If you happened to be in downtown Buffalo this weekend, you may have been wondering what exactly was going on. As we were on our way down to the Buffalo Brewfest, we noticed that all of the streets around Niagara Square were closed off to accommodate the Queen City Criterium. As if out of the blue competing cyclists took to the streets, racing at high speeds as unexpected people watched from street corners.
Halfway through the race, we began to notice pods of people – teams of four – as they navigated downtown neighborhoods in search of clues. They were obviously taking part in the Buffalo Scavenger Hunt. What a scene it was – to watch scavengers attempting to cross the street as cyclists whizzed by at breakneck speed.
Thankfully micro beers were just moments away. We headed on over to the HSBC Arena in search of some indoor fun as the raindrops began to fall. Brewfest coordinators told us that they were pleased with the setup of this year’s event – by opening more of the balcony area and setting up a tent outside, the same number of people in attendance did not create bottlenecks at beer stations. Everyone appeared to be happy with the results, and I’m sure that the breweries were pleased to serve at a more casual pace. The brewfest-goers that I talked to all mentioned that they were getting more tastings in thanks to the arrangement. It’s a good thing that the Metro Rail was waiting just outside to take people home.