As September turns to October and the leaves turn orange, two regional festivals will celebrate the changing of the seasons with food, fun and, hopefully, no frost on the ground.
Illustration by Angela Kershner / The Citizen
Great pumpkins, apples a cause for celebration throughout region
Great pumpkins, apples a cause for celebration throughout region
Downtown Ithaca's 24th Apple Harvest Festival will blend live music with exquisite works from local artists and craftsmen beginning at noon on Friday. The first note of the festivities will be struck by gypsy swing band Djung Django, followed by an eclectic roster of bluegrass, hip hop and a cappella acts over the weekend. Meanwhile, the streets of downtown Ithaca will host a virtual farmer's market of local bakers, wine-makers and produce vendors.
Saturday will introduce a ferris wheel, a 104-foot-tall giant slide and a kids' activity tent on Cayuga Street.
This selection of hands-on activities will be complemented by a hefty serving of mouth-on fun: an apple pie-eating contest at the amphitheater in Ithaca Commons.
“The average human can win by eating five slices of pie within two minutes. It's pretty gross and it gets everywhere,” said Katie Clapp, special events coordinator for the Ithaca Downtown Partnership.
As the pie flies, chainsaw sculptor Mark Watson will be at work in front of Dewitt Mall.
If festival-goers find themselves worn down by the combined stress of scarfing pies and hearing the roar of Watson's chainsaw, a healing arts zone in Ithaca Commons will offer them massage chairs and reflexology treatment.
But with up to 25,000 people expected at the festival, the masseuses' hands may not work fast enough to soothe everyone.
The 13th CNY Great Pumpkin Festival, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, will gather enough pumpkins together in one place to delight even Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Pumpkin growers will travel from as far as Ontario and Ohio to showcase their portly hallmarks of Halloween at Washington Square in Oswego.
“We're hoping for a few thousand-pounders this year,” said Gail Goebricher, projects coordinator with the Greater Oswego Chamber of Commerce.
The number of pumpkins competing for the $1,500 prize cannot be estimated with any accuracy because, as Goebricher explains, “the things could collapse overnight.”
Many of the orange monsters crumple during the journey, which requires loading them onto a flatbed truck and driving them over several miles of bumpy road to Oswego.
If past Great Pumpkin Festivals are any indication, many growers will take the fruits of their labor back on the pumpkin exhibit circuit Saturday night, leaving few available to be seen on Sunday. Also exclusive to Saturday will be the festival's petting zoo, which mixes the traditional batch of farm animals like llamas and pigs with less pet-friendly critters, such as snakes and tarantulas.
A Sunday visit will treat festival-goers to the Over Rover dog agility demonstration. From 1 to 3 p.m., trainers will guide their limber canines through obstacle courses and instruct spectators on how to teach their dogs the same tricks.
Goebricher estimates that between 12 and 14,000 people attended last year's Great Pumpkin Festival, which was fortunate enough to fall on two lush fall days. With a tiny hint of anxiety, she acknowledges how important a role weather plays in autumn festival turn-out.
“It's always up to Mother Nature and God,” she said.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or at david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Apple Harvest Festival
When: Noon to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and
Sunday
Where: Downtown Ithaca
Cost: Free
For details: Call (607) 277-8679 or visit the Webs site at www.downtownithaca.com
If you go
What: CNY Great Pumpkin
Festival
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Washington Square, Oswego
Cost: Free
For details: Call 343-7681
Saturday will introduce a ferris wheel, a 104-foot-tall giant slide and a kids' activity tent on Cayuga Street.
This selection of hands-on activities will be complemented by a hefty serving of mouth-on fun: an apple pie-eating contest at the amphitheater in Ithaca Commons.
“The average human can win by eating five slices of pie within two minutes. It's pretty gross and it gets everywhere,” said Katie Clapp, special events coordinator for the Ithaca Downtown Partnership.
As the pie flies, chainsaw sculptor Mark Watson will be at work in front of Dewitt Mall.
If festival-goers find themselves worn down by the combined stress of scarfing pies and hearing the roar of Watson's chainsaw, a healing arts zone in Ithaca Commons will offer them massage chairs and reflexology treatment.
But with up to 25,000 people expected at the festival, the masseuses' hands may not work fast enough to soothe everyone.
The 13th CNY Great Pumpkin Festival, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, will gather enough pumpkins together in one place to delight even Jack Skellington from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” Pumpkin growers will travel from as far as Ontario and Ohio to showcase their portly hallmarks of Halloween at Washington Square in Oswego.
“We're hoping for a few thousand-pounders this year,” said Gail Goebricher, projects coordinator with the Greater Oswego Chamber of Commerce.
The number of pumpkins competing for the $1,500 prize cannot be estimated with any accuracy because, as Goebricher explains, “the things could collapse overnight.”
Many of the orange monsters crumple during the journey, which requires loading them onto a flatbed truck and driving them over several miles of bumpy road to Oswego.
If past Great Pumpkin Festivals are any indication, many growers will take the fruits of their labor back on the pumpkin exhibit circuit Saturday night, leaving few available to be seen on Sunday. Also exclusive to Saturday will be the festival's petting zoo, which mixes the traditional batch of farm animals like llamas and pigs with less pet-friendly critters, such as snakes and tarantulas.
A Sunday visit will treat festival-goers to the Over Rover dog agility demonstration. From 1 to 3 p.m., trainers will guide their limber canines through obstacle courses and instruct spectators on how to teach their dogs the same tricks.
Goebricher estimates that between 12 and 14,000 people attended last year's Great Pumpkin Festival, which was fortunate enough to fall on two lush fall days. With a tiny hint of anxiety, she acknowledges how important a role weather plays in autumn festival turn-out.
“It's always up to Mother Nature and God,” she said.
Staff writer David Wilcox can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or at david.wilcox@lee.net
If you go
What: Apple Harvest Festival
When: Noon to 6 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and
Sunday
Where: Downtown Ithaca
Cost: Free
For details: Call (607) 277-8679 or visit the Webs site at www.downtownithaca.com
If you go
What: CNY Great Pumpkin
Festival
When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Washington Square, Oswego
Cost: Free
For details: Call 343-7681
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