Based on criteria like the number of museums, zoos, and cultural attractions around, as well as summer temperatures, Buffalo was recently ranked the top “staycation” destination by personal finance website WalletHub.com. Short for stay-at-home vacation, a staycation offers a chance to rediscover your hometown on a budget. This week, we have plenty of staycation ideas that will have you enjoying all that Buffalo has to offer, without breaking your wallet.

Kick off your staycation weekend early on Thursday evening by taking a VIP Brewery Tour at Hotel @ The Lafayette. For $15, the historic hotel offers a behind-the-scenes tour of their brewery that’s normally off-limits to guests. Tours start every hour from 7pm-9pm, and include three beer tastings. After that, keep the party going and head over to Nietzsche’s to celebrate the beginning of the Buffalo Infringement Festival with a dozen local acts, including Beer Hall Philosophers and Anal Pudding. The festival, founded in Montreal in 2004, promotes a broad range of activist art in multiple venues around Allentown, and will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary in Buffalo this year.

On Friday evening, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House Complex will be hosting a Summer Garden Series that includes a tour of the extensive landscaping there at the Gardener’s Cottage. Martin House Horticulturist Nellie Gardener will help you create your own flower arrangement to take home with you, and will discuss what types of flowers may have been used in bouquets. Tickets are $40, and $35 for members. Friday also marks the beginning of the annual Ellicottville Jazz and Blues Festival. Local blues bands like the Speedy Parker Band will play at the Gin Mill, or simply wander down to the Ellicottville Brewing Co. to enjoy a hand-crafted beer.

Weekend fun in Buffalo has become almost synonymous with Buffalo’s Canalside, at the center of Buffalo’s waterfront revitalization. On Saturday, Alternative Buffalo 107.7 will be hosting Kerfuffle 2014 with headlining artists: Bear Hands, Big Data, Bleachers, Brick + Mortar, Cage The Elephant, The Crystal Method, KONGOS, and Semi Precious Weapons. Also on the bill are Artvoice B.O.O.M. winners FolkFaces. Doors open at 2:30pm, and the show starts at 3:00pm. Tickets are $25 (see Kerfuffle feature this issue). On the waterfront, BFLO Harbor Kayak will be offering single and tandem kayaks, as well as stand-up paddleboards; kayak tours are available that include hikes into the old grain elevators. For the ultimate staycation summer night in Buffalo, head to Templeton Landing’s waterfront patio and enjoy their fire pit, seafood and raw bar, and hand-crafted cocktails. And if you still haven’t quenched your staycation appetite, head over for “Downtown Swing” at Tappo Restaurant where they’ll be playing funk party classics until 2am.

To wrap up your staycation, head over to Silo City for their Sunday summer flea market. From 9am to 4pm, browse retro and vintage peddlers against the backdrop of the old grain elevators. After the flea market, take a stroll around communities like The Cottage District and Elmwood Village and enjoy Garden Walk Buffalo 2014. With more than 370 gardens around town, the free and self-guided tour will provide the perfect ending to a relaxed and low-cost staycation in Buffalo.

Artvoice's 2014 Staycation Feature Suggested Ways to Chillax Near Home Fun and Interesting Destinations in Our Own Backyard Summer's the Time to Enjoy Our Waterways Staycation Venue Directory