Volunteer!

Calling All Festive Volunteers! Looking for a fun, rewarding, “knock your socks off!! ” opportunity this spring? Volunteer for the 2007 Ithaca Festival! Now in its 30th year, this fantastic four day event kicks off with the zaniest parade on the planet and ends at the majestic Stewart Park on Cayuga Lake. The Ithaca Festival showcases the talent of over 1,000 local artists –– musicians, visual and performance artists, dance and theatre artists, mimes, storytellers, poets and writers, community groups and ensembles. The 2007 Ithaca Festival will take place from Thursday, May 31st to Sunday, June 3rd and we need your help to transform our town into a celebration! We require as few as three hours of your time during the Festival weekend and welcome people of all ages and skill levels to: - Sell merchandise in a Festival t-shirt booth; - Emcee for local performers; - Do arts and crafts projects with kids; - Paint faces; - Join our stage and trash crews. Sound like a blast? It is! But beware – being a Festival volunteer can cause laughter, bursts of good will, and an incontrollable amount of levity! For a copy of our volunteer application or more information about the 2007 Ithaca Festival, check us out on the web at www.ithacafestival.org or call us at 273-3646. We hope to hear from you soon and look forward to sharing the 30th Anniversary Ithaca Festival with you.

Paint Off - 31 Artists, 60 Minutes, 31 Masterpieces

We would like to thank everyone who made the first annual Ithaca Festival Paint-off a huge success on Friday, March 30^th.  A very special thanks to the artists who created masterpieces in just 60 minutes:  Luis Alvarez, William Benson, Brody Parker Burroughs, Ryan Curtis, Jim DeGraff,  Aara Edwards, Monica Franciscus, Pamela Gilbert, Nerys Gregory, Jenny Kenkel, Ann Krajewski, Patrice Lemmon, Carlton Manzano, Ed Marion, Paul McMillan, Nari Mistry, Stephen Pink, Jay Potter, Peter Schlough, Mary Michael Shelley, Wendy Skinner, Allen Crittenden “Denny” Smith, Christi Sobel, Paul Speight, Adam Swanson, Carrie Varney, Dave Walczak, Kendra Wells, Lucretia West, Matthew Wheeler, and Carl Whittaker. Also thanks to the event judges: Erica Fowler-Decatur, Dede Hatch, Laurel Guy and Carol Mallison, and to our sponsor: Ithaca Bakery & Collegetown Bagels, to our event hosts Dave Vieser & Geoff Dunn of WHCU News Talk 870, Samite Mulondo, Kenny Broadwell, BSI Sound and our silent auction donors. And also thank you to those who attended the event to support the festival and artists!  You make the Ithaca Festival happen every year.  The paintings were raffled off at the end of the evening, but will be on display at the old Night & Day space on the Ithaca Commons (135 The Commons) up through the Festival.  We’ve also produced wall calendars featuring the art created that night.  You can choose from either a 12-month or a 15-month version of the calendar from the zazzle.com web site.  We will also be posting video of the event shortly.  William Benson was also announced as the 2007 30^th Anniversary Ithaca Festival Artist.  The Festival art will be unveiled on May 1^st.

Hello world!

Welcome to the Ithaca Festival Blog! The Ithaca Festival will take place this year from May 31st to June 3rd. It is our 30th Anniversary and we will be celebrating the theme “Reflection”. The Ithaca Festival is a homegrown celebration of arts and community. Keep stopping by to see what’s going on!