With the blow of a horn and a flip of a few switches, a Festival of Lights was born in Buffalo. Last evening, Mayor Brown signaled the lighting of 17 acres of park land surrounding the Parkside Lodge. Simultaneously, holiday music was piped across snow-covered fields, a horse and carriage arrived, and people set out to walk the lit trails. Inside the lodge, people congregated by the fireplace, enjoyed food from The Lunchbox Cafe, explored the marvelous holiday gift shop and toasted to the special occasion. A special live performance of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (currently in production at The Kavinoky Theatre) wrapped up the night.
Tonight (Saturday) marks the grand opening of Olmsted Nights Winter Lights to the public. Starting at 5pm and ending at 9pm, guests can park at The Zoo parking lot (main entrance) or at the smaller lot towards the corner of Parkside and the 198, in order to gain access to the show (Wed-Sun). If you ask me, The Metro Rail is the way to go… it’s a short walk from Main Street over to Medaille College (cross at the light) and then on to Parkside where you will find an entrance adjacent to the Susan G. Komen Grove (lit all in pink). Admission is $5 per person if arriving on foot, or $20 per parked carload – a ticket allows vistors access to the lit pathways as well as entrance into the Parkside Lodge featuring live music during show hours. Food, hot coco, horse and carriage rides (weekends) and possibly sleigh rides will be available if there is enough snow, and as soon as the ice rink completely freezes, festival-goers will be able to bring a pair of skates and take to the ice.
For more information, visit the Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s website. For up to date information regarding skating, sleigh rides, live music, etc, look for Olmsted Nights Winter Lights on Facebook.