The festival kicke.off summer in Buffalo. One of my favorites! And the weather was perfect. Enjoyed…read morewaking around people watching, shopping and eating! Two stands out was my dirt soda from Popularity, perfect drink grab and walk around keep just and cool. Then couldnt leave without some sweet treats from JB bakery!!! If you have not had his banana pudding brownies you missing out!

One of our missions while in New York was to visit a relative. The other was to join the relatives…read morein a stroll through Allentown Art Festival. The Festival is held annually around the same time frame being mid June. Usually the weather has been quite nice. This time rain was predicted off and on while we were there. There were many blocks of vendors selling the typical types of art, some stores were open, food trucks and port-a-potties. It dripped rain on occasion but not enough to dissuade attendees. One could also enjoy looking at the Allentown Historic homes all along our walk. Awe inspiring! Free street parking on Sunday. Hours are 11am-5pm although many vendors are already set up from the previous day of opening. We arrived shortly after 10 am and were able to view several vendors. On one particular street if you skip one empty block, you'll notice a number of tents. The is an alternative festival in conjunction with the one we attended. If you wander by, you'll notice more eclectic artistic items for sale. Wacky t shirts, crazy jewelry and bohemian style clothing.

Parkside Artisan Market…read more There's a new Parkside Association event. They are a busy group. This little crafters market happens once a month from Aug-Oct. It's a few different artisans on the corner of Russell and Parkside right across from the zoo. This isn't a farmers market. This month they had about 10 vendors. Plenty of pretty and unique jewelry. A few stands with Buffalo themed things. A cute baby clothes stand. I found some handmade glass based jewelry that's unique and one of a kind. Another vendor had beads and beautifully intricate chains. There was a vendor with beautiful wood cutting boards and similar things. The Association had a table with info about them and upcoming events around town. This is a new monthly event and they expect more vendors each month. Next year they may start earlier in June or July. All in all this is a nice little corner pop-up artisan grouping. It's perfect for a stop as you spend time at the park or zoo on a Sunday. 9/R-a-D Challenge

Follow Farmshop on Instagram if you're local and love discovering small businesses - they carry…read moresuch a fun variety of local treats all in one spot. On this quick visit, I picked up an ice cream sandwich (insanely delicious), a giant cinnamon roll for my littles, and a Butter Block Pop-Tart. Every single item was a hit. I'm now fully invested in stalking Quokka Sweets, the queen of seasonally inspired ice cream creations. Her peanut butter caramel cream cheese sammie is still living rent-free in my head--so rich, creamy, salty, sweet, with just the right tang from the cream cheese, all sandwiched between two soft graham cracker blondies. Unreal. Also officially keeping tabs on Savage Wheat Project after my kids immediately said, "Let's eat more of their treats." And honestly... Butter Block's homemade Pop-Tarts? Say less. This place is basically a one-stop shop for anyone who appreciates a really good local treat.

Small little local shop downtown off Elmwood. Picked up a loaf of Savage Sourdough bread. Damn!…read moreWhat an amazing bread this is, a real loaf of excellence.

So I finally made it to the formerly named Burlington Coat Factory....and was shocked to see there…read morewas a multitude of items other than coats!! Oh they had coats, and coats with designer labels at bargain store prices! One may have found its way into my closet and I do wanna say shout out to DKNY - Donna, gurl u can dee-zine! This Buffalo/Amherst location is huge, prepare to spend hours in there and not spend lots of $$. Designer coats, handbags, sweaters, scarves, Men's and women's everything. I need to go back again because we just ran out of time and couldn't see everything. Worth the drive from the 6ix

I used to drive by this plaza regularly and stop in occasionally. Now I'm here regularly. I come…read morefor Orangetheory Fitness, but there's a lot more to find here too. Burlington Coat Factory, which is the flagship and what the Plaza is named after. Then there is a Jo-Ann Fabric, where I've been on occasion, also very large. There's a Dollar Tree on the side near Trader Joes (across the street). There is a Corner Bakery Café right on the NFB side as well. Just down from Orangetheory is a weight watchers location, seems to get very busy on occasion. A newer place is Amherst Buffet, not sure what it replaced. Moes is on the other side of the Corner Bakery Café. Outback steakhouse is always busy here. Lots of easy parking here makes this Plaza easy.

Located directly next to the Amtrak train depot in Niagara Falls (which is historically…read moresignificant), this museum is clear, concise, with reproductions of first and second person accounts of the trip to freedom (Canada) near Niagara Falls. Before 1848, this was done with a trip on a rowboat or ferry; after 1848 a train suspension bridge was the preferred highway to freedom. The museum takes 30-60 minutes to explore, and it's beautifully done in multimedia. The gift shop is worth a look too: Volumes of history, and T-shirts. As I was driving away, I looked over Whirlpool Drive to the gorge, and saw the ruins of the old suspension bridge. It made the heart ache: So much human drama happened there, and now it's incognito.

Let's talk about the Underground Railroad Heritage Center and Museum. From the moment you walk in,…read moreyou're warmly greeted by the staff, who guide you on whether to take the self-guided or guided tour. Before and after your visit, the gift shop is worth exploring, it's filled with meaningful items. I picked up a Black History Matters shirt and was very pleased with the quality. For the tour itself, I had a young guide who was both knowledgeable and engaging. As a local, he tied the history to personal experiences, which made the stories even more impactful. The tour was very informative and offered insight into another side of the Underground Railroad routes that many people don't often hear about. The location is also convenient--if you're traveling by Amtrak to Canada, the museum is in the same building, making it a great activity before your train. The cost is a small fee, and absolutely worth every bit for the experience and knowledge gained. A must-visit if you're in the area.

Not only did I attend again this year but it was the first year for my group WNY Pomeranians…read moreparticipation. We had a Pomeranian fashion show and parade! Although the weather gave us a rough start it ended up being a great and fun event for all of us! We are looking forward to next year already! Thank you Yelp for being one of the sponsors of this great event!

First time attending this event so wasn't Sure what to…read moreexpect . Was looking forward to being able to take our 2 rescue dogs out fur a family outing. Lots of people had the same idea judging from the line to get I just to park- they were asking fir donations which slowed the flow . More lines at the entrance fir admission where there was another Subaru in all fir good cause. And in exchange a really cute burlap goodie bag filled w treats! I'd like to see next years event have more people working parking and admission to cut down on wait and be more organized. There were many vendors represented and lots of rescue organizations which was great to see several no. Profits operating some food vendors: pizza, hot dogs even doggie ice cream. Was a great chance to meet some new dog centered providers that I didn't know about and might need . The best part was we got to reconnect with the group that brought us our rescue dogs. That's what the day was about. Making new friends and sharing our love of dogs!

Best thing about this market is that it's the closest farmers market to our house. Unfortunately…read morethis year there have not been many vendors there and only a couple selling produce. We still go to see what we can get. We have in the past purchased spices there that we like and most recently peaches. On our last visit I was troubled with the fact that several of the vendors were not wearing masks and some were wearing them under their chin. Is that some sort of fashion statement I don't know about? Most customers were complying. I'll probably continue to visit there with hopes this will improve.

This market has so much to offer. Honey, real maple syrup, cookies, spices, farm produce, chai,…read morepickles, flowers & etc....I love it. It's open on wednesday evenings which make it easy to stop by on the way home. The train for the kids is pretty awesome too.

My cocktail has been described as a classic, what a coincidence…read more Lavish and wild event full of mostly young people, held on Delaware Ave in North Buffalo at the Foundry Suites in late 2016. It is repeated every year, though I'm not sure if it's this good every year. This was one of the best events I've ever been to, and I don't even drink. The girls who were organizing it were so sweet and so eager to hear all the feedback, good and bad. The people who were attending the event were extremely into all of the games and prizes we were handing out, which is unusual because usually people are drunk and disinterested. And the cheese and crackers they were handing out were absolutely addictive, especially the smoked cheese. Lots of nice grapes too, and they kept bringing more. I didn't try the cocktails because I don't drink and the police hate me, but very good feedback on those from all. Also the DJ was brilliant and a lot of his song choices were phenomenal except the utterly awful, puke-inducing Closer by the Chainsmokers. But you can't win them all.

Wonderful event! The VIP tickets are totally worth the price of admission. We will be here again…read morenext year!