I will be in Buffalo, NY from July 12 - 18 for the International Juggling Association Festival. Obviously that will keep me busy most of the time, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for things to do when my arms are too tired to juggle? I’d like to see Niagara Falls, obviously. What else? And does anyone have any Niagara Falls related advice? I’ve never been before. “Don’t fall in” is already on my list, btw 
What’s there to do in Buffalo?
Not a hell of a lot, unless you really like sports bars out of season.
Is Kleinhans Music Hall still in operation? When I was a kid, they regularly had concerts from major bands there. (Never went – it was six hours’ drive from us – but WKBW was always advertizing them.)
There are several excellent half-price bookstores there; I know, I used to work for a wholesaler who shipped them remainders for sales. One’s out on Transit Road; I forget where the others are.
Perhaps you should ask delphica, as she grew up there. Only area of Buffalo I’ve seen is the airport, on my way to & from ChiDope.
Well, normally you can shovel snow, but in July I suppose even in Buffalo it’s mostly melted
You could always go up to Tonawanda and help fight the fires
I visited a rather good art museum there. Only time I’ve ever been IN Buffalo.
Niagara Falls, on the other hand…
Not sure my memory is serving me right, here (it’s been over 20 years :eek: ) but ISTR that it’s only about 1-2 hours drive from Buffalo to Toronto. I also STR that Toronto was a lovely city! The CN tower comes to mind immediately, but I can’t for the life of me remember anything else… sorry.
(As for Buffalo itself… Well, I was taught has a child that if I have nothing nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything;))
Dani
Oh, there’s fun to be had in Niagara Falls, but I’m really most familiar with the Canadian side. I like the casino and the Skylon tower, myself.
As far as falls advice goes, bring a camera. And if at all possible, go to the Canadian side and stand next to where the horseshoe falls begin- it’s absolutely breathtaking and a real wonder of nature. There are also crap shops galore to buy trinkets and such from, which I always enjoy.
Too far. To make it worth driving that far to go somewhere, I’d have gto spend half the day there, and that is too much time to take away from the festival.
I’ll try to make it to the Canadian side of the falls if that isn’t too difficult… I’ve never driven across to Canada… is there any hassle involved?
If you don’t mind boats, make sure you ride the Maid of the Mist while you’re in Niagara Falls. There’s also the Albright Knox Art Gallery. Here’s a link to Buffalo’s newspaper’s entertainment section: http://www.buffalo.com/entertainment/default.asp . This lists a lot of the special events going on in the area.
Driving to Canada from NY, was no problem the last time I went (probably around November 2001), so you should be okay.
IIRC, you need to be in good health, affirm that you’re a law abiding sort, have funds, and show a valid form of ID such as passport, or in the case of you-an operators license. You must also be able to recite the pledge from memory:
I pledge allegiance to the Moose, of the united territories of Canada, and to the Canadians, for which he stands, one country, up here where it’s cold, with Molson and hockey, for all. 
My Niagara Falls advice is to be aware that other than the Falls, the city is not much of a tourist destination. The city of Niagara Falls is a mid-sized industrial town with a bad economy and a lot of cheap souvenir stores. There’s a good used book store in town though.
Buffalo itself is not a bad city but it doesn’t really have any landmark tourist destinations. The flea markets on the weekends are nice (there’s one on Walden Avenue and another in Clarence). The Anchor Bar is where they invented Buffalo Chicken Wings and they serve a nice meal there. Buffalo’s a big sports town.
Okay, the last time I went to Niagara Falls Canada was 2003, not 2001. In 2001, I only had to show my license to get in, and to show ID and tell the guy the town and state I was born in to get out. In 2003, I only needed to show ID both times.
Well as I’m going to be spending 99.999% of my time at the juggling convention, the trip to Niagara Falls is going to be a very, very, very short one. Like probably less than an hour. So it doesn’t really matter what the town is like.
Juggling? Usually when I think Buffalo I think bowling conventions 
(seriously, the only time I’ve stayed overnight in Buffalo the motel we stayed at had lots of bowlers in town for a tournament!).
Whenever I go to Buffalo I go to the BotanicalGardens, one of the best botanical gardens I’ve been to, if you’re into that sort of thing, of course, which I’m usually not, except this one. (Plus, there’s not much else to do in Buffalo except the Falls :))
And too bad about your one-hour limit, too, cause Chautauqua County has lots of interesting outdoor stuff to do, but it’s an hour or more to anything good from Buffalo 
Buffalo has a couple of great nightlife-oriented neighborhoods. The largest concentration of bars and clubs is in the Theatre District downtown, particularly stretching along Chippewa Street.
Elmwood Avenue is a street that most cities three or four times Buffalo’s size would die for. The four-mile section between downtown and Buffalo State College is lined with bars, restaurants, coffee houses, bookstores, funky stores, and all the trappings of a bohemian urban lifestyle. I’ve got a lot of images here. You can kill a morning and afternoon with a walk down the street.
The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, anchoring the north end of the Elmwood Strip, is a world-class collection of contmporary art. Lots of famous works you’v seen in your college Art 101 textbooks are part of the collection. Buffalo is gaining recognition as something of an arts destination, and there’s a thriving arts scene.
Ah this is more the kind of thing that I need to know! What there is to do at night, after the festival has wound down for the evening (Aside from making a short trip to Niagara Falls, I doubt I’ll do any other daytime activities other than juggling).
If you’re really looking for the nightlife in Buffalo, you need to go to Chippewa St. It’s the mian bar drag through downtown and it’s where all the action is. Elmwood is also great and where you are more likely to find laid back evening haunts.
If you have time to just drive around, the architecture in Buffalo is amazing . There are 2 Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the city, city hall is a beautiful art deco building and the parks were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. My favorite building is the H. H. Richardson complex on the Buff. State campus. It looks like it should be haunted and seeing as it used to be the state insane asylum, it just might be.
Also, if you are there on a Thursday night, there’s a great free concert series in Lafyette square downtown. Just take the subway to the Lafyette stop.
I moved to Buffalo for grad school and was surprised at how much I loved the city. Go with an open mind and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
I just took a closer look at the concert schedule and you will be in town for the Spirit of the West concert. They are definitely worth the trip. That was the one group I would never miss.