Learn to Row students head to the water for practice

Visitor attractions in Chautauqua County, NY founded on culture, heritage and the natural landscape will be showcased during the Chautauqua in June learning festival, May 25 – June 17, 2012. Experts from birding to history, and rowing to architecture will lead participants on field trips, walking tours, and excursions on land and water for fun and learning during the three week festival featuring more than 60 workshops.

Birders will find fun and laughs as well as serious field trips at the 4th Annual Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival. A highlight of the two-day event, June 8-9, is the chance to meet Greg Miller, the real-life character played by Jack Black in the movie The Big Year. Greg’s attempt to set a new record for the most bird sightings in North America within a single year was the inspiration for the book, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik and a 2011 movie directed by David Frankel of The Devil Wears Prada fame. While the movie was not a box office hit, reviews indicate it might just be 2011′s best kept secret and attract a niche following. Roger Tory Peterson Institute’s director of education, Mark Baldwin said, “Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson give fine performances as birders whose passion for the sport takes them to heights that most of us would consider ridiculous. Still, their obsession is not unlike others we might think of as ‘normal,’ and the movie shows that much of what makes us human is what bonds us to other people and to other living things that we find mysterious and beautiful.” Greg Miller will deliver a keynote address at the festival’s closing banquet on Saturday evening. Copies of Obmascik’s book will be available onsite at the nature store.

Field trips include travels to the Mount Zion/Piney Tract Bird Area in Clarion County, PA for grassland and nesting birds as well as to Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest and New York’s Allegany State Park to see all kinds of warblers. Professional ornithologists, birders and photographers including Gary Edwards, Scott Stoleson, and Tim Baird will serve as guides. Additional happenings at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute include a Friday evening reception featuring McGill University ornithologist and regular Bird Watcher’s Digest contributor David Bird, who will present a program titled, “How Birds Do It: The Nefarious Sex Lives of Birds.” Saturday is a family fun day with a host of hands-on demonstrations and workshops, and outdoor activities for kids and families.

At the Jamestown Audubon Center and Sanctuary, Jennifer Schlick will take participants on a bluebird tour on May 26th and show them how to build and install their own bluebird next box. The Jamestown Audubon will also be hosting its annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage, a three day nature extravaganza at Allegany State Park, and Figure 8 the Lake, a road trip exploring the social and scientific history of Chautauqua Lake led by naturalist and geologist, Tom Erlandson.

Once a world renowned furniture capital, the City of Jamestown boasts a wealth of industrial and architectural history. Learn about early industrialists and citizens during walking tours with the Fenton History Center and Museum, keeper of Jamestown’s history and a source for genealogy research. Historians, architects, and an amateur archeologist will guide the two hour walks through five different industrial, trade, and residential areas of the city. The Fenton will rotate a series of four historic walking tours regularly on Saturdays starting Memorial Day Weekend and continuing through September.

Gently rolling hills, rich farmland, and large rural areas make western New York an ideal home for the Amish. Visit New York’s largest old order Amish community with tours of greenhouses or shops and then stop for an afternoon of tea or dinner at the Cherry Creek Inn. Jamestown Community College’s Center for Continuing Education and SUNY Fredonia’s Center for Lifelong Learning are both offering touring and learning experiences in Amish country.

Chautauqua’s lakes and waterways were not only significant as a route to the Ohio River Valley, but a hotspot for the leisurely pursuits of sailing and rowing, a long standing tradition on Chautauqua Lake. Local legends abound about early and renowned rowing competitions from Mayville to Chautauqua Institution. The Chautauqua Lake Rowing Association has recently revived the sport and offers adult learn to row classes in June. For a more recent take on the sport of man-powered boating, Evergreen Outfitters offers introductory classes in paddling, either standing up or sitting down.

Those who grew up near Chautauqua Lake, western New York’s largest inland lake, are sure to be familiar with LS Aero Marine in Bemus Point, a popular and welcome stopping spot to fill up the boat with gas. The marine building has recently been transformed into the new Lawson Boating Heritage Center. David Lawson, former owner of L.S. Aero Marine and a trustee of the center will present a guided tour of the new museum and boat restoration shop on June 14th.

Chautauqua in June is a three week learning festival, May 25 – June 17, 2012, with classes and workshops held in both indoor and outdoor classrooms across Chautauqua County, NY. The region is historically known as a destination for leisure learning, summer camps and workshops. Additional courses offered include Bicycle Repair and Maintenance, Bridge for Beginners, Bach & Beyond: Pre-concert Conversations, and How to think Like a Genealogist. There are more than 60 workshops offered during the three-week schedule with costs ranging from $10 for a two hour workshop to $250 for two days of workshops and meals. Participants can register for workshops online or request a program guide at www.tourchautauqua.com or by calling the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau at 1-866-908-4569.

Thursday, May 31st, visit the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Center for Comedy for a special guided tour.  Admission is $15 to visit both the Lucy-Desi Museum and the Desilu Playhouse. The Lucy-Desi Museum showcases the life and legacy of Lucille Ball with priceless costumes, awards, photographs, and other vintage memorabilia on display from the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz estates. The Desilu Playhouse is dedicated to the I Love Lucy series, and features a complete recreation of Lucy and Ricky’s New York City apartment, an interactive Vitameatavegamin set, and much more.  Return on Saturday, June 2nd at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. for Lucy Town Bus Tours ($25), and an inside look at the area where Lucille Ball was raised. Each tour is approximately two hours long.
For more information contact:
Sharon Bergstrom, Assistant to Executive Director
Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Center for Comedy
Tel: 716-484-0800
Fax: 716-484-9373
sbergstrom@lucy-desi.com

On June 1st, the Jamestown Audubon Center & Sanctuary celebrates Liberty’s 10th Anniversary starting with a cake noon and behind-the-scenes tours of her care facility at 1:30pm and again at 4:00pm.  Members and children are free to attend the event that last until 4:30 p.m, non-member adults pay $5. Liberty, the Bald Eagle, came to live at Audubon on June 1, 2002. She was found with an injury in her left wing. The muscle damage was severe enough that raptor rehabilitators felt she would not be able to hunt for herself in the wild, even though she can fly short distances in her enclosure. Her care is provided by a dedicated crew of volunteers headed by Thom Armella. The Audubon Center & Sanctuary is located a stone’s throw from the Pennsylvania border at 1600 Riverside Road, off of Route 62 between Jamestown NY and Warren PA.
For more information contact: Ruth Lundin rlundin@jamestownaudubon.org or 716-569-2345.

June 2nd, join the Fenton History Center for Walking Jamestown’s History: The Southside from 1-3 p.m. Learn about the daily life of past Jamestown residents through a walking tour of Jamestown’s southside. Learn about the businesses and families that thrived in the southside neighborhood of Forest Avenue to Newland Avenue. Two of Jamestown’s oldest homes are on the tour. Participants should be able to walk for 2 hours, wear comfortable shoes and appropriate clothing. Thomas Greer, MD, will lead the tour. He is a retired physician who delves deeply into the history of any place he goes. As a matter of fact, he is an amateur archaeologist. He has an inquisitive nature and a dry sense of humor. He will keep you on your toes! Tom will be accompanied by a local architect who will point out the interesting homes.
Cost: $10-potential Fenton members, $5-Fenton members
Fenton History Center
67 Washington Street
Jamestown NY 14701 716.664.2465 www.fentonhistorycenter.org

Sunday, June 3rd visit the Roger Tory Peterson Institute for ”Arcadia: The Art of Melissa Mance-Coniglio” and ”The Randolph Mammoth.” Melissa grew up strongly influenced by her late father James Mance, Sr., whose mastery and teaching of traditional waterfowl decoy carving taught her a love of birds and the observation skills necessary to render them with realism and creativity. She earned a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and MFA in painting from Rochester Institute of Technology. In parallel with her career as a fine artist Melissa has developed her skills as a former naturalist, licensed wildlife rehabilitator and animal trainer. She also is an art educator at the Byron-Bergen School District, teaching children to express themselves in a variety of media. Her work has been exhibited at numerous venues including the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York. The exhibition will feature 50 original paintings and drawings of birds and their habitats, which convey Melissa’s deep respect for her subjects and sensitivity to their innate beauty. Also on display will be an outstanding selection of bird carvings done by her father.

The Peterson Institute also is featuring an incredible display of fossils including a Columbian Mammoth excavated in Randolph, New York and a giant Ice Age bear as well as selections from the life work of Roger Tory Peterson. The Institute is located at 311 Curtis Street in Jamestown and is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sundays 1:00 to 5:00 PM. For more information please call 716-665-2473 or visit www.rtpi.org. Be sure to return the following week, June 8-9, for the 4th annual Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival.  June 9th is a Family Fun Day!

On Monday, June 4th visit the Robert H. Jackson Center located in an historic, beautifully-restored mansion in downtown Jamestown, to experience its educational offerings, exhibits, guided tours, lectures, films and much more. Dedicated to advancing the legacy of Robert H. Jackson, United States Supreme Court Justice and the architect and Chief U.S. Prosecutor of the groundbreaking International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, the Center strives to promote justice and the rule of law by looking at the world through the lens of Jackson’s life. For some visitors, that life resonates because his work at Nuremberg paved the way for modern tribunals throughout the world to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes. For others, what stands out is learning that one man’s brilliantly-crafted judicial opinions uphold the rights that as individuals and citizens, we often take for granted. The Center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located at 305 East Fourth Street in Jamestown.
www.roberthjackson.org
716-483-6646

June 5, 2012 see the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame, filled with stories about local families, friends and neighbors and their athletic accomplishments. If you are interested in sports and have not visited the Hall located at 15 W. Third St. in downtown Jamestown you are missing a fascinating walk down memory lane. Baseball, football, motor sports, marksmanship, and boxing – the list goes on and on. The Sports Hall of Fame has recently undergone an expansion that has doubled the exhibit space. Visitors on June 5 will receive a complimentary reproduction of a 1939 baseball program from a Jamestown Pirates game at Celoron Park. The Pirates were the original Jamestown franchise in the P.O.N.Y. League. They were the predecessors of today’s Jamestown Jammers that play in the N.Y. – P. League at Diethrick Park. The Sports Hall of Fame will be open 10-4 on the 5th.

Cap off the week, June 6, 2012 at the Science Center at Jamestown Community College. Opened in the fall of 2011, JCC’s new Science Center was designed to be reviewed for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver standards and is a showplace for sustainability in building design and operation. The center includes a number of “green” features that enabled energy conservation and promote environmentally-conscious thinking. Housed within the Science Center are JCC’s associate degrees in liberal arts and sciences: math and science, environmental science, and biotechnology. The center features state-of-the-art classrooms, labs, and prep rooms for courses in biology, biotechnology, chemistry, and geology as well as a student study area, loft lounge, greenhouse, and vegetative roof. The Science Center is located at the Jamestown Campus, 525 Falconer. Turn onto James Avenue into the Campus. It is the last building on the left. Tours will be available from 1-3 pm on June 6th.

For more on New York State Museum Week, go to http://iloveny.com/Summer/Themes/Museum-Week.aspx

The table is set for a five course Winemaker’s Dinner in the vineyards at Liberty Winery during Chautauqua in June.

Did you know that Chautauqua County boasts the largest number of farms in New York as well as the largest grape growing region in the eastern United States? And, that more than 85 farm markets in the region annually offer locally grown produce, cheeses, meat, and maple products?  The Chauatuqua in June learning festival, May 25 – June 17th, offers plenty of opportuntities to savor these “fruits” of local farmers, chefs, winemakers, and even brewmasters, and to create sumptuous meals that are sourced in western New York. Experiences range from a two hour workshop at 21 Brix learning how seasonings affect the taste of wine to a two day wine appreciation boot camp with Double A Vineyards, Walker’s Farm, and Liberty Vineyards and Winery covering the process of planting vines through bottling and labeling wine.

At the historic Athenaeum Hotel in Chautauqua Institution, Executive Chef Ross Warhol, an enthusiastic proponent of the Farm to Table movement, will provide fun and educational culinary experiences through a series of dinners and workshops during Chautauqua in June. Chef Warhol and other Culinary Institute of America trained chefs will bring students through the Farm to Table culinary process, literally from gathering ingredients at local farms to sitting down to a formal five course meal in the hotel’s parlor. The two-day experience includes a farm sourcing and foraging tour with lunch, a hands-on culinary class with dinner, and the Farm to Table Dinner event. Incidentally, Green Heron Growers will be one of the farms featured and will themselves be offering a workshop called Fun with Fungus, a hands-on workshop learning to grow Shitake mushrooms. Participants will take home their own mushroom log and enjoy a Shiitake pizza lunch.

In addition to 21 Brix and Liberty Vineyards, participating wineries include Merritt Estate and Johnson Estate. Johnson will be offering a wine pairing dinner with the theme, “What’s weather got to do with it?”. They are also bringing back Sunday Morning Vineyard Walks with the owner, Fred Johnson, as well as a pesto making workshop with Fred’s wife, Jennifer, and Vistas and Vino, a 27-mile cycling tour to be led by Bob Dahl, Wholesale Manager for Johnson Estate.  Bill and Jason Merritt, the father and son owners of Merritt Estate, will offer a Wine Tasting Primer: Starting at the Top, featuring the five basic principles of wine tasting.

Not to be outdone by the wineries, Southern Tier Brewing Company and Ellicottville Brewing Company in Fredonia will offer beer tasting and brewing experiences. Be a Brewer for a Day during a very hands-on experience at Southern Tier’s brewing facilities in Lakewood. The local brewery is offering a second workshop option after the first date sold out in mid-April. EBC’s brewer, Dan Minner, will focus more on the history of brewing, different beer styles and how they pair with food during a Beer Pairing Dinner on June 7^th. And, in Sunset Bay, one of Lake Erie’s best kept secrets, Cabana Sam’s Beach Grill will offer a wine pairing dinner and a “cocktails” bartending class.

While not a local food, teas tastings have also become popular in Chautauqua County. Learn the nuances and culture of tea tasting at Lana’s the Little House, an authentic cotswald cottage near Forestville, or partake in an afternoon tea party at the Cherry Creek Inn in Amish country. Throughout the summer, the Athenaeum Hotel will be offering Saturday afternoon tea tastings and luncheons on the porch.

Come out and enjoy a culinary class during Chautauqua in June. It’s a tasty way to learn cooking and entertaining skills you can use all year long. View the schedule and register for workshops online at www.tourchautauqua.com, or call the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau at 1-866-908-4569 for more information.

Artist and instructor Audrey Kay Dowling demonstrates drawing spring flowers during Chautauqua in June

The Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail’s Open Studio Tour kicks off the second annual Chautauqua in June learning festival over Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-27 and the following weekend June 2-3. Meet 24 artists who make their living inChautauquaCounty. Visit their studios from 10 am – 5 pm each day and see recent works in all mediums while getting to know the artists in the personal spaces where they live and create their work. Tour this picturesque region ofNew YorkStatewhere Victorian architecture set amongst verdant vineyards and fields, lush forests, rolling hills, and a spectacularLake Erieshoreline inspires the creative spirit. Artists will be on hand creating pieces, demonstrating techniques and selling their works.

The Open Studio Tour is an appropriate start to Chautauqua in June where regional artists and artisans will offer more than a dozen classes and workshops in painting, drawing, photography, and film animation as well as jewelry making, knitting, sewing, and spinning yarn. Several workshops will occur en plein air, such as Painting in the Garden with Tom Annear. Students will learn color theory and composition while completing an oil painting inspired by over 40 varieties of irises and poppies in the artist’s own garden.

Using the spring flowers growing around Chautauqua Institution for ideas, Audrey Kay Dowling will offer a three day drawing series focusing on line drawing, shading, and color theory. Exclaimed Dowling, “I have always loved teaching and this is a wonderful opportunity to share how to capture the beauty of spring flowers in a gorgeous environment and spend pre-season time at Chautauqua when the pace is relaxed, and there are no parking restrictions or fees. Drawing is a meditative process that is both relaxing and rewarding while also being fun and stimulating, and being creative activates parts of the brain that many folks have neglected.”

Two different workshops will offer new perspectives on taking photographs. The Art of Taking a Second Look with award-winning nature photographer Gary Cuckler will include a field trip to the Allenberg Bog, an area of terrain that has changed very little over the last 12,000 years since the last glacier moved through the region. Landscape photographer James Hoggardwill use vineyards as the muse for teaching basic photography skills including camera composition, lighting, color balance, and depth of field. A small class size will also allow him to customize the class according to participant interests. Said Hoggard, “With the amazing popularity of digital cameras, it seems everyone has been transformed into a photographer. While these new cameras give nice results there are still numerous ways to improve and get more professional photographs. I am looking forward to teaching my class because, not only do I enjoy sharing my experience about a topic that I love, but I always come away learning something myself!”

Students of all ages will enjoy making their own short animated movies using stop-frame motion as portrayed in the movie, HUGO, with animation artists and faculty from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Others might enjoy using sea or lake glass to make beautiful jewelry at Imagine! in Bemus or learning how to spin yarn with instructors from SUNY Fredonia’sCenterfor Lifelong Learning and Special Programs. Formally educated in fashion design, Margot Stuart from Ariel’s Bed & Breakfast will teach couture costume design techniques using a 30” teddy bear in a Designer Santa Bear Workshop. Aspiring writers will have opportunities to learn and develop their craft as well during the annual Chautauqua Writer’s Festival and a workshop on Adapting Literary Works for the Screen.

Capping off Chautauqua in June, the LakeArts Film Festival, June 15-17, salutes the 2012 election year with classic movies about American politics and politicians along with workshops, discussions, and an exhibit by photographer Barbara Proud called First Comes Love: Radical Spirits, Civil Rights and the Sexual Evolution. Several films will be screened including the 1949 classic All the Kings Men and the 2008 drama, MILK, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. In conjunction with the animation workshop, the LakeArts Festival and Chautauqua Cinema will also screen the Academy Award-winning HUGO, directed by Martin Scorsese.

On Sunday June 17, the LakeArts Festival, in collaboration with the Rod Serling Foundation, and the Menace the Public Conscience Festival’s film preservation program will present THE MAN (1972), a recently discovered Rod Serling film about the improbable rise of a black President in the 1960’s. The film, which is in the process of being restored, features well-known stars from television and film including James Earl Jones, Burgess Meredith, Jack Benny (in a cameo), and Martin Balsam. Movie goers will have the opportunity to see and hear about the process of preserving a classic and newly-discovered landmark film.

Getaway to Chautauqua in June and register for one of more than 60 workshops offered during the three week festival, May 25 – June 17, 2012. Classes and workshops are held in both indoor and outdoor classrooms across Chautauqua County from historic hotels to ancient bogs and vineyards along Lake Erie. Register for workshops online or request a program guide at www.tourchautauqua.com. Note, that creative workshops that require more individualized instruction are limited in size, and registrations are available on a first come, first serve basis.

Dunkirk Harbor is for the Birds

The article features the fact that

bird watching at Dunkirk Harbor

bird enthusiasts can observe up to 300 varieties of birds in the area. Many bird species are viewable during the winter due to unfrozen areas of the harbor caused by heat generated from the NFG power plant. Skeeter Tower is part of a local birding club known as the Lake Erie Birding Club, which has 80 members.

More information about birding on Lake Erie, and other Chautauqua County leisure learning activities is available at TourChautauqua.com .

Charter Fishing on Lake Erie

In a recent article in Game & Fish Magazine, outdoor sports writer Mike Kelly extolls the virtues of several of Western New York state’s bodies of water. Particular emphasis was paid to the abundance of small mouth bass in Chautauqua Lake, Lake Erie, and Findley Lake.

A main point of the article was how the NYS DEC biologists monitor and try to maintain the quality of New York’s fisheries. As they conduct fish population surveys, the high quality of western New York’s lakes becomes apparent. In the article, biologists mentioned that they routinely net small mouth in the 5-6 pound range. The full article is found at this link:

New York Game & Fish

For additional information fishing and lakes in Chautauqua County, NY, please visit TourChautauqua.com .

According to an economic impact study conducted by Buffalo firm Paradigm Economics and commissioned by the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the 2011 five-day festival saw 13,000 attendees and had a direct impact of $3.6 million on the city of Jamestown and Chautauqua County. Returning after contributing to this success, Paula Poundstone, one of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest comedians of all-time and panelist on NPR’s Wait, “Wait, Don’t Tell Me”, will headline the Thursday, August 2 evening.

Attending this show and others, Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, will be in town to witness the Center’s new Legacy of Laughter direction, one pillar of which is comedic arts education. That programming debuts this year with a set of comedy courses to take place the week of the festival, culminating with students earning stage time at Lucy Fest and the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, named by USA Today as one of the top 10 comedy clubs in the nation. Courses are presented in partnership with Jamestown Community College’s Center for Continuing Education, and registration for youth and adults begins April 17. Classes include intensive training in the areas of improv, sketch and stand-up, and will be taught by Bill Chott, T. Faye Griffin, and Andy Engel, respectively. Engel is the founder of Manhattan Comedy School and the Director of New Talent at the Gotham. Griffin is a former writer and segment producer for both the show In Living Color and the BET Network, as well as a personal joke writer for Steve Harvey. Chott toured alongside Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in The Second City Comedy Troupe before re-uniting with former troupe-mates Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell to work on The Dana Carvey Show and Saturday Night Live. Lucy fans will recognize him for his award-winning portrayal of Fred Mertz in “I Love Lucy Live on Stage.”

Friday, August 3 features a showcase of some of the hottest rising comics in the country, co-produced by San Francisco-based Rooftop Comedy, the world’s largest producer of interactive comedy programming. Lucy Fest has featured performances by then-rising stars Ray Romano, Lewis Black and Ellen Degeneres, and aims to catch comics on a similar rise to the top with this showcase. Saturday matinees will include the return of a live on-stage radio show, broadcast last year on SiriusXM and produced by Gregg Oppenheimer, son of I Love Lucy creator Jess Oppenheimer. Also returning is the critically-acclaimed kids comedy troupe, Story Pirates. This non-profit creative writing organization will visit to do in-classroom story-writing workshops in the spring. The stories from these Jamestown public school students will become the basis for the show Saturday, August 4. Other festival events include Lucy Town Tours, shows featuring the best Lucy, Ricky, Fred and Ethel impersonators in the world, a parade, memorabilia auction, “Party on the Plaza,” and the newly-formatted, largest, and most comprehensive “I Love Lucy” trivia contest ever believed to have been held. This preliminary schedule will be updated as new events are confirmed at www.LucyComedyFest.com.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, or “Lucy Fest,” embodies Ball’s vision for her hometown legacy: a celebration of the comedic arts held annually on the weekend closest to her birth date, August 6. Lucy Fest 2011 commemorated Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday, set an attendance high at 13,000 attendees, featured more than ten comedians from NYC, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Los Angeles performing over five days, and made international news with the setting of a Guinness World Record for “Most People Dressed as Lucy Ricardo” with 916.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is the first pillar in a four-pillar Legacy of Laughter vision for the organization, including a comedic arts education program, comedy film festival and the establishment of the first national comedy museum and hall of fame. The mission of the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is to preserve the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and enrich the world through the healing powers of love and laughter through its commitment to the development of the comedic arts.

Relaxing on the Hotel Lenhart Porch

Chautauqua County in southwestern New York State can be an ideal destination for traveling with family and friends or a gathering place for multi-day events like reunions or destination weddings. Centrally located between New York City and Chicago, Pittsburgh and Toronto, Chautauqua County is an inexpensive and convenient option for planning an educational or team-building conference, creating a dream wedding, or just getting away with friends at unique and intimate venues like the historic Athenaeum Hotel at Chautauqua Institution or the museums at the Lucy-Desi Center for Comedy. In addition, area lakes and natural assets provide a four season outdoor playground while the wineries in Lake Erie Wine Country and the Empty Pint at Southern Tier Brewing Company are open year ‘round for tasting local wines and brews often in conjunction with music festivals or food pairings. To make the event planning process easier, the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau can provide visitors with planning tools like a visitors guide, accommodations directory, and a meeting and event planning directory. They can even customize a travel packet and mail to event guests and participants, suggest daily itineraries, and coordinate services, site inspections, and group discounts with area accommodations, attractions, and suppliers. Contact Connee at the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau, 1-866-908-4569, to request information on event planning. Be sure to ask for suggestions on venues and attractions appropriate for groups.

Once you’ve planned a group event, consider chartering a motor coach bus as a cool way to carpool. The social nature of coach travel makes it fun and memorable and modern motor coaches can have luxurious features and amenities, like leather seats, hardwood floors and sky lights. Many coach operators offer satellite television and wireless internet access, keeping passengers entertained and connected while they travel. It’s also a safe way to travel with no baggage fees, long lines or delays, and you might even be able to arrange door to door pick-ups. According to the Motor Coach Marketing Council, motor coach travel emits the least carbon dioxide per passenger mile when compared to other forms of transportation. Contact them at www.GoMotorcoach.org to find out more as well as research motor coach companies in your area.

The power of a wish. Perhaps it is hope in its purest form – the act of closing one’s eyes, conjuring up a far-fetched idea and believing it possible, and blowing out a candle. When we open our eyes, the world is just a little bit different. No one else can sense it or see it. With a wish, life changes.

The hardest part of wishing is the believing. There are those of us who are very, very good at wishing. Children have yet to lose their innocence, the source of hope, and so wishes abound. From pet dinosaurs to mom coming home from war, children are very good at wishing. Usually they are wishes for themselves or other loved ones. Occasionally, you get the rare youngster who wishes for the greater good. Those are hard to find.

Even harder to find are adults who wish for things. Adult wishes are different, because they are utilitarian, practical. They are often desperate. A farmer wishing for rain, a single mom wishing her child’s cold would resolve itself, for nothing more to go wrong with the car.

The rarest of all are those adults who see a star streak across the sky, wish upon it, and actually believe it can come true. How many of us haven’t wished for world peace? A birthday cake with a candle (because we’re too old to fit ALL the candles on the cake, now) and the memory of friends saying “Make a wish, don’t forget to make a wish!” evokes a faded image of a polaroid in my head of my third birthday party. The faces no longer have names, and the voices have faded, even the wish forgotten, but the feeling is still there. That’s the power of a wish, the possibility, the maybe, the what if.

Audubon has some pretty practical wishes – a year not in the red is the most oft wished for, but sometimes we remember to dream. We were recently helped in this effort by some day campers and some third graders. When asked what they wanted Audubon to have, you should have heard the ideas. “A walk through aquarium!” “A tunnel under Liberty’s cage with a dome so we could actually be in her cage without being in it!” And the ideas grew from there. A zip line to the tower, a maze in the big field, pet otters. This all came from Audubon’s baby steps into planning for our future.

Big wishes take big effort and often big patience. Little wishes are usually quite a bit easier to grant, even if they’re not quite as remarkable. When I started here, I wished we had live animals, and now we do! Now I wish for some more help caring for them. Some wishes seem silly, like sharp knives in the kitchen. But really, have you ever tried to cut carrots with a dull knife? It’s dangerous!

So Audubon decided to put together a list of little wishes, to see if any would come true. We hung them on a tree in our lobby and are inviting people to take one, or more, to grant. From cloth dish towels to a replacement art mural that vandals destroyed, there is a wide range of wishes on the tree. It is pretty easy to grant a wish – just take a tag, get the item, wrap it, put the tag on it with your name and address on the back, and bring it to put under our tree!

Some of the wishes are not from us humans, but from the live animals. Birdseed, new lightbulbs (because who doesn’t want sun in the winter?!), and bedding are just a few things they wished for. Because the animals can’t open your wishes, we’re inviting you down to help with that. On Wednesday, December 28th, it is Christmas with the Critters. From 10am-noon you’ll get to meet some of the animals in a live animal program, read a story, and help them open their gifts. The cost is just $5 per person ($7 if you’re not a member) and the fees go toward getting even more gifts for the animals.

While Audubon has lots of people who made wishes, we’d like you to open our “people” wishes too. Wishing Day is on December 28th from 1-3pm. At this event, we’ll hear some stories all about wishes, make some wishing stars (both for us and the animals), and open the remaining gifts from under the tree. The cost for this is also $5 per person ($7 for non-members) and the proceeds go toward Audubon’s greatest wish – keeping our doors open to welcome everyone in!

If you’d like to stop down and pick out a tag, Audubon is open Saturdays and Mondays from 10am-4:30pm and Sundays from 1-4:30pm. Staff is usually here during the week, for business hours, so you can ring the buzzer and someone can let you in if you can’t make it during public hours. Feel free to visit our website at http://jamestownaudubon.org for more information or call (716) 569-2345.

This holiday season, we encourage you to wish – on stars, candles, and pennies in the parking lot – for yourself and others. Make a wish come true for someone else this holiday season, and that may be your greatest gift.

Terrain Park at Peek'n Peak

Peek’n Peek Resort & Spa has announced it plans to open for the ski season on December 16th. The western New York family resort and ski center has begun snowmaking and the area is anticipating a snowfall over the next several days. Peek’n Peak offers 27 ski and snowboard trails, a terrain park, and snow tubing area. Additionally, lessons are available for visitors of all ages and abilities.

The resort is under new ownership and management through Scott Enterprises of Erie, PA. Additional perks available through Scott Enterprises include combination passes with Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park, and the new Peek Advantage Card.

Information on skiing, snowboarding, lessons, and tubing, as well as vacation package deals is available at www.pknpk.com .