Roger Roberge Rainville, author of “South Buffalo – The Way It Was,” will visit the nonprofit Dog Ears Bookstore & Café for a book-signing event from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1. The community bookstore is located at 688 Abbott Road in South Buffalo.     

This book is full of nostalgia, interesting facts, names and stories about people, places and events from neighborhoods including the Old First Ward, the Valley, Seneca-Babcock, Seneca Street, Abbott Road, McKinley Parkway and South Park Avenue, going back to the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. It should appeal to people of all ages, especially those connected to the Baby Boomer generation. 

The Elmwood Village Farmers Market will hold its seventh annual poster contest to promote the outdoor market’s upcoming 2017 season. Entries for the poster competition are due by 5 p.m. Friday, March 10. Whether you’re a student studying the arts, a professional graphic designer or just someone with a creative streak, you’re invited to submit your design for an 11x17-inch color poster that accurately reflects the feel of the Elmwood Village Farmers Market, sponsored by the Elmwood Village Association.

Last spring, a generous landowner donated a beautiful eight-acre forest on a bluff overlooking Lake Erie in Derby to the Western New York Land Conservancy. The Land Conservancy is a non-profit land trust that protects forests, farms and scenic vistas forever, including places like the Stella Niagara Preserve in Lewiston and The Owens Falls Sanctuary in Aurora.  

The Lakeshore Forest is the Land Conservancy’s first preserve directly on Lake Erie. There is very little natural land like this left along the shoreline. The forest has trees that are more than 100 years old. Many birds find food and shelter in these trees during their long spring and fall migrations. Scattered wetlands provide habitat for frogs, toads and salamanders.