Alpha-Buffalo: B is for Botanical Gardens

The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens, located at 2655 South Park Ave. in Buffalo, New York, is part of Buffalo’s Frederick Law Olmstead Park System, which also includes Delaware Park, Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Front Park. South Park, home of the Botanical Gardens, was created between 1894 and 1900 on 156 acres of land.

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens 2013
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The original park included a conservatory for tropical plants, an arboretum, a pinetum, a bog garden and a shrub garden. The construction of the conservatory was based on the Crystal Palace and Kew Gardens Palm House, both in England. Today, many of the original buildings have been renovated and additions have been built to create 12 different sections featuring a wide variety of plants and displays, as well as four outdoor garden spaces.

The Palm Dome, the original 67-foot high conservatory, is filled with tall fruit trees and majestic palms. The Gardens also house Victorian Ivy, orchids, begonias, carnivorous plants and a selection of “dinosaur topiaries” – not old topiaries, but shrubs cut to the shapes of dinosaurs. Outside the Gardens, visitors will find the Children’s Garden and the Rose and Perennial Gardens, along with the beautiful front entrance garden during the months of March through October.

NIGHT LIGHTS at the Gardens 2013
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Throughout the season, the Botanical Gardens hosts a number of plant shows, including the Chrysanthemum Show, the Poinsettia Show, the popular NIGHT LIGHTS at the Gardens display, Coleus and Color and many others. Many of these shows (excluding NIGHT LIGHTS) are free to Garden Members; memberships start at $35 for seniors (55 years and older) and students (with ID), and $45 for individuals.

The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens is open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day and limited hours on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, $4 for children 3 to 12 and free for children under 3 and members; flower show admission is $9 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $5 for children 3 to 12 and free for children under 3.

Alpha-Buffalo: B is for Bike Trails

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Biking is a popular way to stay in shape during the summer, and in Western New York, there are plenty of bike paths and trails for fitness buffs and casual bikers to use throughout the season. Here are some of the trails for bike riders throughout Western New York (note: always ride with a partner for safe biking).

• Amherst/Tonawanda Ellicott Creek Bike Path - ending points are North Forest Rd. near Maple Rd. in Amherst and Ellicott Creek Park in Tonawanda. The trail measures 7.2 miles from end to end, and the Amherst end has a short loop as another option. This path is also used by walkers, runners, and roller bladers.
• Clarence/Akron Pathway Trail - begins at Main St. and Salt Rd. in Clarence, connecting with the Newstead Bike Path (Davison and Clarence Center Rds.) and the Akron Trail Rail (Cedar St. and Eckerson Ave.). The initial trail is 6.5 miles and is used for walking, running, biking, and blading in summer. An additional Clarence path, known as the Peanut Line, runs along an old rail system parallel to Clarence Center Rd., from Meadowlakes Park to Kraus Rd.
• Beaver Island State Park Bike Trails - located at 2136 West Oakfield Rd. in Grand Island, Beaver Island State Park features a number of biking trails throughout its 950 acres. This multi-purpose park also features fishing, hiking, a beach for swimming, and an 18-hole golf course.
• Erie Canal Trailway - the Trailway is over 150 miles of scenic trails along the Erie Canal throughout New York, from Lockport out past Albany. The Erie Canal Heritage Trail is a multi-surface trail between Lockport and Palmyra; at various stages, the 70-mile trail is paved with stone dust, gravel, and asphalt. The Old Erie Canal Trail is 36 miles long, paved with stone dust; it runs between Dewitt and Rome, and has received National Recreation Trail designation. The Mohawk-Hudson Bikeway is an asphalt trail that runs 40 miles from Fort Hunter to Cohoes along the Mohawk River. The Glen Falls Feeder Canal Trail is a nine-mile stone dust trail in the city of Glen Falls; it runs along a surviving section of the 1820s canal system.

Alpha-Buffalo: A is for Art Festivals

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A Buffalo summer is notoriously full of outdoor festivals for people to partake in, and a few of the biggest are the outdoor art festivals. Here’s a look at a few of the larger ones – check out the event listings at www.visitbuffaloniagara.com for more art festivals in the area.

Allentown Art Festival – took place June 14th and 15th in the Historic Allentown Preservation District in Buffalo.

Roycrofters at Large Summer Festival – took place June 28th and 29th,, 2014 at the Parkdale Elementary School in East Aurora. The Roycrofters also hold a Winter Festival in East Aurora.

Glen Park Art Festival – takes place July 26th and 27th in Glen Park in the Village of Williamsville.

Elmwood Ave. Festival of the Arts – takes place in late August in the vicinity of Elmwood Ave. and Lafayette Ave. in Buffalo.

Music is Art Festival – takes place in mid-September in Delaware Park near the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, but if you’d like your festival included, please contact me at paulathompsonfreelance@gmail.com. 

Alpha-Buffalo: A is for Auto Racing

While the Buffalo-Niagara area is hardly on par with auto racing hot beds like Charlotte or Indianapolis, there is a substantial presence in the area when it comes to stock car racing, drag racing and dirt track racing. If Saturday night local racing isn’t enough for you, there are some NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA and World of Outlaws tracks within just a few hours of the area.

Sportsman mods - Lancaster - 2013

Lancaster Speedway/Elegant Builders Raceway Park – the combination asphalt oval track and drag strip seems to be in flux management-wise right now, but there is stock car racing and drag racing scheduled  for 2014. The stock car side will feature Saturday night racing featuring 4-cylinders, street stocks and sportsman modifieds, as well as special shows from the Race of Champions Asphalt Modifieds and the Big 10 Super Stocks, among others; the annual U.S. Open is scheduled for September 19^th through 21^st. Friday night drag show special events include the Nitro Night of Fire on July 11^th.

Summernationals - Ransomville - 2013

Ransomville Speedway – Friday night dirt track racing in Niagara County features 358 modifieds, sportsman, street stocks, 4-cylinders and more. The biggest race of the year is the Alex Friesen Sumernationals, taking place Tuesday, August 5^th and featuring the SuperDIRT Series BigBlock Modifieds for the race’s 30^th anniversary running.

Race of Champions Mods - Holland - 2013

Holland Speedway – the NASCAR-sanctioned asphalt oval track's schedule included the recent Race of Champions Asphalt Modifieds on Saturday, July 5^th.

What’s nearby? – among others:

Super DIRT Week in Syracuse – the biggest dirt track racing party in New York! Taking place at Rolling Wheels, Weedsport and the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse on Columbus Day weekend in October.

World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars - Rolling Wheels - 2013

Raceway 5 – Batavia

Rolling Wheels Raceway Park – Elbridge

Weedsport Speedway – Weedsport

Fulton Speedway – Baldwinsville

Ohsweken Speedway – dirt track in Ontario – hosts the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.

Merrittville Speedway – dirt track in Ontario – hosts the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds.

Humberstone Speedway – dirt track in Ontario.

Supermodifieds - Oswego - 2013

Oswego Speedway – Oswego – home of the Classic Weekend and the Race of Champions Weekend.

Honda Indy Toronto – Exhibition Place in Toronto – home of the IndyCar Series and other open-wheel racing.

Summit Motorsports Park – Norwalk, Ohio – home of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and the annual Night Under Fire.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series - Watkins Glen - 2010

Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes – home of NASCAR and the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship.

all photos: paulathompsonfreelance.com

Alpha-Buffalo: A is for Albright-Knox Art Gallery

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One of Buffalo’s top cultural draws is the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, located at 1285 Elmwood Ave. in Buffalo. A world-renowned center for modern and contemporary art, the Gallery is host to a rich collection of post-war American and European art – abstract art, pop art and items from the 1970s through today – as well as pieces from trends including Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, cubism, surrealism and constructivism.

The Gallery’s governing body, the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, was founded in 1862, making it one of the oldest public arts organizations in the United States. The original gallery, a gift from area philanthropist John Albright, was intended to be used as the Fine Arts Pavilion for the Pan-American Exhibition in 1901; the building wasn’t completed until 1905. Designed by Buffalo architect E.B. Green, it was known as the Albright Art Gallery until 1962. An addition was needed, and made possible by donations from the Knox family, who went on to become the first owners of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team; the gallery was renamed the Albright-Knox Art Gallery following the dedication.

The G. Robert Strauss Jr. Memorial Library is the Gallery’s research and study center; it supports research and education by collecting, preserving and making resources available to members, students, academics and community members by request. The Gallery also offers classes and workshops for everyone, from toddlers to adults.

Looking for a way to check out the Gallery on the cheap? M&T First Fridays, held – you guessed it – on the first Friday of each month, opens the doors to the Gallery’s 1962 Knox Building free of charge from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Some special events are also free of charge, while other events, tours and classes are available for a nominal fee. Become a member of the Art Gallery and all of these events are free of charge – join on a First Friday and receive a 20-percent discount on your membership.

For more information on the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, visit www.albrightknox.org. 

Reinvention…

Reinvention takes time…

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I recently started rethinking my blogging world because one of my writing sites seemed to be going down the drain quickly – a few days ago I found out my feelings were right, and the site was signing off shortly. Sadly, this was the site that gave me back my love of writing, but its demise is NOT going to take that love away from me.

I started many of my blogs as an outlet for things I couldn’t, for some reason or another, publish on other sites – too short, off-topic, different format, etc. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and trying to keep up with the other sites I write for – as well as the full-time, absolutely unrelated to anything job I have – pushed the blogs to the backburner.

I started thinking about combining all these topics – things that are important parts of my life – into one blog showcasing my Buffalo girl world:

• My hometown – Buffalo!
• My travels – my summer hobby
• My home – inside and out
• My foodie favorites – recipes, products, other blogs and more
• My favorite sports – auto racing, hockey, lacrosse and baseball
• My random, miscellaneous ramblings

That looks like quite a bit to put in one little blog, but there’s a lot of overlap:

• My TRAVELS around BUFFALO
• My SPORTS TRAVEL adventures
• The National GARDEN Festival in BUFFALO
• FOOD – regional favorites and restaurants – in BUFFALO

My life, as you can see, is rather Buffalo-centric – I can’t imagine being anywhere else, and when I am, I usually can’t wait to get home (the exception to that possibly being Charlotte…). So journey with me into my Bflo Girl World – hopefully it will be any adventure!

Happy Independence Day Weekend!

Polish used: Julep Bunny (White - It Girl), Cara (Red - Bombshell) and Bailey (Blue - It Girl)