BY DARLENE BRACE
On Saturday February 3rd, Jamestown will be having its annual Doors Open event from 10am-4pm. This an annual event has been taking place in Jamestown for many years and was first coordinated by The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation. The last few years it has been coordinated by the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce.
Doors Open was launched years ago to encourage the community to go to local attractions, businesses, and restaurants. The Jamestown area has a lot of unique and interesting attractions that area residents often take for granted or that they don’t know much about. It encourages you to go out to different locations in the area that you may have never been to, and enjoy going to some of your local favorites. There are a wide variety of attractions participating that include history, science, music, art, comedy, and more. Participating attractions like museums and centers invite the public in with free admission for the day and some have special activities planned.
Carrie Swanson of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce said “There’s always something to do in Jamestown. Doors Open invites the community to go out and be like a tourist in your own hometown. It’s a great way to get out to see what the local attractions and businesses have to offer our community.”
This year there are nineteen attractions and some other local businesses and restaurants participating. Here are the attractions that are participating this year: Audubon Community Nature Center; Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center; Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame; *Fenton History Center; Infinity Visual and Performing Arts; James Prendergast Library; Lucile M. Wright Air Museum; *Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum; Lucille Ball Little Theatre; Martz-Kohl Observatory; Marvin Community House; *National Comedy Center; *Northwest Arena; Pearl City Clay House; Partridge-Sheldon House; Reg Lenna Center for the Arts; Robert H. Jackson Center; Roger Tory Peterson Institute; Winifred Crawford Dibert Boys & Girls Club. Those marked with * may require pre-registration or have restrictions. Please check their websites for details.
All the above-mentioned locations will be offering something for Doors Open participants. Below is a description of what some attractions are doing that day:
Jamestown Audubon will have free admission to its facilities. They will also have a food truck from the Best of Buffalo, to provide some refreshments for participants to purchase.
Jamestown Prendergast Library will have open play activities from 10:30am to 3pm upstairs in the library. There will be STEM play for children and teens and sensory activities for babies and toddlers.
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute will have free admission. The curator will be giving tours and there will be raffles, kids activities, and three art and nature exhibits to enjoy.
If you want to venture outside of Jamestown near Frewsburg, there is free admission to the Martz-Kohl Observatory. They will have tours of the observatory, and they will be showing a video about its history.
The National Comedy Center is offering free admission, but you must be a Chautauqua County resident to participate. Please register by January 25th at comedycenter.org/doors open.
Fenton Museum is offering free admission for self-guided tours. Their staff will be available to answer questions. You must sign up on their website to attend, as space is limited.
Pearl City Clay House will be having a $5 paint your own mug activity. There will be tours of the building, including information on their program, and two art exhibits to explore.
As part of Doors Open, there will be a fun a scavenger hunt. At participating locations, you will answer a question that is unique to that venue. At your first location, you will scan a QR code on your cell phone. This will enable you to submit your answers via text. Three gift baskets with items from the participating locations will be awarded. More specific directions and a map of all the attractions will be included.
If you want more information about Doors Open, you can look online or contact the Chamber of Commerce at (716) 484-1101. There is a wide variety of participating attractions to choose from. Make sure you visit the locations that you will really like, so that you will really enjoy participating in Doors Open Jamestown.