For neighbors of the Falls, the Niagara Holiday Market has become the family-friendly place to be on the weekends. With features like ice skating, live entertainment and, of course, food, winter in WNY suddenly doesn’t seem like the end of the world. This weekend puts the market on a whole new level. From Friday to Sunday, Wegmans is sponsoring Taste of the Season at the Conference Center Niagara Falls, 101 Old Falls St., Niagara Falls.

From 11:30 am to 6 p.m. all weekend, put the brakes on holiday shopping at the market for a few hours to come enjoys free food and beer samplings, and maybe learn something in the process. Cooking demonstrations and pairing seminars will be hosted by culinary celebrities during this weekend’s packed schedule. Each day, a brewmaster representing a different craft beer will be on hand to teach a thing or two of brewing and drinking. Even “Top Chef” season seven champ Kevin Sbraga will cook up a holiday goose. Best part is, the whole weekend is free.

Get some ideas for your holiday meal, and do a little (or maybe a lot) of shopping for the holidays, all in beautiful Niagara Falls. Don’t get me wrong, I love the thought of a stuffy crowded mall for my shopping, but come one, you can’t beat a little shopping along one of the world’s most marvelous natural wonders.

Image courtesy of the Niagara Holiday Market.