Lets Party
Last week, I met with Central Terminal Restoration Corporation Board Member, John Jiloty, for coffee. We talked about all the fun we’ve had at the Terminal over the years, inside the concourse and exploring the surrounding property. Then as the topic moved to Dyngus Day, he said, “Oh yeah – it’s back this year. Inside – the whole big party is back.”
I nearly fell out of my chair.
If you’ve been to the party before, I don’t think I need to tell you much more. If you haven’t, GET THERE on Monday April 17. Wear red, bring pussy willows and squirt guns, and drink some Tyskie. Another favorite tradition is to walk down to the St Stanislaus community center afterward for some extra polka. What a day! One of the best traditions in Buffalo is BACK.
Details
The Central Terminal Restoration Corporation has announced that one of Buffalo’s top traditions — the Central Terminal’s Dyngus Day party — is back on the calendar for 2017. Dyngus Day in the Terminal kicks off a busy 2017 calendar of more than 40 events at the iconic East Side landmark.
A staple of Buffalo’s popular Dyngus Day festivities from 2007-2013, the Central Terminal’s Dyngus Day party runs from 5-11 p.m. on April 17, and will feature authentic Polish food and drink and a musical performance by Those Idiots at 7 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available ($15, including parking), with proceeds going to the non-profit Central Terminal Restoration Corporation.
“The outpouring of community support recently for the Terminal has been great to see, and we’re so happy to be able to bring back our Dyngus Day party as part of our expanded 2017 schedule of events,” said Jim Hycner, chair of the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation Board of Directors. “We’re committed to offering the public a diverse array of opportunities to come inside and experience the magic of the Central Terminal.”
Featuring their unique blend of polka and polka-rock, Those Idiots have been an integral part of Buffalo’s popular Dyngus Day celebrations for more than 15 years.
The 2017 event schedule also features an expansion of last year’s Terminal Jazz Series Presented by M&T Bank, with five Thursday night concerts featuring music from the Colored Musicians Club starting May 10. In addition to the annual Car Show (June 24), Train Show (Sept. 9-10) and Oktoberfest (Sept. 30), a regular series of CTRC-hosted historical tours and ghost hunts with partner Beyond Ghosts give the WNY community and beyond a variety of chances to visit inside the Terminal. This year’s Annual Spring Cleanup, a volunteer effort to help prepare the Terminal for event season, is April 29 from 9 a.m., to 1 p.m.
The full slate of 2017 events is available at the recently relaunched BuffaloCentralTerminal.org website.
Recent work done to the Terminal includes $90,000 of cosmetic upgrades to the concourse courtesy of the movie Marshall and new light sconces donated by the retirees of the Local 71 Sheet Metal Workers Union, as well as a variety of electrical and structural upgrades thanks to the work of the CTRC’s volunteer crew.
About the Central Terminal Restoration Corporation
Opened in 1929 to serve more than 200 trains and 10,000 passengers daily, the iconic Buffalo Central Terminal operated for 50 years, until the Art Deco masterpiece officially closed as a train station in 1979. In 1997, the 18-acre Buffalo Central Terminal site was acquired by the non-profit Central Terminal Restoration Corporation (CTRC). Since that time, numerous cleaning, fundraising and public awareness events have revived the community’s passion for the building. Following additional cleaning and abatement, the main concourse of the building was reopened for public occupancy in 2003. Today, more than 40 events a year give the public a variety of opportunities to visit inside this national historic landmark.
Thanks to the amazing work of dedicated volunteers, additional areas of the interior have been made publicly accessible and the concourse has been utilized for numerous events, tours and photography. For information on how to donate or volunteer to help out the Central Terminal, go to buffalocentralterminal.org.
