, “Satisfy your natural wonder at the Niagara Falls Public Library!” was created by Niagara Falls resident Pamela Cassidy. The Friends of the Library donated a Kindle Fire as the grand prize for the contest, which Cassidy accepted with great excitement when notified by library officials that she was the winner.
When asked how she devised her slogan, the mother of three replied that she was inspired by the wonder of the library, books, and reading and also the fact that the Niagara Falls library is located in a place of natural wonder that is truly unique. As a transplant from the Poughkeepsie area, she notes that one of the first things her family did after moving to the Falls was to come to the library to sign up for cards. She was immediately impressed by the children’s room at the library – so much so that she took photographs of it to send back to her old library friends in Poughkeepsie. She and her family also enjoy visits to the local history department on the third floor of Earl Brydges Library. As a mother who home schools her children, Cassidy visits the library at least once or twice a week – and up to three times a week in the summer. She loves that the library offers wonderful programs for her children and loves the friendly, helpful and personal service that the staff at the library provide to her.
From left – Hannah, Charis, Pamela, James and James Cassidy
Congratulations Pamela and thank you to all who participated in our contest!
Michelle Petrazzoulo
Executive Director
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Michele Deluca from the Niagara Gazette visits the NiagaraHub
April 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
[Click article to enlarge]
A big thank you to Michele Deluca for taking the time to stop in and see what the NiagaraHub is all about. Looking forward to many more community collaborations! Have a news scoop or story you want to share? Submit it to the NiagaraHub: theniagarahub@gmail.com
Soapbox with Craig Avery (April 5, 2012): Vernon James, ‘America’s Got Talent’
April 5, 2012 by 1 Comment
Our first and favorite neighborhood interview, Vernon James stopped by The Hub for an update. Hear about Vernon’s second audition with “America’s Got Talent!”
Tired of the naysayers? Check out “The Soapbox” where everyday we present a new friend of the Hub making a living here in Western New York, and can speak positively about the experience. Learn about businesses that have been here for decades, or hear about new ventures from our area’s entrepreneurs. Upcoming events, political issues, and funny stories of days gone by, you’ll hear it all on Niagara Hub’s Soapbox.
Click play to listen!
Don’t see the player above on your device (iPad or iPhone)? Click here to hear the Soapbox!
A new episode posts every weekday at 2 p.m.!
Announcement: Beautify Niagara Day April 21, 2012
April 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Niagara Beautification Commission’s “Beautify Niagara” will be held April 21, from 8AM – 11AM. For those of you that aren’t familiar with it, “Beautify Niagara” is a 3-hour long effort organized by the Niagara Beautification Commission to clean up the City of Niagara Falls after our long winter and to prepare for the upcoming tourist season. Picking up litter, raking, sweeping, planting and painting are just a few ways to “beautify.”
The kick-off will be at the Seneca Niagara Casino at 8am (4th Street side, under the arch) where volunteers will meet for a breakfast snack to pick up bags and gloves and mix and mingle until it is time to head “off to work” for the morning in their target area.
We are looking for volunteers from your property to help cleanup around your property or another target area. Feel free to also bring along friends, family and children!
Your participation is greatly appreciated and a great way to kick-off the season!
To sign up:
PLEASE CALL ReNU Niagara (Niagara University) at 716-205-0287
NiagaraHub 