The Niagara County Peach Queen Contestants have participated in many community service activities and events in August that have centered on teamwork and getting to know each other better.

Contestants at Rellim Salon

Some of the highlights of the Peach Queen contestants August activities include a team building night at Adventure Room Niagara (Reality Room Niagara) and Pallet painting with Buffalo Pallet Parties. The contestants also had skin care and makeup session with Lauren Miller from Rellim Hair and Makeup Design Studio and Christina Zaroian from La Pelle Spa.

The Peach Queen contestants will have private interviews with a panel of judges on Wednesday, September 7^th prior to the Niagara County Peach Festival weekend and will compete on stage on September 10^th at 6pm and September 11^th at 8pm. Once again Maryalice Demler from WGRZ-TV will serve as MC for the Peach Queen Pageant.

The contestants will be collecting school supplies to benefit the Magdalene Project in Niagara Falls at the Niagara County Peach Festival September 9^th, 10^th and 11th. Anyone interested in donating items, can drop them off at the Raffle Gazebo at Academy Park throughout the three day festival.

WGRZ-TV female sports reporter and anchor Heather Prusak will be the official starter for the 38^th annual Niagara County Peach festival 5K Run on Saturday September 10^th on Center Street in Lewiston. The race begins at 9:00 am in front of the Frontier House and the course is flat and fast and will feature Jaguar RFID chip timing by Race Management Solutions, Inc.

Heather Prusak joined WGRZ-TV in July 2014 after graduating from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications with a degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism. Prusak is a native of Hamburg New York.

Proceeds from the 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival 5K Run will go to Carolyn’s House, Niagara Falls and the Key Leader program of Kiwanis.

The race is sponsored by Dimino’s Lewiston Tops, Niagara’s Choice Federal Credit Union, and the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston.

Race day registration starts at 7:45 am at the Key Bank on Center Street with T-Shirts going to the first two hundred entrants with post-race refreshments and awards at that location.

Interested runners can go to www.racemanagementsolutions.com for more information.

More information on the 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival can be found at www.lewistonpeachfestival.org. The 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival is sponsored by the Kiwanis of Lewiston, The Buffalo News, WGRZ-TV and Star 102.5 FM.

The Kiwanis of Lewiston today held a news conference at Academy Park on Center Street in Lewiston to announce what’s new and the schedule of events at the upcoming 59^th annual Niagara County Peach Festival. The festival is being held on September 9^th, 10^th and 11^th at Academy Park on Center Street in Lewiston.

Peach Festival Chairman Alan Hastings

Kiwanis President Reverend Tom Mason, Former President Marty Pauly, Peach Festival Chairman Alan Hastings, veteran Peach Festival Advisory Chairman Jerry Wolfgang, 5k Run Chairman Randy Gorzka and Niagara Falls Culinary Institute Division Chair Mark Mistriner addressed the media. Samples of the Peach Festival’s famous peach shortcake were then distributed.

Chairman Hastings anticipates a crowd exceeding 30,000, weather permitting and one of the most successful Peach Festivals since the first held in 1958. Since that very first Peach Festival, the Kiwanis of Lewiston have contributed over one million dollars in goods and donations to area charities and organizations from event proceeds.

One of the new items announced by Chairman Hastings is the Niagara County vendors program, which identifies the County participants with signage at the Festival. Chairman Hastings also emphasized that the fresh peaches used for the peach shortcake are grown in Niagara County at Bittner-Singer Farms at 6620 Lake Road in Appleton. This year the Peach Festival is expected to serve more than 13,000 pounds (6.5 tons) of locally harvested peaches along with the fresh shortcake made by the famous local DiCamillo Bakery.

In all there will be twenty-two food vendors serving a wide variety of American and ethnic cuisine.

Amusements of America will again be the ride company at this year’s Peach Festival supplying forty-four thrill rides, family rides and kiddie rides, making it the largest midway in Niagara County. The Kiwanis and Amusements of America will also honor tickets purchased in 2015 at this year’s Peach Festival.

Advance ride tickets are now on sale at forty locations throughout the Lewiston greater area at a 50% discount. The discount locations can be found on the Peach Festival web site at www.lewistonpeachfestival.org/ride-tickets.

The schedule begins Friday September 9^th at 5 PM with local first responders serving as the color guard and both the American and Canadian national anthems will be sung.

Friday night at 6 PM a “Cheer-leading Competition” will be held on stage featuring local units representing youth football and All-Star cheering squads.

The morning of September 10^th the 38th annual Peach Festival 5K Run will be held. This year proceeds will go to Carolyn’s House, Niagara Falls and the Key Leader program of Kiwanis. The race is sponsored by Dimino’s Lewiston Tops, Niagara’s Choice Federal Credit Union, and the Kiwanis Club of Lewiston. Entrants can register at www.racemanagementsolutions.com.

Also, on Saturday morning the Peach Festival Parade will take place on Center Street at 11 AM. This year’s parade will feature over 100 units and twelve marching bands, an all-time high. Grand Marshall for the 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival Parade will be WGRZ-TV personality and Daybreak anchor Melissa Holmes. Serving as Parade announcer again this year will be Brandy Scrufari from Star 102.5 FM.

The peach recipe “Taste Off” competition will be held again this year sponsored by the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, the Niagara Gazette and Niagara Frontier Publications. Recipe entries can be mailed to Barbara Walck at Niagara Country Community College, 3111 Saunders Settlement Road, Sanborn, NY 14132. The three categories include “Food Enthusiast”, “Culinary Student” and “Children”. Entrants can win up to $500 in prizes.

The finals for the “Taste Off” will be held at 4 PM on the Academy Park Stage with judges Lynn Catalano from the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropy, NCCC President James P. Klyczek, Mark Mistriner from the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute and Brenda Alesii, food author and host of “Brenda’s Bites” on 1520 AM.

The Peach Blossom and Peach Fuzz contests for the youngsters will again attract more than fifty contestants and will occur Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The “Dance Showcase” featuring ten area dance companies, will take the stage Sunday September 11^th from noon to 3 PM.

The finale for the Festival will take place Sunday night at 8 PM as the finals for the Peach Queen Pageant take place. This year fourteen girls from Niagara County have entered the competition for the crown of Peach Queen and the $4,000 scholarship awarded by the Kiwanis of Lewiston. The Hostess for the Peach Queen finals will be WGRZ-TV news anchor Maryalice Demler.

The Peach Queen contestants are currently collecting back to school items for the Magdalene Project http://www.magdalene-project.org/  after school programs now through the Peach Festival weekend.  Those who are interested in donating can drop off school supply items prior to the festival at the Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce office 895 Center Street in Lewiston.

Live musical entertainment will perform on stage throughout the Festival featuring Rescue Dawn, Terry Buchwald, The Boys of Summer and Everyday People. The full schedule of events is available at www.lewistonpeachfestival.org.

The 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival is sponsored by the Kiwanis of Lewiston, The Buffalo News, WGRZ-TV and Star 102.5 FM.

The Niagara County Peach Festival “Taste Off” recipe contest will be held on Saturday September 10^th at 4 PM on the stage at Academy Park in Lewiston. The 2016 “Taste Off” is sponsored by the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, Niagara Gazette and Niagara Frontier Publications.

This year there will be three divisions for entries which include Food Enthusiast, Culinary Student and a new Children category.

Judges for the 2016 “Taste Off” will be Lynn Catalano from the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropy, Niagara County Community College President James P. Klyczek and Mark Mistriner, NCCC Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts Division Chairman.

There will also be a peach shortcake eating contest on the Academy Park stage featuring local media and dignitaries prior to the announcement of the 2016 recipe winners.

Original recipes must include fresh peaches and be prepared from scratch. The use of pre-made products may result in disqualification. Recipes must be legible and submitted on an 8.5” by 11” white sheet of paper with all ingredients fully listed. The recipe must also include how many portions it can serve.

The entry must include name, address and phone number at the bottom of the paper and be mailed no later than August 29^th to Barbara Walck, Niagara County Community College, 3111 Saunders Settlement Road, Sanborn, NY, 14132. Employees of the Greater Niagara Newspapers, Niagara Frontier Publications and Niagara County Community College and their families are not eligible to enter. Entries are limited to one per person.

Divisions

Food Enthusiast- Whether you are a Home baker or pastry enthusiast this category is for you. Individuals sixteen years or older are invited to enter their secret Peach recipe in this year’s Peach Festival “Taste Off” for a chance to be selected as a finalist and to appear on the Main Stage to prepare your entry live for the judges.

Culinary Student- All up and coming aspiring pastry chefs from the western New York culinary programs are encouraged to enter this category. Enter your very favorite peach dessert recipe for a chance to show off your emerging talents to the world and a chance to make your creation live on stage for the “Taste Off” judges.

Children- This is a new category for children from eight to thirteen years of age who love to bake. Create your own Peach dessert for a chance to be a finalist on stage at 4:00PM on Saturday September 10^th.

For further information contact Jerry Wolfgang at 754-7745 or e-mail at jw4267@gmail.com.

The 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival is sponsored by the Kiwanis of Lewiston and will be held September 9^th, 10^th & 11^th at Academy Park on Center Street in Lewiston. More information can be found at www.lewistonpeachfestival.org.

The Town of Niagara has chosen Mercy Flight Inc., doing business as Mercy EMS, to be the ambulance provider for its Community.  Made effective Monday August 15th at 12:01 AM, Mercy EMS has started taking ambulance calls for the town.

Supervisor Lee Wallace announces agreement with Mercy EMS

“I am very happy that the Town of Niagara has reached a preliminary agreement with Mercy Ambulance to have them provide ambulance and EMS service to our residents,” said Town of Niagara Supervisor Lee Wallace.

“I have every confidence in Mercy and look forward to pursuing a long term relationship.  Mercy’s past history and impeccable record in other municipalities, as well as their overall concern for those they serve should guarantee the Town of Niagara top notch ambulance and EMS service for years to come,” added Wallace.

Douglas Baker, Founding President of Mercy Flight, stated “We’re incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received from the Town of Niagara and its first responder community.  It’s an honor to have the opportunity to serve them, and our aim is to provide them with the high-quality, reliable emergency medical service that they deserve.”

About the Town of Niagara:

Initially called Fort Schlosser and renamed the Town of Niagara in 1812, the local history of the town generally reflects the history of the Niagara Frontier, which is replete with settlements by Indians, Europeans, and determined pioneers. For more than a century since its birth the Town of Niagara was mainly a farming community with much of the local activity centered around the Military Road area. Today, there is considerable commercial, residential and industrial development and Military Road remains a main artery for transportation and activity.

About Mercy Flight Inc:

As the pioneer air medical service in New York State, Mercy Flight was one of the first operations of its kind in the country.  From day one, Mercy Flight has been delivering patients to the facility that best suits their medical needs by working closely with the regional network of hospitals, ground EMS, law enforcement, and fire authorities.

In addition, the not for profit organization provides ground ambulances services as Mercy EMS to Genesee County, the Village of Springville, the Town of Concord, and Town of Niagara.  Mercy Flight also has the capability to transfer hospital patients to facilities anywhere in the United States. Based on the type of transportation needed, Mercy Flight may utilize a fixed-wing Lear Jet aircraft for longer distance medical transports.

Niagara County Peach Festival Chairman Alan Hastings has announced that ride tickets purchased for the 2015 Festival will be honored at this year’s event. Rain and inclement weather on the Saturday and Sunday of last year’s Peach Festival limited access to the attractions provided by Amusements of America so tickets purchased in 2015 will be honored September 9, 10 and 11 of this year.

Amusements of America will again be the ride company at this year’s Peach Festival supplying thrill rides, family rides and kiddie rides. In all, Amusements of America will operate forty-four attractions making it the largest mid-way in Niagara County.

Advance ride tickets are now available at forty locations throughout the Lewiston greater area at a 50% discount. The discount locations can be found on the Peach Festival web site at www.lewistonpeachfestival.org/ride-tickets.

Parade Chairman Jerry Wolfgang is also seeking units for this year’s parade which is taking place Saturday, September 10^th at 11AM on Center Street in Lewiston. Any units wishing to march in this year’s parade should contact parade Chairman Jerry Wolfgang for an entry form at (716) 754-7745. Entry forms will be accepted until Monday August 29th.

The annual parade will feature over $2,000 in cash prizes and trophies will be awarded to the outstanding school bands, majorette units, fire companies, floats, drill teams and color guards.

The 2016 Niagara County Peach Festival is held at Academy Park on Center Street in Lewsiton and sponsored by the Kiwanis of Lewiston, The Buffalo News, WGRZ-TV and Star 102.5 FM. More info available at www.lewistonpeachfestival.org.