Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium

Inside the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium, October 26, 2012

Candles in holders were spread throughout the room creating an eerie light.

Chains hung down from the edge of the ceiling.

Spider webs covered black holes in the wall.

The music playing softly in the background begins to swell as the lights flicker on and off.

Howling wind and mournful wailing add to the crescendo of sound as a black hooded figure enters and circles the room.

“I will be your guide today,” said the black hooded figure. “I am Charon, Boatman of the River Styx.”

Viewers sat on curved couches and stared up at the ceiling of the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium for the show. Charon went on to speak of each of the 12 Labors of Hercules. Pictures went along with each of the myths and music played softly in the background. The tales were of the Nemean Lion, the Lernean Hydra, The Ceryneian Hind, the Erymanthian Boar, the Augean Stables, the Stymphalian Birds, the Cretan Bull, the Horses of Diomedes, the girdle of Hippolyte, Geryon's Cattle, the Apples of Hesperides, and Cerberus.

After each myth was told of the 12 Labors Hercules had to go through, the ceiling lit up showing the stars. The audience was shown the autumn night sky and introduced to the man portraying Charon, Tim Collins. By rotating the autumn sky, Collins showed the audience different constellations that were visible such as the big and little dippers, the north star, and orion. Constellations from the myths like hydra, and the lion were also pointed out.

In its final three months of service before closing down for renovations, the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium hosted one its last showings of “Legends of Autumn: The 12 Labors of Hercules” on Oct. 26.

Collins, an employee of the planetarium and a Buffalo State alumnus, has worked on perfecting shows and creating ways to keep viewers entertained for 25 years.

“A lot of people enjoy the star shows,” said Collins. “People love to look at and learn about the different constellations in the sky. All of us who do the shows have our own style so you can come back to a show two or three times and experience something completely different.”

Collins said that the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium is one of the only planetariums around that’s open to the public. Being able to work in such a place is amazing because he gets to share his enthusiasm about the stars.

For married couple Marten Vanzwietering and Emily Pici, they were revisiting the place where they had gotten married.

“We don’t get a chance to come to the planetarium often anymore because we live in Vermont now, but I’m originally from Buffalo,” said Pici. “It will be fantastic to be able to see a show.”

Vanzwietering added that they were glad to be able to catch a show before having to head back to Vermont in a few days.

Steve Halasz, a native from Buffalo came to see the show about Hercules expecting it to be unique and interesting.

“I found out about the show because it was advertised on the computer through the science museum,” said Halasz.

The shows at the Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium range from Greek mythological stories about Hercules and Medusa, to conspiracy theory shows about the '2012 Prophecy of Doom.' There are also Laser Music shows that combine laser patterns with popular songs.

The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium has been around for 30 years. Beginning in Jan. 2013, it will undergo an upgrade to be moved to a bigger a more efficient space.

“The new planetarium will be state of the art,” said Collins. “There isn’t any other ones around except in Rochester, so the upgrade should be great.”

The planetarium holds shows every Friday at 6:30 and 8 p.m. Shows are also held on Saturday at 2 and 4 p.m. People can reserve tickets online for shows online, by e-mail, or by telephone number, 716-878-4911. General admission tickets cost $6. BSC students are admitted free with a school ID.

The Whitworth Ferguson Planetarium is located in the Science Building on Buffalo State College’s campus. 

Oktoberfest at The Broadway Market

The Auslanders playing onstage while people from the community dance.

The smell of food cooking wafted through the doors as I made my way into The Broadway Market to experience 'Oktoberfest.' A delicious chocolatey aroma made me turn towards a homemade baked goods stall. Seeing gooey chocolate chip cookies sitting beside thick dark fudge made my stomach growl with hunger.

Venturing further into the market, the buttery scent of popcorn made me turn towards a stall that sold different flavored popcorn from pumpkin to cotton candy. The popcorn came in colors according to flavor. Pumpkin popcorn was a vibrant orange, but green apple popcorn was a vivid bright green color.

Walking around allowed me to see many of the people visiting the Broadway Market for Oktoberfest. Around the market stalls were families browsing as well as older people. While looking around, I heard a shout and turned to see a little boy flying past giggling while holding a cookie. Thundering footsteps and more laughter followed as his parents shouted at him to stop running away from them.

The Broadway Market’s ‘Oktoberfest’ had people from the Buffalo community and the surrounding counties came out to celebrate the day’s event.

For Oktoberfest, the market featured different vendors specializing in wine, beer, and small collectibles such as palm-sized figurines of german people and pint sized beer mugs. Other vendors who sell regularly also sold products such as homemade breads and fudge, fresh meat and seafood, and other items like embroidered napkins.

The market is set up in a big rectangle shape with vendors lining the walls as well as being scattered in the middle. Some vendors have elaborate setups with materials to cook with while others have tables to place their product on to showcase. Consumers can easily navigate the busy market.

“It seems to be a better turnout than most days,” said Carl Schmitter, a temporary wine vendor from Buffalo, NY. “There are more vendors for Oktoberfest so the market is a little bit more busy.”

Schmitter was selling wine to customers. In order to prepare for this event he bottled the wine and set up his booth the week prior to Oktoberfest.

Bob Ziehm is a vendor from the Winery of Chautauqua County. He sells wine every Saturday as well as during the week when there are holidays.

“The turnout for Oktoberfest has been better than regular weekend,” said Ziehm. “The event was advertised well and it’s that time of the year when the weather isn’t so good.”

Ziehm said since the weather changes daily the Broadway Market allows people to come inside and shop rather than have to deal with the open-air markets.

The Broadway Market gathered vendors from all around as well as volunteers. Francis Perez was a volunteer at Oktoberfest, helping to sell beers to visiting customers.

“The event had a successful turnout because it’s fun and everyone’s talking with each other,” said Perez.

Along with different vendors, German band The Auslanders was featured. As The Auslanders played onstage, people from the surrounding audience gathered around and started to dance along. The strumming of the guitar, banging of the drums, and smooth notes of the accordion added to the atmosphere.

The majority of the audience was made up of people around 40 years old or older. They gathered around in a half table near the band, or sat at tables conversing with one another.

The event was located inside the Broadway Market at 999 Broadway St., between Gibson and Lombard St. The Broadway Market is open regularly Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market’s Oktoberfest event was held on Saturday, October 20^th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information about The Broadway Market, please click here.

The Downtown Country Market

The Country Market in Downtown Buffalo located on Main St. has been having another successful year selling recently baked goods, freshly grown produce and other products such as newly popped kettle corn.

The Downtown Country Market has been going on for 29 years. It is held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. It starts May 17th and ends October 25th. It is located at the center of downtown on Main St. between Court and Church St.

About 5 or 6 vendors line each side of the street on opposite sides of the NFTA Metro Rail. The vendors are set up next to each other with tables or tents set up to showcase their products. Consumers are easily able to walk from one seller to the next.

People can enjoy seasonal produce and specialties from local sellers. People can come to the market to buy products like dog treats, fresh herbs, newly grown squash, recently plucked apples, etc.

The market features many different vendors, some of whom have been there previously for years.

“I started selling out of home, not out of shop,” said Barbara Owcarz a baked goods vendor from Clarence Center, NY.“I’ve been selling at the market for about 23 years now.”

Barbara Owcarz sells an assortment of homemade baked goods and is especially known for her pies. A small homemade apple crumb pie costs $6.00. Although her slot at the market has been successful, she also says that the market has changed over the years from when she first began.

“It has been good for us,” said Owcarz. “People don’t come to the market as often anymore though. They can just go to the grocery store rather than come to the market for homemade comfort foods.”

Some vendors at the market also sell more than one type of product. Sandy Andrew specializes in selling homemade baked goods as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. Her freshly baked cookies come three in a pack about the size of a fist for only $2.00. There are different flavors such as sugar cookies, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate chip.

“I’ve been successful because of the customer service and the quality of my product,” said Andrew. “A lot of people on their break from the office will come down to the market and buy something to eat.”

Andrew said that depending on the season, fruit is what she tends to sell the most of. It allows people to eat something fresh quickly before they have to return to work.

“This is the first time I’ve ever come to the market,” said Veronica Toeper, a college student who works at Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo. “It’s so awesome. I’ll definitely be coming back here more often.”

Toeper said she was there just to look around, but then wound up buying fresh groceries such as apples and sunflowers. 

A lot of different produce is available to people perusing the vending tables of the market. Different sellers have specialty products while others compete for customers. Ripe red apples can often be found at multiple stands to give people choices to choose from.

Marge Winter said the most popular and successful item she’s sold over the years has been the vegetable greens.

“The greens go the quickest,” said Winter. “The collard greens, mustard greens, all of those sell the most.”