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Fresh mountain air eases through the windows, ushering in the kind of calm that makes for a perfect nap. But I only close my eyes for five minutes before a beckoning in the distance shatters my peace. The shouting gets closer: “AUNTIE TAY!” I giggle as my five-year-old niece, Mae Mae, sprints toward my bedroom, repeating my name the whole…
1.01.2026
If you’ve spent a winter in Rochester, you know the struggle. The gray skies linger, the wind bites, and sunlight becomes a rumor. By February, even the hardiest locals start daydreaming about someplace warm, vibrant, and lively. Luckily, such a destination now exists right in the city—and you don’t even have to pack any bags. Easy Sailor, a tiki-inspired bar…
1.01.2026
(585) photographers Michael Hanlon, Renée Veniskey, and Tomas Flint Who doesn’t love a good stiff drink on a snowy January evening? The photographers at (585) sure do. Each was asked to pick his or her favorite cocktail in the Rochester area—their go-to, ride or die. . . their hygge drink of choice. Of course, it’s hard to pick just one…
1.01.2026
Trudging through the snow during a Western New York winter is better when your destination is fireside. An old-fashioned bonfire can feed your soul when you’re longing for sunshine and warmer weather, and outdoor relaxation can help break up the monotonous feeling of cold, dark, and wet days as exposure to daylight and sunshine is reduced mid-winter in the (585).…
1.01.2026
There’s a raw honesty to a farm-to-table restaurant in January.  For nearly two decades, chef Art Rogers has transformed the bounty of our region into something extraordinary. His restaurant Lento, tucked in the Village Gate Square, has become the unofficial embassy of the Finger Lakes agricultural scene. The menu reads like a roll call of farming’s local celebrities—duck from the…
1.01.2026
Dr. Keisha N. Blain is an acclaimed historian, Brown University professor, and best-selling author. Her new book, Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights, tells the stories of Black women who were at the forefront of movements for social change, including several whose place in history is being unveiled for the very first time. Fannie Barrier Williams,…
1.01.2026
My husband, Mike, and I moved into the historic DeLand House in the village of Fairport in October 2018. The home we left behind, a perfectly nice 1970s colonial in Perinton, had all the basics most people look for: central air, reliable electricity, and decent plumbing. Our “new” house, built in 1856, greeted us with quite the opposite: knob-and-tube wiring…
1.01.2026
Volcanic soil is rich in minerals that can nurture plants. For one innovative and dedicated husband-and-wife team, that fertile soil can also be turned into handmade pigments, and those pigments can be turned into stunning works of art. Hayley Dayis and Alexander Fals of Foraged Pigment Art occupy a unique place in the contemporary art scene. The couple splits their…
1.01.2026
Lift Bridge Yarns is more than just a yarn store. It is a hub for the fiber arts community to gather, a rare third space where people come to connect, converse, and create. Lift Bridge began just four months before the pandemic hit, founded by two friends, Dawn Verdugo and Jessie McNaughton. The store sits along the Erie Canal in…
1.01.2026
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Retro renaissance

The words “themed hotel room” used to evoke images of afternoon affairs, bulletproof glass lobbies, and coin-operated beds. But as you may have seen on your Instagram feed, this has all changed with the emergence of vacation rentals. Themed rooms, with their heart-shaped tubs and fantasy suites (jungle rooms! ice caves!) are back in vogue. …

Revenge, redemption, and grief

Minerva Gutiérrez doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Yet every day she encounters them at the ice cream stand she works at. The customers, the coworkers, and, most of all, her boss are all constant reminders of how much she wants to leave her down-and- out town of Nautilus and begin a new life. But she is …

Immerse yourself in culture

Curls of shaved wood litter the ground, and the air is rich with the scent of steamed lumber. Evan Cree leans over a piece of ash, carefully bending and shaping it until it takes the shape he is aiming for. What started as a rough piece of wood has been transformed into a traditional lacrosse …

Book bound

Stories can embody many forms. There are those we pass down, the ones we know by heart, and those we identify through the specificity of time or place. Some we learn by ear, and others we encounter pressed between the pages of a book. For fifty years the Lift Bridge Book Shop has been all …

Pride beyond the floats

In May of 1971—more than fifty years ago—the Rochester Gay Liberation Front organized its first official gay pride event, a well-attended (300 guests) picnic in Genesee Valley Park. In the decades since, Rochester’s LGBTQIA+ pride events have grown in breadth and depth with the annual Pride Parade becoming a prominent focal point. Most cities celebrate …

Believe in WALLTHERAPY

In the beginning, it was Ian Wilson and an idea. For him it was simple, he wanted to bring the types of murals he had seen in other world-class cities to Rochester, with the intention of using that art to engage and transform the community. So, as (585) reported in 2013, he tapped into his …

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