The Buffalo tour season is far from over! Explore Buffalo will take you inside downtown buildings, Blessed Trinity Church, Goldome Bank, St. Mary’s School for the Deaf and even the subway. Three City of Light Bus tours are also offered in December along with the December Spotlight Tour of the new Curtiss Hotel.

Advance reservations are encouraged but not required for all tours. Reservations are required for City of Light bus tour and the Curtiss Hotel Spotlight tour. All credit card payments must be made in advance. Advance reservations with a credit card can be made online until the tour starting time; cash or checks are accepted at the start of the tour. If you make an advance reservation, please print your confirmation email or be prepared to show it on your phone. Most tours are between 90 minutes and two hours in length. Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather!

Western New Yorkers can grow their holiday spirit while buying local on Dec. 2 and 3 as the 23rd annual Yuletide in the Country Holiday Artisan Market returns to the Event Center at the Hamburg Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. This year’s event will feature more than 150 predominately local artists!  

NFB Publishing in Buffalo announces the release of Shadow By the Bridge by author Suzanne Zewan.

Set during the time of the infamous Linden, N.Y. murders, Shadow By the Bridge is written from the perspective of 11-year-old Linden resident Fritz Reynolds and focuses on how these terrible events change his hometown and himself. In the book, Reynolds recalls his father telling him that man is the only creature who can find amusement in killing. Little did he realize that those words would become the theme for his teenage years growing up in the rural hamlet. 

In this coming-of-age story, Reynolds takes us back to a simpler time when neighbors gathered at the general store to listen to radio shows, drank barrel-aged cider and worshiped at the Baptist Church every Sunday. All was picturesque in his close-knit farming community until terror was unleashed on them.