Bound For Glory!

James Keeleghan playing a few great sets at Sunday evening's Bound For Glory. Check him out: www.jameskeelaghan.com

Yours,
littlecitybig

A Steady Rain @ The Reader's Theater, Dec 2-4

Our first visit back in September to the Reader’s Theater to see Frozen absolutely blew us away. The breathtaking acting and stunningly chilling story captured each member of the audience as much it captured us. Based on our past experience with the Reader’s Theater, we are thrilled to see the latest work of the Reader’s Theater—A Steady Rain by Keith Huff—when it opens on December 2 at The Space (700 W. Buffalo St.). It is only showing for 3 nights, so we would recommend buying your tickets immediately.  Advanced tickets are $12 and $15 on the day of the show.

“At the center of A STEADY RAIN is the changing relationship between Chicago cops: Denny is a blustering family guy with skewed notions of domestic and professional honor, and Joey is a more inhibited, slightly priggish bachelor. Under interrogation lamps, the two deliver alternating accounts of the high voltage chain of events that jeopardized their friendship and careers. The result is a difficult journey into a moral gray area where trust and loyalty struggle for survival.”

Also, Richard Polenberg, a Cornell History Professor and specialist in 20^th century American and constitutional history, will give a brief lecture following the play entitled, “Keith Huff: The Playwright as Historian”.  

We can’t wait to see how Reader’s Theater will surprise us this time. Make sure you see the play and let us know what you think!

Yours,

littlecitybig

Holiday Spirit Store & Gallery Night!

Come out this Friday and support local art on the Commons! “First Friday Gallery Night” has been an Ithacan staple on the Commons throughout the year. Gallery Nights are always free and open to the public. Check out the Gallery Night Guide for a comprehensive list of locations, a map, and a brief description of the art that will be displayed.

But what’s best about the First Friday Gallery Night in November and December is the Holiday Spirit Store! The Spirit Store is located at 171 E. State St. Not only will local artist Hallie Lee be there selling her original t-shirts but also many other Ithacans with “handmade jewelry, clothing and home goods to artisan aromatherapy products, chutney and maple syrup.”

Spread the Holiday cheer by supporting local artists and artisans AND get your Christmas shopping done early. 

We hope to see you there! Let us know which galleries you like best!

Yours,

littlecitybig

Fall-Time Freeskool!

Ithaca Freeskool reaches out to the teacher and the learner in all of us. It’s never too late to try something new! And Ithaca Freeskool provides all of us with that opportunity. Freeskool “brings people together to equalize the distribution of knowledge” through “classes, discussion groups, skill shares, projects, and events hosted in a non-intimidating, informal, radical, creative, and fun environment”. 

We first learned about Ithaca Freeskool last summer and their new Fall classes impress us even more! Follow this link to a complete listing of their Fall schedule. Check out the list below for our personal top 5 list!

Fabulous Five of Fall Freeskool

Most Interesting: Coconut Cracking—Learn to crack your own coconuts and reap the healthy benefits of all natural coconut juice! When: 11/20, 2pm 

Most Practical: Free Food Preservation—Eat local year round through preservation of all your local central NY fruits and vegetables now….

When: Ongoing 

Our Personal Fave: Recylce Ithaca’s Bicycle Classes and Open Shop—Not only do you learn invaluable bike repair skills BUT you also work on a bike YOU GET TO KEEP! Absolutely awesome.

When: Classes Tues & Thurs 5:30-8:00 & Open Shop Sat 12-4.

Everyone must try this at least once: Community Recording—8 hours of free recording! Sing, tell a story, beat box, whatever you want—just get down!

When: Thurs & Fri 9/19-12/2, 4-7pm Call ahead (607-273-4190 ext. 227) to make appt.

Most Intellectual: The Critique of Domination: Critical Theory and “the Will to Power”—“Specifically, an attempt will be made to redefine “woman” as the subject of her own desire.” Enough said.

When: When: Sundays 1-4pm 10/2-12/18

From French to Reading to Fitness, Freeskool offers something for everybody this Fall. It’s a great opportunity to try something new and leave the rut of the every day.

Also—if you have been dying to inspire your fellow Ithacans with your love of designing birdhouses or nature photography, you absolutely must check out Freeskool’s opportunities to teach. Don’t let your passions and abilities go to waste!

We hope you’ll join (or teach) some classes and let us know how it goes!

Yours,

littlecitybig

Ithaca Zombie (Pub) Lurch...

The final T-Shirt design. Don't worry, we don't have one either.Because Zombies can't crawl?

Tonight, starting at 8pm at Chapter House, join Ithaca's finest Zombies in an all-night-long pub lurch. This event is sponsored by Ithaca Improv Everywhere and the GPSPB(OLZIIOH), The Graduate and Professional Students Programming Board (Of Lurching Zombies In Ithaca On Halloween).

The night will proceed as such: 

8PM: Chapter House

9PM: Commons near Madeleine's

10PM: Commons near Evolution

11PM: Felicia's/Westy

The raffle at the end of night for survivors of the apocalypse: 12:15AM outside Felicia's

Lurching (crawling from bar to bar) takes place at the 45 mark from designated locations.

95 people are already attending. Won't you too?! If you need more info, check it out and RSVP here.

See you there!

Yours,

littlecitybig

IthacaFamilyFun.info: What a great spot!

Janelle & Family.We recently received an email from Janelle, a soon to be friend and impressively great resource for Ithaca knowledge and family fun. She's been working on a few things that we thought would be great to share with everyone.

In one word, she'd call IthacaFamilyFun.info "infotainment," in two: "Ithaca...Online," 3: "Local Information Hub." What is really is:

Ithaca Family Fun is a local information hub for parents and caregivers looking for family friendly activities. This site hosts information about fun places and ongoing events in the Ithaca area with links and contact information whenever possible, as well as a frequently updated community calendar. 

And now a blog too! The most recent post, a great review of the simple things a family can do, and all the reasons that the SPCA is so awesome. Go on, check it out.

We were curious what caused Janelle to start her site: 

I was 7 months pregnant when we moved to Ithaca in 2007, so I've only ever known this town as a mom.  Although I would actively search for things to do and places to go, I found it difficult to find information. I was unaware of listservs that I could have joined, a lot of places and events in Ithaca didn't have websites that come up with simple searches, and often kid friendly events weren't posted on online events calendars.  As a result, I was always hearing fun events after the fact.  For instance, even though I live nearby, I didn't know about the Ellis Hollow summer concert series for the first 3 summers we lived here.  I found this was the case for other friends too.  One friend had a 3 year old and had never heard of the Tot Spot.  Another friend had never brought their 3 year old to the Sciencenter because they had assumed it was for older kids.

 

I've always been the kind of person who wants to reach out and help others...the most active poster on the listserv, etc. The idea for this website came about one evening when I was looking for information on whether or not the Tot Spot had opened for the season. I had searched the web for around 20 minutes with no answers when I though to myself, "There needs to a better way to find out this kind of information!"  Soon Ithaca Family Fun was born.

 And what are your plans for the site? 

I'd love for Ithaca Family Fun to be the go-to resource when anyone in the Tompkins County area is looking for something to do.  I'd love to have more people emailing events and ideas to me, and maybe even pick up a collaborator so I won't be the only one entering content. I'd love to have guest contributors on the new blog as well.  I'm applying for a couple of grants, and landing one of those would be big.

What are your favorite sites? You know, the first place you go every time you get on the computer?

Yours,

littlecitybig

Spooks, Haunts, and Halloween

We recently received a request for info on haunted houses, corn mazes and spooky fun in the Ithaca area. Here are our recommendations, just in time for the Halloween weekend.

If you have other suggestions, let us know!

Haunted Corn Maze

The Corn Maze is haunted! The T-Burg putt-putt course also has a corn maze, and it's haunted for Halloween.

 The hayrides to the haunted maze start at 6:45pm on October 29th, one night only! The last ride to the maze is at 11:00pm.

Make it through the maze while being stalked by ghouls, goblins, ghosts and zombies! And walk with your life. Then end the night with free popcorn and treats.

It's only $13 if you pay in advance, $15 the day of. Head over for more info and tickets.

Haunted History Tours

Have you met Renee?Let the spooks chill you with tales of murder, jealousy, insanity and many more tragic horrors of Ithaca’s past. Learn about the typhoid epidemic that took the lives of thousands.  Discover which famous rock star’s remains passed through Ithaca. And find out which settlers to the area were chopping more than just wood!

Ithaca's Haunted History Tours and Ghost Talks will be hosted all weekend long, October 27-29 at 7, 7:30 and 8pm. Tickets are $13 a person and can be reserved by emailing: gorgesevents@gmail.com or buy tickets here. If you don't have a ticket and want to go the night of, show up at 6:50. All tours meet at the ticket center that is just to the left of Center Ithaca on The Commons.

We suggest the Final Tour. Uncensored, Oct. 29th and 11:13pm. Tour ends at last call. Must be 21+.

Rumor has it these tours are awesome. Filled with great actors, chilling stories and a raucously good time. More info.

Museum In The Dark

This one is meant for the kids... But perfect for the whole family. Thursday, Oct. 27 from 6-8pm. At the Museum of The Earth near Cayuga Medical Center.

Cornell's Department of Astrology is putting on this event with trick-or-treat stations for the kids to visit and learn about neat astrology things. There are dry-ice comets, space-age ice cream, and infrared cameras! The kids will have a chance to meet with the Cayuga Nature Center's animal friends and drink fresh pressed cider.

Ticket prices vary for members and non-members, but nothing is more than $10. Prices and info, here.

Cayuga Nature Center's Halloween Capers

The Nature Center's 5-story tree house will be turned into a haunted house for this special family-friendly event. There will be cider, pumpkin carving, treats and games. Saturday, October 29th from 4-9pm. Not Thursday, the 29th as their poster shows:

Family Night at the Y(MCA)!

Friday, Oct 28th from 6:30 to 8pm. There will be lots of dancing, games, costumes and pumpkin contests. Register by Wednesday the 26th. $3 for non-members and free for members. For info contact Laura Cuomo @ lcuomo@ithacaymca.com or 607-257-0101.

Mall-oween Parade @ The Ithaca Shops

The mall is hosting a Halloween Parade on Saturday, October 29th at 11am. You have to register by Friday at the Mall Customer Service Center to ensure that there are enough treats to go around. $2 a kid will cover costs. But remember: there is no trick-or-treating in the mall on Oct. 31st. :(

The Sciencenter Halloween Party

Explore tricked-out exhibits and experience a full line-up of special presentations, demonstrations and activities.

There will be lots of great activities for kids and families, from a chemistry show to "Hair-raising Electrical Demon-strations" and a secret grand finale! Make gooey gummy worms and explore the shaky skeleton, all this Friday, Oct. 28th from 6-8:30pm. More info here.

What will you be up to?

Yours,

littlecitybig

JohnTome. Hand-Made Ties.

What's in the package? A hand-made tie from JohnTome. We branched out a bit over the last few weeks and found something, while not local to Ithaca, is something we'd like to bring to Ithaca.

Check out JohnTome, hand-crafted ties in Washington, DC. These ties are made with the utmost care and style with fabrics hand-chosen from around the world.

What are JohnTome ties, you ask? Schaeffer DeArmond, Founder & Principal Designer says they're "detail & casual." But, you say, a tie can only be used for fashion. DeArmond disagrees:

Two bed posts and a JohnTome are an excellent idea.

But who is JohnTome? It's just a name, "Having long standing narcissistic tendencies I decided it would not be wise to encourage them by putting my name on every item I sell.  Thus the nom de plume, JohnTome," says DeArmond.

Well, finally, how do we get one? Head over to JohnTome on Etsy and use littlecitybig for your promo code. That's right, Ithaca, 20% off... Just for you.

If you'd like to get a hands-on look, just let us know, we'll give you a sneak peek.

If not for a Halloween gift, plan ahead for Christmas, you won't be disappointed.

And no, we weren't paid to do this, just a company that we love and a fashion that we'd love to see in Ithaca.

Yours,

littlecitybig

Junk. Risley Theater. October.

Outrageous, campy, and darkly comic in the vein of John Waters, this queer noir follows Joyride, a brooding private detective, as he investigates a series of dead bodies turning up at the town dump.  The hapless meter maid—er, man—Robby is “hot” on Joyride’s trail even as the fembot fatale, She9, is secretly trying to suck off everyone’s brains to find out the secret in this who-done-it (and just who didn’t “do it”) in an apocalyptic send-up of the classic murder mystery. 

We take no credit for the inuendos in that synopsis, but would like to point out that this show is only playing twice: Saturday, October 1st @ 8pm and Sunday, October 2nd @ 4pm at Risley Theater on Cornell Campus. Tickets are $5, at the door. So you'll have to get at her—er, it—while it's hott.

The play, Junk, is by Will Cordeiro directed by Carolina Osorio Gil, a Risley artist-in-residence. Carolina has done some pretty cool things herself around this area. Among being part of a few local companies, she has also served as the assistant director of The Grassroots Festivals Happiness Parade and been the announcer for the Ithaca SufferJets. Even more notable: "In her spare time she works on, with, and occasionally for robots."

As for playwright, Will, he is currently getting his Ph.D in 18th century British literature up on ye grand hill o'er east Ithaca. He is also a co-founder of the Brooklyn Playwrights Collective and a former staff theatre critic for offoffonline and has written a number of other plays, all very well received.

If there is ever a play that we hope to see you at, it's this one. We'll be front and center.

Yours,

littlecitybig

Goodbye Challenge Industries

Courtesy Ithacating in CornellThe Seneca Way apartments that have been planned for the decrepit Challenge industry plot seem to keep getting one step closer.

The building has been cleared for multiple zoning  variances which will allow for increased height, smaller property line setbacks and underground parking. After the environmental review, the Northern Facade was changed, some apartments were moved around and the interior was redesigned.

The new deed restriction will specify that no building within 70 feet of the Northern property boundary can be over 40 ft. in height. (?)

The 1st floor commercial, the rest 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, roof terrace & gym. So this has been in the works for quite some time now. Why the hold up? Ithaca has quite the reputation for slowing down development projects. But for something to replace the bright pink challenge industries building? Who do you know that will miss that?

What do you think of the new apartments going up? After all, increased population density will lead to increased land values and cheaper rent.

Yours,

littlecitybig