News Briefs: July 27, 2023

Morris Cancer Screening To Visit County Fair

MORRIS—The Cancer Services Program will hold a mobile cancer screening event at the Otsego County Fair on Tuesday, August 1. Mammograms, breast exams, pelvic exams, Pap tests and HPV tests are available to eligible uninsured and underinsured individuals 40 and older. Insurance is billed for those with insurance. No-cost colon cancer screening take-home kits are available for uninsured and underinsured people 45 and older or can be sent by mail. Call 1-888-345-0225 to schedule an appointment.

Art Association Announces Fine Arts on the Lawn

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Art Association will hold a Fine Arts on the Lawn sale on Saturday and Sunday, September 2 and 3 on the front porch and lawn of the Village Hall. It features an exhibition of original fine arts and crafts by local and regional artists, as well as music and artist demonstrations. There is a $10.00 fee to exhibit up to five two-dimensional works on the porch and a $110.00 fee for a 10-by-10 foot tent space on the lawn. The CAA will handle sales and setup on the porch, while artists on the lawn will be responsible for their own tent, sales, and setup. The application deadline is Tuesday, August 1. For more information and a complete prospectus, visit www.cooperstownart.com.

Senior Citizen Picnic Scheduled for August 9th

SPRINGFIELD—The Otsego County Council of Senior Citizens will hold a senior citizen picnic at the West Pavilion of Glimmerglass State Park on Wednesday, August 9. Coffee and refreshments will be served at 10:30 a.m., followed by lunch at noon and bingo and other games at 1 p.m. Activities will include a guided stroll, cornhole, card games, music, a guided hike and ice cream. Lunch will be catered by Mel’s at 22. Reservations must be received by July 28; registration forms can be found on the Office for the Aging website. The event costs $8.00. For more information, call OFA at (607) 547-4232.

Fenimore Announces Escher Zoom Symposium

COOPERSTOWN—Fenimore Art Museum announced a free live Zoom symposium on the work of M.C. Escher to be held from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1. “M.C. Escher: Where Art, Math, and the Sciences Converge” will feature seven speakers who will discuss Escher’s inspiration from and influence on work in the arts and sciences. It will culminate in the debut screening of an Escher-inspired dance performance by the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, recorded in the museum. The choreography is directly inspired by Escher’s artwork and the performance will be accompanied by cellist Ashley Bathgate.

Speakers include Ellen Sinopoli, Chris Soria (New York-based visual artist and muralist), Keith Earle (associate professor and chair of physics, SUNY Albany), Cristian Lenart (professor and chair of mathematics, SUNY Albany) and Andrea Simitch (professor of architecture and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Cornell University). It will be moderated by Michele Famoso, master teacher emeritus at South Colonie Central School District.

Fenimore’s “M.C. Escher: Infinite Variations” exhibit is on view through Monday, September 4. It spans the Dutch artist’s entire career with more than 160 works from the private collection of Paul and Belinda Firos of Athens, Greece.

The virtual program is free, with a suggestion donation of $20.00. To register, visit https://fenimoreartmuseum.org/.

Glimmerglass Planning Shortened 2024 Season

SPRINGFIELD—Glimmerglass Festival announced its programming for the 2024 season on Tuesday, July 18. Mainstage productions will include Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance,” Cavalli’s “La Calisto,” Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci,” and Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s “Elizabeth Cree.” The 2024 festival will also feature the world premiere of the youth opera “Rumpelstiltskin and the Unlovable Children” by Jens Ibsen and Cecelia Raker. Glimmerglass Artistic and General Director Rob Ainsley will curate a new works initiative called Project Pipeline that will give voice to rising artists and show patrons an inside glimpse of the creative process.

“As I thought about the 2024 season, I reflected on the power of theater,” Ainsley said. “On how it creates a window into the lives of others, acts as a mirror for ourselves, and offers and escape from our daily routines. The season intentionally blurs the lines between real and make-believe, exploring the fragile and elusive nature of our identities. With the upcoming fiftieth anniversary of the company in 2025, our 2024 season offers us an opportunity along the way to reflect on our own identity as a company.”

Internationally-known mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught will be the festival’s artist-in-residence for 2024. She will star in “Elizabeth Cree” and provide mentorship for the Young Artists Program.
The 2024 season will be significantly shorter than previous years, running July 22 through August 20. This year’s festival, for instance, began on July 7. A media representative for Glimmerglass Festival explained that the decision to move opening day from early to late July reflected new economic realities and changing demand patterns.

“As a nonprofit organization, the festival has keenly felt the effects of rising inflation and labor costs,” the report said. “This new schedule enables us to reduce expenses while maintaining our staffing levels and the Glimmerglass standard of excellence. The current financial environment is also coupled with changes in consumer behavior. The new schedule has right-sized our number of performance offerings, aligning our schedule with customer demand.”

Subscription renewals for the 2024 season became available on July 19. New subscriptions go on sale on Monday, October 2, and single tickets will be available on Monday, January 22.

Hartwick Names 2023 Hall of Fame Class

ONEONTA—The Hartwick College Athletics Hall of Fame Committee announced the class of 2023 on Friday, July 14. The induction will be held over True Blue Weekend on Saturday, September 23 on Miller Court. Inductees will also be honored at halftime of the field hockey game against Elmira College at noon. This year’s class includes former coach Anna Meyer, the 1996 field hockey team and the 1998 women’s lacrosse team. Meyer was women’s lacrosse coach from 1989-1999 and field hockey coach from 1988-2018. She recorded 123 wins with the former team and 328 with the latter, making her the all-time winningest coach in both programs’ history. She guided both programs to the NCAA Final Four and is one of only a handful of coaches to be named National Coach of the Year in two sports. The 1996 field hockey squad was NCAA runner-up and finished the season with a 20-2 record. They were one of only two Hartwick teams in history to play an NCAA championship game. The 1998 women’s lacrosse team was the only one in program history to reach the NCAA Final Four and its 18-4 record was the best in program history. For a full list of team members, visit https://www.hartwickhawks.com/.

Hartwick Fire Department Announces Field Day

HARTWICK—Hartwick Field Day will return to Wells Avenue on Saturday, August 12. The tractor pull is scheduled for 9 a.m. A cornhole tournament begins at 1 p.m., with check-ins starting at noon. Cornhole registration is available via the American Cornhole Association app or by messaging the Hartwick Fire Department on Facebook; entry to the tournament is $25.00 for individuals or $50.00 for teams. Prizes have been donated by local businesses and will be announced. Live music, with The Barnyard Saints headlining, begins at 7 p.m. There will be food and vendors all day, and fireworks at dusk. The fire department is still looking for vendors. Interested businesses should contact Ron at (607) 293-6135 or Caren at (607) 293-7530.

Springfield To Hold Public HAB Forum

SPRINGFIELD—The Springfield Community Center, at 129 County Highway 29A, will host a public forum on harmful algal blooms in Otsego Lake at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 2. It will feature local experts Dr. Kiyoko Yokota of SUNY Oneonta and Dr. Bill Richtsmeier of the Otsego County Watershed Committee.

Volunteers Needed for Susquehanna River Cleanup

COOPERSTOWN—Volunteers are needed for the sixth annual Susquehanna River cleanup in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 29. The event will take place from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The cleanup is organized by the Cooperstown Lions Club in partnership with the Rotary Club of Cooperstown, Rotary E-Club of Global Trekkers, the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station Dive Team and Otsego County Conservation Association.

Volunteers are needed on—and in—the river, as well as onshore. Tasks include working with the dive team to pull trash out of the river and load it onto rafts and canoes or kayaks; transferring recovered material from rafts and canoes onto trailers; transporting material to the transfer station; procuring and providing refreshments; and documenting the event. Approximately 50 volunteers are needed in all.

In-river volunteers will include float teams and kayak/canoe teams. The float teams will work with the BFS Dive Team to pull items out of the river and load them onto rafts, and will guide the rafts through the river to exit points for unloading. Members of the float teams will be provided with gloves and can borrow a personal flotation device if they don’t have their own. Kayak/canoe teams will help collect and transport smaller debris, and will support float and dive team members.
Volunteers are also needed on land at exit points to help load debris from rafts and watercraft onto trailers for transportation to the transfer station.

Interested people can sign up online at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pLjw3-kFUk2QeXqZBp6gQi_QaA2uOGmeBshBMFwjwJU/edit?usp=sharing or contact Marcie Foster via e-mail at fostermarcie@hotmail.com.