Citybration 2011

May 3, 2011 Updated May 3, 2011 at 10:29 AM EDT

Thursday, June 23

Buffalo Spree Best of WNY Party at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 5:30-8:30pm

Join Buffalo Spree magazine for the best cocktail party of the summer as we celebrate the finest our area has to offer with the revealing of the Spree “Best of WNY” 2011 winners, as selected by readers and panels of experts. The party features food and beverages from twenty of our finest local restaurants, a wine tasting, music, a photo booth, and a silent auction. This year’s party is a benefit for Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges. Tickets are $30 in advance or $40 day of the event and include food and wine tasting. Cash bar will also be available. Tickets go on sale May 1st and will be available at www.buffalospree.com or by calling 716-783-9119 x2202.

Friday, June 24

6:00-9:00 Hot Air Balloon rides on the Outer Harbor

A benefit for the WNY Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Fabulous views and lots of fun! Climb into a safely tethered hot air balloon & rise more than 100 feet over the Outer Harbor & beautiful Lake Erie, or bring a lawn chair & watch the fun. Music, food & fun for all! Be sure to wave at your friends at the City Hall Sunset reception, you’ll be amazed at how close downtown is. Take the Skyway to the Furhmann Blvd. exit, turn right until you see the balloons! Plenty of parking. $15 for adults, $10 children 12 & under, $2 off with the Citybration pass.

6:00-9:00 City Hall Sunset Reception on the 28th Floor Observation Deck

If you’ve never been on the Observation Deck of our magnificent City Hall, you have been missing a great view. If you’ve never been up there at sunset to watch the sun sink behind Point Abino into Lake Erie, you must see this magnificent sight to properly celebrate our assets. And then comes the icing on the cake – watching the hot air balloons rising high above the Outer Harbor and seeing the Queen City slowly light up. Join us at City Hall for light fare, great views and a tour of Buffalo from above from

6:00-9:00pm. $5 suggested donation at the door.

5:30-7:35 Citybration Night at the Ball Park (Buffalo Bisons vs. Norfolk Tides)

Pre-game Plaza Party at 5:30 with live music and food/drink specials. Gates open at 6:00 with the first pitch against the Norfolk Tides is at 7:35. Don’t miss the post game fireworks! Special discounted tickets are available.

6:00 – 11:00 Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor – Dark Star Orchestra

Saturday, June 25

Discover Buffalo Tours:

10:00 – 3:00 Delaware Neighborhood Tour of Homes

A self-guided tour of the magnificent homes of Buffalo's Golden Age on Delaware Avenue & Oakland Place. Go inside where the rich and famous lived during the early 20th century and visit interiors of fine modern living in the early 21st. Start at the Wilcox Mansion (TR Site), 641 Delaware Avenue. Reservations Required. $25 per person ($20 for members) $30 day of event. Click here for tickets. Sponsored by Buffalo Tours and the Theodore Roosevelt Site.

10:00-12:00 Queen City Downtown –

Our beautiful downtown landmarks provide a stunning backdrop for Buffalo’s most important stories, including the Erie Canal, several Presidents, master architects, and the “Best Designed City” designation by Frederick Law Olmsted. See these stories come alive on this two hour walk. The Guaranty Building, St. Paul’s, and Ellicott Square are magnificent. Meet at the Visitor Center, 617 Main St. [MAP]. $10 per person, $5 for students.

The Erie Canal – Walking Tour

Industrial Heritage Grain elevator tours

Forgotten Buffalo

Naked Buffalo

Self-guided kayak/canoe excursions

Self-guided Riverwalk

Self-guided Veterans Walk

Olmsted Parks

Forest Lawn

Campaign for Greater Buffalo

Open Air Bus Tours

New near waterfront

2:00-5:00 Scavenger Hunt

Get your team together, cook up a costume, and get ready for a fabulous afternoon on the Waterfront discovering things you never knew you wanted to know about Buffalo. Bring your smart phone -- QR Codes and geo-caching will help your team win cool prizes – and consider getting from clue to clue on a bicycle, as well as on the train and the brand new Water Taxi. Meet at the Pearl Street Grill at 2:00pm for instructions and the kick-off, and be back by 4:30 to turn in your findings, wet your whistle and vie for prizes. $20 for teams of four. Register your team at www.Citybration.com and friend the Citybrtation Facebook page for regular updates. Don’t miss this event!

5:30-7:30 Floating Cocktail Party – Happy Hour on the Harbor

A benefit for the Give for Greatness Campaign

Come down and help us light up the waterfront. Stop at Templeton Landing, head aboard the Miss Buffalo or the Moondance, or bring your own boat! Be part of the Citybration floating cocktail party, parading from Erie Basin Marina past Canal and up the Outer Harbor to Dug’s Dive and back. Let’s celebrate our waterfront!

6:00 – 11:00 Buffalo Place Rocks the Harbor – Elvis Costello

Sunday, June 26

9:00-10:00 Ride the Waterfront

Bicyclists and walkers of all ages are invited to take a ride along Buffalo’s newly connected Waterfront. Starting at Canal Side, cyclists will ride along the Boardwalk on the Wharf, continue up the Buffalo River to (1) Riverfest Park, continue up Ohio Street, cross the Michigan Avenue Bridge, pass under the Skyway and cross Fuhrmann Boulevard to the (2) Cargill Property, following the bicycle path all the way up to the (3) Union Ship Canal, and return (approx. 6 miles). Or they may choose to continue only through one or two of the three check points and do a shorter ride.

10:00-12:00 Walk the Waterfront

Walkers of all ages are invited to walk along Buffalo’s newly connected Waterfront. Starting at Canal Side, participants will have several route choices, some involving the new Water Taxi service. The longest route available is the one followed by the bicycles earlier in the day. Self-guided maps will be provided, and the checkpoints will be tended until Noon.

12:00-5:00 Citybrate the Waterfront – Canal Side

Buffalo Indie Market and Buffalo First vendors, a mini-green expo showing Buffalo’s environmental innovation, performance art and interactive art, re-enactors and storytellers, hands on science activities, kayak parades and kid parades, food, festivities and much more at this multi-facted launch of our Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper Waterfront.

Discover Buffalo Tours:

10:00-12:00 Richardson Olmsted Complex

Walk the perimeter of the former Buffalo State Asylum. Surrounded by Olmsted landscaping, this largest and greatest of H.H. Richardson’s creations influenced the much-emulated Richardsonian Romanesque style. Meet at the gate at Forest & Richmond avenues. $10. Reservations at: www.BuffaloTours.org/716-852-3300

1:00-4:00 Buffalo Public Schools Reunion Picnic -- The Waterfront School

14th Annual Parkside Garden Tour - pick up your map of this self-guided tour at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Jewett Parkway and Summit Avenue.

For more information:

info@Citybration.com l 716.903.7155 l www.Citybration.com