School is back in session for the various institutions of Ithaca, and as college students re-populate the once sleepier (during the quieter months of summer) corners of the city, the Community School of Music and Art (CSMA) too preps for its fall semester of eclectic art courses offered to c…

This fall season brings a characteristically rich variety of exhibits for followers of local visual art. Running on a mostly monthly cycle, several stalwart venues – most of them downtown – put considerable work into presenting shows that highlight Ithaca’s uncommon range of talent. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.”  Some say that fall is a sad time. A time just before a long winter, when all that has been blooming and thriving goes back to sleep for the cold months. I feel just the opposite. Fall is my favorite time …

During the fall months, Ithaca — a city abundant in foliage — displays an autumnal grandeur of reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and even purples. It is this blazing medley of colors, which the northeast has much to offer at this time of the year, that creates the allure that fall has to observers.

The cortege of Finger Lakes cider makers leading the orchard-based hard-cider boom in New York State, is looking forward to a spectacular harvest this year, with trees laden to breaking with fruit.  Just starting to achieve national and international recognition for their work, cider makers …

Some would say it’s best that the politics of America’s only Whig president have long been forgotten to the winds of a changing world. Some may consider it a black mark on a region of immense beauty that the name of a person who allowed the union-saving Compromise of 1850 to pass – allowing …

When you buy a bottle of American varietal wine, the name is on the label and there are both federal and state regulations that ensure that liquid inside is made from at least 75 percent of the grape that gives the wine its name. But what about the other 25 percent? What do Finger Lakes wine…

Just about 30 minutes from Ithaca is a 12-mile long recreation trail that is equal parts history museum and nature exhibit. The Catharine Valley Trail follows the trackbed of the old Chemung Railroad which, in turn, follows the towpath of the historic Chemung Canal (1833-1878) that once conn…

An 18th-century map of what is now central New York State, newly acquired by Cornell’s Rare and Manuscript Division, shows natural features, Seneca and Cayuga villages and native footpaths.  It promises to offer insights into pre-colonial life and advance learning and research about our regi…

9/17 Sunday

Can a village of some 1,829 souls (as of 2014) support 19 restaurants, 20, if you count the Trumansburg ShurSave that churns out subs and pizzas for T’burgers on the fly? Can it also support three ice cream parlors, and a food-serving farmers’ market and bowling alley? 

Any kid whose policy it is to hold his or her breath when passing a graveyard is in for a shock. The History Center in Tompkins County estimates that there are over 200 cemeteries in Tompkins County alone, and the total number in the Finger Lakes Region is certainly over 1,000. And those are…

Preserving the essence of summer doesn’t always mean boiling peaches and stuffing them into Mason jars. For thousands of years, winemakers have been refining ways of turning summer’s fruits into intoxicating beverages whose flavors and aromas conjure up the season in a glass. While grapes ma…

There are many great wines coming out of the Finger Lakes region in New York. They not only hold their own, but often upstage wines from regions all over the world. We can boast about really great whites, Rosés and reds and yes, even great sparkling wines. And why not? Our climate is very si…