enews

Park and Trail Updates

Thank You, Happy Holidays and Enjoy Winter Outside.
December 10, 2021
Dear Stewart Park and Waterfront Trail Friends,

It’s been a whirlwind of a year and we want to thank you for your support -- for your gifts to FSP,  for joining our Centennial Zoom events, for coming out for Stewart Park’s 100th birthday party, for attending theatre and music in the park, and for volunteering at our park and trail landscaping, clean up, and storm debris pick-up days. The park serves the community and we appreciate you supporting FSP and Stewart Park!

Our Centennial Challenge fund has just gone over the $100,000 mark, putting us close to our $150,000 goal. This is exciting news and we have you to thank.

Everyone at FSP -- our staff and board members-- are looking forward to a busy and productive new year. We hope you will continue to join us in all aspects of our revitalization efforts in the park.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and winter -- stay well -- and here’s to a healthy and happy new year!


Rick Manning, Executive Director
MAKE A GIFT
CAYUGA WATERFRONT TRAIL
The Cayuga Waterfront Trail will be closed between Farmers Market and the footbridge over Cascadilla Creek from approximately December 3rd through December 31st while work is being done by the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  Please see the map above for a detour, which is also posted along the Trail. The detour uses sidewalks along Cooperative Extension, Sciencenter, Franklin Street Market and Aldi. To learn more, see the City if Ithaca's media release here.  
WHARTON BATHROOMS ADORNED
On Tuesday, Dec. 7th, Wharton Studio history themed wrap-around graphic panels were installed in the recently constructed year-round restrooms in the Wharton Studio Building. These panels, designed by Joe LaMarre of Uncommonplace, along with the new pendant lights, are the final touches on the new bathrooms, the first step in developing the Wharton Studio Park Center (WSPC.) Once complete, the WSPC will feature exhibit space, a café and lakefront terrace, and small shop/office.

A big thank you to Jerry Dietz and CSP Management  for making the panel project possible.
UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS
Join Friends of Stewart Park and the Herschell Carousel Factory Museum for a free Zoom presentation featuring captivating photos and lively discussion of the history of Herschell Carouselsincluding the ups and downs of the one in Stewart Park! 
Register
Join Friends of Stewart Park for a free virtual event this coming February --  a light-hearted look back at 20 years of trail making - the good, the bad, and... the challenging! Jean McPheeters and Rick Manning will present a scintillating presentation on waterfront history, inspiring trails, and the planning intrigue that led to the construction of our beloved Cayuga Waterfront Trail. 
Register
CASCADILLA BOATHOUSE VIDEO
Yesterday, Historic Ithaca released this video about the Cascadilla Boathouse Restoration Project. The video premiered at the NY Statewide Preservation Conference last month. Ithaca was the (virtual) host city for this year's confernece.  Thanks to videographer Jacob Mroczek for Jon Reis Photography for the wonderful footage and editing. FSP is pleased to share this incredible video with you.
GIVING TUESDAY THANK YOU
Thank you to all made a gift on Giving Tuesday!  Together we raised $1,808 for the new Stewart Park Picnic Grove, which will go a long way to creating the new grove and pollinator garden, and building accessible picnic tables for this new shaded picnic area near the Inclusive Playground. 
CONGRATS RUNNERS
Last Saturday, December 4, locals participated in the YMCA's Santa Run 5K and Family Elf Mile at Stewart Park. What a fun event for a great cause!  Learn more about the annual event at https://www.ithacaymca.com/santa-run.html
MORE PARK & TRAIL NEWS
FSP ON YOUTUBE

Did you miss the last our our Centennial Series, "Patrick Conway and His Famous Ithaca Band with Corey Earle"? You can now find it on our YouTube page here

You can also find Land & Water Conservation in the Age of Toxic Algae with Andy Zepp from Finger Lakes Land Management, all the other videos in the Centennial Series, and other fun Stewart Park videos on the Friends of Stewart Park YouTube page.
WINTER ON THE CWT

Winter is a great time to enjoy the Waterfront Trail! However, once the snow comes, the only section of the Trail that receives winter maintenance is the stretch along Cass Park, marked in black on this map.

City workers do their best to get the Trail there cleaned-off quickly after every snowfall, so this is by far the safest section of the CWT this time of year.

That said, snow naturally melts off the black-paved Trail faster than on unpaved surfaces, so the entire Trail tends to melt-off once temperatures go above freezing for a few day at a time.  Please take care whenever using the Trail in winter. 

2021 WAS STEWART PARK'S CENTENNIAL YEAR. THANKS YOU TO ALL OUR CENTENNIAL SPONSORS, WHO MADE ALL OF THIS YEAR'S CELEBRETORY EVENTS A REALITY
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Copyright © 2021 Friends of Stewart Park, Inc., All rights reserved.

Nov. Park & Trail News

Park and Trail News for November
November 17, 2021
The weather's getting chilly and crunchy leaves are scattered on the Waterfront Trail and throughout the park; even the carousel is all buttoned-up in anticipation of winter. In the last few weeks, we celebrated the restoration the exterior of the Cascadilla Boathouse, cleaned up the lakefront and playground gardens, and were honored with the Racker Community Partner Award.
WHARTON STUDIO PARK CENTER
Friends of Stewart Park and our partner in revitalization, Wharton Studio Museum (WSM), are pleased to announce that on November 3rd the City of Ithaca Common Council approved its 2022 budget which includes $100,000 to Wharton Studio Museum to develop the Wharton Studio Park Center in the historic Wharton Studio Building. The year-round lakefront destination will feature exhibit space, a café and terrace, and small shop/office. The Wharton Studio Park Center project is being developed in partnership with WSM and City of Ithaca, and this funding will support the design, construction and bid documents for the project. Thank you, Mayor Svante Myrick and Common Council!

Building the Wharton Studio Park Center has created the need for a new storage facility for the Stewart Park Day Camp. Plans are in the works to build an addition to the Picnic Pavilion to fulfill this need. This 800 square foot addition will seamlessly extend the back end of the Pavilion, creating convenient secure storage for all the camp's equipment, with a large back door providing stream-lined removal of large items like canoes. Consolidating storage into the same building the Day Camp operates out of also creates a safer environment, reducing the risk kids will cross the parking lot at access equipment.

This week FSP also submitted a grant to help fund the Day Camp Storage Addition along with broader fundraising FSP and WSM continue to do to help make the Wharton Studio Park Center a reality.
FSP ACCEPTS RACKER
COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD
FSP's Diana Riesman (holding the Racker Award) and Rick Manning, with
Playground Designer Steve Lauzun of Parkitects (left). 
Inclusion and accessibility are a priority in every revitalization project FSP undertakes. Proud to announce that on November 9th,  FSP was awarded this year's Community Partner Award from Racker, in recognition of the work FSP has done and continues to do regarding inclusivity and accessibility. For the past seven decades, Racker has provided support and advocacy for individuals with disabilities, and for their families in our area. Everyone at FSP is honored to receive this award. 

Here are some of the ways FSP works with the City of Ithaca and our generous community to ensure Stewart Parl is welcoming and accessible to all. (Delete:In our last Friends of Stewart Park enews, we highlighted all the ways FSP works with the City of Ithaca and our generous community to help ensure Stewart Park is welcoming and accessible to all.) You can find a copy of this email on our website. 
You can find a copy this email on our website.
F
CASCADILLA BOATHOUSE
RIBBON CUTTING
On October 21, Historic Ithaca hosted a festive ribbon cutting for the newly- restored Cascadilla Boathouse. Thanks to Susan Holland, Diana Riesman of FSP and Wharton Studio Museum, and Mayor Svante Myrick for their lovely remarks. The teams at Bero Architecture PLLC, Bouley Associates, Verdigree Collective/Julie Kitson Construction Management, and Trowbridge, Wolf, Michaels Landscape Architects LLP did a fantastic job restoring the exterior of this Ithaca landmark. 

The restoration work was made possible by a $367,000 NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation grant. The grant application was written by Historic Ithaca, with additional support from the City of Ithaca and Friends of Stewart Park.
THANK YOU
Thank you to all the volunteers who came out to Stewart Park on Saturday, October 23rd! These helpful individuals -- including the fraternity brothers from Kappa Sigma at Cornell -- cleaned up the waterfront and playground, cut back brush, and spread safety surfacing on the playground.
FROM OUR PARTNER
WHARTON STUDIO MUSEUM
Join Wharton Studio Museum and Historic Geneva this Thursday evening, November 18th, at 7pm for the last event in this year's extended Silent Movie Month!

Historian Barbara Tepa Lupack presents “The Wharton Brothers and The Magic of Early Cinema," an inside look at the story of Ted and Leo Wharton and their prolific motion picture studio Wharton, Inc. right here in Ithaca.

Moderated by Friends of Stewart Park's Board President Diana Riesman, who is also Executive Director of the Wharton Studio Museum

The event is both in-person at the Geneva History Museum and will also be simulcast on Zoom!  Advance registration is required for virtual participation. To register, go to https://bit.ly/3ABaWcF.
FROM THE WATERFRONT TRAIL
Folks gathered along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail to watch crew races of the sixth annual Cornell Autumn Classic on November 3rd. 
MORE PARK & TRAIL NEWS
CENTENNIAL PROGRAMS

Did you miss the last our our Centennial Series, "Patrick Conway and His Famous Ithaca Band with Corey Earle"? You can now find it on our YouTube page here

You can also find Land & Water Conservation in the Age of Toxic Algae with Andy Zepp from Finger Lakes Land Management, all the other videos in the Centennial Series, and other fun Stewart Park videos on the Friends of Stewart Park YouTube page.
WINTER ON THE CWT

A reminder that winter is a great time to enjoy the Waterfront Trail, however, once the snow comes, the only section of the Trail that receives winter maintenance is the stretch along Cass Park, marked in black on this map.

City workers do their best to get the Trail there cleaned-off quickly after every snowfall, so this is by far the safest section of the CWT this time of year.

That said, snow naturally melts off the black-paved Trail faster than on unpaved surfaces, so the entire Trail tends to melt-off once temperatures go above freezing for a few day at a time.  Please take care whenever using the Trail in winter. 
GIVING TUESDAY

GivingTuesday, a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity, is coming Tuesday, November 30. This year, FSP will offer donors an option to give a gift in someone's honor, just in time for the holidays! Stay Tuned!

 

THANKS TO OUR CENTENNIAL SPONSORS FOR
MAKING THIS YEAR'S FESTIVITIES A REALITY
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Copyright © 2021 Friends of Stewart Park, Inc., All rights reserved.