Summer is in full swing and so are all the fun events that make Central New York such a great place to live and visit.  Here are a few events that you don't want to miss this weekend:
1. Fresh Gala-- The FRESH! Gala will be held on Sunday and it is a fund-raising event that celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of Madison County agriculture. The Fresh! Gala will be held at Endless Trails Farm in Hubbardsville with local food prepared by Serendipity Catering, live music, a silent auction, and beer from the Empire Brewery made with Foothill Hops Farm hops. You can still get tickets for the event at Price Chopper and a few will be available at the door.
2. Cazenovia Counterpoint--A festival of contemporary music, art & writing featuring regional artists, CNY natives & guests, presented by the Society of New Music. This 30th year of the festival features The Arts & the Natural World 'ear to the ground & eyes toward heaven'
3. Lorenzo Driving Competition --Join us for the 32nd annual driving competition. Horse and carriage driving competition featuring tests of skill, timing, and style. Exhibits, sales, refreshments, demonstrations. The show runs 8am until 5pm both days and admission is free.
4. Farmer's Markets-- The bounty from Central New York's fields is on full display at farmer's markets in Oneida, Cazenovia, Canastota, and Hamilton this weekend.  Find a ton of fresh produce and support your local farmers.
5. Family Day of Croquet -- Abolitionist Gerrit Smith liked to play a game or two of croquet daily during the summer. In honor of Smith’s summer recreation on a court near his house, the Grounds Squad of the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark has planned a Family Day of Croquet on Sunday, July 18 from 2 – 6 p.m. on the grounds of Smith’s 19th Century home. The event will be attended by local croquet enthusiasts and a group dressed in croquet outfits. Croquet can be played by amateurs of all ages, and is enjoying a national resurgence. The public is urged to join in reviving this tradition. Croquet attire of the 19th or 21st Century is encouraged but not required.
Now you have no excuses when someone tells you there is nothing to do this weekend.  Don't forget our event page for a full listing of things happening in and around CNY this weekend.
 
 
The kickoff for the Madison County Buy Local Week 2010 happens on SUNDAY, July 18, from 3-6 pm at Endless Trails Farm and Guesthouse in Hubbardsville, just 10 minutes east of Hamilton. The event, hosted by Madison County's Agricultural Economic Development Program, is called the Fresh! Gala, a fundraiser that celebrates the diversity and vibrancy of Madison County agriculture.  Local sponsors of Buy Local Week include Price Chopper, Cazenovia Equipment, National Grid, Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension of Madison County, Central New York Bounty, Madison County Tourism, Shapna Tea and Coffee, and Serendipity Caterers.
 
The mission of the AED Program is to maintain, develop, and promote a viable agricultural economy that benefits Madison County.  AED’s priorities are to market Madison County’s agricultural products and services by creating market opportunities and encouraging value-added enterprises, as well as maintaining an agricultural land base to support a viable agricultural economy by assisting existing farmers and attracting and supporting new farmers.  
 
The Endless Trails Farm and Guesthouse, owned and operated by Dave and Pam Williams and Dan and Melissa Williams is located at 8856 Larkin Road in Hubbardsville.  The farm raises grass fed beef under the name Sunnybrook Farm, which can be ordered by calling 315-841-8384, and is part of 340 acres of land adjacent to the Brookfield Trail System. The trail system consists of 130 miles of groomed trails maintained by the New York State Department of Conservation. The trails are open to horse enthusiasts, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers, and snowmobilers.  Horse owners who want to get away for a few days or a few weeks can stable their horses on the premises in the 12 horse stalls available for guest use.
 
The guesthouse features six upstairs bedrooms, four with private baths and a suite that includes a shared bath. Guests have full use of the kitchen, living areas, enclosed porch, patio, and covered deck. The guesthouse is available to rent by the week, by the weekend, or by the day. The whole house can be rented for a group, or individual rooms can be rented.
 
The Fresh! Gala at this unique venue promises a great time for everyone with its beautiful setting in the outdoor covered pavilion, local food prepared by Stephanie Holzbaur’s Serendipity Catering, beer made with hops grown in Madison County at Foothill Hops Farm, live music by Larry Hoyt and the Good Acoustics, and a silent auction. Funds raised will be used to support the mission of the Agricultural Economic Development Program.

Ticket prices are $35 per person or $65 per couple and are available at ten Price Chopper stores: 142 Genesee Street in Oneida, Madison Marketplace on Route 12B north of Hamilton, 1917 Genesee Street and the North Utica Shopping Center in Utica, 1790 Black River Blvd. in Rome, 4535 Commercial Drive in New Hartford, 2525 Erie Blvd and 4713 Onondaga Blvd. in Syracuse, 3863 State Route 31 in Liverpool, and 5701 East Circle Drive in Cicero.  Tickets are also available online at http://buylocalweek2010.eventbrite.com/ and must be purchased prior to the event. No tickets will be sold at the door.  For more information, including a map and directions, visit www.madisoncountyagriculture.com.
 
 
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We don't normally play favorites and do our own reviews on this website, but last night I had the chance to visit a landmark Madison County Restaurant and want to share our experience with you, so here it is, and who knows maybe this will become a regular addition to our site.

Last night my wife and I had the opportunity to eat dinner at the legendary Horned Dorset Inn in Leonardsville, NY.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Leonardsville, it sits in the Unadilla River Valley along NY Route 8.  It is about 20 miles south of Utica and 90 minutes south east of Syracuse.  The Horned Dorset has been hosting diners celebrating the best of life since the late 1970’s and is a place that should be at the top of your list when it comes to your list of places to go in New York State. 

It was a celebration of 7 years of marriage for Lorrell and I and we decided we wanted to do something a little different, and since I had never had the chance to made it down to the Horned Dorset to see for myself what all the fuss was about, it was a perfect opportunity.  I had spoken to the owner Kingsley Wratten many times about programs going on at Madison County Tourism, but we never seemed to be able to connect to meet in person so I could learn about the inn and restaurant.  Boy I am glad we finally got together.

The Inn has four rooms, and while we did not stay the night, I found myself thinking about the next time I want to “get out of town” and making the mental notes that this place would be fun to stay at.  With two queen rooms downstairs in this Victorian home, and two suites upstairs, the inn has very nice accommodations for people traveling to Colgate University, Hamilton College, Cooperstown or points in between.  Kingsley told us that he has plans to renovate several other homes in the vicinity and to be able to rent more rooms in the Leonardsville area. 

The restaurant is right next door to the inn and has been a labor of love for well over 33 years for Kingsley and his wife Roberta.  When they found the property it was caving in, and like many historical buildings in Upstate NY it was real close to being a memory.  First they replaced the roof, and then with a table saw and a lot of ingenuity they piece-by-piece put the place back together.  The amazing thing about both the Inn and the restaurant is that many pieces inside come from historic mansions all over New York State that were facing the wrecking ball, sometimes immanently.  Kingsley told us of the grand doors inside the dining rooms that were minutes from being destroyed when he convinced the demolition crew to go to lunch a little early so he and his wife could remove them and take them home.  There is a lot of sweat equity in this place.
 
 
The Post Standard's Don Cazentre featured the Brae Loch Inn's Screaming Scot in his mixology blog today.  Here a video of how to make it.
CNY Signature Cocktails presents the Screaming Scot
 
 
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Join the Brae Loch Inn in Cazenovia for stations of Scottish food featuring Haggis Purses, Baked Cheddar with Raspberry sauce, Poached Salmon, Lamb Carving Station, Steak Pie, Sticky Toffee Pudding and more! There will also be Live Celtic Music by Cassidy/McCale and Scotch Tasting. Advanced reservations are required by calling 315-655-3431. Cost is $30 per person.  Even better, make it an escape and book your room at the Brae Loch and don't worry about driving home.
 
 
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.
 
 
The fourth and final installment of the Tastes of New York State features Madison County once again.  This webisode shows off winter activities across that state and at the 5:42 mark of the video Madison County is featured.  They visited Critz Farms, Nelson Farms, the village of Hamilton and had dinner at the Copper Turret.  Check it out!
 
 

It is the final weekend before Halloween and your chance to pick out that pumpkin for a jack-o-lantern is running out.  You will still find dozens of places to pick a pumpkin this weekend so do not despair.  If you already have your pumpkin, here are a few more ideas for you this weekend:
1. Visit a Haunted House at Creepy Camp--Central New York's largest & scariest haunted attractions with completely re-designed indoor walk-through attractions plus novelties, food, games, giveaways, special nights and so much more.  It is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
2. The National Abolition Hall of Fame celebrates its inductees this weekend with a commemoration event at Morrisville State College.  The events are open to the public and it is a great opportunity to take in the history of the abolition movement.
3. Fall Festival Night at the Chenango Canal-- Festival Night lights up the Chenango Canal Towpath Trail in Bouckville. Come to this free community event in costume to be judged for a prize, follow a clues hunt on the trail and enjoy a Halloween cookie and cider at the Bouckville General Store. Hosts are in costume and guide you to indoor and outdoor games and crafts for the children. The trail offers spectacular Halloween displays, entertainment and music to haunt you!
4. The Colgate Inn is having a brew dinner on Saturday night featuring their awesome food paired with beers from Omegang Brewery.  Call the Inn at 315-824-2300 for more information.
5. On Sunday the Great Swamp Conservancy in Canastota will hold its Great Halloween Fun Day.  It is a non-scary fun day especially for children, includes displays, crafts, games, Features: pinata, stories, costumes encouraged great day of kids events. $3.00 per child 12 and under.
Of course there are a ton of other events going on around the county.  Visit our homepage and our calendar of events for more details.  Happy Halloween everyone!!!

 
 

Alaina Potrikus of the Post Standard has a great story today about Empire Brewing Company of Syracuse and two new beers they are brewing featuring Madison County produce.  The beers feature pumpkins and apple cider from Critz Farms in Cazenovia.  Madison County has long been known as a historical leader in the hops industry and many people are trying to bring the hops farm back.  This is a great step in the right direction, using local products in a regional beer. Hats off to Matt and Juanita Critz and Dave Katelski for this great idea.  Next time you are in Armory Square for lunch have a pint of autumn or apple ale and think about how great local farms are.

 
 

Matt Critz of Critz Farms tried his hand last winter and making some hard cider.  This year he wants to help you make your own hard cider at home.  On Saturday October 25th Critz Farms will host a seminar at 10am on home cider making.  Information will include what apples, ingredients and equipment you need, as well as the "how-to" of hard cider making.  Experienced hard cider and home wine-makers are welcome to join us and share your expertise.