10 Things to Do This Winter in the Rochester Area
By Mike Costanza
1. Watch the Curtain Rise
The Rochester area offers multiple venues in which to enjoy theatrical productions by professional and amateur troupes in the coming months. You can head to GEVA Theatre on Rochester’s Woodbury Boulevard to watch the chilling drama The “Woman in Black” or laugh out loud at the romantic comedy “Barefoot in the Park.” Over on East Main Street, Blackfriar’s Theatre will present “The Grown-Ups,” a one-act play that the New York Times has called “part satire, part scary story.” Just a short distance away, the Rochester Broadway Theater League will present the musicals “Monty Python’s Spamalot” and “Wicked” at the West Herr Performing Arts Center. In Brighton, the OFC Creations Theatre Center will present the musical “Hello, Dolly!” The MuCCC Theater on Rochester’s Atlantic Avenue has offered audiences a wide range of theatrical performances since it opened in 2009, including comedies, dramas, Shakespear’s plays and works by Irish and African American playwrights.
For more information, go to:
2. Monroe County Parks
Layer up, don your boots and head to one of Monroe County’s 21 parks for the day. The parks offer miles of well-marked trails for hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing and are full of wildlife. The complete list includes the 82-acre Tryon Park in the City of Rochester and the 2,500-acre Mendon Ponds Park in Mendon. In addition to ponds, woodlands and wetlands, the suburban park also features pickleball courts, sledding in designated areas and the Wild Wings, Inc. Bird of Prey Facility and Nature Center. Wild Wings houses permanently injured raptors who can’t live in the wild and partners with them to teach about environmental stewardship. The center is open year-round every day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., except Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visitors can view the birds all year round for free, but donations are welcome. Just the sight of the center’s eagle is worth the trip.
For information, go to:
3. Tinker Nature Park – Hanson Nature Center
Located south of Rochester in Henrietta, Tinker Nature Park offers 68 wooded acres, a 1.2-mile walking and exercise trail and a half-mile nature trail. After you’re through getting the blood pumping, you can step into the Hanson Nature Center to warm up, check out the wildlife displays and have hot chocolate. When there’s enough snow, the facility offers snowshoes and cross-country skis for rent. The park is ADA compliant.
If local histories are more to your liking, you can schedule a tour of the Tinker Homestead and Farm Museum. Completed in 1830, the cobblestone house was home to the Tinker family for six generations.
Tinker Nature Park is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to dusk and the Hanson Nature Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For information, go to:
www.henrietta.org/community/page/tinker-nature-park
4. The Little Theatre
Since The Little Theatre opened its doors 95 years ago, it has grown to become one of Rochester’s cultural gems. Step through its doors and you can enjoy high-quality, entertaining and thought-provoking American and foreign films in five theaters. Music lovers can also stop in The Little’s café to enjoy a drink or a meal and listen to live jazz, blues, folk tunes and even jug band music.
For information, go to:
5. Contra and English Country Dances
Each week, Country Dancers of Rochester, Inc. sponsors social dancing in the contra and English country styles to live music at sites in Rochester. All dances are taught by callers who instruct the dancers in the steps to use. Newcomers are welcome. Experienced dancers are on hand to help and lessons in the different dance steps are available for beginners who arrive 20 minutes early. You don’t have to bring a partner, but by the time the music stops, you will have danced with multiple partners. Dress comfortably and wear soft-soled, low-heeled shoes.
Contra dances are held on Thursdays at 7 p.m. at the Rose Room, 295 Gregory St., Rochester. English country dances take place on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. during daylight saving time and 2:30 p.m. during Eastern Standard Time at the First Baptist Church of Rochester, 175 Allens Creek Road, Brighton. CDR’s website shows examples of both styles of dancing. The suggested admission is $12 for Contra dances and $10 for English Country dances and all dances are alcohol and smoke-free.
For information, go to:
6. A Day at the Museum(s)
The Strong National Museum of Play offers such features as the National Toy Hall of Fame, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and the Ralph Wilson Skyline Climb just a stone’s throw from downtown. You can observe the exhibits, physically interact with them or join the colorful inhabitants of the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden.
For those interested in the sciences, history and the outdoors, the Rochester Museum and Science Center waits to engage your curiosity. Visitors can investigate the challenges of exploring space through the hands-on displays of the “Astronaut” exhibit, then head to the “Hodinöšyö:nih Continuity, Innovation and Resilience” exhibit to immerse themselves in the rich culture and history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. They can also learn about the heavens at the Strasenberg Planetarium or enjoy the outdoors at the Cummings Nature Center, which is south of Rochester in Naples.
A short distance away, the George Eastman Museum honors the life and work of George Eastman, the legendary pioneer of photography. Visitors can explore Eastman’s beautiful home, view motion picture and still cameras, photographs and other parts of its vast collection and watch films in the 500-seat Dryden Theatre.
Across town on Madison Street stands The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, the onetime home of the legendary civil rights leader. You can tour the museum six days a week and even stand in the home’s front parlor, where Anthony was arrested in 1872 for voting.
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7. Take to the Ice
The Rochester area offers a number of opportunities to whirl around on ice skates. At Tim Hortons Iceplex, which is on Monroe Community College’s Brighton campus, you can course over the ice or take lessons in skating or ice hockey. In Victor, Dick’s House of Sport has an ice rink available for public use, along with a climbing wall and other attractions. The Genesee Valley Park Sports Complex on Rochester’s Elmwood Avenue has a rink, as does the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park on Court Street. All facilities require skaters to wear helmets for safety.
For information on skating times, admission fees and the costs of renting skates, go to:
https://stores.dickssportinggoods.com/ny/victor
www.cityofrochester.gov/locations/genesee-valley-park-sports-complex-ice-rink-swimming-pool
www.cityofrochester.gov/locations/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-park-ice-rink
8. Warm Up or Chill Out
The Rochester area offers libations for every temperature. You can warm up with hard liquor, cool down with wine and let a lager’s bubbles tickle your nose. For a comprehensive list of the area’s distilleries, wineries and breweries, go to:
www.visitrochester.com/blog/post/50-things-to-do-this-winter
9. When the Team Spirit Moves You
When the winter wind howls, head out to cheer your favorite sports team. The Rochester Americans hockey team and the Rochester Knighthawks lacrosse team have games scheduled through the winter. Local college’s sports teams are also competing for points and audiences.
For information on the two main teams, go to:
https://rochesterknighthawks.com
10. Lamberton Conservatory
Instead of shivering in the cold head to the Lamberton Conservatory to warm up and enjoy the sight, smell and ambience of growing things. The Highland Park facility boasts orchids and other exotics, plants that are at home in the tropics or the desert, house plants, a seasonal display and a koi pond. Bring the family and let the kids frolic in the park before coming in to warm up. The conservatory is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day of the year but Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Kids 5 years old and younger can visit for free. The admission for 6- to 18-year-olds is $2 and all others pay $4.
For information, go to: