Sick of your friend going on and on about how he grabbed his kitchen table at IKEA and found his sweet man bag at the mall?

One-up him by saying you got the same things handmade by a Roycroft master artisan! That’ll teach him!

On June 26 and 27, swing out to East Aurora for the Roycrofters at Large Summer Festival, where you’ll meet dozens of artisans from across the country selling furniture, pottery, paintings, leather goods and more.

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Compliments of the Urban Dictionary

A Greek word used to describe a jubilant emotion of/during ‘celebration’.

Examples:

“Hooray! OPA!”
“It’s a boy! OPA! Cigars For All!”
“Come on, be a man, take another shot of Ouzo… OPA!”

Find your own reason to shout at The Buffalo Greek Festival (June 4-6, 2010)

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If your daughter is turning 13, the biggest thing you could do for her birthday would be to have Miley Cyrus perform. It would be awesome. You’d be the best parent ever.

If you’re the University at Buffalo and you’re planning the 35th anniversary of your June in Buffalo new music festival, you’d schedule composition superstar Steve Reich to be there. And they did.

Reich, Augusta Read Thomas and a handful of the most buzz-worthy composers and performers in the world will take part in concerts, master classes, open rehearsals, lectures, seminars and installations from May 31 to June 6.

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The inaugural National Garden Festival is coming to town this summer, and it’s an event like no other in the country. It’s a five week celebration (June 18 to July 25) of our garden walks, talks, tours and events. The Festival will be like a great, green umbrella under which garden tours, the Japanese Garden, the Erie Basin Marina Gardens, the Botanical Gardens, the Rose Garden, the Elmwood-Bidwell Farmer’s Market, the Olmsted Parks, Garden Walk Buffalo, garden symposia, and new special events will be presented to garden lovers, gardening enthusiasts and culturally inclined travelers who revel in the kind of tree lined streets, Victorian architecture and locally owned shops and restaurants that are found in abundance throughout out the Buffalo region. For more information, check out its new video and website, NationalGardenFestival.com.

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If you want to catch fine performances by two of Buffalo’s most accomplished actors, Anne Gayley and Roz Kramer, take yourselves to the Kavinoky Theatre to see them reprise the roles they played 20 years when Peter Schafer’s comedic play Lettice and Lovage was first produced. The show, which opened on Friday, April 30th, is directed by Kathleen Gaffney. Lettice Douffet (Anne Gayley) is a tour guide at an old British mansion that does not have an exciting historical past. To make up for this perceived lack, Lettice embellishes the facts with great enthusiasm until she is unceremoniously fired by Lotte Shoen, the Human Resources Manager at the British Preservation offices.

Conflicts between creativity and fact are quickly resolved as Lottie, suffering from guilt, comes to visit Lettice at her apartment. She brings information about a new job as well as a glowing letter of recommendation. Lettice invites her to “quaff” a potent English cordial which she concocts using an herb called lovage. And so begins a new friendship.

For information about tickets and show times, contact the Kavinoky Theater at either 716-881-7668 or www.kavinokytheatre.com.

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Fueled by transportation along the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal, manufacturing, and milling, Buffalo saw astronomical financial and population growth throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Along the way, some of the greatest American architecture was built (like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House and Louis Sullivan’s Guaranty Building), Buffalo became home to the largest number of millionaires per capita in the country, communities of hard-working blue collar families were born, and Buffalo’s waterfront earned the reputation as one of the most dangerous and vice-ridden in the world.

It’s one thing to read these stories in a book. It’s another to walk Buffalo’s streets and see for yourself where history was played out. Buffalo Tours helps you do the latter.

With dozens of tours with titles like “Crime & Scandal,” “Gold Medal Grain Elevators,” and “Splendors in Stained Glass,” Buffalo Tours offers fun, informative looks at each aspect of Buffalo. Like to have a pint with your tours? They even have a series of happy hour walks that begin and end at local pubs.

The Buffalo Tours schedule runs through October and the tours are a bargain – most are either $10 or free!

http://www.preservationbuffaloniagara.org/page/buffalo-tours/

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If you’re craving Italian food, Buffalo has you covered. From Chef’s downtown to Cecelia’s in the Elmwood Village to Lombardo’s in North Buffalo, there are a ton of places here where you can satisfy your pasta jones. This is also community that loves mom and pop places – we are serious locavores. This being said, there is a chain place out in the ‘burbs that you should seriously consider trying. Bravo! is located on the ground level of the Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga, and I had a fantastic lunch there recently. My friend, who is an Italian cuisine connoisseur, recommended that we go there, and I wasn’t disappointed. She started with a delicious tomato bisque, followed by a perfectly pressed mozzarella, tomato and pesto panini, while I had salad and a wonderful plate of lasagna that seemed to be homemade. The decor is a fun, family friendly Romain ruin, and the menu had something for everyone’s taste.

I know what you’re thinking – it’s a chain, and it’s in the mall. But don’t let that stop you – Bravo isn’t your typical mall eatery. It’s definitely worth a trip.

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This weekend I am looking forward to attending one the coolest nights out in Buffalo. It’s a Multi Art & Music Party being held from 9pm – 2am. I’m also very intrigued of the location for this event. It will take place at Rock Harbor Yard 57 Tonawanda Street in Buffalo, just a few minutes from Buffalo State College and Elmwood Village.

In the past 21 incarnations of Hallwalls’ Artists & Models Affair, a multitude of Buffalo sites have served as the locus for temporary artistic expressions and controlled insanity: the Broadway Market, abandoned factories, warehouses, auto showrooms, roller rinks, deserted downtown malls and department stores, the Tri-Main Center, and the Buffalo Convention Center. This year’s event—officially, the 22nd version of Artist &Models.

There will be 30 Artists’ Installations, including 404 Error, Alice Alexandrescu, Kyle Butler & Marc Tomk, AWK, Steven Ansell & Tammy McGovern, Katrina Boemig, Michael Bosworth, David Butler, Buffalo Hackerspace, Scott Bye, Collective Collective, Jax Deluca, Aasta Deth, John Fink, Chris Hausbeck, HERO Design, Jimyn the Singing Mine, Jill Johnston-Price, Evelyn Killaby, Alison S.M. Kobayashi-Emily Gove & Jennie Suddick, Al Larsen, Marty McGee & Mick Gross-, R.J. Melnyk & Ariane FulkLorna Mills, Vincenzo Mistretta, P.J. Moskal, N.J. Parisi, Shasti O’Leary Soudant, Timothy Scaffidi, Gary Sczerbaniewicz, R.M.Vaughn, Heather Warren-Crow, Christopher Young

Live Music from Family Funktion & SitarJamz, Divi Rome Royal African Sound, Orchestra Stimuli, MC Wizzalot & Tip Top Hip Hop Orchestra, DJ Bev Beverly and Strip Teasers (Burlesque)

Cost is only $15 in advance and for Hallwalls members, or $20 at door

Advance tickets are available at Hallwalls -Talking Leaves Books (both Elmwood & Main St.), Sweetness 7 Cafe (Lafayette & Grant), Rust Belt Books (Allen St.), Room (Hertel) and Clarence Coffee Center (Goodrich Road).

For more information go to www.hallwalls.org or call 716-854-1694

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My family and I had lunch recently at Chef’s, my favorite restaurant in Buffalo, and one of the city’s landmarks. Open since 1923, Chef’s has served generations of Buffalonians understated but exquisitely prepared Italian fare like lasagna, veal parmesan and chicken cacciatora. However, on your first visit, one of your party must order their signature dish, spaghetti parmesan. Pasta doesn’t come with simpler ingredients or preparation – a plate of lightly sauced spaghetti covered in mozzarella, then baked, and served with a cup of their famous tomato sauce for dipping. I’m not sure what the secret is (I sure can’t replicate it at home), but decades of practice has perfected their technique. Combined with a loaf of warm bread, a meatball or sausage and a glass of wine, this is a classic (and filling) meal that I order almost every time I go. Aside from it’s delectable dishes, Chef’s is also where many of Buffalo’s movers and shakers congregate to make deal or just share a meal, so you never know what CEO, media type or ballplayer you’ll see in the dining room. One caveat – reservations are highly recommended any time, but are an absolute necessity whenever the Sabres or Bandits are in town; without one, you won’t get in.

For more information, check out www.ilovechefs.com, or take a trip to the corner of Seneca and Chicago Streets and taste it for yourself. This trip was my son’s first experience, and judging by the smile on his face, it won’t be his last.

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I’m ever in search of fun things to do with my grandchildren, and because their ages range from seven to fifteen, it can sometimes be a challenge to find something we’ll all enjoy. Delaware Park has always fit the bill, and we find plenty to keep us busy!

One of Frederick Law Olmsted’s first three parks in Buffalo, Delaware Park serves as the focal point of the Olmsted system and today contains many of Buffalo’s cultural institutions. Simply named The Park by Olmsted, this 350-acre setting serves as Buffalo’s “Central Park.” Delaware Park is the crowned jewel of the Olmsted system, with 350 acres of meadow, forest and lake.

The first thing we usually do is to play in one of the three playgrounds. Elijah’s favorite is in Rumsey Woods which is on the Lincoln Parkway side of the park. Next to the playground is the Rose Garden, which is extraordinarily beautiful when the roses are in full bloom. Hoyt Lake is next – a great place to explore or just sit peacefully, with rental boats on the lake during July and August; $10 for 30 minutes and $15 for 60 minutes for up to 4 passengers. Then we’re off to explore the many trails throughout the park. This could take days, and there’s always something new we discover.

That’s only one small part of Delaware Park. The other side of the park borders Parkside Avenue, and there you’ll find a golf course, baseball and softball diamonds, football, soccer and rugby fields. There’s lawn bowling courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, a couple more playgrounds, with plenty of picnic tables and shelters. And don’t forget the Parkside Lodge which houses the new restaurant, The Lunch Box and a Golf Shop.

And if Grandma isn’t exhausted by this time, we’ve sometimes even built in a trip to the Buffalo Zoo! But that’s a topic for another day!

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