Party for the Park, Volunteer Days, News Features & More

September 8, 2023

While it's hard to believe, kids are back in school and we are headed into fall in spite of these very hot days. This September, we hope you will join us for volunteer opportunities on the 12th or 17th, and for Party for the Park on the 23rd. September also marks five years since our Inclusive Playground Community Build, a wonderful week-long endeavor with the involvement of over 900 volunteers!

Join Friends of Stewart Park and Wharton Studio Museum for our 8th annual Party for the Park fundraiser!

We are celebrating a "groundbreaking" theme in Stewart Park this year! Many big changes are underway: the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places this past spring; we’re debuting new signage about the Erie Canal; and upcoming is the literal groundbreaking for the new Splash Pad and seasonal restroom, as well as the Addition to the Picnic Pavilion which helps pave the way for the Wharton Studio & Café.

There will be music the Dave Davies Trio, food by Chef Jack Cesari & Company, dessert and local wine, cider and beer. There will be a raffle and we’re giving out a few awards. Hope you can make it!

If you cannot join us, kindly consider making a gift towards the event. Like and Share the event on Facebook.

Learn More & Buy Tickets

Thank you to this year’s Party for the Park Sponsors:
Bero Architecture, Bousquet Holstein PLLC, City Harbor, Coughlin and Gerhart LLP, Fingerlakes Wealth Management, Iron Design, La Tourelle Hotel and Spa, The Plantsmen Nursery, Visions Federal Credit Union

We are so grateful for all volunteers! They help make Stewart Park the incredible place we all love, and have fun doing it! We’ve organized two volunteer opportunities coming up in the next week. Hope you can come out and help FSP prepare the park for fall!

Accessible Pathway Finishing: Tuesday Sept. 12, 10 AM-12 PM - Join Rotary volunteers in finishing the new accessible pathway on the playground. Meet by the Carousel.

Stewart Park Fall Cleanup: Sunday, September 17, 10 AM-12 PM - Join Cornell Hillel and others for our annual fall cleanup event in Stewart Park. Tasks include: Trimming lakeshore vegetation; adding fibar surfacing to the playground; shoveling, sweeping and raking the sand play area, and litter and brush cleanup, as well as and Picnic Pavilion cleanup. Like and share the event on Facebook.

More details: FSP has tools available, but you can also bring your own gloves, hand loppers, pruners and hedge trimmers, wheelbarrows, pitchforks, yard rakes and iron rakes, depending on the type of work you'd like to do! Wear boots or sturdy shoes. Meet in the parking lot between the Picnic Pavilion and Wharton Studio building to sign-in and get directions.

If the weather is bad, we'll reschedule much of the work, but pavilion cleanup is rain or shine.

Thank you to the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement at Cornell for their writeup about our summer Park and Trail Community Liaison, Yuxin Zou, and the work she did with Friends of Stewart Park.

Yuxin says: “Friends of Stewart Park helps to maintain and revitalize Stewart Park and the Waterfront Trail. My work primarily involved surveying visitors to gather information on how they heard about the park, the reason for coming to the park, the amenities they use, what they like, and areas for improvement. From conducting surveys, I was able to interact and connect with the Ithaca community and also people from many parts of the world.

Read the whole article here.

Thank you to Krystal Cole and Spectrum News 1 Central New York/S Tier for their feature on the work we've been doing in Stewart Park!

Five years ago this month, 900 volunteers over the course of a week raised the first phase of the Inclusive Playground in an incredible Community Build!

The build took place from September 11th through the 16th, 2018. Lucas Raley, who came to FSP through Cornell Work Study, oversaw the build, along with FSP Executive Director Rick Manning and Steve Lauzen, then of Play By Design. Steve is now an FSP Board Member and very engaged in the planning for the new Splash Pad.

This engaging pre-school section includes play structures -- a trolley, steamboat and movie studio -- that reflect Stewart Park’s past. There's an a sand play area with boardwalk', whimsical huts and rainbow bridges that provide flexible imaginative play options, and features like wide paths and low steps that make the structures accessible for all.

Were you a part of the community build? If so, love to hear about your experience and see your pictures! THANK YOU for your help!

More Park and Trail News

Do you have extra children's books hanging around? Elayne's Lending Library in Stewart Park could really use more! FSP is thrilled to to see so many readers visiting the park, but we can't keep up with the demand!

We especially need books for kids under 10. Hope you'll consider dropping some on the library shelves next time you are in the park!