Sports + Recreation

Meet the Guides Behind Rochester's Great Outdoors

Rochester's Outdoor Guides Aren't Just Leading Adventures. They're Building a Culture. Article by Marie Gillette | Photography by Submitted The Rochester and Finger Lakes region has quietly become one of New York’s most diverse outdoor recreation corridors, where Great Lakes salmon runs, glacial Finger Lakes, river systems, and canal trails intersect. What makes the region especially dynamic is not just geography, but a network of living, working outdoor professionals who are actively shaping...

Health + Wellness

Fitness, Nutrition, Medicine

Exploring Wellness As We Age Article by Marie Gillette | Photography by Submitted The idea of “healthy aging” has evolved far beyond simply adding years to life. Increasingly, researchers, physicians, fitness professionals, and nutrition experts focus on “healthspan,” the number of years people remain active, independent, and healthy as they age. Interest in longevity has grown alongside global fascination with “blue zones,” regions where statistically high numbers of people live into their...

Arts + Culture

Walls That Remember

Mural Mania's Living History Trail Article by Katrina M. Randall | Photography by Paul Lossowski; Submitted Two centuries of history was unveiled this past spring in vivid color across Marion Elementary School, depicting the scenes, buildings, and people that shaped the town. The effort, led by Lyons-based Mural Mania, is one of the latest historical murals appearing around Wayne County and Rochester-area communities, each one telling the stories of the towns that make up our region.  Since...

Life + Culture

From Austin, With Love, Rochester

One Move, Two Families, and a Rochester Love Story Article by Katrina M. Randall | Photography by Paul Lossowski; Submitted Rochesterians complain about winter. We complain about the cold, the snow, the bad roads, the sleet, the slush, the ice, and the gray, seemingly endless days. So you wouldn't expect four transplants from Austin, Texas, to survive this past season’s frigid Rochester winter and come away agreeing: Rochester in winter is like living inside a snowglobe. “Christmas just feels...

Arts + Culture

Cross the Bridge

Theater, Wine, and Everything in Between Article by Scott Gudell | Photography by Submitted When it comes to a day trip or a mini getaway excursion, people in Western New York have numerous choices if they want to combine theater with discovering wine, cider, food, and fun. There’s a nearby option that should be added to your list: Head west to the Niagara Region of Canada. Cross the bridge of your choice, either the Peace Bridge or the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, and you’re just about there. ...

Life + Culture

Barrels, Brotherhood, Vice

For the Nefarious Brothers, the Best Ingredients Have Always Been Craft, Community, and Mischief. Article by Sarah Keeler | Photography by Submitted In a corner of Rochester’s tech scene, an unusual project has been developing behind the scenes for more than a decade. Instead of screens and app codes, this one involves oak barrels, carefully measured spirits, and a group of friends bonded by their shared love of vice. Ralph Dandrea and Sean Flaherty met in 1999 while working on the same...

Auto + Marine

Where Passion Meets Detail

Passion Drove Him Here. Craft Keeps Him Going. Article by Marie Gillette | Photography by Paul Lossowski For Warren Mapes, the path from a career in marketing to auto detailing wasn't a pivot—it was a return. Cars are "in his blood," he says, and the evidence goes back to his childhood. Even as a toddler, he pushed Matchbox cars along windowsills, making engine noises to himself. His mother will tell you his first word wasn't "Mama" or "Dada." It was "car." Today, that lifelong passion fuels...

Wellness

Gentlemen, Welcome to the Spa

Men Are Claiming Their Seat at the Treatment Table, and They're Not Looking Back Article by Katrina M. Randall | Photography by Submitted In a camera-ready society, caring about your appearance is no longer vanity. It's simply human. Pair that with a culture increasingly focused on health and wellness and a fading stigma around male grooming, and it's no wonder the male aesthetics market is having a moment—one expected to grow at an annual rate of 7.2% from 2025 to 2034, according to market...

Life + Culture

Slow Braise

How Josh Miles Built a Rochester Hospitality Empire One Table at a Time Article by Katrina M. Randall | Photography by Kelly Kester Photography; Submitted Josh Miles didn’t stumble into the hospitality industry. It found him in the back of one of many South Carolina kitchens while tagging along with his father on sales calls as a child. It may have been inevitable, with both of his grandfathers running small cafes in different locations, yet somehow providing a north star to Miles’ future. The...

Life + Culture

Space to Breathe

The Rise of Women’s Retreats Across the Region Article by Marie Gillette | Photography by Submitted Deep in the woods, alongside lakes, in a subterranean greenhouse, along wooded trails winding through the seasons, women gather. They arrive carrying accumulated exhaustion from holding it all together, the quiet ache of roles that leave little room for their own voices, a longing they can’t quite put into words. Somewhere in the circle, around the fire, on the earth, they begin to set it down. ...