Do you know that there is an outdoors club called the Buffalo Hiking Group? I sure didn't until the group approached us regarding having a presence at the Buffalo Powder Keg Festival. Since that time I have been impressed with the number of hikes that they embark upon - it would appear that there is a hike every weekend! It's incredible to see all of the different groups that come out of the woodwork when a festival is planned.

During the festival the group's organizers, Chris Henning and Chuck Saia, are setting an impressive trail and

Buffalo & Erie County Public LibraryStaff Review by Anne Conable

American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies, by Michael W. Kauffman.
The sensational murder of President Abraham Lincoln by a famous, dashing actor during a performance in a Washington, DC theatre is an often-told story that continues to fascinate. There are dozens of books on the subject. The epic manhunt for the assassin, culminating in his death, and the military trial and hanging of his co-conspirators has been retraced,

From biniszkiewicz, responding to the hysteria on the Statler boarding post with some perspective.  Well said! 

 

Do you imagine it's the only building in Buffalo which ever experienced vacancy? Witness AM&As: The world didn't end, and better days are reportedly ahead. Or buy a condo in what is now City Center or rent an office in the Root Building or the second Key Tower (vacant for over a decade after construction) or Lafayette Court (empty department

BRO submission by Molly Clauss:

You can't have a winter festival without its own ice rink, and the Buffalo Powder Keg Festival is providing the public with not one, but TWO rinks for public use! Both rinks are sponsored by Leisure Living.

The Polar Ice Rink is located at the corner of Washington and Seneca streets, near the Ice Maze, the snow sculptures, and the Kid's Tent. It will be used exclusively for recreational ice skating throughout the two days of the festival.  There are no skate rentals, so bring your

Come hear the Mozart Requiem, done for free, in Westminster Church's sanctuary on Sunday, March 7th at 11AM.  A Requiem Mass (in Roman Catholic and some Protestant traditions) is celebrated to honor and commend a departed soul or souls.  
Mozart wrote his as he was facing his own imminent death.   Let's all just take a moment and wonder if just one Requiem was enough to cover for his own vanity, right?  Well, this one may be.  
The piece is considered one of the greatest musical compositions of all time, ever, in

When we first began to organize the Buffalo Powder Keg Festival I came across an image of a Saint Bernard wearing a small barrel around his neck. Then it struck me that maybe we should have a Saint Bernard Parade (duh!). Next we found out that there was a Saint Bernard Club in Rochester that was interested in running a parade at the festival (of course). And then they declined due to time constraints (bummer!).

So what do you do when you have raised the expectations of festival-goers who were really excited about a dog parade? You call

This summer, Buffalo will blossom with art forms such as dance, poetry, music, puppeteering and much more. The 2010 Buffalo Infringement Festival (BIF), an event dedicated to the celebration and free expression of all forms of art, will take place from July 22nd - August 1st. The festival is held at various venues in the Allentown district.  
Tonight, a party will be held at Nietzsche's on 248 Allen Street at 9PM to kick-off the beginning of the festival season. Admission is $5, which goes directly to funding the festival.

Last night saw the grand opening of Comfort Zone Cafe's addition, along with the new computer repair and website development services of a Quad-B Systems in this satellite store at 1002 Elmwood Avenue.
We first reported the proposed expansion last October, and though the seating area has been opened for a few weeks, Quad-B is now ready to see clients for PC repair and website design every

If nothing sounds better to you than a watching an old-school ice hockey game while enjoying complimentary beer, food, and other Labatt branded products, this is one contest you don't want to miss out on.    
This year the Howard Simon Show on Sports Radio WGR 550 is giving listeners the chance to win VIP tickets for 10 infamous "orange seats" that look out over Lake Erie for the Labatt Blue Buffalo Hockey Tournament. These front row seats are limited and will put you up close and personal with the action and excitement. 
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It was back in June when I wrote a summation of many of the problems facing Broderick Park - a virtually forgotten waterfront amenity, located at the foot of West Ferry, that has suffered many hardships over the years. The summation was posted after Councilman David Rivera and I spend good part of the afternoon walking around inspecting the downtrodden park (see post). Shortly afterwards we paid a visit to Tow Path Park, located at

BRO Submission By Brooke Grant:

The Buffalo Powder Keg festival is no doubt going to be a blast for all adults who attend.  However, what you may not know is that the Powder Keg Festival is going to be a great place to take kids too!  Besides ice skating, Skyway tubing, sledding, the world's largest ice maze, and snowshoeing, there are going to be tons of special events planned for kids from 9am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday.  Below is a list of just some of the activities going on in the kids area at the festival

It's true - the sit-down restaurant portion of Shanghai Reds closed last month, but they've been going gang-busters with catering and events ever since.
Know too, that they will be open next weekend during the Labatt Blue Pond Hockey Tournament and the Powder Keg Festival.  A Reds representative said tournament and festival-goers can expect a fully operational dining room,

Today at 5PM, at Buffalo City Hall, Mayor Byron Brown, along with US Mint Deputy Director Andrew Brunhart and UB President John Simpson, will unveil the newly minted, limited edition Millard Fillmore dollar coin.
Following the event, the coins will be available for exchange with paper dollars, though there will be a quantity given to children under the age of 12.
Millard Fillmore was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853, and was also the last member of the Whig Party to hold office.  In addition, Fillmore was one

Yesterday, many Christians had ashes on their heads as a sign of repentance.

Christians, however, are neither the first nor the only people to seek repentance.  In fact, the idea of places ashes on our head is not found in uniquely Christian scripture, but in the texts that we share with Judaism and Islam. 

Repentance is more than saying "sorry," and seeking forgiveness.  It is a turning away from one way and towards another. It represents deep change.
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A little over a week ago I attended one of the First Fridays Allentown events. Although we didn't make it to many destinations that night, we did happen upon a pretty cool scene at Comand Solutions. What is especially interesting is that Comand Solutions is not even a gallery - it is a company that specializes in Content Management Solutions (CMS) for businesses. Being in Allentown however, the owners decided that they would open the doors to the business on these special Allentown artistic occasions

The Buffalo Common Council met yesterday, and for those of you who wonder what takes place in a council session, the following are highlights of the issues discussed and the steps taken.
Wine in Grocery Stores: The Buffalo Common Council, echoing last week's concerns of the Erie County Legislature, adopted a resolution sponsored by North District Council Member Joseph Golombek, Jr. and Fillmore District Council Member David Franczyk expressing the Council's opposition to Governor Patterson's proposal that would allow the sale of wine in supermarkets, grocery

Last week, BRO alerted readers to an upcoming Valentine's Day salsa get together.  Since seeing is believing, we wanted to let you know what you may have missed, while prompting you to vow never to miss another.
2nd Cup was packed this past Friday night with beautiful people of all different levels of skill in the art of salsa, but even for those who sat watching, enjoying the dancers movement and the live music by Latin

The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) has entered into an agreement to exclusively utilize local union workforce projected to reduce overall project costs by more than $2.3 million 
Yesterday, the ECHDC board of directors approved a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) with the Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO, as well as the Building and Construction Trades Council of Buffalo, NY and Vicinity, AFL-CIO, for public infrastructure work related to the proposed Canal Side inner harbor project.  In addition, the harbor corporation

On Friday, March 2nd, at Hallwalls, a very special forum will feature experts in the field of renewable technologies and environmental concerns.
The forum, brought to you by Western New York Sustainable Energy Association will explore the role of government in promoting the use of renewable technologies as we make the transition from fossil fuels to a renewable energy based economy.
Speakers include the following:
Robert E. Knoer, Esq. comes to us with broad

Join El Buen Amigo as they throw a fiesta to celebrate the work of Buffalo ReUse! It's time for these two fine community organizations to come together for the sake of celebration.
Buffalo ReUse works through green demolition to create jobs and build a healthy and sustainable community on Buffalo's East Side, and El Buen Amigo works through the Fair Trade marketplace to create jobs and build a just and sustainable economic community for artisans in