Here is a review of my book that appeared in yesterday's Buffalo News
"This month, an impressive regional resource sure to be of interest to Buffalonians, current and expatriate alike, as well as travelers to the upstate region, hits bookstore shelves: "Western New York: An Explorer's Guide. This thick, information-packed volume, presented as an updated second edtion, is published by the Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton and is the work of local writer, Christine A. Smyczynski. The guide totals 608 pages and sells for $21.95 in bookstores and online. Besides a town-by-town guide to the best places to eat, sleep, shop and tour in Western New York, the well-designed paperback guide includes 17 maps, more than 100 photographs and brief histories of various inportant spots in the Buffalo Niagara area. Seasonal calendars of events and festivals, recommendations for the most family-friendly sites and eateries, and listings of the best amusement parks, nightclubs, fish fry diners and more-this book covers the territory throughly. A great find for people new to the area, and longtime residents as well." Charity Vogel, News book reviewer, The Buffalo News June 29, 2008.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Teddy bear picnic time
Here's a press release I got about an upcoming event.
Teddy Bear Picnic
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
4:00 – 6:00 pm
$5 per child (includes picnic supper – grilled hot dog, snack and beverage) Adult dinners - $3
Due to construction at the Theodore Roosevelt Site teddy bear picnic will be held at Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens
2655 South Park Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14218
It’s Teddy Bear Picnic time again and this year is sure to be extra special thanks to our friends at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens. What a beautiful place to have a picnic! Special entertainment, a visit from Buffalo Clown Alley, yummy picnic food, games, stories and other good things will all be part of the fun. Teddy Bear Picnic is a fun day for all – mom, dad, grandparents, and friends. Get your team together and don’t forget a blanket to sit on and your favorite teddy! By reservation only, please call the TR Site, 884-0095.
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Gardens. Plan to stay on for a wonderful outdoor concert after the picnic! The BPO will perform patriotic selections in this beautiful park setting from 7:00 until 8:15 pm. The BPO concert is free and open to the public.
Teddy Bear Picnic
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
4:00 – 6:00 pm
$5 per child (includes picnic supper – grilled hot dog, snack and beverage) Adult dinners - $3
Due to construction at the Theodore Roosevelt Site teddy bear picnic will be held at Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens
2655 South Park Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14218
It’s Teddy Bear Picnic time again and this year is sure to be extra special thanks to our friends at the Buffalo & Erie County Botanical Gardens. What a beautiful place to have a picnic! Special entertainment, a visit from Buffalo Clown Alley, yummy picnic food, games, stories and other good things will all be part of the fun. Teddy Bear Picnic is a fun day for all – mom, dad, grandparents, and friends. Get your team together and don’t forget a blanket to sit on and your favorite teddy! By reservation only, please call the TR Site, 884-0095.
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Gardens. Plan to stay on for a wonderful outdoor concert after the picnic! The BPO will perform patriotic selections in this beautiful park setting from 7:00 until 8:15 pm. The BPO concert is free and open to the public.
Summer's Here! Now what do we do?
Looking for things to do? Now that summer is here, there is a multitude of activities to chose from. I was at the library this morning and picked up a whole bunch of brochures on things to do.
First, if you're looking for some free activities, stop by your local libray and pick up a list of their summer programs for both adults and kids. I will be speaking about nearby day trip destinations at a program at the Clearfield library on Hopkins Road in Williamsville on Monday June 30 at 7 pm.
On Saturday mornings from 8 am to 1 pm, from now until October 25th, head to the Farmers Market at the Williamsville Mill, 56 East Spring Street, Williamsville. Choose from fruits, vegetables, cheese, flowers, herbs, baked goods, wine and more. There is even live entertainment and children's activities.
A Canal Concert series will take place every Friday night in Lockport from June 27 to August 22 (no concert July 4). The concerts are free, and take place rain or shine, begining at 5 pm. The concerts take place in Ulrich City Courtyard on Main Street. for more information www.canalconcerts.com
I haven't check out the Summer Carillon Concerts at Calvary Episcopal Church, 20 Milton Street in Williamsville, but it sounds interesting. In it's 30th year, the concerts take place outdoors at 7pm on the following Wednesdays July 2, 16, 23, 30 and Augsut 6.
Buffalo Tours offers numerous architectural tours in the city of Buffalo throughout the year. see their website www.buffalotours.org for a complete schedule.
First, if you're looking for some free activities, stop by your local libray and pick up a list of their summer programs for both adults and kids. I will be speaking about nearby day trip destinations at a program at the Clearfield library on Hopkins Road in Williamsville on Monday June 30 at 7 pm.
On Saturday mornings from 8 am to 1 pm, from now until October 25th, head to the Farmers Market at the Williamsville Mill, 56 East Spring Street, Williamsville. Choose from fruits, vegetables, cheese, flowers, herbs, baked goods, wine and more. There is even live entertainment and children's activities.
A Canal Concert series will take place every Friday night in Lockport from June 27 to August 22 (no concert July 4). The concerts are free, and take place rain or shine, begining at 5 pm. The concerts take place in Ulrich City Courtyard on Main Street. for more information www.canalconcerts.com
I haven't check out the Summer Carillon Concerts at Calvary Episcopal Church, 20 Milton Street in Williamsville, but it sounds interesting. In it's 30th year, the concerts take place outdoors at 7pm on the following Wednesdays July 2, 16, 23, 30 and Augsut 6.
Buffalo Tours offers numerous architectural tours in the city of Buffalo throughout the year. see their website www.buffalotours.org for a complete schedule.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Like to eat? Feed your soul
Like to eat? Check out this press release I got from some local foodies.
For Immediate Release
June 23, 2008
Contact: Christa Glennie Seychew
716-812-1615
Buffalo NY – Calling all foodies!
Love to eat? Love to cook? Love WNY culture? Then check out Feed Your Soul Buffalo. This new culinary tourism initiative showcases exciting Western New York gastronomic adventures that feature the bounty that is our region’s legacy.
Feed Your Soul Buffalo’s objective is to package and promote the region’s culinary treasures as marketable and sellable attractions. Christa Glennie Seychew, freelance journalist and former Food and Dining Editor of Buffalo Rising Magazine and Sandy Starks, Founding Member of Slow Food Buffalo, have joined forces to create exclusive, culinary adventures.
Seychew’s experience as a food editor has led her to a unique understanding of Buffalo’s dining scene as well as the area’s remarkable agricultural resources and foodshed issues. Combined with Starks’ years of experience in crafting custom tours for area cultural institutions, the two are a perfect combination--capable of generating entertaining, informative and tasty events.
According to the International Culinary Tourism Association, ‘culinary tourism’ is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. That includes food-related experiences of all kinds; it's much more comprehensive than the typical wine tastings and food festivals. Feed Your Soul will develop culinary events more engaging and inventive than what is currently available in Buffalo and much of the United States.
Additionally, Feed Your Soul’s dynamic duo is encouraging Western New Yorkers to be food tourists in their own backyards. Their inaugural event is the offering of two once-in-a-lifetime programs at the remarkable Chautauqua Institution.
‘Meet the Chefs: Ruhlman and Barber at Chautauqua’ and ‘Behind Zagat’
Each week during the summer season, the Chautauqua Institution structures their programming around a theme. This summer during the week of August 10th, the theme is “Food and Politics in the 21st Century”.
The Chautauqua Institution website describes the week of programming as follows:
“Food - from the old family recipe to the culinary arts - consumes a central role in our lives and is our most intimate and direct connection to nature. It elicits both passion and guilt, it comforts and satisfies, it sustains the body, and is a source of beauty and art. What we eat and how it arrives in our kitchens and restaurants is also influenced by political and economic decisions. From the 100-mile diet, five-star restaurants and peppy television chefs to giant agri-business, this week will add context to our understanding of how food is produced, biologically altered and distributed, the rise of organic agriculture and the simple joys of eating.”
Starks has been invited to the Chautauqua Institution to teach classes on local food issues during this session. “Realizing the fantastic opportunity the Chautauqua Institution was offering to foodies of all kinds, I spoke with the General Manager of the Athenaeum Hotel and asked if Feed Your Soul Buffalo could bring a group down from the city to create a unique experience around the food programming at the Institution,” said Starks. They happily agreed.
What Starks and Seychew have created is sure to thrill anyone with a passion for honest cooking, food writing, locavorism or sustainable agriculture. The August 11th trip consists of limo bus transportation to the Chautauqua Institution and lectures from nationally celebrated author, Food Network regular and chef, Michael Ruhlman and one of the most well-known and highly-awarded farm-to-table chefs, Dan Barber, chef/owner of Blue Hill restaurant in New York City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a sustainable farm in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. Guests will also enjoy a special lunch prepared by Culinary Institute of America-graduate Chef Scott Bova of The Athenaeum Hotel, free time to explore the beauty of Chautauqua and a wine and cheese reception at a private home on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution. Local chefs are very excited about this particular program and Feed Your Soul anticipates that at least a third of the guests on this adventure will be some of Buffalo’s most skilled chefs.
A second date was added to Feed Your Soul’s Chautauqua schedule when Starks and Seychew approached Diana and Gino Principe of the Mansion on Delaware Avenue. Tim Zagat of The Zagat Survey will be the featured speaker at Chautauqua on August 13th. Approaching the Principes was an obvious choice since the Zagat Survey considers the Mansion on Delaware Avenue to be the Top Boutique Hotel in the United States. Feed Your Soul’s “Behind Zagat” event begins when guests gather at the Mansion for breakfast and then travel to the Chautauqua Institution in a limo bus for the Zagat lecture. Afterwards they will enjoy a special lunch at The Athenaeum, spend some free time on the Chautauqua grounds and then return to the city for a private tour and cocktail hour at the Mansion on Delaware Avenue.
Tickets for both of these culinary adventures go on sale Monday, June 23rd. They can be purchased online or by mail. More schedule and ticketing information can be found at www.feedyoursoulbuffalo.com.
Feed Your Soul has many other exciting culinary adventures in the works. All of their events are truly unique and have limited seating, so making reservations quickly is important!
To learn more about Feed Your Soul Buffalo log onto www.feedyoursoulbuffalo.com or call Christa Seychew at 716-812-1615.
For Immediate Release
June 23, 2008
Contact: Christa Glennie Seychew
716-812-1615
Buffalo NY – Calling all foodies!
Love to eat? Love to cook? Love WNY culture? Then check out Feed Your Soul Buffalo. This new culinary tourism initiative showcases exciting Western New York gastronomic adventures that feature the bounty that is our region’s legacy.
Feed Your Soul Buffalo’s objective is to package and promote the region’s culinary treasures as marketable and sellable attractions. Christa Glennie Seychew, freelance journalist and former Food and Dining Editor of Buffalo Rising Magazine and Sandy Starks, Founding Member of Slow Food Buffalo, have joined forces to create exclusive, culinary adventures.
Seychew’s experience as a food editor has led her to a unique understanding of Buffalo’s dining scene as well as the area’s remarkable agricultural resources and foodshed issues. Combined with Starks’ years of experience in crafting custom tours for area cultural institutions, the two are a perfect combination--capable of generating entertaining, informative and tasty events.
According to the International Culinary Tourism Association, ‘culinary tourism’ is defined as the pursuit of unique and memorable eating and drinking experiences. That includes food-related experiences of all kinds; it's much more comprehensive than the typical wine tastings and food festivals. Feed Your Soul will develop culinary events more engaging and inventive than what is currently available in Buffalo and much of the United States.
Additionally, Feed Your Soul’s dynamic duo is encouraging Western New Yorkers to be food tourists in their own backyards. Their inaugural event is the offering of two once-in-a-lifetime programs at the remarkable Chautauqua Institution.
‘Meet the Chefs: Ruhlman and Barber at Chautauqua’ and ‘Behind Zagat’
Each week during the summer season, the Chautauqua Institution structures their programming around a theme. This summer during the week of August 10th, the theme is “Food and Politics in the 21st Century”.
The Chautauqua Institution website describes the week of programming as follows:
“Food - from the old family recipe to the culinary arts - consumes a central role in our lives and is our most intimate and direct connection to nature. It elicits both passion and guilt, it comforts and satisfies, it sustains the body, and is a source of beauty and art. What we eat and how it arrives in our kitchens and restaurants is also influenced by political and economic decisions. From the 100-mile diet, five-star restaurants and peppy television chefs to giant agri-business, this week will add context to our understanding of how food is produced, biologically altered and distributed, the rise of organic agriculture and the simple joys of eating.”
Starks has been invited to the Chautauqua Institution to teach classes on local food issues during this session. “Realizing the fantastic opportunity the Chautauqua Institution was offering to foodies of all kinds, I spoke with the General Manager of the Athenaeum Hotel and asked if Feed Your Soul Buffalo could bring a group down from the city to create a unique experience around the food programming at the Institution,” said Starks. They happily agreed.
What Starks and Seychew have created is sure to thrill anyone with a passion for honest cooking, food writing, locavorism or sustainable agriculture. The August 11th trip consists of limo bus transportation to the Chautauqua Institution and lectures from nationally celebrated author, Food Network regular and chef, Michael Ruhlman and one of the most well-known and highly-awarded farm-to-table chefs, Dan Barber, chef/owner of Blue Hill restaurant in New York City and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a sustainable farm in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. Guests will also enjoy a special lunch prepared by Culinary Institute of America-graduate Chef Scott Bova of The Athenaeum Hotel, free time to explore the beauty of Chautauqua and a wine and cheese reception at a private home on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution. Local chefs are very excited about this particular program and Feed Your Soul anticipates that at least a third of the guests on this adventure will be some of Buffalo’s most skilled chefs.
A second date was added to Feed Your Soul’s Chautauqua schedule when Starks and Seychew approached Diana and Gino Principe of the Mansion on Delaware Avenue. Tim Zagat of The Zagat Survey will be the featured speaker at Chautauqua on August 13th. Approaching the Principes was an obvious choice since the Zagat Survey considers the Mansion on Delaware Avenue to be the Top Boutique Hotel in the United States. Feed Your Soul’s “Behind Zagat” event begins when guests gather at the Mansion for breakfast and then travel to the Chautauqua Institution in a limo bus for the Zagat lecture. Afterwards they will enjoy a special lunch at The Athenaeum, spend some free time on the Chautauqua grounds and then return to the city for a private tour and cocktail hour at the Mansion on Delaware Avenue.
Tickets for both of these culinary adventures go on sale Monday, June 23rd. They can be purchased online or by mail. More schedule and ticketing information can be found at www.feedyoursoulbuffalo.com.
Feed Your Soul has many other exciting culinary adventures in the works. All of their events are truly unique and have limited seating, so making reservations quickly is important!
To learn more about Feed Your Soul Buffalo log onto www.feedyoursoulbuffalo.com or call Christa Seychew at 716-812-1615.
Wine Trail event on July 5
Leonard Oakes Estate Winery, the newest winery on the Niagara Wine Trail is holding a Wine, Food and Song Festival on Saturday July 5th starting at 3:00pm and going until?! Continue the celebration with a commemorative wine glass and complementary wine tasting, food by the Zambistro and song from John & Mary and the Valkyries! Bring your lawn chair and enjoy! Presale tickets only $20 per person or $35/couple. Visit our website at www.oakeswinery.com or call us at 585-318-4418!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Check out this article about Chautauqua County
Check out the Summer 2008 issue of Drive , the magazine from Subaru, for an article I wrote about attractions in Chautauqua County. The print edition is sent to all Subaru drivers, however, anyone can access the magazine from their website www.drive.subaru.com The online exclusive features the Amish community in Chautauqua County.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Top picks of things to do June 20-21 and next week
Summer's here! Here are some events that kick off the summer season.
St. Gregory the Great Great Race June 20 at 7pm. This race is the unofficial kick-off of summer in the northtowns of Buffalo. The event includes a 5K race along with a 1 mile fun walk. The post race party features kids activities and music by the well-known local band, Switch. For more information call 716-565-2660 or visit www.stgregs.org
Opening weekend of the Chautauqua Institution summer season, June 21. The nine week summer season opens this weekend at the world-renown Chautauqua Institution, a place where one can come for arts, recreation, religion and more. For more information visit www.ciweb.org
Coming up next week - Buffalo Homecoming June 26-29. Events include tours, a career fair, arts in the park, a block party on Saturday night, a Sunday brunch and the From the Heart of Buffalo Fair, featuring items made by local artisans. See www.buffalohomecoming.com for complete details.
St. Gregory the Great Great Race June 20 at 7pm. This race is the unofficial kick-off of summer in the northtowns of Buffalo. The event includes a 5K race along with a 1 mile fun walk. The post race party features kids activities and music by the well-known local band, Switch. For more information call 716-565-2660 or visit www.stgregs.org
Opening weekend of the Chautauqua Institution summer season, June 21. The nine week summer season opens this weekend at the world-renown Chautauqua Institution, a place where one can come for arts, recreation, religion and more. For more information visit www.ciweb.org
Coming up next week - Buffalo Homecoming June 26-29. Events include tours, a career fair, arts in the park, a block party on Saturday night, a Sunday brunch and the From the Heart of Buffalo Fair, featuring items made by local artisans. See www.buffalohomecoming.com for complete details.
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