All Is Fair
The artistic luminaries of the Westcott Nation will be coming out of the woodwork during the upcoming Westcott Street Cultural Fair,
a celebration of the creative side of the city. Each year, thousands
congregate on the street (located about a mile east of Syracuse
University) to check out local bands, peruse the wares of art vendors
and soak up the city’s culture. You’ll be able to get in on the fun
when the festival kicks off at noon on Sunday, Sept. 21. Participants
will also have a chance to view an annual parade at the fest’s onset,
an event that features all sorts of wacky walkers. Admission to the
festival is free. For more information, call 703-6848.
Grave News
You might want to hold your breath while you visit, as the old wive’s tale about cemeteries recommends, but people are simply dying to get in to the Oakwood Cemetery,
bound by Comstock Avenue and East Colvin Street. The peaceful resters
(and maybe a few who aren’t so peacefully resting) who have
posthumously congregated on the hilly terrain that forms the cemetery
are commemorated by beautiful headstones, baroque mausoleums and
outstanding monoliths, all of which draw tour seekers to take a walk
through the area for sight-seeing excitement. In addition, the cemetery
also provides a variety of guided tours, with this year’s final
installment called “A Ramble: The Curious, Mysterious and Just Plain
Oddball,” led by guides Jamie Steele and Karl Orlick. Those who hope to
take the tour should meet at the Old Oakwood Chapel, near the main
entrance to the cemetery on Comstock Avenue on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 2
p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 475-2194.
Cardinal Sin
Former Whiskeytown singer Ryan Adams will bring his current outfit The Cardinals into town for a performance on Friday, Sept. 26, at 8:30 p.m., at the Landmark Theatre,
362 S. Salina St. Aside from an appearance in a Gap commercial,
everything Adams has been involved with is worth checking out. The
alt-country-meets-rock singer-songwriter’s debut solo album, Heartbreaker (Bloodshot Records), featured Emmylou Harris and broke Adams onto the national scene. His double Grammy-winning 2001 followup, Gold
(Lost Highway), featured the hit “New York, New York” and confirmed
that it is still possible to make good music, and actually be rewarded
for it. Adams’ latest release, Easy Tiger (Lost Highway) continues the string of eclectic electric Americana. Tickets cost $34. Call 472-0700 to get you some.
Ryan Adams: The alt-country rocker will bring the newest rendition of his indie music to the Landmark Theatre in September.
Symphomaniacs
While classical music may take some ramping up for some people to become lifetime fans, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra
has always tried its best to tackle symphonic music from alternate
angles. During the SSO’s upcoming season, you’ll have a chance to get
into the fun the easy way via Bugs Bunny On Broadway, a pops
concert that will feature the works of Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn,
the two masterminds behind many of the scores for classic Warner Bros.
cartoons like “What’s Opera, Doc?” and “The Rabbit of Seville.” The
concert will be revealed at the Mulroy Civic Center, 411
Montgomery St., on Friday, Sept. 26, and Saturday, Sept. 27, at 8 p.m.
The Salt City classical group is also attempting to attract more fans
this year through an updated ticketing program, in which you may choose
your own adventure by selecting four concerts to comprise your own
personal subscription series, ranging from $35 to $50 per ticket. Many
different seating arrangements and ticket prices are available,
however, so be sure to visit www.syracusesymphony.org or call 424-8200
for more information.
Harvested Interest
Few views in the world are quite as
beautiful as autumn in Central New York, ripe with the earth tones that
come from deciduous forests clocking out for the winter. As a result,
fall is the perfect time to spend time at outdoors festivals, including
the lighthearted Golden Harvest Festival, to take place Saturday, Sept. 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Sept. 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Beaver Lake Nature Center,
8477 E. Mud Lake Road, Baldwinsville. Each year the festival features
music, games, puppet shows and some damn good made-on-the-spot donuts,
all of which will give you a reason to enjoy a set of beautiful, local
nature trails in addition to the center’s interesting indoor exhibits.
Admission to the festival is $5 for adults, $1 for children 5 to 17
years old, and free for children 5 and younger. For more information,
call 638-2519.
Puckin’ Off
Blades of glory: The Syracuse Crunch will look to avenge last year’s second-round playoff defeat this upcoming season. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
After a superb playoff run last season that ended with a game seven loss to the Toronto Marlies in the second round, the Syracuse Crunch,
American Hockey League affiliates of the NHL’s Colombus Blue Jackets,
will look to break the ice and slapshot their way through the
mullet-haired competition once again this season. The boys in red,
black and white are one slash of a skate away from making the bigs, so
you better believe they will be giving it their all in hopes of getting
the call up to the big rinks, which means some highly competitive
action. See the puck drop at the Onondaga County War Memorial,
515 Montgomery St., for their first home game on Saturday, Oct. 11, at
7:30 p.m. Tickets cost between $12 and $16. For more information on the
Crunch, call 473-4444.
