Today, a new spark of life has ignited on State Street in the form of a restaurant serving a well-curated, dynamic, and flavorful Nepalese and Indian menu that not only enriches the city’s taste but also expands the cultural wealth of a diverse and historic neighborhood.

Recently, a newish pop-up eatery that fuses Mexican and Cuban recipes has opened its kitchen on East Avenue inside one of Downtown Rochester’s most creative cocktail lounges, Aqua Vitae. Tiki Pedro’s menu offers a Cuban and Northeast take on traditional Mexican dishes, including tacos and burritos, foods with origins in Northern Mexico.

Record Row is the site of three remarkable record shops: Bop Shop Records, Needle Drop Records, and the Hi Fi Lounge. Each shop is unique; they have their own flair, elevate different genres of music, and contain nuanced specializations that set their stores apart. All shops sell vinyls, CDs, and other wonderful collections, but no two shops are alike.

The Crust Pie Co. origin story is another tale as sweet as pie, involving Rebecca Vang’s leap from the marketing world to embarking on the dream of owning a small business. It is a labor of love that involves early morning baking, positive growth, overcoming challenges, and the pursuit of joy through freshly baked goods offered to the community. With every recipe created by Crust Pie Co., bliss permeates through the threshold of a flaky crust. It is a place where happiness can be gently held in a savory and warm Banh Mi hand pie.

If you haven’t had a chance to stop by the Rochester Night Market, they run every other Tuesday night until October 28, 2025. You can visit new vendors each night, and there will be plenty of exciting experiences to enjoy in this new open-air bazaar-style event. The sun set on another beautiful night in the city. Enjoy this glance at the Rochester Night Market.

Chanel & the Circus is more than a comedic musical cracking down on toxic relationships and slamming the block caller feature on our cellular devices; it is a community gathering, it is speaking our profound truths, a support group, and most of all, it is a reminder that we must love ourselves.

‘Bad Bunny Brunch’ is the first of a series of community-driven brunch events occurring at Farmhouse Table at South Clinton and E. Broad Street throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15, 2025.

Wasted Girl, an odyssey of original musical compositions written with thoroughly researched morbid and romantic lyrics, a robust instrumental accompaniment, and performed by the multitalented, multi-instrumentalist Artemisia LeFay, and classical pianist counterpart, Renée Guerrero, at the 2025 Rochester Fringe Festival.

Formerly occupied by Masons on Alexander, a new western-themed bar Fool’s Gold Saloon, has reimagined the space with a makeover from a classic dive bar to a watering hole that pays tribute to the old Wild West.

The marvelous Rochester Fringe Festivalmade its debut in Downtown Rochester in 2012, featuring 180 performances while attracting more than 30,000 attendees throughout the 5-day event. Today, Rochester Fringe has grown, expanding to 12 days and featuring over 600 events at more than 30 venues, attracting nearly 1,000,000 attendees to over 5,700 performances since the festival began.

Opening their doors on June 28, 2025, the owners and pastry chefs at Pastrymancer began conjuring up some of the most uniquely creative pastries imaginable in Downtown Roc. Their confections are daring and bold, at times rough around the edges, but uniquely experimental, made with ingenuity, and designed to send your taste buds on an unparalleled adventure.

Blushed Cakery’s customizable flavors range from chocolate to strawberry, vanilla, and lemon, and are decorated with floral and vintage designs, and can be topped with fresh fruits, ribbons, and chocolate butterflies. All of which are delightfully crafted and yes, edible. The artist behind Blushed Cakery, Halle Flan, shares the belief that celebrations and special moments are not complete without a cake.

Building their foundation as a pop-up coffee cart, Mercury Coffee Co. spent many months slinging espresso drinks around the city of Rochester, collaborating on events with local businesses, and improving their recipes and latte art throughout the process. For fans, it has been a journey to behold watching this small coffee cart design and build out a sensational space in the South Wedge just off of Gregory Street and South Avenue.

The Strasenburgh Planetarium has a series of shows dedicated to the advancement of science education, and some of the most iconic laser shows. The museum continues to add new shows, most recently, Laser Taylor Swift: Part 2 was announced, which features a full 49-minute set of Taylor’s versions of songs set to a spectacular laser performance.

In celebration of the 2025 Erie Canal Bicentennial, Flotsam! River Circus, a troupe featuring acrobats, musicians, choreographers, trapeze artists, and puppeteers from around the world, is rolling on the Erie Canal from Buffalo to New York City.