Server storm damage means your support needed more than ever

June 23, 2021

Support FSP's work in Stewart Park and
along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail!

On Monday, June 21, a brief but intense storm blew through Ithaca causing an incredible amount of tree damage in Stewart Park and along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. Thankfully no one was hurt. Once we have the go-ahead from The City, FSP will be organizing volunteers to help clean up the damage, one of many things FSP does for Stewart Park and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail.

With Monday's severe storm damage in Stewart Park and along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, your support is needed more than ever!

For the past 10 years, FSP has been advocating for the Park and Trail, organizing volunteers, writing grants, revitalizing and enhancing these beloved spaces.

While the Stewart Park and Cayuga Waterfront Trail are owned and maintained by the City of Ithaca, volunteer maintenance, planning, and fundraising for park and trail enhancements are coordinated by Friends of Stewart Park. With this recent storm damage, more than ever, we have our work cut out for us.

When you provide operational support for Friends of Stewart Park, you're helping ensure Stewart Park and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail are clean, maintained and enhanced--now, and in the future.

GIVE NOW

P.S. Want to help rake once the park is back open?
Sign up here and you'll be the first to hear about how you can help!

I'd Like to Volunteer

P.P.S. We're confident Centennial events will be able to go forward as planned.

Let's Celebrate! There's so much happening in Stewart Park!

June 8, 2021

Let's Celebrate!
Discover all the upcoming events, openings, volunteer opportunities, and exhibits FSP has in store in celebration of Stewart Park's Centennial.

FREE EVENT THIS WEDNESDAY

The first Stewart Park Revitalization Plan was completed in 2009 and one of its key recommendations was the formation of an organization that would lead the park revitalization effort in terms of project planning and fundraising, in partnership with the City of Ithaca. And so Friends of Stewart Park came to be in 2011! Twelve key revitalization projects were identified and we would like to report on what has been accomplished, what we are now working on, and what remains to be done.

And we would like to hear from you! FSP, with the City of Ithaca and Wharton Studio Museum, invite you to an important Public Meeting this Wednesday night so we can hear what you think. What do you love about Stewart Park, what do you think can be improved, and what new features should be considered? Join us!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED JUNE 14-18

Join Friends of Stewart Park in sprucing up the park the week of June 14-18! We'll be painting benches, assembling picnic tables and working on other special projects to ensure the park looks its best for its 100th Birthday! FSP has Monday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 16 sprucing up events planned from 4pm-8pm, and can make arrangements for other nights if we have enough interested volunteers. Click the link to let us know when you can help!

I'd Like to Volunteer

MUSICIANS WANTED

FSP is looking for musicians and dance troupes to share their talent during Watermusic, Stewart Park's annual event where musicians and dancers perform in Stewart Park along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. Most acts will need to be unamplified, or lightly amped with battery powered equipment. Watermusic will be Sunday July 11 from 2-5. Interested? Email Rick.

CAROUSEL LOVE

This past Saturday, June 5, Friends of Stewart Park hosted a free carousel day! This was incredibly popular -- the city tells us we gave 2,237 free carousel rides!

You, too, can make a child's day! FSP is looking for carousel sponsors for more free days like this. It’s just $350 to sponsor the carousel for a day. If you or your business would like to sponsor a day if free rides, contact FSP!

UPCOMING EVENTS

FSP has planned a summer full of wonderful events in the park. Below are just a few of the big ones coming up. Click each event for more details, or head to www.stewartpark.org/events to see all the fun free events in Stewart Park this summer!

SHIRTS ON SALE NOW

Show your love for Stewart Park with your own Centennial T-Shirt. These extra soft unisex shirts are so cozy you could sleep in them, but look so good you’ll want to wear them for a night on the town (or a day in the park!) Proceeds support Friends of Stewart Park!

ALL SEASON BATHROOMS OPENING SOON

Stewart Park's first ever all-season accessible bathrooms are on track to open June 17th. Thanks to the teams at McPherson Builders and Taitem Engineering. FSP and Wharton Studio Museum will be hosting a ribbon cutting at noon that day to commemorate the occasion!

ELAYNE'S LENDING LIBRARY

FSP is in the final stages of preparing Elayne's Lending Library to open in late June. In addition to a new signage and paint, the library will be filled with new and gently used books. Here's a sampling of some of the ones we've purchased to ensure the library has a diverse and inclusive selection of books.

Each will include a sticker honoring Elayne Nicholas and her legacy.

STEWART PARK EXHIBIT IN TCHC

Stewart Park is the focus of an exhibit opening later this week in the Atrium Tower in the Tompkins Center for History and Culture in downtown Ithaca! FSP's installation tells the history of the park through pictures, and features numerous revitalization projects of the last ten years, as well as those yet to come.

This Stewart Park Centennial exhibit is made possible by Tompkins Trust Company. FSP thanks Sally Grubb, a member of the FSP Project Leadership Committee, for her help in creating the exhibit.

MORE PARK & TRAIL NEWS

GIVING IS GORGES

Ithaca's annual giving event, Giving Is Gorges, is Wednesday, June 23 This year, Friends of Stewart Park is focusing Giving is Gorges on the work it does for the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. If you'd like to support the work FSP is doing on the trail, visit the FSP Giving is Gorges Page.

FLRC CHALLENGE

If you're looking for motivation for your outdoor adventures in 2021, thanks to the Finger Lakes Runners Club, you can win a medal if you run or walk all ten courses of the FLRC Challenge—including the Waterfront Trail. It’s a huge community-wide game—local runners, including families have already logged over 5000 miles—and it’s open all year!

CENTENNIAL CHALLENGE

Join the Mayor Stewart Challenge and help match Mayor Stewart's 1921 $150,000 gift to the park! Then, let everyone know about the Mayor Stewart Centennial Challenge! You can do that in-person, on Facebook Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or in your front yard!