Boom Days is the official celebration of spring in Buffalo. It’s also the start of the outdoor festival season. Held in and around Silo City each year, the event attracts a wide range of people from all over the region, who come together to celebrate the waters of the Great Lakes and the historic legacy of the waterfront.
The celebration centers around the removal of the Lake Erie-Niagara River ice boom from the mouth of the Niagara River, even though the event doesn’t necessarily coincide with the actual removal thanks to the antics of Mother Nature.
Despite the fluctuations of the boom’s removal from the grips of frozen waters, the party commences without a hitch each and every year. Boom Days offers up the chance for party-goers to explore the wonders of Buffalo’s industrial past, under the watchful eye of the haunting grain elevators and silos.
One of the highlights of Boom Days is the Ice Boom Ball Drop, when organizers and revelers drop two giant orange balls over the side of the E.M. Cotter, the world’s oldest operating fireboat. From there the brilliant spheres float down the Niagara River, signaling to all that party season has begun.
Boom Days | Saturday, April 18, 2015
For those who have never attended Boom Days, the schedule looks something like this: