THINGS TO DO IN BUFFALO OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYSI grew up in Buffalo, moved away to sunny Florida many years ago and returned. The Winters here are lousy. But the cost of living, the people and the weather the other 7 months of the year is really quite nice. I hope everyone coming in for the show gets a chance to get out and enjoy the city and all it has to offer.
This board is incredibly diverse (just try asking a question about who the Stones best lead guitarist has been and you will get pounded with opinions!). I am sure some people plan on coming in and hanging at their hotel till showtime, others might want to explore. Here are a few things going on over the coming days that might be of interest:
THURSDAY NIGHT:Starting around 6 pm at Canalside (in downtown Buffalo) there is a free concert by Mighty Mighty Bosstones, plus 2 other bands. Beer, food and wine are available at the show. Ska might not be your favorite genre of music, but for free, outdoors, with 10,000 people wandering around the park, it should be fun. [
www.canalsidebuffalo.com]
FRIDAY NIGHT:As posted earlier on this thread by LadyJane, another poster to this thread, Gary Zoldos will lead his band the Dead Flowers thru a
15 song set of Stones classics, with special guests the Gallows Walkers.
Music starts promptly at 8 pm at The Cove (4701 Transit Road near French Road Depew 716-656-7946) and should run thru 11, so you can get out, have a good time and still be home at a reasonable hour (or you can stay out all night as the bar is one till 4 am!). Great music, nice suburban party bar with an outdoor patio, reasonably priced drinks. There is
no cover charge. Instead, the band is asking people to donate what they can to the Food Bank of Western NY...whose mission is to assist some of the salt of the earth who can use some help making ends meet and putting food on the table. Great music, great cause. AND there will be a FREE SHUTTLE to/from some hotels in West Seneca, Depew and Cheektowaga...so no car needed! It should be a great time.
SATURDAY DURING THE DAY:Taste of Buffalo (the second largest event of its kind, trailing only Chicago in size) takes place on Delaware Avenue at Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo. Purchase tickets on-site and exchange them for sampler sized portions from over 50 local restaurants and 7 wineries who set up booths along the streets, along with several stages for music. The event website is [
www.tasteofbuffalo.com] 200,000+ people visit the festival each day.
GENERAL DAYTIME THINGS TO DO:For active outdoor things:Hike at Chestnut Ridge in Orchard Park (5 minutes from the stadium) [
www2.erie.gov]
Hike at Letchworth State Park, about an hour away but a great place to hike and enjoy the gorge known as 'the grand canyon of the east' Worth a drive! [
nysparks.com]
Hike at Whirlpool Park and Devil's Hole, just 35 minutes north of Buffalo along the Niagara River. Picturesque gorge and whirlpools forming from the current downstream from Niagara Falls. [
nyfalls.com]
Go to Niagara Falls:Pretty touristy..but still
amazing. 30 minutes north of Buffalo is Niagara Falls. Simply walk along the river and enjoy the beauty and power of one of the wonders of the world. Or get wet and ride The Maid Of The Mist boat to the base of the Falls, or take an elevator thru the rock to the base of the Falls known as The Cave Of The Winds (windy because all the water falling down is also pushing air...winds are hurricane force at the base). [
www.maidofthemist.com] or [
www.niagarafallslive.com]
Niagara Falls NY also has a Casino (though warning that the city itself is very run down, the Casino a rare sign life). But if you have your passport with you, walk or drive across the bridge to Niagara Falls Ontario where you get a different view of the Falls, plus a much more developed city with many hotels and restaurants. Though again, a warning that this is very touristy. The Falls are a wonderful, awe-inspiring, natural wonder. The area around it, not so much...
Hang out on the rebuilding waterfront at Canalside which has a small beer garden, boardwalk and water bikes, kayaks and paddleboats to ride on the calm waters...a great place to cool off, cheap. Right downtown. Pardon the contraction in the area. [
www.canalsidebuffalo.com]
ENJOY ART?Buffalo features Albright Knox Art Gallery on Elmwood Avenue, 10 minutes from downtown, known for its extensive collection of modern art from the likes of Picasso, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Kahlo, Van Gogh, Dali, etc. [
www.albrightknox.org]
and right across the street is Burchfield Penny Art Center, home of more regional American art, housing the collection of Charles Burchfield, great American landscape painter, and a collection of modern portraits by Philip Burke (many of rock stars). You may be familiar with his work from seeing his work in books and magazines (esp Rolling Stone) over the years.
[
www.burchfieldpenney.org]
NIGHTTIME (OR DAYTIME FUN). OK, DRINKING FUN.Bars in Buffalo can stay open until 4 am and you will find a WIDE array of places from corner bars to places serving the latest martini concoction.
Dean Goodman was kind enough to list the following local microbrews earlier in this thread:
Resurgence Brewing Co.(beer garden), 1250 Niagara - Fri: 1 pm-11:30 pm; Sat: noon-11:30 pm
Community Beer Works, 15 Lafayette - Fri: 3-7 pm; Sat: noon-4 pm
Big Ditch (approved!), 55 E. Huron - Fri: 3 pm-midnight: Sat: noon-midnight
Flying Bison, 840 Seneca - Fri., Sat: noon-8 pm
If you must: Buffalopedaltours.com (8 to 12 people pedal a bike sideways on a pub crawl...unique!
I would also add Pearl Street Grill and Brewery at 76 Pearl Street, downtown. Enormous place with great outdoor patios, perfect for a summer night. Great beer [
pearlstreetgrill.com]
And if you are under 30 or want to hang where people under the age of 30 (or 25) might be head to Chippewa St in downtown. It features a wide variety of bars and clubs in a few block area and will rock till 4 am....it will be full of people after the Stones show for those that want to keep the party going!
Here is a link to a pretty solid list of downtown bars...look for Chippewa St, [
www.buffaloplace.com]
TAILGATE BEFORE THE SHOWA huge tradition in Buffalo is to tailgate before football games at the stadium (and even some hockey games). We get there several hours early, bring or cook lunch/dinner, enjoy a few beverages of choice and just get into the whole vibe of the event with thens of thousands of other fans. You could probably hang at your hotel of find a bar, but it looks like it will be a great day outdoors, AND WHY NOT BE HANGING WITH 50,000 OTHER FANS? Grab some beer (and something non-alcoholic to balance it) and get out there early. Hammer, who is on this board, owns a parking lot across the street from the stadium that I park in regularly for Bills games. It is safe, has portable restrooms, and has grass which is much cooler to hang out on for a few hours than asphalt is! There is even some room to throw a football or kick a soccer ball around. He has a post elsewhere in this thread...it is even a little cheaper than the official government owned stadium lots.
Around 30 people from this board have arranged to park there so far. It will be nice to get a chance to meet other fans from this board, and perhaps quaff a few ales, listen to some Stones and other music, and get pumped up for the show. Even Taylor-bashers are welcome.
Get in touch with Hammer, and got out there early. I will be there by 1 pm at the latest.
Regarding beer...if you are heading out to the stadium and suddenly remember you need more beer...take I-90 to Rt 219 South, follow Rt 219 South to Rt 20A Orchard Park. At the bottom of the exit make a right turn toward Orchard Park and once you go over a little hill/bridge you will see a very good beer store, Consumers Beverages, on your right. To get to the stadium, make a left out of Consumers parking lot and go back toward Rt 219 and keep going on Rt 20A to Abbott Road (you will be able to see the stadium on your right as you pass some parking lot entrances. Make a right turn on Abbott and Hammers lot (which has a large sign that says HAMMER will be on your left a few houses up. It will be the pre and post concert stop for many people.
If you have ANY questions during your stay in Buffalo, or want to connect for the Stones bar/party on Friday night or the tailgate before the show on Saturday....do not hesitate to email me at:
[email protected]Yes, it's a real email! I will respond as quickly as I can.
There is MUCH MUCH more to see and do. But it is late and I am a terrible typist. Hope to meet some of you and enjoy the show on Saturday! Hope this post helps enhance your weekend and did not wear out your eyes with its length!
John