Events
Fifth Sunday Open Mic
Sunday, November 30, 1 pm to 3 pm.
Another in the series of literary arts happenings with time and space on the microphone for songs, music, short stories and poems. You are invited to show our audience what you’ve been working on.
Featuring readings by poets Douglas Curry of Rochester and Scott Williams of Buffalo.
DOUGLAS CURRY is a native New Yorker, born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. He is a 1974 graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Since 1982 he has been the radio host and voice of “Blacks&Blues” produced regionally at www.theroute.org and from the Midwest at www.wdcb.org. He has been a contributing writer and poet performing regionally in Buffalo, Auburn and particularly at Rochester venues: the Memorial Art Gallery, Writers & Books, The Visual Studies Workshop, Hochstein Performance Hall, as well as at local libraries and open mic poetry readings. Douglas chooses not to self-publish but prefers to contribute to online outlets and to share at public readings.
SCOTT WILLIAMS is a native of Baltimore, MD, holds a PhD. from Lehigh University and taught Mathematics at SUNY Buffalo for 32 years. He has enjoyed being a Fullbright Professor in Prague, Czech Republic and Beijing, China. He has always been interested in the arts and was a member of the Rochester Folk Art Guild (as a blacksmith) for several years. He has published in Coffeehouse, Rundelania, and Juniper Poetry. He recently published his first book of poems, Gamblers Woods, from Baltimore’s Wilson Park with Moonstone Press of Philadelphia, PA.
Fifth Sunday Open Mic. appears each time a month has a fifth Sunday, four times in 2025. It is funded by The Dove Block Project and curated by Stephen Lewandowski. It is open to the public and free. Light refreshments will be served. Enjoy!
For more information contact Steve at stachu14512@gmail.com or (585)554-4899.
Come to perform or just to listen. No registration required, but performers should arrive at 12:30 to sign up for a time slot.
Artwalk
Saturday, December 6, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Stop in for a great selection of arts and crafts at The Dove Block Project during the Holiday Artwalk. This year will feature a screen printing table where you can bring your own items to be printed with the Dove t-shirt design for free. A great way to share The Dove Block Project during the holiday season with family and friends.
All are welcome. No registration required.
Holiday Festival
Saturday, December 20, 12 to 4 pm.
All ages are welcome to the first annual Holiday Festival at The Dove Block Project. There will be plenty of activities including a workshop with Sarah Pendry suited for all ages, movies in the Jim Spates Micro theater playing throughout the festival, books to share from Geneva Reads, a holiday ornament painting workshop with the Geneva BID, holiday treats, and much more
No registration required.
Fifth Sunday Open Mic
Sunday, March 29 and every Fifth Sunday, 12:30 pm to 3 pm.
On Fifth Sundays in 2026, from 12:30 until 3 pm, the Dove Block will host an Open Microphone for performers of literary or musical work. All are welcome as performers or listeners. Performers are invited to offer brief samples of their work to a friendly audience. Come, perform, listen, enjoy light refreshments, have fun! Free.
A sign-up sheet for five-minute segments will be available from 12:30 until 1 when the performance begins. First come, first served. All welcome.
Special guest readers for March 29: Jerry Miskin and Roger Hecht.
Special guest readers for May 31: Carol Mikoda and Jessica Dubey.
Additional dates in 2026: August 30 and November 29.
For more information contact Steve at stachu14512@gmail.com or (585)554-4899.
No registration required, but performers should arrive at 12:30 to sign up for a time slot.
All-American Ruins with Blake Pfeil
Saturday, October 10, 1 to 3 pm.
Blake Pfeil is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist. His latest body of work, All-American Ruins, has been the recipient of numerous awards for its genre-bending, multimodal storytelling, including recent UK Press Gazette Future of Media Awards nominations for Podcast of the Year (Regional) two years in a row. In 2025, the podcast arm of the project, abandoned, hit No. 1 on Apple Podcasts "Places & Travel" charts. Blake most recently served as a guest producer for season 5 of History Colorado's Lost Highways while also working his "day job" as the Operations & Digital Programs Manager at TMI Project and "night job" as co-host of Cinema Kingston! on WKNY.
The program will begin with an introduction by Blake Pfeil and viewings of selections from his podcast, abandoned, and his film, All-American Ruins: Universal Atlas Cement Plant. This will be followed by a moderated discussion about urban exploration, audio storytelling, and the healing power of the human imagination, as well as the importance of restoring abandoned spaces and properties for public use. Blake will take questions from the audience and will offer tips and tricks for audio storytelling magic.
Come armed with curiosity as Blake discusses the salve of imagination in the outdoors as well as the cultural and social significance of American ruins and their lasting impression on the past, present, and future of the United States.
Ages 18 and up. Attendance limited to 26.
Registration required.
The Third Annual Dove Block Project Short Film Festival
Sunday, October 11, screening from 1 pm to 4 pm.
The Film festival is in it's third year and will feature regional, national, and international films . The films are chosen based on artistic merit, social commentary, and entertainment value. The categories this year will be Youth produced, Animation, Environmental, Drama, and Documentary. Submissions to the festival will begin in June of 2026 through both Filmfreemway.com and directly to Harold@thedoveblockproject.org.
Ages 8 to 88. Attendance limited to 26.
Registration required.
The Arc Ontario: Creative Expressions
The first Monday of each month, the Creative Expressions Team from The Arc Ontario visits the Dove Block. Creative Expressions is a comprehensive service/therapeutic experience that fosters creativity through visual arts, music, and horticulture, encouraging individual to expand upon traditional methods of communication and interaction in an educational environment.
Creative Expressions is designed for people seeking to improve their physical, emotional, cognitive, and social skills by expressing themselves in a variety of creative ways, while getting involved in their community.
They offer an Art Program that gives individuals access to a variety of mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture, book arts and digital animation by guided by our art specialist.
The Music program offers a wide range of musical experiences to promote the health and well-being of individuals by enhancing and transforming their lives.
Our Horticulturist provides experience using the senses to experience various aspects of gardening.