In one of
Buffalo’s most quaint neighborhoods, the Cottage District Association (CDA) began
a Festival of Lights last year.
This year,
it has spilled over into neighboring districts, with the Fargo Estate
Neighborhood Association (FENA), the Kleinhans Community Association (KCA), the
Columbus Park Association and the Fargo 300 joining in.
CDA Chair
Valerie Ingold says, “The area of the Festival of Lights has grown
enormously in only two years. Our
goal is to make this an attraction like the Garden Walk in Buffalo. We’re
already drawing people from surrounding neighborhoods in the city, and people
from the suburbs to see how festive our neighborhoods are
in the holiday season!”
A trip
through their website shows last year’s glowing homes, where the only thing missing is the sound of snow crunching underfoot while each
image pops up, one more beautiful than the next.
Started on
November 25th this year, the light show will run through January 6th. And
there’s a contest too. “We have non partisan judges who will be
walking or driving our neighborhoods, looking for houses that really stand
out,” Ingold says. “The time of judging will be between the week of
Christmas and New Years, and we’ll be passing out prizes the weekend after New
Years.”
Ingold says the celebrity judges for this years event will include John Borsa of Channel 7, and Harvey Garrett
of the West Side Community Collaborative. A $300 prize will help defray the cost of decorations for the lucky winner, and
there will be other prizes awarded too.
Sponsors
include Dibble True Value Hardware, Connell Boswell (State Farm Insurance),
Karpeles Library Manuscript Museum, Heart of the City Neighborhoods, D’Youville
College Campus Ministry, Chuck Cardone Barber Shop, Holy Angles Church, Morning
Glory, Delish, Elmwood Village Fabrics, West Side Community Services, Avalon
Scarves, Sweetnes_7 Café, ING Photography, Wegmans and West Side NHS, Amory Tavern,
Ashland Pest Control, Boomerangs Restaurant, Buffalo State College, Chefs
Restaurant, Faces of Buffalo- Aty Mosaics, Grassroots Gardens, In Memory of
Miguilla Schaus, Joe Tomasulo, BERC Business Specialist, Louie’s Charcoal Hot
Dogs, Marcos Ristorante, New Buffalo Graphics, Nick Bonifacio, Santa Maria
Towers, Niagara Street Tops Market, Vilardo Printing.
.