The 16th Annual Parkside Garden Tour is scheduled for Sunday June 30 from 10 am to 4 pm. Sign up now to put your garden on the tour. For more information and a link to the online garden enrollment form click here.  Once again there will also be an Architecture Tour as part of this event.

The 2013 Parkside Parents Group Clothing Swap is scheduled for Saturday April 13th.  If ever you were going to clear out those closets and get rid of all those old children's clothes, this is your excuse.  Let your trash be someone else's treasure.  Tell little Johnny his collection of 200 matchbox cars will make another little boy very happy. Donations are being accepted at the PCA office, 2318 Main Street weekdays from 9-4, up until Friday April 12th, though we recommend calling to confirm that we're in at any given time, 838-1240. The Swap will be held at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 96 Jewett Parkway, from 10:00-2:00.  $10 will get you a commemorative PCA canvas tote bag that you can stuff with as much as you can fit or $5 for families offering their own donations. Once again Lloyd's Taco Truck will be on hand to meet all your taco needs. Contact the PCA if you're interested in being a part of what hopefully will become an annual tradition, or if you're simply interested in donated children's clothes, books or toys. 

The Parkside Community Association presents the 15th Annual Tour of Homes on Sunday, May 19th from 11:00 am – 4:30 pm. This popular tour will have nine outstanding homes for you to explore. Visitors are promised an intriguing look inside residences in Buffalo’s Historic District of Parkside. Some of the homes reflect their 19th century origin in architectural style with their interiors and furnishings. Others offer an exciting contemporary approach to city living. Onsite docents will provide history of the homes and will be available for questions.

Come see for yourself why Parksiders and out-of-towners alike say this event “is the best tour”. The tour begins at the corner of Jewett Parkway and Summit Avenue in Buffalo, outside of the Darwin Martin House Visitors Center. Information, tickets, and maps will be available at the start of the tour. Day of the tour tickets will be available outside the Darwin Martin House Visitor Center.

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 the day of the tour, and $13 for PCA members. This year, VIP tickets for $50 can be purchased in advance. This package includes a bus ride through the Parkside neighborhood to each home, historical guided tour, refreshments, and front of the line pass. No waiting in line! VIP bus tours are running at 11 am and 1:30 pm. There are a limited number of VIP tickets and they must be purchased in advance, so get yours now! Advance tickets can be obtained by visiting the PCA office, 2318 Main Street in Buffalo, by calling the office at 838-1240 during regular business hours, or online using PayPal at www.parksidebuffalo.org/hometour2013. Proceeds benefit the continuing work of the Parkside Community Association. No children under the age of twelve please. Event is held rain or shine.

Last night, 47 residents of Parkside turned out to discuss the application for a liquor license for the new restaurant being planned for #2 Russell Avenue.

The new property owners, Len Mattie and Nancy Abramo, presented their plans and vision for what the restaurant will be, the general menu, and business plan.  They answered a number of questions from the audience, were thanked for their time and asked to step out of the room.

The group then discussed a number of related issues, from the history of that location, parking, and hours of operation.  At the end of which, the membership voted overwhelmingly to support the application as proposed.

Immediately following the public meeting, the Board of Directors of the PCA held a special meeting at which the input from the membership was discussed.  The board then voted also to support the application as submitted, directing the PCA office to submit a written letter of support to the NY State Liquor Authority.

The Housing Committee meeting scheduled for this Thursday, March 21 has been cancelled so that members may attend the Public Meeting concerning the 2 Russell Street liquor license application.

On Thursday evening, March 21st, the PCA will host a public meeting to discuss an application for a liquor license as part of the redevelopment of the property at #2 Russell, the former site of Wil’s BBQ.  The new owners of the property will present their plan for the renovation of the property, as well as answer questions from neighbors and other interested parties. The Meeting will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 96 Jewett Parkway, from 7:00pm.  If you are unable to attend, written comments will be accepted until 4:00pm on Thursday the 21st.  We encourage all to attend, whether you support, oppose, or simply wish to learn more about this important development. For further information, pleasecontact the PCA at pcadirector@gmail.com or (716) 838-1240.  www.parksidebuffalo.org

Tickets are still available for our special tasting tour of Buffalo's only downtown Chocolate Factory scheduled for Wednesday evening, March 20th.   Two tours, from 6:30pm & 7:15pm are being offered at $25/person, lasting approximately 45 minutes.   Each tour will be limited to no more than 20 ticket holders, so be sure to sign up early.  

Choco-Logo will donate a portion of all sales from their gift shop to the PCA, as well as the tour tickets, so be sure to load up before the Easter Holiday.  Tickets for the tours are available at the Choco-Logo website.  Spaces will be limited, so reserve your spots now.

As the PCA looks back at the past 50 years, and the role we can play going forward, we are constantly rethinking how best to serve our members and celebrate the Parkside neighborhood.  Main Street now boasts 30 granite markers highlighting important moments in the development of Buffalo and North Buffalo.  Street banners and murals depict the important figures and industries that shaped the area, and our Century Plaque Program acknowledges those homes that are over 100 years old. 

As part of this ongoing effort to make our history more available to long term residents and new comers alike, we have compiled and posted a series of Sanborn maps, from 1900, 1916, and 1935.  For those not familiar with them, Sanborn Maps were originally created for assessing fire insurance liability in urbanized areas throughout the country. The maps include detailed information regarding town and building information in approximately 12,000 U.S. towns and cities from 1867 to 2007.  They depict a neighborhood in rapid transition as the streets and lots laid out by Olmsted rapidly become populated.

Throughout the year we will continue to build this online resource with documents and photographs of the Parkside neighborhood, but would welcome your input as well.  If you have any interesting pictures or memorabilia, let us know. 

Parkside Sanborn Map Collection. All copyright in the Sanborn Maps are held by Environmental Data Resources, Inc. or its affiliates

With Valentines Day behind us, start planning now to impress your kids and loved ones with the best Easter Baskets on the block. Tickets are still available for our special wine / chocolate tasting tour of Buffalo's only downtown Chocolate Factory, Choco-Logo, scheduled for Wednesday evening, March 20th.  Two tours, from 6:30pm & 7:15pm are being offered at $25/person, lasting approximately 45 minutes.   Each tour will be limited to no more than 20 ticket holders, so be sure to sign up early. Participants will be guided through the factory floor, stopping along the way to learn about the process of developing fine chocolate, how to distinguish an overly sweet mass marketed Hershey bar, from the subtle caramel undertones that only come from the toasted milk fats of a true master. Choco-Logo will donate a portion of all sales from their gift shop to the PCA, as well as the tour tickets, so be sure to load up before the Easter Holiday.  Tickets for the tours are available at the Choco-Logo website now.  Spaces will be limited, so reserve your spots now.

Registration is open and available for the 2013 Summer Arts Camp, offering two 3-week sessions from July 8th - 26th and July 29th - August 16th.  At the same time we are currently in the process of accepting applications for our Counselor and Counselor in Training (CIT) positions.   

We've heard from a number of you already, and have mailed out hard copies of the application material to you.  For those new to the program though that are interested in being involved, the application material is available online.  Please note the deadline for all submissions is 4:00pm Friday March 8th.  Our Camp Director will be in touch shortly after to arrange phone interviews as necessary.

Thank you all for all you've done to help make the Parkside Summer Arts Camp the special place that it's been, serving the North Buffalo Community for over 30 years.  As always, if you have any questions, please contact the PCA office.  Visit the Summer Arts Camp page for more information.

Employment Application for the CIT positions available here.