Five Things to do in August 2016

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Caduser2003

Eden Corn Festival – Thursday through Sunday, August 6-9 on Route 62 in Eden. Featuring midway rides, food and beverages, live entertainment, craft show, baseball and softball tournaments and more. Get a complete schedule of events and more information at edencornfest.com.

Taste of Williamsville – Sunday, August 7 from noon to 8 p.m. in Island Park on Main St. in the Village of Williamsville. The 28^th annual edition features food and beverages from numerous local restaurants plus live music, car show (noon-4 p.m.) and a pie contest. New this year: 12 Gates Brewery and local food trucks as well. See this year’s menu and get more information at tasteofwilliamsville.com.

Erie County Fair – Wednesday, August 10 through Sunday, August 21 at the Hamburg Fairgrounds. The 177^th edition of the Fair features unique foods, lots of animals, music and magic, concerts featuring Hunter Hayes (Sunday, August 14) and Lee Brice (Monday, August 15), and much more Fair fun. Regular admission is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors (60+) and free for kids 12 and under; check the Fair’s website, www.ecfair.org, for discounts available throughout the event.

Buffalo Irish Festival – Friday through Sunday, August 26-28 at Wilkeson Pointe Park on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor. Celebrate everything Irish with live entertainment, food and beverage, raffles, the Parade of the 32 County Flags of Ireland (Friday at 5 p.m.) and more. Entertainment will include The High Kings, The Glengarry Bhoys, St. Mary’s Road, Seamus Kennedy, Penny Whiskey and the Blarney Bunch. Hours are Friday 4 p.m.-midnight, Saturday noon-midnight and Sunday noon-10 p.m. – find out more at www.buffaloirish.com.

Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts – Saturday and Sunday, August 27-28 on Elmwood Ave. from W. Ferry to St. James Place in Buffalo. Featuring more than 170 artists and craftspeople, live entertainment, Kidsfest, Environmental Row and Cultural Row. Hours are Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. – find out more at the festival website.

Williamsville Old Home Days: July 12-15, 2016

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The Village of Williamsville hosts its annual Old Home Days celebration, Tuesday through Friday, July 12-15. The festivities are happening at Island Park, located on Main St. behind Town Hall in the Village.

Activities kick off on Tuesday, July 12 with the giant parade down Main St. at 6:30 p.m.; there is also a chicken dinner served by St. Stephen’s Bethlehem UCC from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 13 is Youth Day, with a Bike Rodeo at 11 a.m. and other youth activities throughout the day. On Thursday, July 14, Christian Central Academy offers a chicken dinner from 4-9 p.m. Friday, July 15 is Family Day at Old Home Days, with a Krolick’s Rib Dinner sponsored by the Love Joy Church OSI of Lancaster from 4-8 p.m.

There are midway rides and games open each day, and live music in both the bandshell and the beer tent, featuring local acts including Time Pirates, Hit ‘n Run and Ten Cent Howl. For more information on Old Home Days, visit the event website. 

Discover Buffalo 2015: Williamsville Garden Walk and Glen Park Art Festival

I’ve lived in Williamsville my entire life, and I try to hit a bunch of events in the area during the summer. Case in point: on two consecutive weekends, I ventured into the Village of Williamsville for the Village Garden Walk (July 18) and the Glen Park Art Festival (July 25-26).

The Village Garden Walk is pretty cool because it takes place in a one-square-mile area – you can park in one area and walk to a bunch of the gardens on display. This year, the Garden Walk had a new addition – a fairy garden contest. There were so many cute ones!

And of course, the “big gardens” were beautiful and fun too.

The following weekend, the Glen Park Art Festival was jammin’ – it’s only in its fifth year, but it already pulls in over 100 artisans. And the scenery surrounding the festival easily makes it one of the prettiest art festivals around.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com