By Rachel Stover:
 
Returning to the Queen City on August 5th-7th is the 48-Hour Film Project which gives teams a genre, a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and 48 Hours to make a movie. Teams race against time as well as each other in order to complete the writing, filming, and editing of their film in exactly 48 hours.
 
On August 5th, local filmmakers from all around the WNY region will descend upon Buffalo, to hear the four critical elements that must be included in their film to qualify for the cash prize and the chance to have their film screened

Dave Harter Reporting for Green Options Buffalo:

*In this series Green Options Buffalo will be highlighting events, festivals, shows and rides that are guaranteed to be top-notch adventures for bicycle riders.

Creating art as a commodity is something that many artists only begrudgingly accept as a necessity of the modern world. For these artists, a culture centered on property and privilege seems fundamentally opposed to the essence of creative expression. Whether from impulsive bursts or slow, careful crafting - upon its creation, art seems destined to enrich

By Jeffrey Hartinger:

As I spent the past four years at Canisius College as one of the biggest Buffalo advocates, my family, friends, classmates, and peers were in shock at the end of my senior year when I announced my post grad plans, which was to move to Los Angeles a few days after graduation to pursue a career in writing. They asked many questions, and in a way, it appeared as if some tried to paint me as a hypocrite: Wasn't I the one to start a debate when classmates revealed in class how they were hoping for job offers in more prosperous cities? Yes. Wasn't I the one who

A trio of Erie County businesses have seen growth spurts courtesy of a new Erie County Industrial Development Agency (ECIDA) loan program which targets established companies that have difficulties obtaining traditional bank financing due to increasingly strict lending policies.

The Business Stimulus Loan Fund has provided more than $800,000 to three fast-growing Erie County firms since its establishment last fall, leading to expansion of their workforces and client rosters.

County Executive Chris Collins and ECIDA chief operating office Al

Once again, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York has come up big when it comes to supporting the community. This time the company is donating $1,000,000 to the Olmsted Parks Conservancy. The money will go towards Martin Luther King Park's Humboldt Basin (see back story). To start, $100,000 will go toward bridging the gap that was lacking for capital improvements, while the rest of the donation will be spread out over the course of ten years. The City of Buffalo has also dedicated close to $4,000,000 towards

By Samantha Murphy:
 
Gloria's No Limit Store, located at 95 Allen Street, has brought beautiful, unique clothing to the Allen community. Gloria's No limit officially opened its doors on June 1, 2011. The store is owned and operated by Gloria McHenry. Born and raised in Sandusky, Ohio this Buck-Eye girl moved to Buffalo and never looked back.
 
Gloria's No Limit Store features all women's apparel, especially dresses, jean wear, jewelry, and accessories. The store also offers body lotions and body oils. Apparel ranges from $20 to $35 and the body lotions and

By Nancy Cardillo:

The Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, Inc., in collaboration with Forest Lawn, is pleased to offer a very special African American Ancestral Tour at Forest Lawn this summer.  

Sit in air-conditioned comfort as your guides (Barbara Nevergold, president of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, Inc., and Sharon Holley, retired Buffalo Public Library Systems administrator) take you to the graves of well-known African Americans interred at Forest Lawn.  You'll have the opportunity to learn

In the past decade, Buffalo's Roswell Park Cancer Institute has increased its inpatient and outpatient business by 40 percent and 60 percent respectively. As a result, the treatment center needs to expand its patient care and research facilities. This goal requires the help of thoughtful community members.  Consequently, the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, a non-profit organization that manages Roswell Park's donations, began a campaign to raise funds for patient treatment. The Campaign to Build a Greater Roswell now aspires to finance a $40 million capital improvement project to build a

Considering last year's success, Brewfest 2011 should be even more spectacular. Joseph Cozzo, CEO and president for the Buffalo Hearing and Speech Center, stated that 2010's BrewFest sold out and boasted more brewers than ever before. Consequently, BrewFest 2011 has been expanded. In addition to its usual location on the first two floors of HSBC Arena Atrium and the surrounding Arena Plaza, this year's event will also use space on parts of Perry Street. This will allow 5,000 people to

A long ago faded mural painted on a sprawling wall at the corner of Tonawanda and Amherst Street is in the process of getting a makeover. Youth from the Boys and Girls Club of the Northtowns are busy priming the wall in preparation for the Historical Society to paint a mural depicting The War of 1812 (in celebration of the 200-year anniversary).

Director of Teen Services, Gabrielle Mosher (blue shirt with roller), was also busy painting the wall in the hot sun. "This site is a dedicated area," Gabrielle told me. "The Summer Youth Program is happy to be a part of helping to bring this

By S. Ohanesian:

Of the 372 gardens showcased at the 17th annual Garden Walk Buffalo  this year, one was hosted by a 9 year old girl who set up a lemonade stand with a twist.  Anne Cellini had a mission and she was psyched about it, her lemonade stand was going to raise awareness for the S.P.C.A., the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She had a handcrafted sign, a collection of stuffed animals to help represent her cause and a tip jar dedicated to her passion to protect animals.  

With each glass of lemonade and pink lemonade she poured,

Although I found out a bit late in the game, Buffalo's South Side Kustoms teamed up with The Yard this past Saturday to host an event that consisted of live rockabilly music, a hot rod car show and a motorcycle rally. This was the first warm weather event that has been featured at The Yard this summer, and I'm hoping to see more in the future. It's just the perfect setting for unusual events - especially gritty events like Rumble in the City.

Last year's inaugural event was held at the Central Terminal - a setting that

It was one year ago that Lloyd the taco truck arrived on the Buffalo food scene. Lloyd has experienced a tremendous amount of success since then for a very simple reason - the food is great. 
Operating a food truck is no simple business, though. The trucks are expensive and require significant maintenance. A popular truck - like Lloyd - can struggle with capacity issues as customers line up for product. And in Buffalo, there are no clear rules and regulations for

Upon hearing that The Canvas Bar was opening on the 500 Block of Main Street, I was really excited - especially when I heard about the concept. As time went on, hope began to diminish when no apparent activity could be seen taking place. Then I heard that the deal was dead. While on our way to brunch at Empire today we passed something that looked remarkably familiar to the branding that I had

By Joe Cascio:

Over the last 22 years I have had the pleasure of seeing the boys from Kingston, ON countless times, from small clubs in Vancouver, BC to Cleveland down on the flats and in the Much Music Studios on Queen Street in Toronto.  Last night's show on the water at Canalside was right up there at the top.  

The weekend started with a great dinner provided by the folks at Encore & Chef Chris Daigler where we all sat around relaxed eating good food and drinking some great wine, sort of the calm before the storm.  In talking with Gord Downie,

Second Chance Sheltering Network, Inc. is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit animal rescue group serving the Western New York area.  Their goal is to help place homeless animals while simultaneously helping interested individuals find a new furry companion.  Every Sunday, we run a homeless pet spotlight to help these animals find a good home with a loving family. Please consider adopting an animal...

This 1 year old male kitty was hiding under bushes and shrubs when he and his sister were abandoned.  Not understanding where they were or why they were there, whenever

One of the things that I love about the Garden Walk are the fringe activities that can be found on any given street. There are endless yard sales, garden parties, lemonade stands and so forth. Today I came across one of the more unexpected activities to date - a kissing booth. Christian (photo) and friends had set up shop on Richmond and were creating quite a stir when I found them. The group told me that this was their second year 'in business' and that smooching sales were brisk (as they held up a jar with about ten $1 bills inside). "We do it for fun," they told me. "We even have a website."
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As if overnight, and just in time for the Garden Walk, D'Avolio has brilliantly transformed an Elmwood driveway and carriage house entrance into a contemporary and refreshing indoor-outdoor courtyard. The business has outdone itself - something that was tough to do considering that its previous location was ever so popular and tastefully presented. The olive oils and vinegars are prominently placed with menu boards to decipher what is currently in stock. Awnings are hung above faux windows featuring photos of different serene landscapes. Next to the awnings, cafe chairs are arranged so that customers

Every Saturday I will be featuring an obscure architectural element found in the city, to see if someone can figure out where it is. We used to run this same sort of post every once in a while, but somehow got away from it. There are no clues - just a photo depicting the item. I'm sure that there are a lot of BRO readers out there who have scoured the city and have seen just about all that there is to see.

Good luck...



 

I still vividly remember when The Royal Pheasant re-opened in 2005 after being closed for many years. It was is if someone had brought back a part of history that needed to be retold in a newer, cleaner way. Alas, before the new owners could even find their groove, the doors were shut once again and the building began to creep right back into a dark and forgotten place. Today, things are looking up once again for this historic