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

_Here comes Santa---to The North Pole (the Palace Theater)---to meet with all the little boys and girls. He arrives at 3pm Saturday, December 3 at The Palace Theater and will stay until 6pm. Of course, Mrs. Claus, Frosty, Rudolph and Santa’s elves will be there as well.

“Santa and I have been talking for several weeks. The weather may be warm, but he’ll be here!” says Patricia von Mechow, Santa’s local elf.  “Of course, he’ll return December 24 to their homes with a toy bag filled with special surprises!”

The journey starts as Train Conductor Fred greets families and encourages children to ride the Curtis Express on their way to visit with Santa. More photo opportunities exist as the kids pose behind cut-outs of the Elf, Gingerbreadman, and Snowman. While waiting on line, families can create holiday crafts, view Mrs. Claus’ quilt, and play reindeer games. Mrs. Claus will help you sign her special quilt so they know who has visited. Then finally, visit with Santa in his workshop to share your wish list and get a candy cane (donated by Kinney Drugs). After seeing Santa, slide down the holiday slide into the snow pillows.

Jenni Larchar will sing holiday songs between 4-5pm while Santa stretches his legs and takes a quick stroll to see the children waiting on line. Delicious holiday cookies and hot chocolate are free (donations accepted). These tasty treats are donated by Price Chopper, Wayne’s Market and Dunkin’ Donuts.

It’s a magical moment so capture it forever! For only $5 the Hamilton Lion’s Club will snap a digital photo of your child with Santa, ready to take home in a decorative holiday card! They’ll also be selling tickets for their holiday basket raffle filled with wonderful gifts. All proceeds from the photos and raffle go toward helping the Lion’s serve the greater Hamilton community.

A special thanks to Curtis Lumber, Kinney Drugs, Price Chopper, Wayne’s Market, Dunkin Donuts, John Sherwood, Vernon Ross, Rich Pancoe (for donating trees), Lion’s Club, Colgate’s Konosioni Honor Society, and many volunteers!

Masque and Triangle, one of Colgate's Student Theater Clubs, proudly presents RENT the musical at The Palace Theater for four shows: Friday, November 11 at 8pm, Saturday, November 12 at 2pm and 8pm and Sunday, November 13 at 2pm. RENT the musical, written by Jonathan Larson, tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create their art in New York's Lower East Side under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.  Mani Rose Dreyfuss, Nick Galanin, Nick Grunden, Chloe Nwangwu, Diandra Rivera, Trinel Torian, Mitch Tucci, and James Vigilante star in this rock musical, with a powerful ensemble including Lauren Bender, Alex Djaha, Melissa McKenzie, YeonJu Mok, Becca Murphy, McLain Roth, Jake Sapon, and Alyssa Sokol. Director Alexandra Magnaud '12, assistant director Laura Uhlig '14, and musical director Emily Fennell '14 are proud to bring you this brilliant and moving musical with a cast that "really brings the characters to life" (Laura Uhlig). RENT is free and open to the public, it does contain adult content and language. Every year, Colgate theater students strive to produce quality live theater that can be embraced and enjoyed by the greater Hamilton community and beyond.For more information about RENT or other shows at The Palace Theater, please visit www.palacetheater.org or call 315.824.1420.

The recent production of the original Ode to Chocolate has been nominated for a theater award in the USI Upper New York Independent Awards show. This delightful, entertaining cabaret was written, produced and performed by Hamilton's premeire community theater, The Palace Players.

"What an honor!" says Patricia von Mechow, director and author of Ode to Chocolate. "We are really excited to have been nominated along side so many other amazing shows and appreciate all the people going on line to cast a vote for our show."

Artist's Awards Night: it'll be an evening to remember, filled with color, splash, live music, and stylish fashion. The essence of the Upper State Independent Awards show is to acknowledge independent artists from all genres and backgrounds, showing appreciation for work by independent musicians, poets, models, designers, comedians, photographers, choreographers, movie makers/DVD, on-line radio shows, and television shows just to name a few. The award show is a local/National networking environment held once a year. This year's 5th annual will be held on November 5, 7-10pm at The Palace Theater 19 Utica Street, Hamilton, NY 13346. By popular demand, a few more categories have been added such as Favorite Stage Play/Production, New Music Video, Entertainment Group and Promoter. One of the featured bands performing is previous USI winner, Double Barrel Blues Band. Some Girls Boutique is sponsoring a fashion show. More live appearances by national professional artists from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, California, Las Vegas, and Ohio. Visit www.usiawards.com to check out all of the categories, vote for your favorite in each by November 1, and to order tickets on line for the show.

Chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas will present a cooking demonstration Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m., at the Colgate Inn, 1 Payne St. Seating will be limited, so advance ticket purchase is recommended at colgatebookstore.com/cookingdemo. Tickets are $10 and include admission to the event, food samples and a credit towards a cookbook.

The demonstration menu will include mom’s crab dip, grilled spice-rubbed salmon with spicy corn crepe and sweet goat cheese turnovers with hazelnuts, mint, and honey.

Douglas, along with his wife and business partner Jackie Cross, owns 10 of Seattle’s most exciting restaurants: Dahlia Lounge, Etta’s, Palace Kitchen, Lola, Serious Pie (with two locations), Seatown Snack Bar, Cuoco, Ting Momo and Brave Horse Tavern.

With almost 30 years in the restaurant business, Douglas helped put Seattle on the culinary map by cooking global cuisine using regional and seasonal ingredients. He also runs a retail bakery, Dahlia Bakery, now with a second counter, the Dahlia Workshop; a catering business, Tom Douglas’ Catering and Events; and an event space, Palace Ballroom.

All of his restaurants are located in the downtown Seattle and South Lake Union neighborhood.

Douglas is the author of three cookbooks: Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen (Morrow, 2001), Tom’s Big Dinners (Morrow, 2003) and I Love Crab Cakes (Morrow, 2006), with two more in the works. In addition, Tom’s specialty food line, which includes “Rub with Love” spice rubs plus barbecue and teriyaki sauces, is sold nationwide.

The Palace Theater is proud to present its 5th season of live national, international and Broadway productions. This year’s great line-up of dynamic and entertaining productions is teeming with comedy, dance and music: Capitol Steps, Phoenix Project Dance and Girls Night: the Musical! The Palace Players, Hamilton’s premier community theater is also proud to produce The Odd Couple and 12 Angry Men.

Box office opens for a special selling of tickets! The Palace Theater box office will open on Wednesday, October 5 from 4-7pm for your added convenience. Stop by to pay for and pick up tickets for your favorite show(s) or save 10% and purchase season tickets.

The Phoenix Project Dance, performs Saturday, October 15 at 8pm and has performed with great success in Europe and America. They have rehearsed with the Munich State Ballet and as part of the Thang Dao Contemporary Dance Festival at the Ailey Citi Group Theater in Manhatten.  The troupe will perform 3 signature pieces that highlight the essence of the dancers’ effortless strength, ability, and powerful elegance of movement.  Animal Farm is anadaptation of George Orwell’s classic exploring the themes of dominance and oppression through movement. The soundtrack blends the sounds of a female Bulgarian choir and many Eastern European themes to set the tone of Manor Farm.  Liquid Matter will be a splash with the audience as the dancers play in water, exhibiting its various cycles. Set to the music of jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. Brutte Force is the study of pushing, pulling, throwing, and smashing. Partnering and weight-sharing are the medium of this work and highlights the trust between dancers.