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

The 17th Annual Peterboro Civil War Weekend announces the programs for the weekend event on June 13 & 14. At 11:30 both days Jack Baylis and his grand daughter Jessica, portraying Abraham Lincoln and Grace Bedell, will tell the story of why President Lincoln had a beard. Both Saturday and Sunday include presentations on Civil War medical technology with Bill Mayers at the Union medical tent, and an 1860 fashion show in Terry Jordan’s Barrancas Mercantile. There is a walking tour of Historic Peterboro with Donna Burdick, the Town of Smithfield Historian, and Beth Spokowsky, the President of the Peterboro Area Museum and the Chair of the Civil War Weekend Committee
On Saturday at noon  Dr. Milton C. Sernett will present ”John Brown’s Civil War” at the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum at the Smithfield Community Center. At 1 and 3 p.m. the 77th New York Regimental Balladeers will play the first of afternoon concerts and an evening concert at the Community Center at 8 p.m. On Sunday Tim McNamara, as a reenactor minister of the U.S. Christian Commission, will lead a church service. Later in the afternoon the Irish Volunteers will play foot stomping Civil War music at 1 and 3 o’clock. 
Throughout the weekend the Civil War Heritage Foundation will have rows of tents with military and civilian portrayals of generals, officers, enlisted men, politicians, musicians, doctors, nurses, and children. The Civil War Heritage Foundation (CWHF) is dedicated to preserving the mid 19th Century history of our nation by way of first person impressions, formal and informal talks, presentations, and encampments. The CWHF also provides the learning stations for the fifth grade Living History Day on Friday, June 12th.  All day long demonstrations at the annual event show how soldiers lived in camp and prepared for battle. A skirmish is held both days at 2 p.m. Ladies of the camps will demonstrate the tasks of daily life in the mid 19th Century.  Daughters of the Union Veterans, Sons of the Union Veterans, and Revolutionary War reenactors are among the groups that will set up for the weekend. Ghost Seekers of CNY joins the activities for this first time this year.  Especially for children, there are period games in a tent all weekend, and military activities on the green at 12:30 both days lead by reenactors Tim Rawlins and Ross Whitford.  The United States Postal Service brings commemorative cachet covers with special event cancellations both days. Period craft demonstrations include chair caners Harold and Lisa Gardinier, and spinner Robin Suarez. The Peterboro Conservation Club and the Onondaga County Civil War Round Table will set up on the green again.

Historical shopping is provided by large sutler tents filled with merchandise that the merchants following the troops would have provided. Sutlers include John Hogan’s Ahwaga Sutlery, Terry Jordan’s Barrancas Mercantile, Bob Knowlton’s Woodworking, David MacLean’s Winterbourne Crossing Forge and Craft, and the event’s own General Store, which is open its two days of the year with souvenirs, home baked goods, and CDs to reserve of the event. Patrick Schroeder, historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, and owner of Schroeder Publishing, will be at the store with an assortment of Civil War books for sale. 
The Peterboro Area Museum is open both days on the east side of the green. The Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark will be open both days featuring Journey to the North: New York’s Freedom Trail, an exhibition developed for the NYS Historical Association by students in the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum studies. Denise and Rod Richer will hold an antique tool display in The Barn on the estate. The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum open house at the Smithfield  Community Center is from 12 – 4 on Saturday with banners on abolition inductees, displays on slavery, and refreshments.

The Peterboro United Methodist Church will be grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, and sausage again and Howards’ Creamery will be hand dipping ice cream. The Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department Chicken Barbeque begins at noon on Saturday. Ma & Pa’s Kettle Corn will also be opening The Spud Shack.
Peterboro Civil War Weekend is an educational and fundraising event sponsored by the Town of Smithfield, the Smithfield Community Association, and private donors. Proceeds from the event support the preservation and promotion of the heritage of the Town of Smithfield. During the event Peterboro relives the period of the mid 1800s when the hamlet held national recognition because of Gerrit Smith’s Underground Railroad station, the visitations of famous abolitionists, and the connection with John Brown that sparked the War Between the States. Peterboro sites are on the Heritage NY Underground Railroad Trail and on the National Park Service Network to Freedom National Underground Railroad Trail. Saturday June 13 hours for the event are 10 am – 5 pm, and Sunday June 14 from 10 am to 4 pm.  Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for ages 6 – 12, and free for children under 6. Five dollar admission for the 8 p.m. concert on Saturday are available at the door.  Parking is free. For more information: 315-684-9022, and www.sca-peterboro.org

Nationally renowned graphic artist, children’s book illustrator and poster artist Rick Ewigleben will be among the celebrities participating in this year’s Oz-Stravaganza!  Ewigleben will display his critically acclaimed, limited edition Wizard of Oz series of posters at the festival.  In 2003, Ewigleben began a series of Oz tribute posters created in the poster-art style of the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.  The posters were an immediate hit with Oz fans.   There are now six limited edition posters in the series as he has unveiled a new poster each year since 2003.  In 2007, he began creating other Oz-inspired original art and they also became hits with Oz fans. “One of my most recent pieces is to honor Munchkin Coroner Meinhardt Raabe, with whom I’ve had a friendly acquaintance since we shared a booth at the festival in Chesterton a few years ago,” the artist explains. Rick will be on hand to autograph and/or personalize each of these as well as his limited edition Oz tribute posters and a dozen different prints that are currently a part of his collection.

“I’m truly excited to be making my first visit to Chittenango. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about this event,” Ewigleben says from his Chicago studio, “I look forward to meeting a lot of Oz fans and sharing my art with them”.

Oz-Stravaganza! is being held in Chittenango, June 5th-7th. A complete schedule of events can be found at: www.oz-stravaganza.com or www.chittenango.org. Please call 315 430 0765 or 315 415 8546 with general Oz-Stravaganza! questions.

The 31st annual Oz-Stravaganza!, honoring L. Frank Baum, author of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and celebrating the 1939 classic movie "The Wizard of Oz", will be held June 5th-7th in Chittenango, NY. Baum was born in Chittenango May 15, 1856, where his family owned and operated a barrel factory. The Munchkins will be the Grand Marshals and the theme of this years celebration is "70 Years of Movie Magic - 100 Years Along the Road to Oz".

The event kicks off Friday, June 5th with the Emerald City Golf Classic with Munchkin Jerry Maren sponsored by Crossroads Community Church.  For golf information contact Nick Staffiero at 315 687-7068. At 4pm Friday the spaghetti dinner with the Munchkins begins and will run until 7pm at Chittenango High School, 150 Genesee St., Chittenango. Also at the high school Friday evening there is a free Oz program in the Auditorium at 7pm. Munchkin autographs are available( $5 each) from 4pm-7pm, and the United States Postal Service will be available from 4:30pm-7pm offering a special one day only Oz cancellation of Chittenango's premier Baum historian, Clara Houck. Amusement rides will open at 5pm in Oz-Stravaganza! Park in Downtown Chittenango. At 7:30pm there will be tethered hot air balloon rides followed by fireworks at 9:30pm in Community Recognition Park, Legion Dr.! , Chittenango.

Events begin early on Saturday June 6th with a hot air balloon launch from the entrance of Sullivan Park, Lake St, Chittenango at 5:30am. Reservations are necessary for hot air balloon rides. Call Dwight Cramer for reservations at: 315 495 6544. At 7am an all you can eat breakfast begins at the First Presbyterian Church, which is located at Oz-Stravaganza! Park. Registration for the Munchkin Mile Fun Run begins at 10am at the Chittenango Fire Barn on Genesee St with the run beginning at 11am. To pre-register for the run call: 315 687 7115. At 10am the crafter/vendor show opens and it will run until dark. Amusement rides also begin at 10am and will run until 10pm. Other events in the park include a petting zoo, games, childrens fingerprinting, a Oz history exhibit, a wide variety of food, and entertaiment all day on stage. A chicken barbeque will be available beginning at noon at the Chittenango United Methodist Churh, 205 Falls Blvd.The US Postal Service will offer a sec! ond one day only Oz cancellation, "70 Years of Movie Magic" in Oz-Stravaganza! Park from 12:30pm-5pm.The grand Oz parade kicks off Saturday at 2pm in Downtown Chittenango and offers Ozzy floats, many marching bands, animals, Munchkins, and more. Prior to the parade Oz costume judging will take place in the Library parking lot at the intersection of Routes 5 and 13 at 12:15pm. Children in Oz costumes are invited to march in the parade following costume judging. Saturday evening beginning at 6pm another free Oz program begins at Chittenango High School. A second hot air balloon lauch will take place from the entrance to Sullivan Park at: 6:30pm. The Munchkins and other guests of Oz will be available for autographs in the park from 3:30pm-6:00pm.

Sunday June 7th starts again with a hot air balloon launch from Sullivan Park at 5:30am and the day closes with a final balloon launch at 6:30pm
The public is invited to watch all balloon lift offs, but reservations are necessay for rides. All hot air balloon activities are weather permitting. A brunch with the Munchkins will take place at Delphia Restaurant, 236 Genesee St from 9am-noon on Sunday.The vendors/crafters, petting zoo, Oz history exhibit, games, and food all open at 10am Sunday and run through 5pm. Munchkin autographs will be available from from 12;30pm - 3:00pm. At noon Sunday the finals of the Emerald City Idol singing competition begin on the stage in Oz-Stravaganza! park. Following the Idol finals at 4pm the Oz-Stravaganza! grand finale will begin.

There will be a continuous free shuttle operating Saturday 10am-6:30pm and Sunday 10am-5:30 from the free parking area at Community Recognition Park, Legion Dr. through the village and to Chittenango High school where free parking will also be available. All day Saturday and Sunday the Greater Sullivan Chamber of Commerce will run an Oz-Stravaganza! information booth where special Oz label water, official Oz programs, 50/50 tickets, and a variety of other information will be available.
Further Oz-Stravaganza! information can be found at: www.oz-stravaganza.com and www.chittenango.org , by email at: ozstravaganza@yahoo.com , or by calling 315 430-0765 or 315 415-8546.