Tag Archives: Events

Buffalo River Fest: Not to be missed!

Posted June 14, 2012 at 10:40 am by

Pyromancy will be performing at Buffalo Riverfest at 249 Ohio Street, Buffalo, NY ( map ) June 16th 2012 after 7:00 pm ( around sundown )

Excerpt from Buffalo Rising…


While the Allentown Art Festival is currently in full swing, the folks down in the old First Ward are preparing for next weekend’s mighty river festival appropriately called Buffalo River Fest. I’ve attended this festival for years now, and can honestly say that there is nothing else like it around. While the Riverfest Regatta is a big draw for both contestants and onlookers alike, there are so many other fun-filled events and activities taking place throughout the course of the weekend.

The Valley Community Center does a spectacular job each year… and while the past eleven years have been action packed with tons of family fun, this year is looking like it will be the best yet. Why? Because Riverfest is, for the second season, showing off its new home at Buffalo River Fest Park located at 249 Ohio Street, Buffalo, NY, near Michigan Avenue. New to this year’s festival will be Buffalo Scholastic Rowing Club Races (see latest news of the boathouse to be built). Now that the festival is located so close to the rowing club, it’s a natural fit for coinciding races… hopefully we’ll see the numbers of rowers and spectators grow each and every year. Also, don’t pass up the chance to take a ride on Buffalo’s historic EM Cotter Fireboat -the oldest operating fireboat in the world!

If you’re tired of going to the same festivals year after year, you need to expand your horizons and get down to the Buffalo River next weekend. The festival is situated directly in-between the Inner and Outer Harbors, which means that you can spend more time exploring new waterfront parks, restaurants, bike trails, boardwalks… you can even check out the massive grain silos, Mutual Riverfront Park, The Swannie House, McCarthy’s Irish Pub… there’s so much to see and do that one weekend is just not enough!

Here are all of the details!!!

The Valley Community Association’s 12th Annual “Buffalo River Fest” is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 15th – 17th, 2012. The event will be held from 6pm to Midnight on Friday, from 11am to Midnight on Saturday, and Noon to 6pm on Sunday at Buffalo River Fest Park.

Read more at Buffalo Rising including a breakdown of the different activities that will be taking place!

Olmsted Party for the Parks 2011 – British Invasion!

Posted August 25, 2011 at 3:51 pm by

September 16, 2011
The ‘British Invasion’ takes over Delaware Park at Party for the Parks –an indoor/outdoor, over-21 party, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., featuring live music, incredible auctions, lots of great food and drinks at the Marcy Casino. This year’s bands, headlined by the If’s, will be on a floating stage right on Hoyt Lake. It’s all overlooking one of the Best scenic views in Buffalo! Proceeds from this great event benefit the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Get your tickets online here!
– Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy Website

Pyromancy will be back again this year with an exciting fire performance featuring some new props and performers! We will going on at various times from sundown to 10:30pm! Potter Dee is working on an amazing surprise installation!

Press Links:

– Buffalo Evening News, August 24,2011
Party for the Parks/ Gala Announcement :

– Buffalo Rising: 9th Annual Party for the Parks: British Invasion in Buffalo

– The Good Neighboorhood – Party for the Parks Brings British Invasion Theme to Benefit Olmsted Parks

Fire Eater Robert Turley at Party For the Parks 2010

Wednesday Night Concert Series at RiverFest Park

Posted July 31, 2011 at 1:18 pm by

Last month we got to perform at the opening weekend of a new park on Ohio St. Once a common post-industrial waste field, thanks to the work of Margaret “Peg” Overdorf and the Valley Community Association, Buffalo now has a fantastic new concert venue and boating park. For the next three weeks we will be performing between sets probably around 9pm.

Only Humen, also a Buffalo Hall of Music award winner and popular throughout Western New York, will perform on August 3rd. The band is led by Frank Pusateri who is native to the South Buffalo area.

Crash Cadillac, the fun interactive oldies band, will be featured on August 10th.

The series will wrap up on Wednesday, August 24th with the Town Pants, an international touring act. The Town Pants band, which hails from Vancouver, Canada, combines aspects of traditional Irish music, folk rock, and Americana, creating a unique brand of high energy “West Coast Celtic.” With their performance at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and at festivals throughout United States, Canada and Europe, the group is a consistent audience favorite.

Food and refreshments will be available at all concerts.

More information at The Valley Center

Hoop/Spin Jam – Thursday July 7th, Lasalle Park Amphitheater

Posted July 5, 2011 at 12:38 pm by

The Buffalo Hula Hoop Group and Pyromancy will be having an open invite Hoop and Spin Jam at Lasalle Park Amphitheater this Thursday from 7pm until after dark. This event is for anyone interested in learning hooping or other skill toys, come out and spin with us! There will have some extra hoops for people to use in case you do not have one. Other props like batons, poi, staff, juggling are also welcome. This will be a skill share, so if there is anything you would like to learn, please ask ! I can provide instruction for off-body moves / isolations and mini-hoops if anyone is interested. If you use fire props, we are able to burn when it gets dark but please bring your own fuel or a small donation to cover the cost of white gas if you want to use it. The amphitheater is almost always available, but if for some reason it is in use ( there was a martial arts class till 7:30 one time ) , we can meet out on the lawn until it is available. The amphitheater is covered so this event will be rain or shine.

Photographers are welcomed! Please take photos of us and submit them to the hoop group or gillian [at] pyromancy.org . This is a great opportunity to expand your art with some interesting subjects.

– Facebook Event Link
– Join the Buffalo Hula Hoop Group

Friday, March 18: Celebrate International Women’s Day at Buffalo State College

Posted March 11, 2011 at 9:12 pm by

Hi everyone! Gillian Tunney from Pyromancy will be performing choreographed pieces with Hoops, Poi and Baton at the International Women’s Day Event at Buffalo State College!

100th Anniversary: Celebrate International Women’s Day
Friday, March 18, Buffalo State College
Student Union, Social Hall, 4-7:30pm

4-5:30 Panel Discussion: Rejecting the Violence of Poverty & Standing up for RIghts
Discussion and information about the rights of women contending with poverty, services available, issues facing immigrant women, experience in fighting for rights, and speaking to the causes of poverty and solutions.

6:00-7:30 Evening Celebration: Saluting Women’s Contributions to the Rights and Dignity of All
Performers Include: Mc Vendetta, Jen Whitmore, Pat Bozeman, Gillian Tunney ( of Pyromancy ); Women at the Forefront in Egypt & Building People’s Media

5:30 – 6:00 Networking Hour
Network and Socialize with speakers and performers, refreshments served!

September Spin Jam!

Posted September 25, 2010 at 2:29 pm by

It’ll be a cool night, but the fire will keep us warm!

Come to Lasalle Park this Sunday at 9:30 pm. Pyromancy and any fire performers are having a meet and greet to practice, play and talk. There will be a casual Fire Eating instructional as well as a Safety Training.

Photographers are welcomed! Please take photos of us and submit them to the Pyromancy website. This is a great opportunity to expand your art with some interesting subjects.

We usually reside by the Amphitheater by the river. See you there!

Preview of Olmstead Party for the Parks!

Posted September 17, 2010 at 10:21 pm by

Olmsted Party for the Parks
By WKBW Programming

BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) – Buffalo Olmsted Conservancy’s Party for the Parks fundraiser will take place on Friday, September 24th at Olmsted Park. The theme is South Beach Salsa.

Channel 7’s owns Bridget Blythe will be hosting the event. There will be a number of bands to help set the mood, fire dancers and a scooter give-away. Food and drinks will also be sold.

Full article on WKBW

Dragon Ritual Drummers “Warriors of the Earth”

Posted September 8, 2010 at 2:03 am by

Dragon Ritual Drummers

courtesy of

September 4, 2010 we had the honor of doing fire performance at the Dragon Ritual Drummers “Warriors of the Earth” Ceremony and Concert held at Nine Woods Forest. This eclectic drumming troupe from the Niagara region is a festival favorite at Brushwood Folklore Center, and I first got to hear them closing up the musical stage on Saturday night of Sirius Rising 2010. Their music is energetic and dance inspiring, drawing inspiration from cultures around the world. The songs are primarily instrumental, focused on tribal percussion with minimal toned instruments and vocal chanting. During live shows, the band engages the audience with stories of the songs background, and by the end of the set you are left feeling that you truly went on journey. – Gillian Tunney

From the last.fm page:

The Dragon Ritual Drummers are a drumming troupe consisting of members of the Niagara Pagan Men’s circle. The group began as a way for us to express the wonderful magick and manifestation that we routinely share. We chose the Dragon Ritual Drummers name for the infamous dragon spirit that resides in and around the brink of Niagara falls. With the original inhabitants now extinct, we began to awaken and befriend the dragon spirit through meditations, offerings and ritual.

Dragon Ritual Drummers are playing next at Rochester Pagan Pride in Rochester NY on Sep 11 2010 at3:00Pm
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/dragonritualdrummers#ixzz0ytqMtjib
Related Links:

– Dragon Ritual Drummers
– Myspace
– Last.fm

August Wildfire Contact Staff Workshop!

Posted August 18, 2010 at 5:39 am by

This weekend several performers from Pyromancy will be heading to August 2010 Wildfire Retreat for a weekend of workshops and fun. Wildfire is the East Coast’s premier spinning and fire arts training camp. This is a community oriented event, offering a diverse selection of over 105 classes on poi, hoop, dance, teaching, safety, business, performance, and more. This weekend-long event is held in Northeast Connecticut.

Gillian Tunney will be teaching an Intermediate Contact Staff workshop on FISHTAILS! This workshop will be held on Saturday August 21, 4:20-5:30pm.
Course Description:

Learn fishtails! Learn the basic reverse fishtail, and how to transition into and out of it. While this class is primarily intended for the fishtail-less, we will also touch upon variations to spruce up the basic move.

Fishtails are a challenging move that I learned in baton twirling when I was younger, and is commonly used in fire contact staff to link different moves together without having to grab the staff with your hand. The baton/staff does a 1-beat twirling motion that is balanced on the back of the hand. The name “fishtail” comes from the side-to-side swimming motion the hand makes ( also it looks like you are drawing an infinity symbol with your hand when viewed from the front ), this is needed to maintain the speed and balance of the baton/staff. Hopefully once I figure out what the best way to teach this, I will make a tutorial to post here in case anyone else is interested.

As of 8/18/2010 there are 30 tickets to August Wildfire remaining, so if you are interested in going you should definitely check it out!

Pyromancy performing at Buffalo Infringement Festival

Posted July 31, 2010 at 7:37 pm by

One last minute reminder that PYROMANCY will be performing our final show for Infringement Festival Sunday August 1st at 9:30 pm in Days Park (map) in Buffalo NY! Hope to see you there! . This performance will be spectacular with some new surprises.

Pyromancy also has some secret guests! Day’s Park is at the West end of Allen st. (map)

  • • Check out the event information
  • • Read the article about this show in Buffalo News Artbeats Blog

    • Hope to see you there!