The summer is certainly heating up with music – there’s yet another great waterfront festival heading our way in early August. This one is all about the blues… it’s called Buffalo Blues n’ BBQ Festival. Could there be a better destination for a blues festival than LaSalle Park? There’s an interesting background to how this festival got its legs too. It turns out that event promoter, Nicholas Kin, hosted a bunch of festivals in Buffalo over a decade ago. Unfortunately Nicholas was diagnosed with cancer and at the age of 21 he battled the illness and put his life on hold.
It took Nicholas a decade to get back on track with his dream, and now his goal is to raise $200,000 for Roswell Park – the institute that gave him a second chance to follow his dreams. “Being in remission from cancer was the best news I had ever heard,” Nicholas told me. “Being able to give back to Roswell Park Cancer Institute is the best I’d ever felt. And to have fun while doing that, is just a dream come true.” Come out and celebrate the blues with Nicholas on August 7th from noon to 8pm. There will be dedicated area for kids (13 years and younger get free admittance), with plenty of their own creative activities for them to enjoy.
Eight hours of blues, brews and barbecues on the waterfront, and all for a good cause? This is sure to be a hit. As an aside, isn’t it time that The City figures out how to get some sort of docking system in place for boaters who want to visit LaSalle Park? At this waterfront amenity is all about the cars… it would be nice if these types of events were accessible by both small and large craft.