In the BUF
They come from across the United States and Canada. From the four corners of the globe. From as near as Burlington, Ontario and as far away as Beijing. They are young families, couples without kids, ex-pats, cultural tourists, festival lovers and Bills fans. Some travel in groups and others prefer going solo. In a world of travel options, they all found their way to Buffalo. Here are their stories.
Words and pictures by Nancy J. Parisi.
Meet Frank and Toni Guy of Baltimore, Maryland who we met during the second day of National Buffalo Wing Festival at Sahlen Field… |
Murray Daniel conjures up so much exuberance pertaining to Buffalo (the people, sports, architecture and food) that he inspires a new term… |
We ran into Sylvia Sierra and Dan Simonson on the Sol LeWitt staircase at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery last week. The couple (she from Syracuse, he from Arlington, Virginia)… |
On the road for a tour of Northeast colleges, father and son Stan and Trent Jesionowski of Monroe, Indiana, stopped in Buffalo for two very specific reasons: to eat at a… |
The pull of live music – and a budding “Buffalo crush” – brought massage therapist Julie O’Connor to the third annual Cobblestone Live event… |
We ran into Cindy Murphy of Butler, Pennsylvania, and her husband, Tom, and son, Dylan, strolling the streets at Garden Walk Buffalo… |
We spotted a family from Beijing, China at the Italian Heritage Festival in Niagara Square last weekend. The group had stopped in Niagara Falls and Buffalo… |
We caught up to Douglas Worboys and his enthusiastic entourage at Wilkeson Pointe on the Fourth of July. The family was in town from Rochester for Port of Call: Buffalo… |
We ran into Kim, of Mulmur Township, Ontario, rocking around Artpark before a concert. Kim loved Lewiston, saying “I’m impressed with this quaint town”… |
We spotted Kevin, Jennifer and Kaylynn from Mebane, North Carolina at City Hall, climbing the observation deck steps on a hazy summer afternoon… |
John and Michelle, of Jupiter, Florida, were spotted merrily shopping their way up and down the aisles of Vidler’s 5 & 10 in East Aurora… |
Janice and Ken of Niagara Falls, Ontario hit the Italian Heritage Festival on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo for three distinct reasons… |
Ilana and her two young children were spotted playing on the large Lego wall on Old Falls Street USA next to the Conference and Event Center in Niagara Falls… |
Cindy, Craig, Noah and Zachary were taking in Garden Walk Buffalo for the day, visiting from Pittsford, New York, a Rochester suburb… |
Lauren, visiting a relative in Buffalo and who lives in Santa Cruz, California where she works as a realtor, said that she could not leave the city before seeing … |
Former Buffalonian Zachary Smith, now of Austin, Texas, was spotted on a rented bike during a stop at Niagara Square recently. He was on a two-hour Buffalo Bike Tours…. |
Holding her newly-crafted wooden top, three-year old Mira Garrow was photographed with her parents Whitney Nephew and Jordan Garrow at Kidsfest… |
Hailing from Brooklyn, Zachary, wearing a “Super Fan” Bills jersey and in full-face Bills logo face paint (and wild Bills blue wig), says “I’ve been a season ticket holder… |
Monica Mendivil and Jose Salazar came from Peoria, Arizona to visit Niagara Falls – “so much more than we imagined!” – and found themselves on a Buffalo Bike Tour… |
The In the BUF award for Enthusiasm & Determination goes to Kayla and Dane, who drove from Rochester to Buffalo for RiverWorks’ two-day Totally Buffalo Festival… |
Xanthe (Xan for short, pronounced “Zan”) visited Graycliff with her mom, Jeannette, part of the family’s ongoing “Adventure Club” series of day trips emanating from their Irondequoit… |
The Pan Family (mom Amy, dad Rup, and their nine-year-old daughter, who was spinning around merrily on the carousel), were visiting the new Buffalo Heritage Carousel… |
Meandering from one Buffalo Porchfest live music stop to another, Melissa Hamlin, an ex-pat trying to move back to Buffalo, was in town visiting from Georgia… |
Guillermo had just run his second Buffalo Marathon and was strolling Main Street with his family members – wife Rosa, and son Giancarlo. The family is from Watertown… |
Julie and Megan met in graduate school and stayed close, despite Julie staying in Bellingham, Washington and Megan moving to Portland, Oregon. Julie, originally from Buffalo… |
In the BUF spotted two couples strolling the grounds of the Martin House, longtime friends who first met when they were all neighbors in Des Moines, Iowa… |
Tracy and Randy drove three hours from Cleveland for a baseball and history-infused weekend. They were spotted in the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site… |
Jarmila and Simon Haseler of Irondequoit, New York were having a blast on their first Garden Walk Buffalo. “I wish Garden Walk went on even longer… |
In the BUF spotted Juan and Xiomara of Patterson, New Jersey, relaxing in the distinctive turquoise-colored Adirondack chairs at Wilkeson Pointe on a Sunday afternoon… |
Visiting Buffalo Central Terminal for the first time was mom-son travel team Jennifer and James from Bloomington, Illinois. They were checking out several PLAY/GROUND… |