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Last weekend saw the first annual Powder Keg Festival in downtown Dreamtown USA. Featuring the World’s Largest Ice Maze, the event drew twice the expected crowds.

On the same weekend was the very successful Labatt’s Pond Hockey Tournament. (Or “Lake Hockey” in this case.) While the warm-ish weather resulted in the cancellation of Sunday’s games, Saturday was a big day as the tournament continues to grow.

Meanwhile, I’m sure this year will put an end to all those comments about Dreamtown being so snowy. After all, places like New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Pittsburgh all had three times as much snow in February as we did. Now it won’t be long until the lake-effect sun machine kicks in giving us more summer sun than any major city in the northeast US. Dream-tastic!

As winter continues to dump on the east coast, Dreamtown has dropped down the list of snowiest cities for the season. The linked list (obscure reference for all you programmers) is updated daily, but as of 11 February, it looks like this:

1. Baltimore: 79.9
2. Syracuse: 75.9
3. Erie: 71.7
4. Philadelphia: 71.6
5. Rochester: 63.9
6. Buffalo: 63.1
7. Fort Collins: 59.0
8. Pittsburgh: 57.8
9. Grand Rapids: 57.4
10. Washington: 55.9

We’ll no doubt move up the list, barring more wacky storms on the coast. But for us, this has been a pretty ho-hum winter. No huge storms, not a whole lot of snow on the ground even now. It’s been pretty cold, though, but that can be a good thing. The snow they’re getting on the coast is wet and heavy which is really annoying. And they have ice problems as the temperature keeps flirting with freezing.

Yes, we get snow in the winter. Not as much as you’d think from the national news network, but more than most places. And when we get it, we push it out of the way and go about our business. Just what you’d expect from Dreamtown USA.

One final note: I guess it’s good that the TV news is consistent in portraying the snowiness of an area by setting their reporters up next to plowed piles of snow just like they do whenever they visit here in the winter. But do they know that’s a dictionary definition of lying? Keep it real, people!

There’s a huge storm moving across the country, expected to dump up to two feet of snow in places like Washington D.C. In Dreamtown? Not so much. Maybe some light flurries.

This is the second big storm to hit the east coast this winter. Neither hit Dreamtown. Yet I’ve been stuck in New York City for both. Go figure.

So the next time someone you know associates snow with Buffalo, tell them they must be thinking of Philadelphia or other east coast cities. You know, the places that can’t handle the snow. Heh.

Courtesy of a Dreamtown fan from Northern Virginia comes a reference to Dreamtown food that was heard on NPR a couple weeks ago and is not about wings.

It comes from a program called The Splendid Table in a piece featuring Jan and Michael Stern of Roadfood.com called “A Most Sponge-Worthy City“. (Seinfeld’s influence is everywhere.) It’s about, of course, sponge candy with an extra shout-out for hot fudge sundaes at Alethea’s. Nice to see (or hear) kudos for more than just the ubiquitous wings and the lesser-known but still highly touted beef-on-weck.

At long last, the Dreamtown episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is due to air on Sunday at 8 pm. ABC has turned it into a two-hour special because hey, it’s Dreamtown. Designer Paige Hemmis was interviewed about the episode, which she called “definitely Top Ten.”

One of her more interesting observations: “Everyone told us it is going to be so cold in Buffalo … it was warmer than all of our other shows. We had wonderful weather …” And that was in November. Are you getting this, ABC News?

Get your VCRs and DVRs ready!

Snow storms on the east coast and in the midwest. Here in Dreamtown? Another no-snow Christmas. It rained. That makes four of the last five Christmases being not-white, I think. That’s a bummer, but makes you wonder why so many people think it’s so snowy here.

“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is in Dreamtown, enjoying the beautiful weather and wonderful people. But because this is Dreamtown, instead of just a home, an army of volunteers is making over a neighborhood.

Brady Connell, the show’s executive producer, said the community effort has been unlike any other in the six-year-old show’s history.

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“We couldn’t have done this in other cities, even the same size as Buffalo, because the volunteer spirit here is off the charts.”

Welcome to Dreamtown, USA, Brady!

So far this month, no measurable rainfall. But no drought issues either. Today was sunny and 77. Just another wonderful day in Dreamtown.

The September issue of Men’s Health ranks “Urban Waistlands“: their attempt to find “fast-food addicts” in the top 100 U.S. metro areas. Guess who finished at #100, meaning the least fatty (based on fast-food, obesity levels, and eating fruits and vegetables)? Dreamtown, of course. The only city to rank an A+.

But hey, Men’s Health, why was their no mention of our lofty status? Usually in these things, both the “winner” and “loser” gets called out. In this case, only the loser (Arlington, TX) got extra mention. What’s up with that?

Of course, their goofy study does leave some things out. Like all the Tim Horton’s (donuts — and remember the real Tim Horton whose number is retired for the Sabres) and wings available on pretty much every block. Oh well. It’s Dreamtown after all. A+ sounds right to me.

The annual Garden Walk was a big hit again this year. Read about it online at finegardening.com and marthastewart.com among others.