FEATURED EVENTS

All ages and abilities are welcome. Each program will be different based on the interests expressed by the participants. Bring a lunch, your curiosity of nature and show and tell items. Humphrey Nature Center. (2-3 hours, on site, or nearby). Pre-registration is recommended for each program by contacting the Humphrey Nature Center, 585-493-3682. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, all programs will follow social distancing and face covering guidelines.

The Fairgrounds Festival of Lights Drive Thru will return to brighten up the holiday season for families across Western New York this December. The event is drive through only and will include a variety of new displays consisting of over 70 variations of LED light displays, arches and light tunnels. Tickets sold online only and guests must select the night they would like to visit. Limited number of tickets available each night. Admission: $20 Per Vehicle (plus $.50 order fee)

A beloved Western New York holiday tradition returns; Breakfast with Santa at the Buffalo Zoo is back after a year away! You’ll have your very own table for up to six guests inside our Children’s Resource Center. Bring your holiday appetite for a chef-prepared breakfast buffet that includes all your morning favorites and a special photo opportunity with Santa! After breakfast, stroll the grounds, see our beautiful holiday decorations and say “Happy Holidays” to your favorite animals on exhibit; Zoo admission is included for all guests at your table. Space is limited. Make your reservation today!

Join us for Wegmans Family Days at our Winter Wonderland! Frolic around the festive Botanical Gardens this winter. Enjoy seasonal treats and take home cookie decorating kits from Cupcaked Bakery to continue the fun at home. Complete an activity book including a scavenger hunt and turn it in for a prize! Don't forget to pick up your take-home activity bag!

Home Ecologist is a program geared towards home school families with children primarily ages 6 – 12 (except as noted). Each month will focus on a different theme. Programs are free of charge, and pre-registration is required. Children must be accompanied by an adult for the entire program. You may register for upcoming programs by calling (585) 493-3682. Meet at the Humphrey Nature Center.

VIRTUAL is OPEN! Santa Claus is an incredible man but unfortunately, he can’t be everywhere at once. However, he does want you to be a part of the jolliest race series of the year! So why not run virtually?

Bring a blanket and take in the fresh winter air with a magical carriage ride around the conservatory with T.D. Laing Draft Horses. Don't forget to stop inside the Gardens and experience a Winter Wonderland with your kiddos. This is a separate event and requires an avanced-purchase eticket.

Do you love the ocean? Would you like to spend much of your life focused on it? Then a career as a marine biologist may be for you! To get a better understanding of this field, come spend two days at the Aquarium learning about ocean ecosystems and the variety of life found among them. In this two-day long program, we will use aquarium exhibits and local environments to test water samples for chemicals and hunt for animal life, as well as explore the diversity of ocean life through preserved specimens and dissections. Just like trained marine biologists, we will strive to understand the habitat that covers most of our planet while also learning how to preserve it. This program is for youth ages 12-16.

Bring the family out for a festive holiday experience. Enjoy a mile long light display and get dinner starting Thanksgiving night, November 25th, and every Friday & Saturday night through December 18th. Gates open 5 - 9 pm. $10 per Vehicle. Cash only at the Gate, no presale Tickets. Food and Beverage will be available: Hotdogs, Hamburgers, Philly Cheese Steak, Sausage Sandwiches, Fries, Fried Dough, Deep Fried Oreos and More!!!

We will meet in the Central library's West Room. Watch HAIKYUU!!, Yona of the Dawn, The Promised Neverland, My Hero Academia, Yuri on Ice!!!, Mob Psycho 100, Kimi ni Todoke, Ao Haru Ride, and more…. Other Activities are waiting for you; learn Japanese calligraphy or characters, do fun crafts, and eat Japanese snacks!

Tour Old Fort Niagara and the French Castle, lit entirely by candles. Enjoy holiday decorations by the Youngstown Garden Club. Meet historical characters and witness the firing of the grand feu de joie. Old Fort Niagara assumes a particularly festive air during the holiday season. Visitors to the event will also enjoy handmade natural decorations by the award-winning Youngstown Garden Club. Throughout the Fort, visitors will encounter members of the Fort’s 18th century garrison demonstrating everything from quill pens to fur trading to traditional games of skill. Three times each evening the garrison turns out to perform a grand feu de joie (firing of joy), a rolling fire of muskets and cannons. Cooks prepare a holiday feast, musicians play popular songs of the era and a Recollet priest reads the Christmas story in Latin in the Fort’s 295-year-old chapel. Admission to the event (a fund-raiser to benefit educational programming) is $25.00 per person. Tickets go on sale on this page November 1. Capacity is limited to 250 persons per night.