Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season as well as the beginning of the shopping season. However, this season, take a break from shopping at big box stores and shopping malls to check out some of the great holiday markets, small business and local productions. Saturday is Small Business Saturday so it’s a great time to check out all your favorite local businesses as well explore new ones! The Shop 716 eGift Card program is also back, with almost 900 participating businesses so be sure to get yours today!
Holiday Makers Market
This Friday, November 25th and Saturday, November 26th The Buffalo History Museum will host its Second annual Holiday Makers Market. Over 30 local makers ranging from authors to sculptors will be set up on all three floors of the Museum. Need it gift wrapped too? No problem! Shop local, shop small, and make us your one stop shop this Holiday season! Vendors include: YMS Art Glass | Kreations with Heart | Red Riding Herbals | Knit One & Done | Rusted Wheel Pottery | The Charcoal Annex | Full Moon Gardens | Casi Hall Creative | Maiden Metals | Living Floral Designs | Pour & Penchant | Laser Crits | Lewiston Jellies LLC | Roberta Worthington | Honeygirl Ornaments | MaryAnn Voorhees | Pavone Bijoux | Buffalo History Books | Nickel City Pottery Collective | Doris Michol Sippel | Paulette Krakowski | Wooly Acres Maple Farm | Messy Bun Creations BFLO |Sarah Brady Design … and more! This is a great opportunity to not only support local small businesses and artisans but also pick up some stocking stuffers or gifts!
The Holiday Makers Market will run from 4-6pm on Friday and 10am-3pm on Saturday.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Looking for something to do with the kids and get a much needed break from your Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping? O’Connell & Company has got you covered! Beginning Friday November 25 and running through December 18, O’Connell & Company presents “ A Charlie Brown Christmas.” This is a fun 30-minute stage adaptation of the classic animated TV special featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and the gang discovering the true meaning of Christmas that promises to be fun not just for kids, but adults too! Performances will be followed by a meet and greet with Santa Claus and special holiday crafts.
Coffee, Sips & Sweets
The first ever Coffee, Sweets and Sips will lure your sweet tooth to Buffalo Riverworks on Saturday, November 28th. It’s a celebration of everything delicious, with treats like pastry, chocolates, cookies, pies, ice cream and even more confections. Not only will Tim Horton’s be providing free coffee, but you can also indulge in a variety of great wines and spirits!
Coffee, Sweets, & Sips: Cookie Cottage, Platter’s Chocolates, Genevieve’s Cheesecakes, Crazy Cannoli Chick, Sage Family Maple, Half-Baked Café, Ginger Snap Patisserie, Cuppa Culture Teas & Desserts, Tops, Tim Hortons, RiverWorks, What’s Poppin’ Popcorn, The Cereal Spot, Wheatberry Bake Shop, Four Fights Distilling, The Greek Goddess. Wineries and other vendors are being added to the line-up.
Indoor Holiday Market: John Angelo Photography, Architectural Portraits in Pencil, Robin Yates, CC Designs Fine Silver Jewelry, Rock, Paper, Safety Scissors (coffee table book publisher), Fairy Tale Farms, Touchstone Crystals by Swarovski, BWH Woodturning, Geologic by Calla (jewelry), Herd Creations, Cuppa Culture, Dragonfly, Tops, Tim Hortons, RiverWorks, Killa Kookies & Kreme, Buffalo Cigars, Reiki with Andrea, Anytime Jewelry Design, KMB5 Boutique (and more to come).
World’s Largest Disco
The World’s Largest Disco is back and in person! Voted “The Greatest Event on Earth” by Festivals.com! Join others for this giant retro dance party, on the largest dance floor in NYS – with 500,000 watts of sound and light! It has sold out for the past 25 years and another sellout is expected this year. The Disco has been held at The Buffalo Convention Center since its inception in 1979. Conesus Fest for Charity restarted the event in 1994 after a 15-year hiatus. The Disco is a charity event benefiting Camp Good Days and Special Times, a camp for children with cancer. Since 1994 they have donated over 6.8 million dollars to Camp Good Days and several other local charities.
Buffalo Women’s Gifts
Your favorite holiday vendor market is back! Save the date and come shop small with Buffalo’s best women-owned businesses. We invite you to participate in Women’s Gifts, a celebration of women’s creativity. This annual event is a marketplace for local women to feature and sell their handcrafted items. As a part of Small Business Saturday, Women’s Gifts’ vendors will be promoted in an effort to highlight the value of local artisans and shopping local.
This is just a small selection of all the great events happening this weekend. For more ideas of things to do and see in WNY, check out our newly launched Cultural Calendar.