Author: queenseyes

Newell Nussbaumer is 'queenseyes' - Eyes of the Queen City and Founder of Buffalo Rising. Co-founder Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts. Co-founder Powder Keg Festival that built the world's largest ice maze (Guinness Book of World Records). Instigator behind Emerald Beach at the Erie Basin Marina. Co-creator of Rusty Chain Beer. Instigator of Buffalo Porchfest, and Paint vs. Paint. Founder of The Peddler retro and vintage market on Elmwood. Instigator behind Liberty Hound @ Canalside. Throws The Witches Ball at Statler City, the Hertel Alley Street Art Festival, and The Flutterby Festival. And his latest adventure... FigBuffalo, with the intention of creating a Buffalo United Fashion Front (BUFF). Contact Newell Nussbaumer | Newell@BuffaloRising.com

A couple of months ago, Deep South Taco did its part to help liven up an area of Downtown Buffalo that has not seen a lot of activity until just recently. Chef Richard Hamilton took a dormant, obscure building and transitioned it into a bright and lively destination that appears to be filled to the brim with customers whenever the doors are open. Now Hamilton is taking the successful recipe to Hertel. Similar to the conversion on Ellicott, he is in the midst of re-envisioning a former Quick Lube station at the corner of Hertel and Starin. Already Hamilton has…

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Buffalo’s Queen of Burlesque, Jamie Doktor, is hosting burlesque dance classes every Sunday at the New Phoenix Theatre from 8pm to 9pm. The classes are fun, entertaining, informative and empowering. Burlesque has made a comeback, and is being performed at a number of venues throughout the city. Whether you’re thinking about joining a troupe, or simply want to learn how to dance for your own self gratification, Jamie invites you to take the first step on any given Sunday. It’s time to let your inhibitions go, along with others who look to burlesque as a way to project body movement…

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Katie Couric, from Yahoo! News visited Buffalo last week as part of her America Rising series. The global news anchor visited a number of different places in the city, including the 43North Incubator at the Innovation Center and the West Side Bazaar. Couric chose Buffalo as one of eight cities to watch. A completed video has just been released, showing a bustling city, from Larkinville to Canalside and beyond. Below is the first installation of the American Rising series – Buffalo is back!

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Back in August of 2013 I wrote about artist Colleen Darby, who was setting out to build an organization that would help to illuminate the lives of sick children (see here). Her idea was simple – to brighten up the clinical rooms where young patients stayed when they were receiving treatment. Instead of being surrounded by blank walls, Colleen wanted to create vibrant and imaginative imagery, so that the children could be inspired, instead of feeling scared and alone. Colleen’s Kickstarter program was a success, which means that she is ready to move forward with applying some of her works…

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Buffalo on Tap kicks off at 6pm today (Friday, January 15) at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. The festival will feature over 150 brews, many of which you have probably never heard of. Many of your all-time favorites will also be featured. Local Buffalo breweries will also be representing at the event. The 4th annual Buffalo on Tap gets underway from 6pm to 9pm today. The fun continues tomorrow (Saturday, January 16) with two sessions to participate in. Session 1 takes place from 1pm to 4pm. Session 2 is the 6pm to 9pm time slot.  And VIP starts at 12pm.…

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Inspired by Philadelphia’s ArtClash Collective Fun-A-Day, Sugar City (Buffalo DIY collective) is encouraging Buffalonians to play out their passion for one month straight during the month of February. Participants are asked to figure out what makes them happy, and then do whatever that function is for 29 days in a row (it’s a leap year). Love to draw? Ride a bike? Play a game? Play music? Cook dinner? What makes you happy? What do you consider fun? FUN-A-DAY players are asked to document their journey throughout the month, and then show/demonstrate their progress at the end of March. It’s pretty much…

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The second phase of the LaSalle Skate Plaza is getting off to a great start. After nailing down the plaza’s design elements, the project is officially out to bid via the City of Buffalo – Department of Public Works, Parks and Streets. The design of the park was headed up by New Line Skateparks, while the park construction is being overseen by the City of Buffalo. In September, the skate community was invited to participate in the design formulation stages of the park schematics and features. Phase 2 of the skate plaza will be contiguous with Phase 1, yet will offer a number…

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Undeniably, Buffalo’s greatest resource is its abundant fresh water. For a generation, those waters were squandered – as this city grew, fresh water was treated as a way to flush contaminants away from industrial sites, leaving behind a mess that we continue to clean up. Fortunately, times have changed. Buffalonians are once again using fresh waters for their intended purposes, instead of as a dumping ground. Moving forward, this city will be able to use the rejuvenation of Lake Erie to its benefit, by capitalizing on its inherent life sustaining qualities. On Tuesday, January 26, Riverkeeper invites us to entertain…

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The Old First Ward is known for a lot of things – brewing, public parks, bike paths, and the Buffalo River for example. One of the things that I love about the Old First Ward is the juxtaposition of old industry and new adventurous ideas. Taking a look around at all of the old buildings, the mind reels with potential creative ideas – event spaces, restaurants, artist studios… a Buffalo Escape Room adventure! Yes, that’s what’s coming to the Old First Ward… a room where you are locked inside, with only 60 minutes on the clock to escape. Escape rooms…

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The Buffalo Zoo has announced the birth of its newest resident – a western lowland gorilla. The baby was sired by 18-year-old Sydney (mother) and 28-year-old Koga (father). This is great news for the healthy Buffalo gorilla troop. At the same time, western lowland gorillas in their natural habitat continue to face huge problems and are currently on the critically endangered list due to tropical habitat loss and bush meat trade in central Africa. The baby was born on Sunday and joined into the gorilla family which includes big sister Amari, half sister Nyah, and Nyah’s mother, Lily. The gender of the baby…

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