Featured News

INTERVIEWS: Only "The Voice" could bring us performances from 40-year-old Mycle Wastman and 32-year-old Suzanna Choffel, two gifted vocalists who are too free-spirited for "The X Factor" and too adult for "American Idol."

INTERVIEW: Diego Val isn't waiting for fame or fortune to share his gifts with those in need of a friend.

The Village of Lewiston and the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce are about to finalize a deal wherein the tourism and event-planning organization will move into the Lewiston Welcome Center.

Artpark & Company President George Osborne presented Lewiston Police Department Chief Chris Salada and Town of Lewiston Supervisor Steve Reiter with a check Wednesday for the LPD, recognizing outstanding work during the 2012 season.

It's a good feeling to have a No. 1 record at a time when musicians are told you can't sell albums.

Artist Terry Klaaren said he's going to use "all the tricks of the trade" that he's learned in 40 years as a professional muralist to complete the Grand Island Mural Project.

In the year 2036, "The Observers," once just obscure onlookers, have taken control of the universe. Our heroes, the FBI's fringe science team of Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) and Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), will do battle with the bald baddies over the course of the show's final episodes.

INTERVIEWS: Liz Davis and Emily Earle talk about what it will take for a country singer to win this season of "The Voice."

Almost two years of planning, speeches, outreach and training meetings will culminate this weekend when thousands of people attend the Franklin Graham conference at Coca-Cola Field in downtown Buffalo.

INTERVIEWS: Meet performers MarissaAnn and Loren Allred.

INTERVIEWS: Meet the first week's most promising singers, including Trevin Hunte, Devyn DeLoera, Gracia Harrison, MacKenzie Bourg, Joe Kirkland, DOMO and Adriana Louise.

This summer, audiences will experience the magic of fire-breathing dragons that soar through arena skies in "DreamWorks' How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular."

The Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel will present three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Jon Secada as the headline entertainment at the 2013 Premier.

The Premier, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center's annual black-tie dinner and entertainment gala, will be held Jan. 19. Proceeds from the event will benefit Memorial's cardiac and stroke care services.

Lewiston was abuzz with a different type of balls and strikes Monday as Frontier Lanes, the village's 54-year bowling alley, reopened for business.

This Monday on FOX, home cooks Josh Marks and Christine Ha will compete for $250,000 and a cookbook deal on "MasterChef." Josh was eliminated earlier in the season but was given the opportunity to return upon his winning a cook-off with other departed cast members. Christine, who is blind, has survived each and every "Mystery Box" challenge while "wowing" judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot in the elimination battles.

Seeing is believing for the Village of Lewiston Board of Trustees, which voted Thursday in favor of a new plan for 700 Center St., after meeting at the location and viewing exterior alterations made in contrast to a pre-approved remodel proposal.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday that NY Works restoration projects are under way in Niagara Falls State Park, making much-needed improvements at the Three Sisters Islands and Luna Island viewing areas.

Friends and family of Crystal Walker will hold a benefit in memory of her daughter, Isabella Sara Tennant, on Monday, Sept. 10, at The Evening Star Concert Hall, 8810 Niagara Falls Blvd., LaSalle.

The 55th Niagara County Peach Festival takes over Academy Park from Sept. 7 to 9. Presented annually by the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston, this festival is both a celebration of Niagara County's most famous harvest - its peaches - and one that is just pure family fun.

INTERVIEW: Every network star, producer and publicist says her television show is amazing. Groundbreaking. Must-see TV. In truth, only about 25 percent are worth sticking past the first commercial break.

But when Katie Leclerc says "America needs a show" like her ABC Family series, "Switched at Birth," I'm inclined to agree.

PubFest, one of the Village of Lewiston's first summer events this year, raised $3,600 for local agencies, and more than $32,000 for the Variety Kids Telethon.

Leave the driving and parking to the pros.

The Lewiston Kiwanis Club has good news for those who, in years past, might've been leery about traveling to the Niagara County Peach Festival (think congested roads and not nearly enough parking spaces). For this year's event, the organization is utilizing two Gray Line shuttles, which will transport patrons to and from the Peach Festival at no charge.

Peach Festival guests can park in lots A and B of the upper Artpark plateau (off Portage Road), and receive a free ride to Academy Park. Shuttles will run every 10 to 15 minutes, depending on traffic.

Residents and passersby have wondered what is going on with 700 Center St., the former Amy K's Mystick Korner in Lewiston. A new addition was added to the historic building's east side in the spring, and construction appeared to be moving right along. But recently, the project has been noticeably delayed.

A pair of Grand Island High School alumni are lending their expertise to the ongoing Grand Island Mural Project.

The project, to paint a giant mural on the back of the Grand Island Plaza facing Baseline Road, has received commitments from Grand Island High School Class of 1969 alumni Terry Klaaren and Stan Clifford that the organizer of the project Corey McGowan believes will make the concept a reality.

The Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara Foundation held its 15th annual "Celebrity Bartending" event on Aug. 23 at The Brickyard Pub & B.B.Q. in Lewiston.

Artpark & Company has hosted many notable musicians as part of its "Tuesday in the Park" concert series. The Lewiston performing arts venue has hosted hit-makers, Grammy winners, television and film actors and even a "Dancing with the Stars" contestant. ... But ...

For the second time since he was elected, Wheatfield Supervisor Bob Cliffe sought approval Monday for expanding the supervisor's term of office to four years and limiting each supervisor to a maximum of two terms.

Once again, his request for a second on his motion was met by silence from the members of the Town Board.

Cliffe said he had tried to change the individual board members' minds on the matter since he brought it up in his first year in office.

The party isn't over in the Town of Niagara.

This Saturday, Wegmans on Military Road will offer its own salute to the town's bicentennial celebration with its version of a "Town of Niagara BBQ" to finish off the summer season.

The Family & Friends Down Syndrome Association Niagara Inc. announces the 16th annual Buddy Walk of Buffalo Niagara, a benefit for people with Down syndrome, will be held Saturday, Sept. 8.

INTERVIEW: The Machine headlines the Aug. 28 "Tuesday in the Park" concert at Artpark.

Highwire artist Nik Wallenda returned to Niagara Falls on Thursday, Aug. 23, to update the media about his plans to open a daredevil museum. It was Wallenda's first trip back to the area since he crossed over the falls to Canada on June 15.

This year's Lewiston Jazz Festival will take place on Friday, Aug. 24, from 5 to 10:30 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 25, from noon to 10 p.m. on Center Street. Admission, parking, and shuttles to the festival from Artpark's lower level parking lot are all free.

Grand Island High School kept the tradition alive Saturday in Lewiston by winning the high school Chalk Walk competition at the Lewiston Art Festival for the third year in a row.

For years, we've known Toronto is the regional epicenter for entertainment. Now, a new breed of Toronto-born actors -- including Connor Jessup of "Falling Skies -- are making their mark in America.

About a dozen volunteers began work Saturday on what is being called the Grand Island Mural Project.

For John Woodhouse, pastor of River Life Chapel in Youngstown, Gospel ministry is a process, and God began it when John was a young man of 18.

The Brickyard Pub & BBQ, 432 Center St., in Lewiston, is hosting its 15th annual Celebrity Bartending Night from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Aug 23.

Roger Hodgson, the legendary voice of Supertramp, brings his "Breakfast in America Tour" to Artpark on Aug. 21.

Mike & Nate give new meaning to the phrase, "God works in mysterious ways."

Over 50 days, the two churchgoing college buddies - Mike Buonaiuto, 22, and Nate Frankoski, 26 - biked 2,500 miles to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

Mia Skinner has given new meaning to the phrase "pop art."

The owner of Soda Can Earrings, Skinner and her business made a return visit this weekend to the Lewiston Art Festival, the event she said where her business all started.