Buffalo Toronto Public Media Blog
Explore the latest stories, innovations, and community voices shaping public media. From behind-the-scenes looks at groundbreaking productions to in-depth features on local culture and initiatives, the BTPM Blog keeps you connected to the heart of public storytelling. Dive into inspiring narratives that amplify the power of media to inform and engage.
BTPM Blog
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in December
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Kathryn's Must-Sees on BTPM PBS in November
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
The Faces Behind the Fair: How BCAT’s Community Resource Event Brings Buffalo Together
What made the BCAT Community Resource Fair stand out wasn’t just its size, more than 30 community organizations participated, but its purpose. It was about connection, access, and collaboration.
Reading Rainbow Returns and So Does the Magic of Reading
The beloved Reading Rainbow returns, inspiring a new generation to discover the joy of books, imagination, and lifelong learning through the power of story.
Kathryn's Must-Sees for October on BTPM PBS
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Top 5 Things To Do in Buffalo this Fall
The fall season is right on our heels in Buffalo, but it's the perfect season to enjoy what the city has to offer. For some suggestions on what to do this fall, here's our list of top 5 things you can do to embrace the new season.
Helping Kids Adjust After the First Days of School
Back-to-school in Buffalo and WNY brings excitement and anxiety. Discover expert tips and resources from Buffalo Toronto Public Media to help kids ease into routines and thrive this school year.
Kathryn's Must-Sees for September on BTPM PBS
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Shaping the Future: A Q&A on BTPM’s Young Adult Advisory Committee
Discover how young voices are shaping public media through BTPM’s Young Adult Advisory Committee in this Q&A with BTPM Learning & Engagement Specialist Samantha Kittinger.
Kathryn's Must-Sees for August on BTPM PBS
Kathryn’s Must-Sees is your guide for the most compelling and thought-provoking programs on BTPM PBS. Curated monthly by Kathryn Larsen, our Vice President of Content Distribution with over 40 years of programming experience, these standout programs entertain, inspire, and spark conversation.
Defunded, not defeated: What's next for Buffalo Toronto Public Media
The House and Senate voted in favor of the recessions proposal, which eliminates federal funding for public media. In simpler terms, we are defunded. Though we are not defeated.
Top 5 Things To Do in Buffalo in July
Here's a list of festivals, tours, and farmers markets happening in Buffalo in July to help you get through the Dog Days of Summer.
The BTPM Classical Blog is presented by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra
BTPM Classical Blog
The School Piano: A Salute
Do you remember your elementary school music teacher’s name? What was it? I’ll never forget mine. BTPM Classical Host Marty Wimmer reflects on his school piano memories.
Five Classical Music New Year’s Resolutions
Have you ever made a classical music New Year’s resolution? I know. Odd. But I’ve found that classical music New Year’s resolutions are easy to keep – and a heck of a lot easier than dieting or going to the gym!
Christmas Wreaths | BTPM Classical Blog
Ed. Simone reflects on his traditional Christmas wreath in this BTPM Classical blog.
13 Musical Forms of Life | BTPM Classical Blog
Music has a lot in common with architecture. It relies on solid structures called “musical form.” Marty Wimmer tells you more in this BTPM Classical blog.
Abominable Snowmen | BTPM Classical Blog
No Christmas season was complete for me in the 1970s without watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. But where did the song come from? Find out in this BTPM Classical Blog.
Change | Marty Wimmer BTPM Classical
November is, indeed, a month of change. But then again, so is every other month. Grandpa was right; the only constant in life is change.
Music, Emotions, & Memories
BTPM Classical Host Marty Wimmer reflects on his three favorite symphonies that connect to him emotionally in this Classical blog.
The Organ Trail
BTPM Classical held a walking tour featuring some of the city's most beautiful and historic pipe organs. Marty Wimmer, BTPM Classical Host, recounts the tour in this blog.
Why Classical?
BTPM Classical Host Ed. Simone answers the question of "why classical?" in this blog. Hear why classical music is so gravitating to Simone!
The Music of Amy Beach
If you are reading the BTPM Classical Blog, chances are that you have an interest in classical music and may even like to share that interest with others. Today, we're talking about Amy Beach!
Who is Your Favorite Composer?
BTPM Classical Host Marty Wimmer goes through his favorite classical composers in this blog. Today, it's Debussy. But it could change next week, or tomorrow!
EN BATEAU: A BTPM Classical Blog
BTPM Classical Host Marty Wimmer explores how boats have inspired many songs in the history of music. And that inspiration even goes so far back in the history of classical music.
BTPM The Bridge Blog
Upcoming Local Shows for 1/23 - 1/29
Check out local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Tough Old Bird, Addisyn Logan, and Meagan Aversa.
The Scene Playlist for Jan. 18
Check out this week's playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Dimming Pool, Davey O., and Erica the Ice Dragon.
Upcoming Local Shows for 1/16 - 1/22
Check out local shows happening this week in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including MYQ Farrow, Exclaim!'s Class of 2026, and Night Owls.
The Scene Playlist for Jan. 11
Check out this week's playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Zak Ward and the Million Dollar Question, Logan Ross, and Altered By Mom
Upcoming Local Shows for 1/9 - 1/15
Check out local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Grace Stumberg, Little Cake, and Blaised and Confused.
The Scene Playlist for Jan. 4
Check out this week's playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Sasha Fleet, Easy Pieces, and Ray J. Ra.
Upcoming Local Shows for 1/2 - 1/8
Check out the local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Hundred Plus Club, Stephen Babcock, and Hello London.
The Scene Playlist for Dec. 28
Check out this week's playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Dynesti, Grosh, and Ace of Wands.
Upcoming Local Shows for 12/26 - 1/1
Check out local shows happening in Western New York and Southern Ontario, including Zak Ward & the Million Dollar Question, F.A.R. Trio, and Folkfaces.
The Scene Playlist for Dec. 21
Check out this week's playlist from The Scene with Chelsea O, and learn about the artists and their music, including Candace & Michael, Cassidy Taylor, and Alex Exists.
Heritage Moments
Heritage Moments: Ely S. Parker, a ‘Real American’, at Appomattox
What Ely Samuel Parker was able to accomplish would have been remarkable for any man. But that Parker, a Tonawanda Seneca, accomplished all he did during a period of outright hatred against Native Americans is nothing short of incredible.
Heritage Moments: The night they invented chicken wings
We’re not entirely sure how the Buffalo chicken wing was invented, but there are some good tales, and they tend to revolve around what happened one night in 1964 at the Anchor Bar.
Heritage Moments: The Hero Policeman of the Blizzard of '77
The Blizzard of 1977 took 31 lives in Western New York and the Niagara Peninsula, long the most vicious, relentless and paralyzing storm in the living memory of a place often battered by brutal winter weather.
Heritage Moments: The Angel of Long Point
The 19th century is filled with tales of heroic rescues on the Great Lakes by the fearless lifesaving service, ships’ crews and brave civilians who risked their lives against impossible odds to save others. But among all of them, the extraordinary courage of one woman stands out---Abigail Becker, “the Angel of Long Point”.
Heritage Moments: Manny Fried, Buffalo’s ‘Most Dangerous Man’
When Manny Fried passed away at 97 in 2011, the Buffalo theater community lost a giant. But not just the theater community. Buffalo labor lost a giant too.
Heritage Moments: Bowling, Desegregation and ‘the Buffalo Experience’
What could more perfectly distill life in mid-20th-century Buffalo than bowling? As Oscar Madison exclaimed as he gazed out a window during a visit to the Queen City in a 1974 episode of “The Odd Couple”, “Who would believe that eight bowling alleys on the same block could do much business?”
Heritage Moments: Pop Warner, All-American
Western New Yorkers LOVE their football, but how many know that the man dubbed the “Father of Modern Football” came from Springville in southern Erie County?
Heritage Moments: Why Do People in the Midwest Sound Like Buffalonians? Blame It on the Erie Canal
Why Do People in the Midwest Sound Like Buffalonians? Blame It on the Erie Canal
Heritage Moments: Robert H. Jackson, Western New Yorker at Nuremberg
It’s a long way from the Chautauqua County Village of Frewsburg to the Supreme Court of the United States, and longer still to Nuremberg, Germany, and the trial of the most vicious murderers of the 20th century. But Robert H. Jackson successfully and masterfully made those journeys.
Heritage Moments: Out, Proud and Defiant, All the Way to the Supreme Court
Hard to believe it today, but until 1984, a man could be arrested for asking another man to sleep with him. That intrusive law wrecked the lives of hundreds of men in New York State before it was finally abolished, thanks to the courage of two Buffalonians.
Heritage Moments: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 in Buffalo, an Uprising Against Locomotives in the Streets
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was a landmark event for the labor movement, its impact still felt by every worker in America today.
Heritage Moments: The Niagara Frontier, Awash in Blood
Along the Niagara Frontier the War of 1812 was a special kind of hell, a futile succession of battles and skirmishes that left death and devastation in their wake.