sunday august 24th 2008
Elmwood Festival Continues To Inspire
queenseyes
The Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts knocked it out of the park for a second time today. I heard that the crowds were excellent on Saturday, and can attest to the high attendance today. Already, reports are coming in from artists saying that there have been higher than normal sales thus far. Every year the festival strives to add new and different art, acts and organizations to the mix. I hear that at four o’clock today the children in The Garden Parade are going to break out found-art musical instruments.
Once again, it was an eye-opener to visit the groups at Environmental Row and Cultural Row. It was also good to see that the solar stage and the solar made smoothies were back. Green Options Buffalo (GO) was there making sure that bicycle valet parking was available for the cyclists and many of the other inspiring earth-friendly groups were on hand.
Of everything I saw at the festival, I found myself completely mesmerized by the dance performance by Lehrer Dance (photo). Talk a…
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queenseyes
The numbers are in - yesterday drew 3,000 beer-lovers to the HSBC Arena. The concourse of the arena was packed, which means that the Brewfest organizers are already planning for next year. I spoke to one organizer, Amy Starck, who said that in order to accommodate the guests appropriately, the plan is to incorporate the second level of the arena into the brewery layout. She also noted that there might be a possibility to open up the actual rink for guests and vendors.
Moving Brewfest from its former home at the Central Terminal has a lot of people talking. It was quite a change from previous years. And with any and all changes, there were some beer lovers (that we talked to at the event) who wanted to share their thoughts. A few of them said that identifying the lines that led to the brewer was diff…
queenseyes
There's another event taking place in the city that is proving to be quite interesting. It's the Buffalo Niagara Thunder motorcycle rally. While biking (no, not motorcycle) to it yesterday I thought to myself that this was to be my first ever event of this sort. I used to head down to see all of the choppers and Hogs that would swarm Niagara Square each year. And I've seen the lines of bikes at Thursday at the Square and on Chippewa. But many of the urban motorcycle events have, for some reason, dispersed over the years. Maybe that's why Buffalo Niagara Thunder has the opportunity to become so big.
The location of the three-day event proved to be excellent - once the bikers figured out how to get there. When we pulled up on our bikes, we weren't quite sure how we would be welcomed. It turned out that the atte…
Eli George
You have just a week left to get your pre-sale tickets for Party for the Parks, after that the price goes up and it really isn’t an event to skip out on. This is the sixth annual fundraiser held by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. The Conservancy is now in its 30th year and they are unveiling the park’s Plan for the 21st Century, a blueprint for the future of the Olmsted System and the City of Buffalo.
This year’s fundraiser will take place at the newly renovated Marcy Casino in Delaware Park, which overlooks the 350-acre Olmsted-designed Delaware Park, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Hoyt Lake, and the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Museum. You have to be 21 years old or older to attend Party for the Parks, which is held to raise awareness about the mission of the Conservancy to enhance, restore, and maintain the Olmsted Park System and to raise funds for…
saturday august 23rd 2008
Funkfest: The Rick James Memorial Concert
queenseyes
What a blast! To be back at LaSalle Park for an outdoor concert? And a tribute to Rick James no less. That's where we ended up after Brewfest... I mean after the Buffalo Niagara Thunder motorcycle rally. Even after a day filled with stellar events, I was completely transfixed by Funkfest. It was so cool to see hundreds of people hanging out in front of the underutilized band shell (first BirdAir structure installed downtown). I could hardly believe the news when I heard that there was going to be live music there. I hope that this venue can one day become the place that the Junior League association intended it to be.
What made Funkfest even more special was the crowd. Everyone brought down lawn chairs, umbrellas and funky tents. It was colorful and there was the smell of barbecue in the air... it was exactly how I imagined a concert at LaSalle Park should be. There were even ve…
Eli George
What started because of the gang-infested streets of Denver has come to represent a way to reach young leaders of communities, inspiring youth to create positive change through the influence of Nobel Peace Laureates. PeaceJam started in 1996, after it’s co-founders Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Engle managed to garner 12 Nobel Laureates to join their movement. Some 600,000 kids have taken part in the program that runs in over 10 countries. The youth involved have managed to create around one million service projects to benefit their communities. Now, The Peace Center brings that same opportunity to Buffalo.
The idea to study a Nobel Laureate in the hopes of changing the minds of youth came from Suvanjieff. When he learned that the gang members knew and respected the nonviolent efforts toward change of Desmond Tutu, he was blown away. PeaceJam prov…
queenseyes
Last night I made it to my first show at the Artspace Gallery. Despite the fact that we walked in after most of the crowd had left, it was still worth seeing the new venue in action. I like that the gallery is accessible from the front and the back of the building – it gives the space an elevated or lofted feeling even though the gallery floor is level with Main Street. The show that we saw, I Shot Lucy, worked well because of the show’s premise in which a host of photographers all photographed one subject – Lucy Yau. Each photographer’s work was hung in different sections of the gallery. That enabled each artist to maintain different stations while Lucy and the crowd flitted from section to section.
I really enjoyed watching the interaction between the
queenseyes
A couple of days ago I was invited to take a climb up to the roof of an old grain mill on Niagara Street. Seeing the interior of the mill (more on that later) was a real treat, but it was the view out onto the Black Rock Channel and the Niagara River that really made the visit worthwhile. It was completely different watching members of the West Side Rowing Club pulling down the channel. Just seeing the relationship of the waterways, the highway and the train tracks from this perspective was both sad and inspiring.
My host pointed out the partially buried and rusted bridge (top photo - lower left) that I always assumed was some sort of buffer. He explained that before the highway was built, the side roads leading from Niagara Street allowed people to travel straight to the water's edge. As they passed under these metal bridges, they were greeted by a lively waterside scene. Appa…
Eli George
The 7th annual Rock For Food extravaganza just got some great partners involved. Rock For Food, which benefits the Food Bank of WNY, is now the official kick-off party for the National Buffalo Wing Festival and Frank’s Redhot Cayenne Pepper Sauce is sponsoring it. It takes place Friday, August 29th at the Pearl Street Grill & Brewery at 76 Pearl Street in downtown Buffalo.
This year’s event features the best in local music on two stages – one inside and one outdoors. This year’s bands are The Scott Celani Band, Mo Porter, Dee Adams,
friday august 22nd 2008
Take A Seat @ The Aud
queenseyes
Mayor Brown has just announced that a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued in order to find an auctioneer that can sell the salvageable memorabilia within The Aud. The proposals are due in to the City of Buffalo by September 8th, upon which time The City will take a little over a week's time to name a vendor. The actual sale of the items would take place late November to early December. Here's an excerpt from a post by Joshua D. Hall recalling his early-on memories of The Aud:
I was 13 when the lights went out at the Aud, a bit young to remember much about the interior, but have long admired its exterior details since. I was inside the Aud for a couple Sabres' games. I remember sitting up in the orange section with my dad and I felt like I was going to fall down to the ice. The seats were so steep. When I was much younger, I remember going there for Disney on Ice, but …
