FEATURED EVENTS

Bring your kids to the Central Library for a silly, funny, and FREE screening of Frozen! It's a great way to spend an afternoon with your family.

The Fairgrounds Festival of Lights will return to brighten up the holiday season for families across Western New York. Spectacular lights and dazzling displays create a fantastic holiday experience for people of all ages. The Festival experience includes drive through light displays, a visit with Santa, live reindeer, the all new Santa's Christmas Express Train Ride, an illuminated pixel show choreographed to music and more! There will also be indoor kiddie rides, food and shopping vendors and an outdoor European market. New in 2022: The entrance to the drive thru portion of the Festival is off of McKinley Parkway, closest to Clark Street. You will not be able to access the drive thru from South Park.

Join us for another Wegmans Day of Play at Winter Wonderland! Frolic around the festive Botanical Gardens this winter with play-based learning activities, an themed activity book including a scavenger hunt! After you complete your activity book, claim a prize at the end of your visit. Joining us for the weekend is Prehistoric World Zoo and Buffalo Science Muesum will also be here on December 11th! Visit our learning stations and learn something new! Don’t forget to bring toys for kids in need! This year the Botanical Gardens is a designated Toys for Tots drop-off location! Wegmans Days of Play at the Botanical Gardens encourage young minds to sprout and grow through play-based and interactive hands-on activities, collection exploration, and learning how plants provide necessary nutrients for our bodies.

ELF is the hilarious tale of Buddy, a young orphan child who mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported back to the North Pole. Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy’s enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day Christmas classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner ELF.

Looking to satisfy your sweet tooth this holiday season? Cookies & Cocoa with Mrs. Claus has you covered! Enjoy an afternoon of North Pole delicacies like hot cocoa and sugar cookies, get a special photo opportunity with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and visit with one of our amazing animal ambassadors. In-between your sugar rush, stroll the grounds to see our magical holiday decorations and say “Happy Holidays” to your favorite animals on exhibit; Zoo admission is included with your ticket! Admission is no longer sold by the table—bring as many or as few friends as you would like to this holiday celebration! Seating in our Children’s Resource Center is first come, first serve. Space is limited. Reserve your tickets today!

Old Fort Niagara assumes a particularly festive air during the holiday season. Special activities kick off on Saturday evenings, December 10 and 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., as the Fort presents The Castle by Candlelight, a tour of the Great Lakes’ oldest building illuminated entirely by candles. Visitors to the event will also enjoy handmade natural decorations by the award-winning Youngstown Garden Club. Throughout the Castle, visitors will encounter members of the Fort’s 18th century garrison demonstrating everything from quill pens to fur trading to traditional games of skill. Twice 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 296-year-old chapel. All proceeds go towards preserving and presenting the history of Old Fort Niagara. Due to the historic nature of the site, none of our buildings are heated. Please dress for the weather.

PJ Library and PJ Our Way presents GET YOUR HANUKKAH ON! Join us at Sto Lat Bar Event Space (next door to Chrusciki Bakery, Simply Pierogi, and Sto Lat Bar in the Eastern Hills Mall) to Make a beautiful tile & glass mosaic menorah to light up your home and the world, Enjoy delectable glow in the dark donuts, sparkly adult cocktails and glow in the dark drinks for kids Dance party with DJ Greg Cypin and More! Register here: https://bit.ly/GETYOURHANUKKAHON