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

Long known as one of the best restaurants in CNY, the Brewster Inn, in Cazenovia has a take-out deal for you this St. Patrick's Day. For only $50 you can take home a traditional Irish dinner and enjoy it at your kitchen table.  They meals include corned beef, new chef potatoes, braised cabbage, onions and carrots, stone ground mustard, stretch bread and Irish mint brownies.  Call the inn at 315-655-9232 and place your order and it will be ready for pick-up at your convenience between 4 and 7 on the 17th.  Dinner for 4 for $50 plus tax!  Happy St. Patrick's Day from the Brewster Inn!

It's live theater and a ton of fun for everyone at the Palace Theater in Hamilton.  Every school had its share of wild and crazy characters who added color, fun and excitement to the school’s activities. On Saturday, March 13, the Great Lake’s Production of Westside High Reunion presents an entertaining evening with the zaniest group of alumni you’ll ever meet—Principal Francis Baal, at high school since he was a teenager; Porter Thomas, a teacher who still thinks he has what it takes to entertain the women; Carolyn Tease Thomas, a woman who enjoys a cocktail now and now; the “Pink Petticoat Sorority Sisters”; Ruth Jackson a.k.a. Kenya who always shares her political beliefs; Dave Davidson, polished alumni running for office; and Bennett and Jerry, buddies since high school still trying to make a difference.
Dine, dance, and be merry as you reunite with “classmates” for this hilarious dinner theater at the best high school reunion ever! The dinner theater is catered by the Colgate Inn offering a delectable buffet which includes the main course, dessert, coffee and tea. A cash bar with wine and beer is available throughout the evening. The ticket prices, $30 for seniors 60+ and $35 for everyone else, includes the show, dinner, dessert, coffee, tax and tip.
Arrive for cocktails at 6pm to mingle with your “classmates”. The show and buffet begin at 7pm. Seating is cabaret style, with tables for ten, and may be reserved for a group or shared as you get “reacquainted” with fellow classmates.
The audience is invited (but not mandated, remember you are out of school now, so the principal can’t yell at you anymore…) to add to the fun and come dressed representing the year of your graduation, for example: poodle skirts for the 50’s, mini-skirts or hippie-style for the 60’s and 70’s, polyester suits for the 80’s! High School should have been this much fun!
The Palace Theater is located at 19 Utica Street, in historic downtown Hamilton within easy walking distance of free parking, boutiques and casual dining.  The performing arts center is an intimate environment to enjoy a great show and taste delicious locally baked desserts in our café. Tickets are non refundable. Please visit www.palacetheater.org or phone 315.824.1420 for more information about Westside High Reunion, the remainder of the 2009-2010 season, or to order tickets.

2010 marks the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum.  The museum, located on the Old Erie Canal, is where 90' long cargo boats were built and repaired during the late 19th and 20th centuries.
The all-volunteer museum will incorporate this momentous occasion into the 19th annual Canal Fest to be held on Sunday, June 20th.  Activities and entertainment are being planned around the celebration.
Throughout the six hour day, activities will be offered to children and adults alike.  Being planned are demonstrations on canal boat building, blacksmithing, many children's games, a magic show, wagon rides and a teen play performance.  A chicken barbeque will be served throughout the day.
Time has been set aside for a special ceremony paying tribute to those who had the foresight and fortitude to undertake the excavation, preservation and restoration of this unique historic site.
The museum is located at 7010 Lakeport Road in Chittenango. Visit our website: www.chittenangolandingcanalboatmuseum.com or call (315) 687-3801 for more information.

As found this morning on the Madison County Courier website:

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean that Central New Yorkers can’t enjoy locally-produced foods. Meadowood Farms and Circa Restaurant of Cazenovia have organized a “Fourth Saturday” Winter Farmers’ Market.
On Saturday Feb. 27, from 9 a.m. to noon, a group of local producers will gather at Circa Restaurant to sell their farm-raised products. Meadowood Farms will offer pasture-raised lamb and beef, wool blankets and sheepskins. They will be joined by several other local producers, including Ingallside Meadows Farm, selling pastured pork, beef, and eggs; Dutch Girl Cheese, selling artisan goat and cow’s milk cheeses; and Owen Tallman, selling gourmet mushrooms.
In addition, Alambria Springs of Lebanon will share information about their Community Supported Agriculture program.
Bee Tolman, manager of Meadowood Farms, explains that in past winters, her customers have had to come to the farm to pick up their lamb and beef.
“They risked life and limb, leaving the tropics of Cazenovia and Manlius, to brave the blasts of frozen precipitation up here on the ridge,” Tolman said. “Now our customers can pick up their meat in a warm place, even relax and have a cup of Alicyn’s coffee if they’d like.”
Furthermore, she says, it’s a nice environment for the farmers in the winter.
“Winter can be isolating,” Tolman said. “Now we get to chat with one another. I talk to Daniel [of Ingallside Meadows] about his pasture management and visit with Renata about her experiences making incredible cheese.”
Circa Restaurant’s chef and owner, Alicyn Hart, has long been a supporter of locally-produced food, Tolman said. All of the farmers at the Fourth Saturday market also supply her restaurant with menu ingredients.
“I like hosting this market because it offers my customers and the larger community an opportunity to meet the farmers who grow our food,” Hart said. “It’s an extension of the farm-to-fork initiative that I’ve been part of for the last four years.”
The Fourth Saturday Winter Farmers’ Market at Circa Restaurant will also be held Saturday, March 27 and Saturday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to noon. Circa Restaurant is located on Main Street by the traffic light in the center of Cazenovia.
The farmers at this new market invite everyone to come and discover the variety of local farm products available, even in the depths of winter.

With a wine and cheese reception from 5-7 p.m. on March 5 at The Spring, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park will unveil the largest remaining body of Rodger Mack paintings available for purchase by the public.
The exhibition will be on display at The Spring (200 Brooklea Drive, Fayetteville) through April 16 during its Emporium hours: Noon-5 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and Noon-4 p.m. on Saturdays. It will feature a total of 104 paintings by the late Rodger Mack, one of Syracuse's most well-known and well-loved artists.
Internationally known for his sculptures, Mack was also a dynamic painter who created colorful, vibrant works. From what source did he derive this creative energy? Art historian Teddy Aiken explains: "From jazz to travel, numerous sources inspired Rodger. He drew from the art of his contemporaries as well as from the long tradition of artistic production in such locations as Barcelona and Florence."
The paintings are provided by Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, and the exhibition is made possible by a collaboration between the Park, The Spring and Syracuse University. Proceeds from the sale of Mack's art will go equally to the three not-for-profits.

A story in today's Post Standard says that closing the state parks will have little impact on the state's budget deficit.  Due to lost tax revenue we still think it will have the opposite effect.

Syracuse, NY -- State officials on Friday recommended closing dozens of state parks to fill New York’s budget gap, a move that would affect hundreds of thousands of Central New Yorkers and produce minimal savings.
The $6.3 million saved through proposed park closures would amount to a fraction of 1 percent of the state’s $8.2 billion budget gap.
On the same day state officials said they need to close the parks to make the state solvent, they gave millions of dollars in grants to private companies — more than enough money to save every park.
Gov. David Paterson and parks Commissioner Carol Ash announced Friday they want to close or reduce services at 64 state parks and 15 historic sites statewide. Central New York risks losing six parks, two beaches and two historic sites if the Legislature approves the plan. More than 300,000 people a year use the targeted parks in Central New York alone.
See a complete list of proposed park closures.
“In an environment when we have to cut funding to schools, hospitals, nursing homes and social services, no area of state spending — including parks and historic sites — could be exempt from reductions,” Paterson said.