25 Things to do Before Halloween

credit: freedigitalphotos.net/num_skyman

Looking for an adventure in the Buffalo-Niagara region? Here are 25 events to see and places to go to before the end of October.

• Curtain Up! 2015 – celebrate Buffalo’s theatre season.
• Becker Farms – plenty of things for kids of all ages (don’t forget Vizcarra Vineyards and the Becker Brewing Co. too!).
• Visit the Buffalo Zoo – Luna’s new digs are open!
• Catch the Succulent Show at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.
• Visit the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence.
• Take a fall foliage ride on the Medina Railroad.
• Pick your own apples and more at one of the area’s u-pick farms.
• Scare yourself silly at one of the area’s haunted houses.
• Support your favorite local restaurant or discover a new one during Local Restaurant Week (October 19-25).
• Take a tour a Forest Lawn.
• There’s still time to check out a farmers’ market in the area!
• Take a ride on the Arcade and Attica Railroad.
• Visit Pumpkinville in Great Valley (near Ellicottville).
• While you’re there, go on a Nightmare Hayride on Sommerville St.
• Or check out the Fall Festival in Ellicottville.
• Can the Sabres put it together this year? Find out in October as the Blue and Gold begin the 2015-16 season.
• Need more frights? How about the Haunted Fortress at Old Fort Niagara?
• Or maybe some Zombies in Lancaster?
• Or find out the haunted history of some of Buffalo’s most historic places?
• Looking for something fun for the kids? How about the Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Museum’s Trick or Treat?
• Or the Scarecrow Festival in the Clarence Hollow?
• Enjoy a great meal and help a great cause at Dining Out for Life (October 6).
• Spend a leisurely day or weekend at Letchworth Park and enjoy their Arts and Crafts Show.
• Celebrate Buffalo Beer Week (September 25-October 4).
• Get your German on at an area Oktoberfest (more beer!).

Celebrate fall 2015: The Great Pumpkin Farm

credit: Wikimedia Commons/jkb

The Great Pumpkin Farm, located at 11199 Main St. in Clarence, is full of fall fun for families, especially on festival weekends. The Farm is open daily from 10 a.m. to dusk from Saturday, September 12 through Saturday, October 31, but the weekend festivals are what really draw in the crowds.

The Farm will open Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13 for a free preview weekend, with activities available for a small fee. The Farm also hosts the Zombie Mud Run on Saturday, September 12 – the event is held separately from the festival; get more information at buffalozombiemudrun.com.

“Oinktoberfest,” taking place Friday through Sunday, September 18-20, is the annual BBQ cook-off at the Farm. Friday is preview night, with free admission from 5-9 p.m., but the Farm’s activities will not be open; admission on Saturday and Sunday is $7 each day. In addition to great food, there will be live music all three days.

On Saturday and Sunday, September 26-27, check out the World Pumpkin Pie Eating Championship, plus Pig Races throughout the weekend.

The famous World Pumpkin Weigh-Off weekend is Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4. The weekend will also feature the “Mutt-alica" Dog Show and the Just Horsing Around Show both days.

Columbus Day weekend (Saturday through Monday, October 10-12) features the Pumpkin Olympics, plus the annual Pumpkin Drop on Monday.

The High School Trebuchet Contest takes place Saturday and Sunday, October 17-18, where local high school building their own pumpkin catapult for the distance contest.

Saturday and Sunday, October 24-25, is the final weekend for 2015. A costume contest will be held both days, and all attractions will be running.

Tickets for all Great Pumpkin Farm festivals are available in advance at Wegmans; admission during non-festival days is free. For more information on the Great Pumpkin Farm, visit www.greatpumpkinfarm.com or call 716-759-8483 or 716-759-2260.

BfloGirlGarden: Proven Winners wrap-up

This is the time of year I both hate and love: I hate it because the gardens start looking a little shabby, but I love it because I can look back, see what worked and what didn’t, and start planning for next year!

Receiving the Proven Winners preview box was one of my garden highlights this year. Not everything made it, but it was a weird summer as far as periods of rain and dryness, and temperatures fluctuated from one week to the next.

One of my favorite plants was a sedum called Lemon Coral (available spring 2016), which looked great in the stone-like planter! In spite of losing one, I really liked it and will look for it in stores.

I also liked Superbells Holy Moly! calibrachoa – I added it to a couple of containers, along with Campfire Fireburst bidens (both available spring 2016). I love the colors of the cali – the pink and yellow flowers are very unique!

The three Meteor Shower verbenas (available spring 2016) were a little lanky for my tastes – they got tall and seemed to grow wild, with very little structure.

I was really looking forward to Summerific Perfect Storm hibiscus (available spring 2016), but it wasn’t long for the world – not sure what happened, it just stopped growing :(

The Magic Show Enchanted Indigo veronica (now available) landed in my Sci-Fi/Fantasy garden and did well, so it will be staying there for next year.

The Fun and Games Leapfrog heucherella (now available) is doing quite well in my “air conditioner” garden on the west side of my house.

I planted Tuff Stuff hydrangea (now available) on the east side of the house (my garden project for next year!), because my neighbor has hydrangea on the east side of her house – and they’re beautiful. I’m not sure how big it should be after the first year, because I have no experience with hydrangeas, but it looks full and healthy.

The Pink Mink clematis (now available) needed a little TLC after the bunnies wouldn’t leave it alone – it was placed in a container for the time being, and will be replanted somewhere else before the fall. It looked sad when it was replanted, but is flourishing now :)

Double Play Red spirea (available spring 2016) has found a home in my lilac/butterfly bush garden, but I’ll need to weed out some of the “volunteer” butterfly bushes that are trying to choke it out.

Proven Winners provided me with the above-mentioned plants. All ideas and opinions are my own.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com (taken throughout the summer)

Celebrate fall 2015: Pumpkinville

credit: Wikimedia Commons/Lusitana

For a fun family adventure in the fall of 2015, visit Pumpkinville, located at 4844 Sugartown Rd. in Great Valley, just minutes away from Ellicottville and Holiday Valley Resort. Pumpkinville is open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Saturday, September 12 through Saturday, October 31.

Pumpkinville features hayrides, “pumpkin jumpin’ pillows,” a six-acre corn maze, gem mining, farm pedal carts, a cow train and more (some charges apply – visit website for complete details). There are also a variety of harvest treats available at Pumpkinville, including weekend chicken BBQs, kettle corn, homemade pies, fresh fudge and the Pumpkinville Grill. Apples and apple cider are also available for purchase, and visitors can even watch the cider being pressed in the antique cider press.

Everyday admission to Pumpkinville is free, but charges may apply for some festivals and activities. For information on group trips, festivals, harvest treats, and more, visit www.pumpkinville.com or call 716-699-2205.

24 hours of summer, four-wheel style

Last year, Labor Day weekend was marked by four days of four-wheel fun – auto racing and car shows. This year, we’re cutting it down to two days – Friday night at Oswego Speedway in Central NY and the Olcott Beach Car Show in Niagara County on Saturday.

The trip to Oswego itself is something to talk about as a racing fan, because the route we take goes through Cato, NY – home of Xfinity Series driver Regan Smith.

The race has become a tradition – a stop by the Race of Champions Modifieds plus qualifying action for the Supermodifieds and SBS Modifieds. I’ve become a bit spoiled, having spent the season on the infield at Lancaster, and now catchfences just bother me…

Andy Jankowiak won the RoC race, followed by Matt Hirschman and Tony Hanbury.

Andy Jankowiak

Matt Hirschman

Tony Hanbury

The Supermodifieds are really cool and really quick, and have their own celebrities: No. 00, Joe Gosek – known as “Double-0 Joe” – raced in the 1996 Indy 500, and Indy Racing League veteran and IndyCar Series co-owner Davey Hamilton (No. 6 Supermodified) raced in 11 Indy 500s.

Davey Hamilton

On Saturday, we took the trek to Olcott Beach – it was a beautiful day for a car show, and there were plenty of cars to be seen: more than 800! It was about 10 degrees cooler than it was when we left Amherst, and there was a breeze – it felt soooooo nice!

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Celebrate fall 2015: Becker Farms

credit: Wikimedia Commons/jkb

Becker Farms, located at 3760 Quaker Rd., is ready to kick off its fall schedule of fun this weekend with the Labor Day Harvest Festival and continue right through the Thanksgiving season.

The festival season kicks off with the Labor Day Harvest Festival, Sunday and Monday, September 6-7, featuring U-pick apples, hayrides, pony rides, a chicken BBQ and music from Fiddle Stix and Scram Central. The Johnny AppleSeed Festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 12-13, and features more of the same – U-pick apples, hayrides, pony rides, a chicken BBQ and music from the Good Ole Boys.

The annual Pumpkin Fiesta takes place Saturdays and Sundays from September 19 through October 25. The Fiesta features live music every weekend, duck and goat races, hayrides, pony rides, big slides, hay bale jumps and farm animals. Kids and adult ticket pricing information can be found here. Throughout the Pumpkin Fiesta weekends, there will also be wine, beer, hard cider and dessert wine tastings for $5.

The Haunted Hayrides take place Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, October 16-18, October 23-25 and October 30 from 7 to 9 p.m. (weather permitting). The Castle Labyrinth maze leads you to the Haunted Hayride; if you survive, take a walk through Phylotec Biogenetic Testing Station and check out the terrifying man-eating monsters created during an experiment gone horribly wrong. Tickets are $9 – group rates are also available.

Becker Brewing Co. will be hosting a Thanksgiving Eve Party on Wednesday, November 25 from 7:30 p.m. to midnight – there will be live music from Dave Stockton and Pocket Change, plus locally brewed beers, estate wines and the new BBC Traditional Hard Cider.

Find out more about Becker Farms and its events, as well as Vizcarra Vineyards and Becker Brewing Company, at www.beckerfarms.com or by calling 716-772-2211.

The Botanical Gardens in September 2015

credit: paulathompsonfreelance.com

The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, located at 2655 South Park Ave. in Buffalo, gets ready for fall with these events in the month of September:

• Arcangel Gallery: Eileen Graetz – now through October 4.
• Shayne Dark: Natural Conditions Art Exhibit – part of the Albright-Knox Public Art Initiative, now through October 4
• Succulent Show – September 5 through October 4 – the popular show returns with new ways to display succulents and cacti.
• Member Day at the Albright-Knox – on September 11, Botanical Gardens members are admitted free to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
• Medicinal Garden Feature – September 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring Cholesterol Awareness and Men’s Health Month.
• Gala at the Gardens – September 25 at 6 p.m. Cocktails, auctions, dinner and more to benefit the Gardens. Tickets available through the Gardens website listed below.

For more information on these events and others at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, visit www.buffalogardens.com.