Name: Through the Kaleidoscope: Crafting Interlocking Stories: a Rochester Reads Master Class
Start: 2026-10-28
End: 2026-10-28

The Strong National Museum of Play is the ultimate play destination for all ages! Explore upstate New York’s largest year-round cultural attraction and experience two floors—more than a city block long—of hands-on, dynamic, interactive exhibit spaces. Discover the world's largest collection of toys, dolls, and games. Play your way through video game and pinball history, leap into the world of American comic book superheroes, and move like a playing piece on a giant game board. Enjoy a 1918 carousel; indoor, tropical butterfly garden; food court; diner; and more. Meet history’s playful side in The Strong’s three halls of fame. Go hands-on with the toys beloved by generations in the National Toy Hall of Fame; learn about toy industry luminaries such as Milton Bradley, Walt Disney, Jim Henson, and George Lucas of the Toy Industry Hall of Fame; and see how electronic games are changing the way people play, learn, and connect with each other in the World Video Game Hall of Fame. The Strong is open 362 days a year and is centrally located in Rochester, New York. Visit museumofplay.org or download The Strong Museum Guide mobile app to plan your visit today. Parking is available in the museum's garage for $5. ATM on site.

The Strong Museum

Save $5 with code ROCSPORTS

Strong National Museum of Play - Rochester’s ultimate destination for hands-on fun and adventure for all ages

Stop by Flight Downtown and meet the new owner, see the beautiful changes and follow us on social media for entertaining events. Flight Downtown offers wines, beers, ciders and small plates. We will always have something new to try. During the nice weather, enjoy our delightful covered patio. Reach out to us for information on private events and fundraising. Cheers!

Flight Wine Bar Downtown

Every Monday, Flight gives 10% off your final bill.  Reservations are always encouraged.

Writers & Books is a nonprofit literary center that promotes reading and writing as lifelong activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. With programming headquarters and an on-site indie bookstore in Rochester, the organization also owns and runs Gell, a Naples, NY-based retreat center for creatives, groups, and businesses.

Writers & Books

Located in the vibrant Neighborhood of the Arts, Image City Photography Gallery stands at the heart of Rochester's rich artistic tapestry. Known as the 'Image City of the World' and hailed as the 'Photo Capital of the World,' Rochester's legacy in photography is unparalleled, and our gallery is proud to be a part of this heritage. At Image City, we're committed to curating quality exhibitions and providing enriching learning experiences for both photographers and the art-loving community. Our captivating exhibitions showcasing diverse photographic styles in 13 different annual exhibitions, provide something for everyone to explore and enjoy. Join us as an exhibiting photographer or as a patron in celebrating the art of photography and the boundless creativity of our community. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or simply passionate about the visual arts, we invite you to immerse yourself in the unique atmosphere of Image City Photography Gallery.

Image City Photography Gallery

Pour-your-own candle and custom fragrance bar. We sell natural soy candles and premium home fragrance products, and offer a unique custom fragrance experience. With 100+ distinct scents available, customers can come in to our shop to blend their own fragrances to make custom candles, melts, diffusers, sprays and more.

Scents by Design

Have a great time with us! Cool people making award-winning craft beer in the Neighborhood of the Arts. 16 freshly made beers on tap with live music every Saturday and Sunday. We feature a large tasting room with snacks and a huge patio to enjoy the outdoors. Our flagship brand, Kind IPA is Rochester's signature craft beer. Gluten free and N/A options available, along with NYS wine and cider. Space available for large groups and events. Checkout our website for upcoming events, https://threeheadsbrewing.com/events. Bands & Shows: Get out your dancing shoes and join us for some great tunes. From yoga to private parties, we’ve always got something fun going on. Three Heads Brewing is comprised a perfect combination of talent, friendship and commitment to great beer. Each of the crew brings unique ability to the business and has a distinct background. We hope to continue to grow and always make beers you enjoy.

Three Heads Brewing

Chef Dan Martello and team find their culinary inspiration in dishes to be shared, and through this lens prepare cuisine specializing in house made pastas, dishes from our smokehouse, and vegetable preparations reflecting the best the region and seasons have to offer. Enjoy the energy of our bar and award-winning craft cocktail program, as well as our dining room with a group of friends or for a special date. Hours: Wed-Sat 5 p.m. - 2 a.m. For parties of 25-350 guests, checkout Jackrabbit Club. This spacious, 7,000 square foot space features a full on-site kitchen and flexible layout for happenings of all sorts. Jackrabbit Club is located directly adjacent to Good Luck.

Good Luck Restaurant

Established in 2006, Stacy K Floral is a women-owned business founded by Stacy K Ercan with a mission to bring joy to the community through flowers, gifts, and creative design. While delivering daily throughout Monroe County and providing event florals statewide, the Rochester storefront has evolved into a vibrant, collaborative destination. Guests can now experience a unique fusion of local brands under one roof, including the newly added Winter Swan Coffee, where you can enjoy the intoxicating aroma of freshly brewed specialty coffee nestled right among the fresh blooms.

Stacy K Floral & Winter Swan Coffee

ImageOut presents and supports LGBTQ+ arts and cultural experiences showcasing films, creative works, and artists to promote awareness, foster dialogue, and build community.

ImageOut: The Rochester LGBT Film & Video Festival

The George Eastman Museum is located in Rochester, New York, on the estate of George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. Founded in 1947 as an independent nonprofit institution, it is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the oldest film archives. The museum holds unparalleled collections—encompassing several million objects—in the fields of photography, cinema, and photographic and cinematographic technology, and photographically illustrated books. The institution is also a longtime leader in film preservation and photographic conservation. There is always something new and different to engage, educate, or entertain you at the Eastman Museum: At all times, at least three temporary exhibitions on photography and cinema—most of which change about every four months—in the main exhibition galleries, the Project Gallery for contemporary works, the History of Photography Gallery, and on the second floor of the mansion George Eastman’s historic mansion and gardens, where one can see how this visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist lived for almost thirty years during the early twentieth century—one of only two National Historic Landmarks in Monroe County The beautiful 500-seat Dryden Theatre, which exhibits more than 300 different films every year and, as one of just a few venues in the world equipped to exhibit highly flammable nitrate film, hosts the annual Nitrate Picture Show—A Festival of Film Conservation The restored Terrace Garden, West Garden, and Rock Garden for quiet enjoyment Several times a day, docent tours of the exhibition galleries, mansion, and gardens Frequent talks by in-house experts and visiting artists and scholars Music recitals in the mansion almost every Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. A leading library of literature on photography and cinema in the world, accessible by appointment World-renowned hands-on workshops on historic and alternative photographic processes (advance enrollment required) View our virtual tour by visiting https://www.eastman.org/360-historic-mansion-tour

George Eastman Museum

Rochester, NY, is the third-largest metropolitan area in New York State, nestled along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. With a proud sports tradition, Rochester is home to iconic teams like the Rochester Red Wings (MiLB), Rochester Americans (AHL), Rochester Knighthawks (NLL), and Flower City Union (NPSL). Our vibrant sports culture thrives across all levels, from youth clubs and high schools to elite collegiate programs, creating a strong, year-round foundation for athletic excellence.

The Rochester NY Sports Commission champions Monroe County through the power of sports tourism. By attracting championships, invitationals, and tournaments across a wide range of disciplines, we help fuel the region’s economy and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Each year, Rochester welcomes a growing roster of sporting events, showcasing our top-tier facilities, supportive community, and dedication to teamwork on and off the field.

We invite event organizers, rights holders, and sports professionals to discover why Rochester and Monroe County are ideal destinations for your next competition or tournament. Let’s play in Rochester!

Visit Rochester

**Join us for a deep-dive into the art of crafting “linked” story collections, featuring three past Rochester Reads selections, with award-winning fiction writer Lauren Acampora.**

Inspired by three exceptional Rochester Reads selections—Russell Banks’ *The Sweet Hereafter*(2002), Andrea Barrett’s *Servants of the Map* (2005), and Laila Lalami’s *Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits*(2008), this master class will explore vastly different novels that operate through the shared uncommon structure of interlocking narratives and intersecting characters. Using these examples as mentor texts, we will examine how their shifting lenses open new perspectives for the reader and add complexity and depth to a story. Generative in-class writing exercises will allow us to experiment with switches in character and vantage point, aiming to heighten drama, pull a reader more fully into a story, and reflect the kaleidoscopic nature of truth itself.

**Lauren Acampora** is the author of *The Wonder Garden*, *The Paper Wasp*, and *The Hundred Waters*, all published by Grove Atlantic. Her new collection of linked stories, *The Animal Room*, is forthcoming in June 2026 and features the story “Dominion,” which was selected for *The Best American Short Stories 2025* and performed on stage for Selected Shorts.

Lauren’s first novel, *The Paper Wasp* was named a Best Summer Read by The New York Times Book Review,USA Today, Oprah Magazine, ELLE, Town & Country, BBC.com, Daily Mail (UK), Tatler, Thrillist, and Publishers Weekly, as well as a Best Indie Novel of 2019 by Chicago Review of Books. It was also longlisted for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and nominated for the Kirkus Prize. *The Hundred Waters* was named one of Vogue’s best books of the year, a LitHub best book of the summer, and one of The Millions’ most-anticipated books of 2022.

Lauren’s short fiction and other writing has appeared or is forthcoming in publications such as *The Paris Review, One Story, New England Review, Story Magazine, Guernica, Missouri Review, The Common, Prairie Schooner, Antioch Review, The New York Times*, and *LitHub*, and was anthologized in *The Best American Short Stories 2025*. She graduated from Brown University, earned an MFA at Brooklyn College, and has received fellowships from MacDowell, Ucross, Ragdale Foundation, Art OMI, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Raised in Connecticut, Lauren lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, artist Thomas Doyle, and their daughter.

Through the Kaleidoscope: Crafting Interlocking Stories: a Rochester Reads Master Class

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