Editor's Picks - This Week's Best Bets | February 21 - 26
Last chance to catch Lumagination is tonight! If you've already been to the Botanical Gardens for this lush, luminous experience, try to catch Ariana Grande's Dangerous Woman Tour stop at Keybank Center, with special guests BIA and Victoria Monet.
If you're looking for family fun without spending a fortune, Wednesday is Kids Day at the Botanical Garden. Kids 12 and under are free. The exceptional weather we are experiencing makes the WNY Boat Show 2017 particularly enticing. Find your sails on Wednesday through Sunday at the AdPro Sport Training Center at the stadium in Orchard Park.
If you are looking for a productive way to get involved, attend the Refugee Roundtable & Community Engagement Fair at Jericho Road on Barton Street at 4:00pm on Wednesday. Art lovers are advised to then head to Hallwalls for the annual Mid Winter's Draw that evening. It's a great place to pick up some awesome original artwork by talented local artists.
Thursday brings a ride on the wild side to support the Buffalo Zoo. Enjoy fine food and adorable animals at Polar Bites 2017 at the Convention Center. Or support a great local business and go to the Cash Mob at Sweet_Ness 7 Cafe on Grant and Lafayette. Did you know that the Cash Mob concept was invented right here in Buffalo and is now a nation-wide phenomenon? And theatre lovers have two Openings to choose from Thursday evening: Buffalo Quickies at Alleyway and Stop Kiss at Subversive.
We highly recommend The Spirit of Nina Simone with Buffalo's own Drea D'Nur at Kleinhans Friday evening. But only if you do not already have tickets to An American Siddhartha with BPO and Lehrer Dance at the UB Center for the Arts. The BPO + Lehrer? Be still my heart. But wait, there's more! The Wake, that maudlin, tongue-in-cheek fun-raiser for the Irish Classical Theatre, now at Rich's Atrium (used to be at Karpeles), is Friday night, as is the eclectic Buffalo East: Photography Pop-Up at one of the most obscure and forgotten taverns in the city: the Saddle Up Saloon at 55 Hubbard Street (Google map it). This one-night-only event will feature four photographers who reveal hidden and not-so-hidden parts of Buffalo's East Side. Whew!
On Saturday, our top pick is the Madd Tiki Winter Luau at RiverWorks, which might have to be renamed the Madd Tiki Spring Luau if this gorgeous weather keeps up. Speaking of snow or lack thereof, the 40th Anniversary Blizzard Ball - Resilience is taking place Saturday night at Karpeles on Porter (where The Wake used to be). And the fabulous Orchid Show begins at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday, and continues all day Sunday.
Mardi Gras begins with a bang in Buffalo on Sunday. The 10th Annual Mardi Gras Jam! will take over the Sportsmen's at Noon, and right down the street Mardi Gras Celebration 2017 will start at 2:00 at 330 Amherst. Two Mardi Gras parties on the same street. We see another parade in Buffalo's future. Bring on the beads!
