Stained glass tour of Buffalo churches

My sister-in-law and I went on the annual stained glass window bus tour of Buffalo churches offered by the Preservation Coalition. It is amazing to see the beautiful churches that we have in Buffalo.

Check out some of the photo I took. We went to the Buffalo Religious Arts Center, Blessed Trinity, St. Casmirs, Delaware avenue Baptist church and the Hellenic Orthodox Church. We also had lunch at Chef's. Yum!

Our tour guide was Chuck LaChiusa, who pretty much knows everything there is to know about Buffalo architecture and history. Check out his website http://www.buffaloah.com/

Lots of holiday events this weekend, Dec. 3-5

In looking over all the event information I have at my fingertips, it appears that this coming weekend, December 3-5, is the weekend to get into the holiday spirit. There are dozens of holiday events planned for this weekend that will get you in the mood for festivities. Of course, a dusting of snow on the ground lends to the holiday mood.

Here is a listing of just some of the events happening, in no particular order. I’m sure there are other events happening too that I’m not even aware of

Village of Lewiston Holiday Walk and Holiday Home Tour- Dec. 4-5, 10am-5pm

Christmas Stroll in Ellicottville -Dec. 4th 4-7pm

Splendors in Stained Glass bus tour of Buffalo churches, Preservation Coalition, Dec. 4 9am-3pm (by reservation only)

Holiday in the Park, Orchard Park Railroad Depot - Dec. 4th 4-7pm

Winter Centerfest, four Corners of Clarence Center – Dec. 4th, 2-6pm

Christmas at the Hull House, 5976 Genesee, Lancaster- Dec. 4th, 12-4pm

North Tonawanda Winter Walk – Dec. 4th, 10am-5pm

Light a Life, Hospice Foundation Tree Lighting Ceremony at CTG, 800 Delaware Ave. – Dec. 4th

Randolph’s Country Christmas Extravaganza, Randolph, NY (Cattaraugus County) Dec. 4th

Alden’s Christmas in the Park- Dec. 4th, 2-6pm

The Nutcracker Ballet, UB Center for the Arts, Dec 4-5

Yuletide in the Country Craft Show, Hamburg Fairgrounds – Dec. 4-5, 10am-5pm

Holiday Happening along the Niagara Wine Trail Dec. 3-5 and Dec. 10-12

Seasons in the Village (Williamsville) Dec. 4-5, 10am-5pm

Roycroft Winter Festival, 430 Main Street, East Aurora, Dec. 4-5

Williamsville PTA Craft Show, 175 Heim Road, Dec. 4-5 10am-5pm

Christmas in the Park, Silver Creek, Dec. 4th

Homemade Holidays, Jamestown Audubon, Dec. 4th

Fenton Family days, Fenton History Center, Jamestown, Dec. 4th

Miracle on Main Street, Fredonia, Dec. 4th

Breakfast with Santa, Beaver Meadow Nature Center, Dec. 4th 9am-1pm

Holiday Delight Festival, Perry Dec. 4th

Holiday Open House, Attica Historical Society, Dec. 4th

Sleighbell Festival, Franklinville, Dec. 4th

A Night in Bethlehem, First United Methodist Church of Springville Dec. 4th

Aurora Historical Society Annual Christmas sale, Millard Fillmore House Museum, East Aurora Dec. 4-5

Victorian Christmas, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, Delaware Ave, Buffalo Dec. 4-11

Niagara-on-the-Lake Holiday House Tour, Dec. 3-4

Fairground Festival of Lights begins November 26

Here's a press release about a fun event to get you in the holiday spirit

Fairgrounds Festival of Lights Event Expands

HAMBURG, NY – The 6^th annual Fairgrounds Festival of Light will feature over one million lights in a drive through that spans nearly 2 miles featuring several new large displays. The Festival will run 29 days starting November 26 – January 1, gates open 5:30 – 9:30pm and grounds open until 10:00pm. (Closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). Admission to the Fairgrounds Festival of Lights is just $18 per carload.

Several new attractions have been added to the festival including an interactive Kids Game Show, “Everyone’s A Winner,” hosted by Rob and Carol Allen; window displays reminiscent of the nostalgic downtown shopping days at North Pole Village, and the newly redesigned sing-a-Long Winterific indoor animated light show. Returning with a new nightly show is the Holiday Magic Show featuring Kandy Kane and the Fabulous Darnells, Reindeer Carriage Rides on weekends, Santa, Holiday Characters and the kids can even take a ride on the North Pole Express or any of the other timeless and ageless restored rides at Santa's Magical Midway.

Harness your creativity to enter the Holiday Cookie and all new Tree Ornament Competition with some great prizes.

For more information on this event call 716-649-3900 ext. 404 or visit our website at www.fairgroundsholiday.com

Olean Santa Claus Lane Parade

This sounds like a fun event for any of you in the Olean area. Here's a press release I received from the Greater Olean Chamber of Commerce.

With just over a week to go till the parade, officials from Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce have registered more than forty-six units for the upcoming Santa Claus Lane Parade on Friday, November 26 in which Santa Claus lights thousands of lights in downtown Olean. The ever-popular Parade is the official kick-off to the holiday season in the area.

Pam Caldwell, GOACC’s Official Lights Coordinator stated, "We are fortunate that Santa will make his stop once again this year to the City of Olean and take part in the Santa Claus Lane Parade on Friday November 26th. Our gratitude and appreciation also go to the City of Olean's employees who have dedicated time and effort over the past 25 years to assist us in bringing joy and happiness to our residents and more importantly to our children."

Chamber officials have invited area residents to judge this year’s parade: Al Wager, National Grid Co.; Paula Snyder, Jamestown Community College; Max Bullers, Home Depot of Olean; and Lori Babcock of Microtel Inn of Olean. Winners will be announced the night of the parade. Seven awards will be presented in the following categories: The Elves Award, sponsored by BJ’s Wholesale Club, will go to the float or unit that best typifies the holiday through the eyes of a child; Angelic Spirit Award, sponsored by Mandy’s Flowers, will go to the most spiritual/religious float or unit. The Blitzen Award, sponsored by Times Herald will go to the most photogenic float or unit; Jingle Bells Award, sponsored by Brookside Community will go to the best theatrical (music/dance) float or unit; The Rudolph Award, sponsored by National Grid Co. and Microtel Inn of Olean, for the float with the most or best use of lights; The Seasons Greetings Award, sponsored by Community Bank, NA to the best newcomer to the parade, and one that typifies a welcoming theme - this unit must be a first-time entrant; and The Snowflake Award, sponsored by the Street Classics Car Club for the unit with the most participants in the parade.

North Union Street will close to traffic at 6:00 PM. The City’s downtown parking lots will be opened. The City Building’s restrooms will be opened the night of the parade from 6 - 8:30 PM. Extra uniformed personnel of the Olean Fire and Police Departments will be on hand. Lost children should report to the Chamber office, and a wheelchair only section will be roped off in front of the Chamber office/City Building.

The Parade is scheduled to begin at 7 PM on Friday, November 26, near the Burger King on North Union Street in Olean. The Parade will travel south on Union to just past Lincoln Park where units will begin to disperse once they arrive at Henley Street. For more information, call Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce at 716-372-4433 or email santa@oleanny.com.

Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce120 North Union Street • Olean, New York 14760716-372-4433 • http://www.oleanny.com/ • http://www.oleaninfo.com/

Local author signing at Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society Nov. 27

Here is a press release from the Buffalo & Erie County historical society. I will be participating as one of the local authors.

LOCAL AUTHOR BOOK-SIGNING AT THE HISTORY MUSEUM, PART OF FULL THANKSGIVING WEEKEND OF PROGRAMMING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

Buffalo and regional authors to sign and sell copies of their books.

Buffalo, N.Y. - Nov. 15, 2010 - The Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society presents its annual Local Author/Buffalo Book-Signing on Saturday, Nov. 27 from noon to 2 p.m. at the History Museum, located at 25 Nottingham Court at Elmwood Avenue.

The event, designed for shoppers looking for personalized gifts in a relaxed atmosphere, features over 20 local authors selling and signing their books. The wide range of publications-including cookbooks, neighborhood, regional and military history, novels and coffee-table books-makes this a perfect opportunity to shop for a variety of tastes. All that and an autograph, too!
This year's event includes the following authors:

Jim Arnone, Central Park, Buffalo, New York: A Neighborhood of History and Tradition (exclusively at BECHS!)

Dr. Joseph Bieron, Postcard Views, Orchard Park

Evelyn Brady, Peaceprints

Steve Cichon, The Complete History of Parkside

Gary Costello & Douglas Kohler, Hull Family Home & Homestead: A Bicentennial Celebration

Lorna Czarnota, Legends, Lore and Secrets of Western New York

Mark Donnelly, The Fine Art of Capturing Buffalo, Frozen Assets: The Beautiful Truth About Western New York's Fourth Season

John Edson, Hamburg: 1910-1970, Hamburg Revisited

Julianna Fiddler-Woite, Snyder: A Brief History, WNY and the Gilded Age

Catherine Gildiner, After the Falls: Coming of Age in the Sixties, Too Close to the Falls (New York Times bestseller)

John Koerner, Mysteries of Father Baker, Father Baker Code

George Kunz, Buffalo Memories

Elizabeth Leader, Buffalo Snow

Raya Lee, BPO Celebrates the First 75 Years

Donald Mang, One Nation Under God (a novel)

Nancy Mingus, Buffalo: Good Neighbors, Great Architecture

Martin Nowak, The White House in Mourning: Deaths and Funerals of Presidents in Office

Janice Okun, Buffalo Cooks with Janice Okun

Laura Pedersen, Buffalo Gal, Buffalo Unbound-a Celebration

John Percy, Buffalo-Niagara Connections, Town of Tonawanda

Joseph Ritz, Blood Along The Niagara - A Guidebook to Battles of the War of 1812 an Hour's Drive from Niagara Falls

Erno Rossi, White Death: The Blizzard of '77

Maria Scrivani, Brighter Buffalo

Christine Smyczynski, An Explorer's Guide to Western New York

Wanda Slawinska & Edward Szemraj, The Polonian Legacy of Western New York

Joel Thomas, Creature Comforts

Mason Winfield, A Ghosthunter's Journal, Haunted Places of Western New York, Shadows of the Western Door, Village Ghosts of Western New York, Spirits of the Great Hill, Ghosts of 1812

Aside from this fine collection of books, some of which can be purchased only at the Historical Society, the museum shop offers unique Buffalo-themed gifts, including jewelry, fine art prints, maps, educational toys. It is another excellent opportunity to peruse and purchase from our exclusive 1901 Pan-American Exposition-themed items.

The Local Author Book Signing is free and open to the public and parking is complimentary and plentiful. For more information, call the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society at (716) 873-9644 or visit http://www.buffalohistory.org/.

Corning's Chocolate Trail

We drove down to one of my favorite places on Saturday, Corning, NY. I am putting together an article for the Buffalo News travel section on Corning's Chocolate Trail, so I had to do some research on it. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!!

There are over two dozen participating stores and restaurants in downtown Corning, mainly along historic Market Street. It was a lot of fun and I discovered several new places that opened along Market Street since my last visit.

My article will be appearing in the Buffalo News travel section after the holidays, just in time for Valentine's Day. To read more about the chocolate trail, see downtown Corning's website http://www.gafferdistrict.com/

Chautauqua Lake Erie Art Trail Nov. 13

Here is a press release I recently received about an interesting upcoming event.

Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail Set for November 13

The North Shore Arts Alliance presents its signature event, the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail (CLEAT), on Saturday, November 13 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Held for the first time in the fall, the November Art Trail offers the public an opportunity to visit the studios of northern Chautauqua County’s leading artists.

The trail extends from Silver Creek to Westfield along the Lake Erie shoreline,and moves inland to include artists’ studios in Sherman, Chautauqua Institution, Dewittville, Forestville, and South Dayton among other locations.The art trail occurs twice yearly (Memorial Day Weekend and Veterans Day Weekend), and incorporates professional sculptors, photographers,ceramicists, painters, jewelers, wood turners, stained glass and other mixed media artists.

There are 22 participating artists including Audrey Kay Dowling, James Hoggard, Alberto Rey, Tom Malinoski, Nancy Nixon, Cynthia Norton, Ron Nasca, and George Petrella.During the studio tours, visitors are invited to watch ceramics and jewelry demonstrations, see paintings and drawings in various stages of completion, and to view where artists live and create art work.

Hands-on demonstrations include opportunities for visitors to make their own hand-pulled prints and to manipulate photo film. Art work will also be available for sale.According to CLEAT President James Hoggard, the November trail was scheduled to coincide with the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

“We’re hoping that people will see this as an opportunity to support the local economy. It also gives people a chance to purchase unique, high-quality pieces made by local artists,” Hoggard stated.“Besides,” Hoggard continues, “where else can you find that one-of-a-kind gift while also supporting the arts?”

Founded in 2008, the North Shore Arts Alliance is a co-operative marketing and promotional effort on behalf of 25 professional working artists. It has an open but juried regional membership, and it works to create and enhance year-round opportunities for the arts in western New York – especially opportunities to show work.

The Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail is a free, family-friendly event. A Google map of the studio tour locations, a downloadable printer-friendly version of the brochure, and information about all the participating artists can be found at www.ChautauquaArtTrail.com.The Trail also has a Facebook page. For additional information or to request a brochure, please call Thomas Annear at 716-679-9254.