Things to do, places to eat, shows to see, places to stay in Madison County, NY      

The Colgate Inn in Hamilton has put together an incredible feast for February 2nd that will feature game meats, wines and beers.  Stretched out over five courses, dessert and cocktails the staff at the inn have designed a deep and well thought out menu.

You can check out the complete menu here, but it is obvious that a lot of time was spent picking beers, wines and game meats that not only showcased the flavors inherent in each, but also that showcase many local products too. 
The beer list includes beers from Good Nature Brewing Company, Ommegang and Middle Ages Brewing, all regional CNY breweries.  The wine list features Finger Lake beauties from Dr. Konstantin Frank, and Lamoreaux Landing. 
Local foods enhance a menu that will feature venison, duck, salmon, trout, and wild mushrooms.  Dessert will be a Sherry Wine with Blackberry Compote. 
The dinner begins with cocktails and a meet and greet at 6pm and the meal begins at 6:30.  You should make reservations soon, as this may be one of the best meals served in Central New York all year long. 

_ Act UP! Youth Theater Camp will be offered during winter break for kids eight to fourteen years of age at The Palace Theater in Hamilton. During the weekdays, February 20 – 25, there will be two different camp sessions, with each set of campers producing a theater production. The first session is 9am – noon and the second session is 1-4pm. The main show presenting both productions will be Saturday, February 25 at 3pm and is open to the public with tickets available for $5. Following the performance audience members can meet the cast at the Act UP cast party.

This theater experience welcomes two new directors: Dr. Robert Garland (Colgate University) and Dominick Pangallo (BA in Theater from Bates College and co-founder of the Salem Theatre Company). Robert Garland will be directing an original play called To Hades and Back. Dominick Pangallo will direct a selection that is yet be determined. Cost for each camp session is $75. Space is limited. For more information and to register, please contact Patricia von Mechow at The Palace Theater, 315.824.1420.

Act UP! traditionally offers a summer theater camp experience for children that inspires them to create and produce an original script. Dates for the summer camp are being determined now. If you are interested, please contact The Palace Theater to be added to the growing list to receive an application form for your child(ren).

The Palace Theater is located at 19 Utica Street in historic downtown Hamilton, within walking distance of boutiques, fine casual dining and a relaxing Village Green. Visit www.palacetheater.org to learn more about upcoming shows and events.

_ Winter Festival

Art Exhibition

St. Peter's Episcopal Church

12 Mill Street, Cazenovia, N.Y. 13035



You are cordially invited to join us for our  36th Annual Winter Festival Art Exhibition

 Come meet the Artists at our Opening Night Reception

on February 9th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Show hours are 

 Friday, February 10th from 12:00 – 6:00 pm

Saturday, February 11th from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm

and Sunday, February 12th from 12:00 – 3:30 pm

Sponsored by Cazenovia Arts

for more information please call 315-558-8310 or

email BCW13035@gmail.com

Admission is free

_ Madison County is proud to announce the first Shades of Green in Madison County: A Green Living Experience which is scheduled for Friday, February 24, 2012 from 8:00 am through 5:00 pm in the STUAC Conference Center at Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York.  This exciting full-day event is an initiative of the Madison County Community Economic Development Committee formed to implement the Health Improvement Plan for Madison County.  It is the first event of its kind in the county. The purpose of the sustainability workshop is to help individuals, businesses, and communities advance green initiatives throughout Madison County to achieve more economically viable, sustainable and healthier places to live, go to school, work, shop, and enjoy! 

The event is free and open to everyone, but space is limited.  For more information on the event and to register, please visit the website: http://www.greenmadisoncounty.com/. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. 

The event will have something for everyone, from the home and business owner to the community leader, as it will feature over twenty-five speakers in four breakout sessions with three tracks on topics ranging from greenhouse gas reduction, effective historic preservation, innovations that decrease solid waste, the power of buying local, sustainable building practices, and lessons in smart growth.  Peter Fleischer, Executive Director of Empire State Future, and Cornelius Murphy, the President of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) are the keynote speakers.  The presenting sponsor of the event is Sysco, a global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers.

Space is still available for exhibitors.  If you are interested in exhibiting, please submit the exhibitor form available on the event website: http://www.greenmadisoncounty.com/.

For more information and to register for the free event, please visit the website: www.greenmadisoncounty.com/.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided.  A reception will follow the event featuring local products and businesses including Owera Winery, Good Nature Brewery, Jewett’s Cheese and Kriemhild Dairy Farms.

_ The single most important decision made by a bride and groom in regards to their wedding day is the location.  Without a location, it is difficult to make any of the other decisions they need to make.  Madison County Tourism today announced a great way to help brides and grooms make that decision with its inaugural bridal bus tour. 

_On Sunday April 29, 2012 Madison County Tourism will treat engaged couples to a day of fun, as they travel to eight unique wedding venues across Madison County in luxury limo transportation.  The day will allow the happy couples to compare and contrast the locations and help them choose the perfect location to hold their ceremony or reception.

The tour will start in two locations, Oneida and Cazenovia, and the limos will spread out across the county to show off the historic, picturesque venues that make Madison County weddings so special.  Engaged couples will have the chance to visit the Oneida Community Mansion House, the Greystone Castle, Brae Loch Inn, Lincklaen House, Colgate Inn, Hamilton Inn and White Eagle Conference Center among others.  Catering and banquet staffs will be on hand at every location to talk about set ups, food, music and pricing.  Brides and grooms will also be able to meet with photographers, florists, disc jockeys, cake bakers, favor makers and other essential vendors.

Weddings are an important part of the marketing strategy for tourism in Madison County.  Each year they partner on a bridal guide and attend wedding shows.  They also have a dedicated wedding micro-site to help promote wedding venues and vendors.

Madison County Tourism executive director Jim Walter says weddings are big business.  “When someone chooses our venues for their reception there is a compounding effect on local businesses.  They may also set up a rehearsal dinner; hire a florist, photographer and disc jockey that are local.  It extends beyond the reception site, families, and the wedding party and guests all book hotel rooms.  While they are in town they visit local shops, restaurants and attractions.  The more weddings we can book in Madison County, the stronger our economy will be.”

One of the most heard comments from brides at wedding shows was that they’d love to check out Madison County locations like the Mansion House or Colgate Inn, but they just didn’t know when they’d find the time.  This tour aims to remove that barrier.  Eight venues in one day, a fun tour of the county in a limo or limo bus and access to a wide variety of vendors will make this time well spent for brides and grooms.

Tickets for the tour are limited to the first 50 couples and can be purchased online at www.madisontourism.com/weddings.  Interested couples or vendors can also call 800-684-7320 for more information.

_ Every so often, just when you think the well is dry and the tradition is dead, you are gratefully reminded that there is still water down there and that the tradition was only sleeping. Morgan O’Kane from Charlottesville, Virginia is one of those reminders. A virtuoso banjo player, shouter and activist now based in  New York City, Morgan recalls two other transplanted legendary southern artists; Reverend Gary Davis and Aunt Molly Jackson. Like the reverend, Morgan honed his skills making a living as a busking street artist. Like Aunt Molly, he has kept his connection to his Appalachian home and its issues, taking part in the campaign to ban mountaintop removal mining, which destroys the land and the people who live on it.

_
“If Jimi Hendrix played the banjo, he might resemble O’Kane, a high-intensity musician who looks like a mechanic in a rural gas station, sings like a man possessed and plays mountain music like it was an avalanche” - Robert Reid, The Record

While Morgan  O’kane clearly knows his way around the old tunes, he is more interested in creating his own. That’s how the tradition survives – new songs being created on old foundations. This ain’t no revival; this is a contemporary artist who knows where he comes from.

Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 8:00 PM  Tix $18

As many of you know, the good folks at Good Nature Brewing in Hamilton have been not so quietly celebrating their soft opening at the brewery and tasting room.  The response has been great so far. 

Now Matt and Carrie plan to storm in and take over the taps at the Colgate Inn this Friday night.  The takeover begins at 5:30 on January 27th and will last until the bar closes at in the wee hours of Saturday morning. 

All five varieties of beers brewed by Good Nature will be available for flights, tastes and enjoying by the pint.  Good Nature will be selling merchandise and owners Carrie Blackmore and Matt Whalen will be available to answer questions about their start up business and its beers. 

Madison County at one time was among the world leaders in hop production for the brewing of beer.  Good Nature Brewing’s grand opening is part of the resurgence of the hop industry and the craft brewing industry in Central New York.  Using as many local ingredients, including100% locally sourced hops, Good Nature currently offers five varieties of beers.  Those beers include, India Pale Ale, American Pale Ale, Chicory Mocha Porter, American Brown Ale and their newly released ‘Nor Easter.

_ Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have been observed for centuries. One of the earliest familiar symbols of Valentine's Day is Cupid, the Roman god of love, who is depicted as a young boy with a bow and arrow. In the Middle Ages, romantic sentiments were exchanged through verse or melody.

_The first paper valentine was exchanged between the imprisoned Duke of Orleans in 1415 who passed his time composing romantic verses for his wife. Early valentines were handmade with stylized written verse and decorated with colored inks.  By the 1800s, valentines were manufactured in black and white that were hand painted with hearts and cupids.  In the 1850s, fancier valentines were decorated with lace, ribbons, silk, satin, and gold leaf.  By the turn of century, valentines were made entirely by machine.

Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14 - a day when valentines and gifts are exchanged between loved ones.  In the tradition of Valentine’s Day, the Madison County Historical Society will have a make-your-own Victorian Valentine workshop for children between the ages of 8-12 on Saturday, February 11. There is a nominal fee of $5 per child to cover the cost of supplies.  The workshop will be held during two sessions at the historical society located at 435 Main Street in Oneida. The first session is from 10 -11:30 am. The second session is from 12:30- 2:00 pm. Reservations are required as space is limited to 12 children per session. The deadline to register for the make your own Victorian Valentine workshop is February 3.  For more information contact the society at 315-363-4136, 315-361-9735, or www.mchs1900.org. An adult must accompany each child attending the workshop. 

_ Acknowledging the prominent role of the travel and tourism sector in creating jobs and powering the economy, President Obama announced today that he has issued an Executive Order aimed at boosting travel and tourism during an event in Orlando, Fla.

While speaking at the Walt Disney Resort, an AH&LA member property, the President announced an initiative focusing on improving travel facilitation by coordinating activity among the Department of Commerce, Department of State, and Department of Homeland Security. To achieve this, the President has directed the Department of Commerce to create a task force to develop a “National Travel & Tourism Strategy.” The task force will coordinate cross-departmental efforts and ensure private sector participation.

To increase international tourism to the United States, President Obama recommends promoting unique U.S. destinations/experiences, reducing wait times for visas in rapid-growth countries such as China and Brazil, and making the U.S. Global Entry program permanent.

In remarks, the President stated, “Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America. And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work. We need to help businesses all across the country grow and create jobs; compete and win. That’s how we’re going to rebuild an economy where hard work pays off, where responsibility is rewarded, and where anyone can make it if they try.”

“I was honored to stand with the President in Orlando as he announced that travel and tourism will be a national priority,” said AH&LA President/CEO Joe McInerney. “Travel and tourism is among the nation’s largest employers and a top ten industry in 48 states - so this effort will benefit every community. By focusing on these high-growth sectors, the United States is poised to create jobs and strengthen the economy.” 

Many of the priorities highlighted by the President today are shared by the AH&LA co-chaired Discover America Partnership (DAP). DAP is a lobbying and grassroots campaign working to advance visa and entry reforms in order to regain the share of the international traveler market the United States held in 2000. By recapturing America’s historic share of international travel, the U.S. could create up to 1.3 million new U.S. jobs by 2020 and produce $859 billion in cumulative additional economic output.

“While working with the Travel and Tourism Advisory Board (TTAB), we reported that tourism is a low-cost/high-reward prospect and one of the few industries showing positive growth,” said Nancy Johnson, AH&LA chair and executive vice president, development, Carlson Hotels, America. “Promoting travel produces a multiplier effect that benefits all industries and TTAB estimates we could add 500,000 new U.S. jobs by 2015 with no cost to tax payers. We commend the President for taking this positive step forward.” 
 
Promoting travel and tourism remains one of AH&LA’s highest priorities. AH&LA and the Discover America Partnership will continue to work closely with Members of Congress, the Administration, and governmental agencies to highlight the incredible opportunity presented by bringing more international travelers to United States

With 56 wind turbines in three separate wind farms, a gas to energy facility at the landfill and a planned Agriculture Renewable Energy industrial park, Madison County has been a leader in renewable energy for many years.  Now the county has put out a video touting its assets.  Take a look here.