Press Releases

Top Ten Reasons to Shuffle Off to Buffalo This Summer

Free Shakespeare, Frank Lloyd Wright, Food Festivals, Garden Tours, Something “Wicked” Highlight Summer Season

BUFFALO, NY, Summer 2008 – So you think you know Buffalo? Think again. Most visitors to Buffalo are astounded to find National Historic Landmarks by Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and H.H. Richardson. Blown away by one of the great collections of modern and contemporary art in the world at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Charmed by America’s “Gateway to the West” at the brand new Erie Canal Harbor. Taken with the boutiques and bistros of one of America’s top ten neighborhoods in the bustling Elmwood Village. Enthralled by our summerlong schedule of architecture tours and garden walks. Amazed by the non-stop series of free concerts and food festivals. Overwhelmed by the grandeur of Shea’s Performing Arts Center where something “Wicked” this way comes. And pleased to find out that Lake Erie is a natural air conditioner that keeps summers cool and comfortable. Come visit our surprising city. Here’s a short list of just a few of the delights that await a summertime visitor to Buffalo:

1. ARCHITECTURE TOURS

Pound for pound, Buffalo is one of the most architecturally interesting cities in the United States. One of the most efficient ways to experience Buffalo’s architectural and historic treasures is on an Open-Air Autobus tour operated by the Campaign for Greater Buffalo History, Architecture & Culture. If you’d like an even more up close and personal view, step out on one of the more than 500 walking tours hosted by Buffalo Tours. In each case, knowledgeable guides bring Buffalo’s heritage to life with wit, charm and insight.

2. AMERICAN HISTORY

Erie Canal Harbor, America’s Gateway to the West, has been revived and restored and is now open to the public for the first time in generations. The 184-year-old Commercial Slip has been excavated and re-watered, a replica “bowstring” pedestrian bridge that spans the slip has been built, a re-creation of the wooden Central Wharf put in place and foundations of Erie Canal-era buildings unearthed. The $53 million heritage tourism site promises to become a must-see destination for American history buffs.

3. GREAT NEIGHBORHOODS

Recently voted one of the country’s top ten neighborhoods by the American Planning Association, Buffalo’s Elmwood Village shares this heady designation with the likes of Brooklyn’s Park Slope, San Francisco’s North Beach and the Pike Place Market in Seattle. The APA selected the Elmwood Village because of its “vitality and cultural and social assets.” A stone’s throw from downtown hotels, the Elmwood Village is a great place to stroll and shop. You’ll find all manner of bistros, bars and cafes nestled among the clusters of galleries, boutiques and shops.

4. GARDEN TOURS

Garden Walk Buffalo is the largest and most spectacular garden tour in North A merica. Each year, more than 260 private gardens are opened for a free public tour that takes place over two days on the last weekend of July. Garden Walk Buffalo highlights urban gardening of every variety, including rose, vegetable, herb, sustainable, native and organic gardens; Japanese, English and water gardens; butterfly, pocket, container and rock gardens; as well as community gardens. The 2008 Garden Walk will take place on Saturday and Sunday, July 26 & 27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

5. FAMILY FUN

Escape to your own tropical paradise and visit the Buffalo Zoo’s M&T Bank Rainforest Falls exhibit, which is scheduled to open in July. The $16 million fully enclosed Rainforest Falls exhibit is modeled after the tepui (or flat-topped mountain) region of Venezuela. Here you’ll find ocelots, giant anteaters, anaconda, piranha, squirrel monkeys, brown capuchins, black howler monkeys and white-faced sakis. One of the exhibit’s most impressive features is the cascading waterfall that replicates Angel Falls, which is found in Venezuela’s Canaima National Park. This version can be viewed from a multitude of angles, including a second-story platform that overlooks the entire exhibit.

6. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Frank Lloyd Wright, the man many historians consider to be the preeminent architect of the 20th century, is represented in Buffalo by six distinguished residences – one of the largest concentrations of Wright’s work outside of Chicago. Foremost among these treasures is the Darwin D. Martin House Complex, the largest residence Wright ever designed. Currently undergoing a $40 million restoration, the house is open for regular tours. While in Buffalo, take time to visit Wright’s Graycliff Estate, a beautiful summer home set high above Lake Erie. Tours are available while an ambitious restoration is completed. As an extra treat, Wright lovers should also stop at the newly constructed Rowing Boathouse, home of Buffalo’s West Side Rowing Club.

7. FREE SHAKESPEARE

More than one million people have attended Shakespeare in Delaware Park since its inaugural season in 1976 – making it the second largest outdoor Shakespeare festival in the country. Nestled in the natural amphitheater behind the Albright-Knox Art Gallery that has come to be known as “Shakespeare Hill,” a grand Tudor-style stage is constructed each summer as the home for the Bard’s stories of passion, laughter and love. This year’s schedule features King Lear from June 19th to July 13th and The Merry Wives of Windsor from July 24th to August 17th.

8. HANDCRAFTED TREASURES

Buffalo abounds with artisans -- furniture makers, potters, glass blowers, among others – who work at an extraordinary level of craftsmanship. From the artists working in a former windshield wiper factory at Buffalo Arts Studio to the new residents of a transformed printing plant now known as Artspace to the Roycroft Renaissance Arts & Crafts artisans found at the Copper Shop Gallery in nearby East Aurora, there is a wealth of talent at work throughout the Buffalo region. You’ll be amazed by the many craft artists who create custom home furnishings, architectural elements, art objects and accessories for the home and garden. The Roycroft Summer Festival on June 28th and 29th offers easy access to many of these artisans.

9. SOMETHING “WICKED”

The most anticipated musical production of Buffalo’s 2007-2008 theater season comes to historic Shea’s Performing Arts Center from June 18th-July 13th. Wicked is the highly acclaimed story of two friends who grow up to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. Shea’s is Buffalo’s legendary “Wonder Theatre” with an interior by Tiffany and Company dating from 1926. Tickets are on sale now and going fast.

10. FESTIVALS AND CONCERTS

After a long winter Buffalo springs to life each summer with an unbridled enthusiasm that turns “every weekend from May to October into a street festival,” according to USA Today. The season kicks into high gear with the 51st annual Allentown Art Festival and the Juneteenth Festival on June 14 and 15. One of the nation’s largest food festivals takes place at the Taste of Buffalo on July 12 and 13 and soon thereafter, one festival follows another: the Italian Heritage Festival on July 17-20, the Buffalo Book Fair on July 19, the Infringement Festival from July 24 to August 3, Bubblefest on July 26, America’s Fair from August 6-17, and the Elmwood Festival of the Arts on August 23 and 24. The summer festival season culminates with the National Buffalo Wing Festival on August 30-31. Free outdoor concerts include the legendary Thursday at the Square. This year’s line-up includes Jakob Dylan, Mickey Hart, David Sanborn, Gin Blossoms, Jimmie Vaughan and many others.

For more information about these and other special events and attractions, check out our new website at visitbuffaloniagara.com

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Media Contacts:

Ed Healy
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
716-852-0511, x236
healy@buffalocvb.org

Doug Sitler
Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau
716-852-0511, x252
sitler@buffalocvb.org