On the Buffalo Reading Invasion!

You are probably wondering what a Reading Invasion even is, right? WELL LET ME ENLIGHTEN YOU! Reading Invasions are basically a flashmob of readers. Every summer here in Buffalo since 2012 local readers invade a park for an hour and we READ. It is really that simple, but it is a whole lot of fun! Last night was the first of the 2019 season! An hour of blissful reading with a crazy number of other book nerds!

I think my first Reading Invasion was in June of 2013 (at least according to the bookmark pictured above). I remember it vividly (besides the date). It took place at Bidwell Park, where the first Invasion of the year is always at. I remember looking around about a half hour in and seeing all these people absorbed in their books! It was a wonderful feeling! These were my kind of people.

I also noticed at my first invasion that passerbys giving us curious looks. Never before had they seen such a sight! What were we doing? Why were we all just sitting there? WERE WE ALL JUST READING? WHAT WAS GOING ON? It was lovely to see that confusion and find out later on that most of those people actually showed up and read themselves at the next Invasion! Spreading the love of books for the WIN! Last night I looked up again and saw no passerbys giving us looks because it has become such a Buffalo Summer thing that it is widely known, accepted, and cherished! How lucky are we to live in such a place?! I like that I see familiar faces from Invasions past and that every year it gets bigger and bigger!

One of my favorite aspect of the Buffalo Reading Invasion (other than the reading itself) is that besides the first one of the season, they are held in a different park every month! If I’m not mistaken the invasion very rarely goes to the same park twice and I can see why! Buffalo has something like 180 parks or something crazy number like that! Going to an Invasion brings you to a park of the City you may not have discovered before! I love that the first Invasion of the year is always at Bidwell though. There is a independent bookshop practically in Bidwell Park and every year when the Invasion is there I go in, look around, and always buy a new book. One year it was a Doctor Who book, last year it was the 3^rd book in the Three Dark Crowns series! This year I bought A Curse So Dark and Lonely and ran into a coworker!

Here is a panoramic view of the Invasion last night! Look at all those readers!

The Buffalo Reading Invasions remains one of my all time favorite things to go to in the summer! 

If you'd like to learn more or find out when and where the next Invasion will be check out the website here or like the official Facebook page here! 

I hope to see you and your book next month!

~Laura!

Some Thoughts on National Geographic Live with Ami Vitale!

I'm not sure I can explain to you the overwhelming excitement I felt when I found out that one of my favorite photographers, Ami Vitale was coming to Buffalo! No one ever comes here so it was a huge surprise! There was no way I was missing it, especially since it was at Kleinhans!

Ami gave a talk on Rhinos, Rickshaws, and Revolutions. If you are a fan of National Geographic you may have seen her recent photos of the passing of Sudan. He was the last male of his species, the Northern White Rhino. Ami told us about how she had done a story on Sudan and his daughters were being moved from the Czech Republic to Kenya and that she had grown close to their keepers. Close enough that when Sudan became too old for him to have a good quality of life and his keepers made the hard decision to put him down they had Ami come to Kenya to say good bye. If that doesn't tell you how special a soul Ami is then I'm not sure what will.

Ami dropped everything secure in her life to become a photo journalist so that she could bring stories to the World. She spent a decade covering conflicts that most people have forgotten, such as Kosovo and Cashmir. She made such strong connections there and through her photos brought those connections to the rest of the World. She has the ability to empower and amplify voices of the individuals like no other photographer I have seen.

But at one point, enough was enough, Ami couldn't be around war anymore. She wanted to take a break from everything, but then she was offered to do story about trees. And that opened her up to nature and wildlife conservation photography, which is my favorite. She got to go to China and observe how scientists there choose which babies should stay in captivity and which should be trained to go into the wild! She even had to wear a panda suit. Ami, once again, showed how special she is because of how she photographed one of the Pandas going into the wild for the first time: she donned a special camouflage suit that made her look like a bush while no other journalist thought to take Hope's feelings into account. Ami did and was rewarded by Papa Panda! She got to hold not one but two baby pandas. A dream come true for most people. (Obama only got to hold one if that tells you anything!!)

Ami Vitale and I!

I could go on and on about Ami's talk, (I took a copious amount of notes) which will stay in my heart and mind for a very long time, but I don't want to spoil too much in case one day you are lucky enough to hear her speak as well! I wholly encourage you to try to! And she has a book on her experience with the pandas coming out next month! You can pre-order Panda Love: The Secret Lives of Pandas by Ami Vitale at any of your favorite booksellers!!

Oh and not only was I able to hear her speak about her long and amazing career I was lucky enough to meet her after! I was a bundle of nerves, but I didn't make a fool of myself! In fact, even she agreed that we were kind of sharing a wave length! I couldn't help but mention how my work mirrors hers in a way I didn't realize until hearing her speech! She is frequently in the company of people who live their lives in service of orphaned wildlife, which is what I do in my rehabilitation work. And she told a story about how while at the World's Largest Camel Fair people would take photos of locals without even asking their names or even for something as simple as permission! This hit home with me because of my own photography project on Instagram called The Name of Strangers, where I do just the opposite of those tourists, I purposely go up to strangers and ask them their names, ask them the stories behind their names and ask if I may take their portrait! I was honored that Ami loved the idea and took one of my business cards. Having a World renowned National Geographic Explorer and Photographer think my idea is a good one means so much I cannot even begin to tell you!

The takeaway for me from meeting Ami was about how empathy is the most important thing individuals can use to make the world they want to live in, remembering to see the whole picture and look past the doom and gloom headlines because inevitably there will be something or someone who warms your heart just behind it!  

~Laura!

The Phantom and the Victorian Tea!

This weekend it was finally warm in Buffalo so my mom and I had some great stuff planned!  I love the first few warm spring like weekend because everyone comes out in droves! It's nice to finally see people again after a long, hard winter!

My mom and I have made it our new Mothers Day tradition to go to dinner and see a musical at Shea's every May. Last year we saw Wicked and this year it was the Phantom of the Opera. I remember my mom listening to the original cast soundtrack a lot when I was little, but I didn't remember anything about the musical except that when my Aunt saw it in Toronto the chandelier swung. It was VERY important to us that this lighting fixture moved. 

I always take a photo of my playbill in front
of the stage before it starts. 

And it did not disappoint! I think that the Phantom was the best production I have yet to see at Shea's! It had everything! Amazing sets, stunning costumes, brilliant actors, and astounding singing of course (and don't get me started on how cool the chandelier was)! I'm going to have the main theme in my head for weeks I'm sure. And just being at Shea's makes one feel *fancier* I think.  Shea's was opened in 1926 and the interior was designed by the famed Louis Comfort Tiffany (yeah, the lamp guy) and is based off of a combo of Rococo and European Baroque styles. It is truly gorgeous inside. No matter how many times I go I am always finding new details in the decor! And it always vaguely smells like those addicting cinnamon roasted nuts they sell which is just an awesome added bonus. 

Our table was definitely the prettiest! 

The next day we were also invited to a proper Ladies Victorian Tea as a fundraiser for my uncle's church! It was spectacular! It all seemed very old fashioned! My mom and I dressed in our very best with fancy hats included! I wore a lace light blue dress with a sun hat that's underside and brim had a pretty blue fabric with pink flowers on it! There were 400 diverse, amazing, beautiful women there all dressed to the nines. Each table (about 40, I think) had their own hostesses that decided on everything from the place settings, favors, tea sets, and most importantly their table's food. Every table was great but our table was obviously the best as my Aunt and cousin did a wonderful job! I have never had those tiny cucumber sandwiches before and they were surprisingly tasty. It was as if we were playing tea party for real, we even had a fancy waiter (also known as my uncle, haha)! It was a really special event that I am so glad I got to go to! 

The first weekend of May and of good weather was a whole hearted success! I'm so glad that it is nice out again! 

~Laura!