CITY of NIGHT was a crazy art party idea I had in 2011, which my colleagues at our nonprofit Emerging Leaders in the Arts Buffalo (ELAB) embraced wholeheartedly. A festival featuring immersive art installations in and outside the historic grain elevators, with light projections, music, poetry, food and more, we all volunteered our time to make it a reality. Over the course of four years, it grew rapidly, as did the notoriety of our first venue, Silo City.

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I learned a great deal about managing a team, promoting and marketing an event and a completely unique location, and leveraging the historic status of a place to generate community excitement. Attendees, and our committee, were changed forever in the process. Over 40,000 people got to experience the event as it evolved, and the Old First Ward benefited from increased attention. There is now a bike path alongside new apartments at the Buffalo River, connecting downtown Buffalo and RiverFest Park to the revitalized Outer Harbor. Three breweries/distilleries have opened in the vicinity, kayaking from the park across the river is a huge attraction, and the Old First Ward is home to The Barrel Factory, a restored gem of a complex. The grain elevators now feature a permanent restaurant, weekly tours, monthly events and will soon be adaptively reused for apartments and more.