A friend invited me to Corpus Christi Church’s annual Polish Harvest Festival. My initial reaction was confusion - why would an Italian-American agnostic want to attend a Polish-American Catholic festival? That’s crazy talk! But something short-circuited inside my head and even though I was thinking “NO!” I found myself saying “sure, why not?”

Naturally, I got lost on the way. Not quite as bad as the time I crossed into Pennsylvania while driving to Ellicottville for a business meeting, but close. I started off at the wrong East Side Polish church (St. Stan’s) and made a quick detour into Cheektowaga before finally finding Corpus Christi. I arrived just in time to eavesdrop on the tail end of the church tour, which was a treat, then ventured outside into the Festival itself, which featured food, drink, a Chinese auction, and a very popular mini-petting zoo hosted by staff from the Buffalo Zoo. Then, the Pic-A-Polka Band took the stage and things really heated up, delighting everyone from children (above) to grandparents. 

I’m a creature of habit. A cabinet in my living room holds hundreds of CDs, but I listen to the same seven or eight constantly. I order ”the usual” each time I eat at a particular restaurant. I always take the same route home from work. Sure, I know I’m missing out on a lot of great things by staying inside my comfort zone, but that’s just how I roll. After all, if I like something, why mess with it? Even so, once in a while I dig out an old CD or take a chance on a dinner special, and more often than not I find myself asking “why don’t I do this more often?”

It happened tonight. A group of us was getting together for dinner, but the cafe I frequent (the one located well inside my comfort zone) couldn’t accommodate our large group. We ended up at Filippo’s on Hertel Avenue. After a delightful (if a bit pricy) meal, we made our way up the avenue for a cocktail to cap off the evening. I found myself wondering “why don’t I do this more often?” Hertel Avenue rocks. Now, you might be wondering who this fool is that has lived in Buffalo for close to twenty years and is surprised to discover that Hertel Avenue is fun. In my defense it wasn’t a total shock. Back in my UB days we often ventured down to the Lone Star for lunch or to the North Park for films. But I just never made it to Hertel often enough to really feel at home here, and after I moved downtown the Elmwood strip just took over as my cool Buffalo street of choice.

So what’s my point? Well, it’s very easy to become complacent about life; to stick to the familiar path and never explore anything new. This way of living is safe, but you miss out on a lot of wonderful things. When’s the last time you ventured out of your comfort zone? Buffalo’s a big city with a lot to discover, even if you’ve lived here all your life.

Days 1 and 2 were hugely successful! We had between 450-500 people at the Job Fair yesterday. And then another 100+ came to our ‘private’ happy hour on Oakland Place. Our thanks to the guys for opening up their gorgeous home to us and letting strangers hang out on the back deck for a while!

It’s been an amazing two days and we can’t wait to see how everything goes today. There’s so much going on today…tours, tailgate party, waterfront…make sure to go to our schedule to see a complete list of events!

Kudos to Geek who pulled together the job fair yesterday - it was fantastic…we can’t wait to see what happens with all the folks who came yesterday!

If you want to read more takes about OHW, check out Buffalo Rising, Geek, and Pundit.

And to Tom Bauerle, who is trying to continue the negative tone of the city…things are changing and the question for you is, ‘are you going to be part of the problem or the solution?’

As we approach Buffalo Old Home Week, I want to take a minute to thank all of you who have registered on our website, written your repat stories and just generally spread the word about what we’re doing.

The volunteers - thanks to all of you who are going to volunteer in whatever way this weekend…we look forward to working together toward our common goal - revitalizing the Buffalo area!!!

I’d also like to take a minute to thank the committee members. Chris, Marti, Amanda, Jess, Harvey, Jen, Shelley, and Ethan.  We’ve all put in countless hours towards making this event a success…and we’re looking forward to seeing it come to fruition!

Well…it’s almost time! After months of planning, Buffalo Old Home Week begins on Thursday. We’ve done lots of legwork and are now looking forward to the event/s beginning. Have you bought your tix yet?

A friend of a friend is in desperate need of an apartment…2 bedroom, off of Elmwood or Allen, about $700/month…and he needs it yesterday…

If you have any ideas or leads, please e-mail me asap: amy@revitalizebuffalo.org - thanks!

We were overwhelmed by the number of volunteers who showed up last night for our Buffalo Old Home Week volunteer meeting! Thanks to all of you who came to the meeting…and thanks for stepping up to the plate because it’s people like all of you who are going to help revitalize this city!

If you weren’t able to make it, but are still interested in volunteering, please send me an e-mail, amy@revitalizebuffalo.org - there are still lots of volunteering opportunities!

Buffalo Old Home Week

Tomorrow night, Tuesday, August 15th, is the volunteer meeting for Buffalo Old Home Week!

If you are looking to help out, meet some fun people or get a free t-shirt, this is the event for you. We will be meeting at 6:30pm at the United Way at 742 Delaware Ave Room 201.

There are different events which volunteers are needed for including the Career Fair, the Downtown Housing Tour and the Sunday Brunch. We also need volunteers to help with pre-event set up and preparation.

Buffalo Old Home Week Volunteer Meeting
Tuesday, August 15th, 2006
6:30pm
United Way
742 Delaware Ave Room 201
Buffalo, NY 14209-2295

Please email amy@revitalizebuffalo.org if you would like to volunteer!

Lewiston Art Festival sidewalk chalk…

Originally uploaded by buffalo_amy.

I ventured with a friend up to Lewiston to check out their Annual Art Festival. We wandered around, stopping to have lunch at one of the vendors and then grabbing these delicious ice cream sandwiches (made with chocolate chip cookies) from DiCamillos Bakery.

One of the coolest things about the festival is the contest for what you would call “sidewalk chalk”, except it’s much grander - as you can see from the picture. The high school students create elaborate drawings. This one came in second place and has a decidedly religious undertone to it…they were all amazing!!!

Lewiston is a beautiful village with lots of character and tons of lovely waterfront access. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon!

Dip in the Pool

Originally uploaded by buffalo_amy.

The weather has been beautiful the last week or so. It’s been a huge relief from the sweltering 90s we had a few weeks back. I often wonder how the animals at the zoo keep cool when it’s so hot.

I stopped to check out the new sea lion cove yesterday with a friend and found out just how the other animals stay cool in the heat!

This polar bear was lounging around for a while and then he dove into his pool and swam around for quite a while…it was very entertaining to watch, especially to all the kids that were there…