Welcome to the quickest way to learn the week’s most exciting local events. This weekly event round-up is sponsored by The Ithaca Convention and Visitors Bureau.


Cayuga Sound Festival

On a brisk weekend in upstate New York this fall, multi-platinum selling rock band X Ambassadors will return to their hometown of Ithaca, NY to host an outdoor concert and city wide weekend festival for the people that made them who they are. The band broke out in 2015 with their critically acclaimed album VHS, and global smash singles “Renegades”, “Unsteady”, and “Jungle”.

CAYUGA SOUND will come to Stewart Park on Saturday, September 23rd, along with a series of local events, talks, and activations on the days leading up to the weekend.  X Ambassadors have curated an eclectic lineup including The Roots, Sammus, & K. Flay, representing the diverse music they listened to as youth, crossing all genre boundaries in taste.

Two stages will be set in the park, with a mix of national touring acts, friends of the band, and world class talent from the city of Ithaca. The festival plans to celebrate local businesses as well as support local nonprofits.

Location: Stewart Park | Gardner Pkwy Ithaca, NY 14850 

Date: 9/23/2017

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Family-Friendly Party @ Stick & Stone Farm

FREE ADMISSION – Bring the whole family for great food, live music and fun at Stick and Stone Farm the last Wed of the month (July — Sept). In September, Mama Said Hand Pies will be serving their flaky, golden crusted pies filled with comforting flavors from around the world.   Indulge in Sweet Melissa’s homemade ice cream provided by How Sweet It Is 607 and wash it all down with cold craft beer from Bandwagon Pub, Farm and Brewery. Live music from The Grady Girls. Activities for kids. Proceeds from food and beverage sales benefit Healthy Food For All.

Enjoy a summer afternoon and evening on one of Ithaca’s favorite organic farms to support a great cause!
Location: Stick & Stone Farm 1605 Trumansburg Road, Ithaca, NY 14850

Date: 9/27/17

Time: 4PM – 8PM

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The Techne of Giving: Cinema and the Generous Form of Life

Over the last few years, corporations and individuals have given more money to charitable organizations than ever before. What could possibly be the downside to gift-giving?

In a Chats in the Stacks book talk, Timothy Campbell, professor of Italian in the Department of Romance Studies and member of the graduate fields of Comparative Literature and Film and Video Studies, will discuss contemporary giving and its social forms.

His new book, “The Techne of Giving” (Fordham University Press, January 2017), investigates how we hold the objects of daily life in relation to neoliberal forms of gift-giving. Moving between visual studies, Winnicottian psychoanalysis, Foucauldian biopower, and apparatus theory, Campbell will discuss alternative ways to conceive of generosity.

This event is sponsored by Olin Library. Refreshments served.

LocationCornell University, Olin Library, Room 107

Date: 9/27/2017
Time: 4:30pm – 5:30pm

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“Eyewitness to Polar Thawing–and How It Affects Us” with Explorer Will Steger

We hear about how polar ice is thawing, but truly the Arctic, the Antarctic, and Greenland are mysterious places to us all. Not so to Will Steger, who over five decades has traversed these remote locales by kayak and dogsled. Now the dogsled method is virtually impossible because of ice thawing.

Steger will share important data, stunning visuals, and compelling stories from his years of exploration. The presentation will be followed by an audience Q&A with respondents Michael Hoffman, Executive Director of the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions, and Fae Dremock, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Sciences at Ithaca College.

Free and open to all (recommended for people age 12 and up), but a donation is requested to help cover the costs. Parking is free and plentiful in the neighborhood. Cosponsored by Climate Changers, ICAN, Social Action Committee of First Baptist Church, Social Justice Council of First Unitarian Society and People for a Healthy Environment, with support from the Center for Transformative Action and other local organizations.

Location: First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, Sanctuary 305 N. Aurora Street (corner of Buffalo), Ithaca NY 14850

Date: 9/27/2017

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The Art of Gardening at Chanticleer

Join Chanticleer’s Executive Director and Head Gardener Bill Thomas for a visual tour and behind-the-scenes look at what the Washington Post calls “one of the most interesting and edgy public gardens in America.”  Chanticleer is known for its residential-scale plant combinations featuring foliage textures and colors, its wide variety of containers, and its imaginative homemade furniture.  This is a garden where the staff are the designers, competing with each other and with the horticultural world to make the garden fun, visually exciting, and environmentally responsible. Bill will offer insights on what inspires this special place.

Location: Alice Statler Auditorium 7 East Ave, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

Date: 9/27/2017

Time: 7:30pm

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Porchfest 2017

Porchfest is an annual, mostly-acoustic music festival on the porches of the Fall Creek & Northside neighborhoods of Ithaca, NY.

Location: Fall Creek & Northside Neighborhoods Ithaca, New York
Date: 9/24/2017
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Finger Lakes Cider House Grand Cider Buffet

Fall is coming!…and nothing pairs better with colder, crisper temperatures, than a little hard cider. Join Coltivare and the special guest Finger Lakes Cider House on Thursday, September 28th, for a grand cider buffet celebrating the bounty of the harvest season and our local region.

Featuring seven ciders produced at the Cider House by Kite & String Cidery, Coltivare will present an accompanying selection of five cider-inspired entree dishes, served buffet style for the ultimate in customized pairing experiences. Making it’s debut just ahead of the Apple Harvest Festival—Coltivare’s famous Apple Mac ‘n Cheese will be returning, with Chicken, Pork, and seasonal vegetable dishes rounding out the offerings. An Apple Cobbler will be served for dessert. 

Tickets are $55 apiece and the event kicks off in Coltivare’s ballroom at 6:30.

Location: Coltivare

Date: 9/28/2017
Time: 6:30pm – 9:30pm

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35th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival

The 35th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Apple Harvest Festival by Presented Tompkins Trust Company is set to take place September 29 – October 1, 2017.  The 2017 Apple Harvest Festival hosts plenty of apples, local produce, fresh baked goods, family entertainment at every turn, games, rides, prizes and live performances on two stages. Apple Harvest Festival is a great introduction to the rich farm and artist community of Ithaca.  First time visitors can witness a variety of wonderful local entertainment while also visiting the historical outdoor pedestrian shopping mall, The Ithaca Commons.  The pedestrian mall is the epicenter of the festival and the gateway to a nostalgic journey to harvest season fun.

Over 100 vendors will be selling unique apple varieties, hot apple cider donuts, kettle corn, local farm fresh baked goods and a multitude of around the world specialties. Local farmers are on site selling everything from tasty apple beverages to local pumpkins and of course, apples, apples and more apples. Wineries and cideries have regional beverages available for tasting and purchase.  Kids can visit with the goats and learn how fiber is made with Laughing Goat Fiber Farm.  Looking for quality goods, visit over 60 different handcrafting artisans along Cayuga Street at the fall craft show which includes jewelry, ceramics, home decor, body care, specialty gifts, unique sculpture, clothing and so much more.

Location: Downtown Ithaca | 171 East State Street, Ithaca, 14850

Date: 9/29/2017 – 10/1/2017

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CU Music: Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra

Cornell Symphony Orchestra and Cornell Chamber Orchestra; Chris Younghoon Kim, conductor with special guest Alex Shuhan, horn.

Program features

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6, Mvt. 1

Stephenson Sounds Awakened, Concerto for French horn

Ellington/Tyzik Black, Brown, and Beige Suite: Work Song, Come Sunday, Light

Schuller Journey into Jazz, with Paul Merrill and CU Jazz Combo

Bacewicz Concerto for String Orchestra

Location: Cornell University | Bailey Hall

Date: 9/30/2017
Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm

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Meet the cider makers

Stop in at Cellar D’Or on The Commons and meet the cidermakers and taste their wares. Cideries present will include Black Diamond Farm, Eve’s Cidery, South Hill Cidery and Red Byrd Cider.

Location: Cellar d’Or Wine and Cider Shop 136 E. State Street on the Ithaca Commons Ithaca, NY , 14850 Date: 9/29/2017
Time: 4PM – 7PM

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 Symphony Orchestra Concert

Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Octavio Más-Arocas, will perform David Lang: mountain and Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 1 C major. 

Location: Whalen Center for Music, Ithaca College, Ford Hall 953 Danby Road, Ithaca NY 14850

Date: 9/30/2017
Time: 8:15PM

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The Weekly Gem

The weekly gem will highlight a special Ithaca location that the Ithaca & Tompkins County Visitor’s Center thinks you really need to see!

How Sweet It Is

44 E Main St, Trumansburg, NY 14886

Ready to satisfy your sweet tooth? This new cafe serves up creative confections side by side with your favorite classics. How Sweet It Is sits right on Main Street in Trumansburg, a town just fifteen minutes from downtown Ithaca, and is the perfect stop for a sweet, handmade treat to wrap up a day out on the wine trail or for an after-dinner treat.

 

Read more about this new café here: http://stories.visitithaca.com/how-sweet-it-is

 

Mike Blaney is the executive director and co-founder of The Ithaca Voice.