Looks like Buffalo Old Home Week is going to get a bit of last minute press. Dave Staba, stringer for the New York Times, has been attending many of the events so far and told us that we can expect an article at the beginning of next week. He caught up with Mayor Brown at Thursday at the Square – a night that was filled with all sorts of BOHW activities.
The mayor told us that we can expect another story in the times detailing activities on the Buffalo Waterfront. That should be interesting... I guess the gist of the story is about recent positive developments on the inner harbor - the Erie Canal Terminus, casino activities, etc. And (ducking) supposedly (ducking) there will be a Bass Pro announcement later this week (still ducking)... yes a 'breakthrough' in the Bass Pro development is the talk of certain circles. You will notice that we have never signaled Bass Pro rumors in the past, but the air is so thick with speculations of 'progress' (let the wise-cracks roll, I can take it). Anyways, back to The Times - Dave Staba tells me that he has never seen the paper take such an interest in Buffalo before. I think our city has received more national press recently than it has seen for years. And now back to Thursday:
Thursday was the day that the mayor announced that the BOHW event was officially acknowledged by the City of Buffalo. Chris Smith handed over a City of Buffalo flag to The Mayor (I wonder where that came from Mr. Cox), and before we knew it Bill Zimmerman was singing the BOHW theme song while accompanied by banjo and guitar (we’ll have a video clip of that later).
The evening started off with a groundbreaking at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center where nineteen people who contributed to the success of the project dug their shovels in the ground and tossed piles of dirt in the air. The affair started off with a commencement and ended with a party.
It has been unexpected activities like the groundbreaking and the Pierogi Festival that have added to the magic of the BOHW long weekend. Make sure that you get out there and enjoy the rest of the festivities today. The Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts is just kicking off, and the Loft Tours are getting going as well. A ride on the Cotter Fireboat is already sold out, and the Blue Mirage looks like it will be a blast tonight. Then we’ll see you all tomorrow for brunch at The Casino on Hoyt Lake!