Attraction
In 1926, the Shea’s Performing Arts Center opened its doors to the public as an arena for music and entertainment shows. It has played host to such artistic legends as Bob Hope and the Marx Brothers. This 300,000-seat facility has been entertaining residents of Buffalo and visitors from the entire nation for over 60 years.
The Wilcox Mansion has a unique place in history, as it is the mansion in which Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated into the presidency of the United States. Every year, hundreds of visitors come to tour the facility from all over the world.
One of the most beautiful sites to see is the Buffalo-Erie county botanical garden. The garden paradise is situated within a late 1890’s tri-domed Victorian glass conservatory located in South Park, Buffalo. While strolling through these eclectic gardens, visitors can view plantings of exotic flowers from places all around the world. The only thing that is more pleasant than taking a casual stroll through the lovely gardens is the gentle fragrance given off by the large variety of flowers, which permeates the gardens.
Another attraction in Buffalo that thousands of visitors travel to every year are the Buffalo Zoological Gardens. The Gardens were founded in 1875 and is one of the oldest zoos in the country. There are over 1,000 different kinds of animals in this facility, including lions, tigers, gorillas, North American bison and even polar bears. There is also a petting zoo that the little ones enjoy spending time exploring.
Tourists and residents who have a penchant for fishing have named Buffalo “the small mouth bass capitol world.” Every year thousands of people fish the lakes and rivers of the city for tournaments and casual fishing afternoons.
The winter season, which lasts much longer than in other parts of the country, brings outdoor enthusiasts flocking to the Buffalo region. Skiing and snowboarding are the favorites of both tourists and residents alike, drawing thousands of snow-lovers to the slopes for weekend excursions.
Although skiing and snowboarding are considered the favorite outdoor sports of most locals, tubing and tobogganing are equally as popular. Ice fishing and ice-skating are also favorite activities in Buffalo.
In addition to the year-round population in Buffalo, the winters and summers see a sharp increase in the number of seats filled in local restaurants and hotel rooms. That’s because Buffalo has many attractions that keep tourists returning year and year again.
The most majestic of all tourist attractions is the world famous waterfall, Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls is technically in Canada, but borders the edge of the States. It is along the Erie River situated only half an hour from Buffalo, making it an attraction for tourists and Buffalonians alike. Tourism from Niagra Falls also helps to fuel the economy of Buffalo, as many tourists choose to stay, dine and shop in the town.
Niagara Falls is estimated to be approximately 12,000 years old is one of the Seven Greatest Wonders of the World. Many believe that of all the Great Wonders, the Falls is the most majestic.
Since the inception of the full-fledged tourism industry in 1820, billions of tourists have visited the Falls on both sides of the Canadian-American border. Though the Fall seem to straddle the Canadian-American border, the Falls are in Canada.
Ironically, tourists cannot simply cross the border into the nations without following a strictly limited set of procedures and protocol. If traveling by air, all tourists must show a birth certificate and a passport. A driver’s license is not accepted as a form of identification to cross the border. Parents must provide a birth certificate for each child they take. If a child traveling with an adult tourist is not the tourists’ child, the child needs to present a letter from the child’s parents, stating that the child has permission to enter the country. Furthermore, drivers are not allowed to be drinking alcohol or doing drugs or to be impaired by alcohol or drugs in anyway. If any tourist has a “Driving While Intoxicated” conviction on their record in the United States, he or she is not allowed to drive into Canada, even as a passenger, across the four artery bridges that lead into Canada. Animals are allowed into Canada, but must be disease free and dogs must have proof of immunizations.
Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, every season holds something fun to do in Buffalo, and everyone who visits invariably returns home with treasured memories that will last a life time.
Festivals
Buffalo hosts a large variety of festivals each year. Most notably, the festival grounds at the pier host gatherings of all kinds. The grounds host a wide variety of events, from boat races to weddings to concerts. There is almost always something exciting happening at the pier, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Many festivals have very long and rich histories in the area.
In 1865, the Juneteenth Festival was created just after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. This now-annual festival is attended mostly by African-American citizens and was originally created to celebrate their freedom from slavery.
Every fall there are crop-specific festivals held in Buffalo. A different festival is held for each of the crops grown that year. The reason for the festival is so that the community of Buffalo can get together and make the work of harvesting, preserving and pickling easier. They then get to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labor together.
The Disco Festival was started in 1979, and has drawn crowds of up to 13,000 people at a time to partake in the music, food and party fun that was popular at the time the festival first began. As one of the only true disco festivals left in the nation, the Buffalo disco festival helps to keep the art and culture of the popular American dancing style alive.
A Taste of Buffalo is another popular annual festival that brings together over 150 different local cuisines and 50 restaurants. A Taste of Buffalo is the 2nd largest food festival in all of the United States, bringing in tourists and residents to indulge their appetites quickly on a variety of types of food.
For the last 45 years, the Allentown Art Festival has ushered in the start of summer. This event brings around 450 people from all over the United States and Canada to walk among the streets viewing art and unique local architecture. At the Allentown Art Festival, there are six scholarships given out each year to those who are interested in perusing an education in art.