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FeedDynamite debut for festival—and an a-"maze"-ing feat for Buffalo!
Photos by E. Licata
The broom hockey was popular with spectators, even when they got splashed.
I think it's official—the awkwardly named but super-fun Powder Keg Festival is a winner, a keeper, a sure-to-be-repeated, brand-new classic that will henceforth be celebrated annually. Even just stopping by for a few minutes on slushy Sunday afternoon, I could feel the good vibes, the "Buffalo"-ness of the event.
There were what seemed like thousands of people--and they almost all seemed to be in good moods. Sure, there were a few puddles filled with muddy hay to slosh through. There were long lines for food, the ice maze, the port-a-potties, and the remarkable, closed-to-traffic, off-ramp of the Skyway, available for sledding. The warm weather caused a reduction in the slidability, but it didn't really seem to bother anyone. There were also "Oooohs," "Aaaahs," "Lookits!" and "Wowwws!" aplenty.
The ice maze truly is an awesome sight. And, as you must have heard, the 2010 Buffalo Powder Keg Winter Festival Ice Maze was officially measured and will be entered in to the Guiness Book of World Records as the largest one known to modern man. (I guess we can't say for sure what folks spent their time doing in, say, the Ice Age, but probably not building ... ice mazes.)
Even during my brief walk-through, I thought I could sense festival organizers, giddy with their success, slapping each other on the back and saying, "We gotta do this again next year! And we gotta make this path a little wider, and have more food vendors, and more bathrooms, and two entrances to the maze, and...and...and...."
A fine festival atmosphere was bolstered by main-stage live music; a heated kids' tent with old-fashioned games, including quality entertainment provided by non-profit arts-in-education organization Young Audiences of Western New York; and a pick-up street hockey court. You had to be there—and if you weren't, I'd start planning on it for next year. The name may be goofy, but the festival's a hit.
