Buffalo’s nine largest cultural organizations are launching a new round of packages on March 1 for Culture Craze, the discount ticketing program that allows families and adults to sample diverse offerings at multiple cultural institutions. The first Culture Craze package offerings were launched in November 2005. Marketing support is provided by Wegmans, Lawley Insurance Services, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, Digicon Graphics, and The Buffalo News.

The twelve spring-summer packages include eight packages themed to appeal to specific interests of adults and four packages aimed at providing an easy and affordable way for parents to introduce their children to area cultural activities and sites. All ticket packages include three to four different cultural exhibits or events at a discounted price between 10% and 40% off regular admission. Most packages include free bonus items such as parking, posters, or gift shop discounts.

Package offerings targeted for adults are geared towards fans of photography (“Local Views”), art and fine dining (“Great Books, Fine Art & Exquisite Dining”) jazz (“Strictly for Jazz Lovers”), and history and architecture (“ArtyFACTS”), as well as a package for those looking for a night out on the town (“Night Out”), a general sampler (“Midwinter Fun”), and an African-American heritage package. A new package of special note is “The Big Party,” which groups together some of Buffalo’s most popular summer events at five participating cultural institutions.Highlighting the packages offered for children and families are a new sampler package called “Summer Fun,” which includes the Buffalo Philharmonic’s “Wizard of Oz” concert at ArtPark, the animated family film “Shark Tale” at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, and discounted admission to all exhibits at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, Buffalo Museum of Science and Buffalo Zoo. Of great interest to pre-teen girls and their families will be the new “American Girl” package this spring, which includes “Barbie” and “Annie” theatre tickets at Shea’s, discounted admission to the Buffalo Zoo, and admission to the American Girl Club being formed at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.

Families will also enjoy packages “Brainiac Maniac” and “Taking Flight” which are themed to specific interests. The “Brainiac Maniac” package, for example, includes admission to the Buffalo Museum of Science for its Dinos & Co. exhibit and Connections hands-on experience gallery, tickets to Studio Arena Theatre’s production of “All the Great Books (abridged)”, the BFLO. Made! exhibit at the Historical Society, and admission to the Zoo’s Eco Station. “Taking Flight” and its “things that fly” theme includes tickets to the Buffalo Philharmonic’s “Searching for Superman” concert, “Cathy Rigby is Peter Pan” at Shea’s, the Our Place in Space exhibit at the Science Museum, and admission to the Zoo featuring its Aviary and Lorikeet Landing.

The complete listings of all packages, including prices, locations, and bonus items, can be found online at www.buffaloculturecraze.org. Culture Craze packages may be purchased through Shea’s Ticket Office at 650 Main St., or by calling 716-829-1164.

The participating cultural organizations that established Culture Craze include Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Buffalo Zoo, Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House Complex, Shea’s Performing Arts Center, and Studio Arena Theatre. Culture Craze is the result of ongoing collaboration between the leaders of the nine large cultural organizations and their marketing directors on the need to attract new audiences to WNY’s extraordinary assortment of cultural opportunities, and to strengthen opportunities to cross-promote the region’s cultural assets.

"Since we launched Culture Craze in November, we have been quite encouraged by the response in only a couple of months to what was essentially an experiment," explained Anthony Conte, president of Shea's Performing Arts Center. "We are collectively committed to offering easy-to-use, affordable and appealing opportunities for the people of Western New York to take advantage more often of the cultural activities, performances, exhibits, and events they’re interested in, and then sample something new."