e072 - The 315NY Weekly

Hi {{ first name | reader }},

Happy Friday, 315. The last full week of August is bracketed by two of the biggest things this region does all year. The 79th NYS Woodsmen's Field Days open this morning at the Boonville-Oneida County Fairgrounds and run through Sunday, with logging competitions, forestry exhibits and a midway. Then on Wednesday the Great New York State Fair opens in Syracuse and stays open 13 days through Labor Day. Admission is $8, kids 12 and under and seniors 65 and over are free, and the gates run 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The music slate is the strongest of the summer. Indigo Girls play the orchard at Beak & Skiff on Sunday. Pitbull brings Lil Jon to Lakeview on Wednesday. Sublime headlines CMAC on Saturday with The Ataris and Bedouin Soundclash, and Luke Bryan takes the same stage Wednesday. Tonight Rhiannon Giddens leads the Silkroad Ensemble at The Vine at del Lago to close out the Skaneateles Festival. Kevin and Michael Bacon play the Clayton Opera House Saturday and Sunday, both nights sold out.

The North Country spends the week on engines and water. Jeeps take over Cerow Recreation Park in Clayton on Saturday for the second River Wrangler Rally. Brew York turns ten on the Sackets Harbor Polo Field on Friday and Saturday. On Thursday the Bassmaster Elite Series closes its regular season out of Clayton Harbor, with 7 a.m. takeoffs and 3 p.m. weigh-ins on the public dock, while 400 acres of Cape Vincent farmland turn into mud pits and trails for Grime & Octane.

Quieter picks worth the drive: Baltimore Woods runs Night Buggin' on Saturday night, lights and white sheets and a walk to see what turns up. Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls holds a free Equality Weekend from Friday through Sunday, with ranger talks, Elizabeth Cady Stanton living history and the Terra String Quartet. Rice Creek starts its guided walks Saturday at 11. And the Smith Opera House screens CatVideoFest at 3 on Sunday, which is exactly what it sounds like. This week's Foodie Corner heads up Route 12 to Boonville for Mercer's Dairy, the milk plant that talked New York into putting wine in ice cream. More on that below.

Best,
Jono

Visions FCU presents Syracuse Country Fest at Middle Ages Music Hall, 120 Wilkinson Street, with doors at 5 p.m. and music billed from 6 p.m. to close.

Team GLER's trail races run all day from the Tulip Hill Picnic Area at Green Lakes State Park. The 100K starts at 6 a.m., the 50K and the GALEFORCE 12 hour race at 7 a.m., and the 25K at 8 a.m.

The Cazenovia Preservation Foundation puts The Syracuse Orchestra Quartet on a protected farm field at Gianforte Farm, off Peth Road. Picnic grounds open at 5:30 p.m. and the quartet starts at 7 p.m.

Baltimore Woods draws moths, beetles and dobsonflies to lights and white sheets at 4007 Bishop Hill Road in Marcellus, then walks the group through the woods to see what else is awake. Registration required, $6 to $9.

The Silverwood Clarinet Choir opens its 20th anniversary season with a free outdoor concert on the lawn at 4111 Pompey Center Road in Manlius. Bring a chair and a picnic.

Beak & Skiff hosts Indigo Girls on the orchard concert grounds at 2708 Lords Hill Road in Lafayette. Doors at 5 p.m., show at 7 p.m.

The Fair opens Wednesday and runs 13 days through Labor Day, Monday, September 7, at the Fairgrounds in Syracuse. Admission is $8, and children 12 and under and seniors 65 and over get in free every day. No entry or re-entry after 9 p.m.

95X brings the Island Night Market back to Paper Mill Island Amphitheater, 136 Spenseri Avenue in Baldwinsville, with local vendors, makers, food, drinks and live music from Hold the Air.

Pitbull's I'm Back tour stops at Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview with Lil Jon opening.

The last Hanover Thursdays of August fills Hanover Square. DJ Joey D starts at 5 p.m., RnB Band at 6 p.m., and Sophistafunk closes it out at 7:30 p.m.

The Village of Phoenix summer series continues at Henley Park, 55 State Street, on the Oswego River at Lock One. Vote for Pete plays and it is free.

The City of Oswego closes its Water Street Square series for the year with Brandon Green. Food and alcohol are permitted at the square.

The CNY Arts Center youth company stages Legally Blonde JR at 121 Cayuga Street in Fulton.

A USATF sanctioned 10K from North Island at Lock 1, looping the Phoenix Bridge and the 1915 Hinmansville Bridge along the Oswego River. The course is the original one from the race's 1980s run.

The Saturday market fills the Canalview lot on Route 481, and this week the chamber adds a 63 foot inflatable obstacle course, children's activities, food trucks, artists and makers alongside the farmers.

A 5K run and walk at Breitbeck Park, 91 Lake Street in Oswego, founded in memory of Rachael Michelle Allen and raising awareness about violence against women. The Kid's Dash goes off at 8:45 a.m.

A free naturalist led walk at Rice Creek Field Station, 193 Thompson Road in Oswego. About an hour and a mile or less across the 350 acre preserve.

Monster trucks take the Oswego County Fairgrounds at 291 Ellisburg Street in Sandy Creek, Saturday and Sunday. Sunday gates open at 11 a.m. with the show at 2 p.m. Truck rides run before each show.

The last Mexico market of 2026 sets up behind Mexico High School at 3338 Main Street, with produce, flowers, baked goods, meat and dairy, plus On the Porch on the gazebo stage.

Swingtide plays the Veteran's Stage series on Water Street in downtown Oswego. Free.

The 79th Woodsmen's Field Days fill the Boonville-Oneida County Fairgrounds at 8181 NY-294 through Sunday, with logging competitions, forestry exhibits, equipment, a kids zone and food.

The Capitol Theatre in Rome screens Bo Pressley's 49 minute FREEDOM RENEGADE, shot around the Mohawk Valley and set to Bach, alongside performances by area dance studios. Free, donations accepted, about 95 minutes.

The Utica Zoo's first GROSSOLOGY Weekend adds a Scatvenger Hunt, a VetMed Museum booth, Turd Toss at the Zebra View Pavilion, hissing cockroaches, keeper talks and storytimes at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome hosts a free America 250 concert by early American music specialists David and Ginger Hildebrand, on harpsichord, violin, guitars and dulcimer, with tavern songs and military ballads.

An all ages benefit for Whitney's Legacy at Woods Valley Ski Area, 9100 NY-46 in Westernville. Encore at noon, Summit Park Rangers at 1 p.m., Sydney Irving at 2 p.m. and Last Left at 4 p.m., plus food vendors, cornhole and raffles.

The Mohawk Valley Latino Association holds its 20th annual Latino Festival at Hanna Park in Utica.

Rome sets up a free outdoor showing of DreamWorks' Trolls at Franklyn's Field, 1100 N. James Street, starting at sunset. Del Fuego is on site for dinner, Jervis Public Library hands out free books, and popcorn is free at the clubhouse.

A free village concert at Bandstand Park in Waterville with Vinyl Logic.

The last Wild Summer Night of the season at the Utica Zoo, with live music from Gary Johnson, kids' activities and the zoo open late. Zootopia 2 screens at roughly 8 p.m. depending on dusk, $5 per person on top of admission.

AM Gold Yacht Rock plays the Saranac Thursdays series at SPACE Old Forge, 3022 NY-28.

Bridge Street closes from Jefferson to Main at 4:30 p.m. and the village fills it with a free block party. Look Twice plays, and food comes from Brick Oven, Hall Pass and food trucks, with games and crafts for kids.

The beer and music festival turns ten on the Sackets Harbor Polo Field. Friday is the pre-show bash with Lake Effect Mud and Ryan Perdz. Saturday runs noon to 10 p.m. with free tastings from 12:30 to 3:30 and shuttles all day. Proceeds go to first responders and childhood cancer causes.

The second annual Jeep gathering takes over Cerow Recreation Park in Clayton, with music, vendors and events. Register the day of.

Kids can wear royal costumes and meet princesses at Old McDonald's Farm in Sackets Harbor during sunflower and zinnia season. No extra charge beyond regular farm admission. The farm stays open until 6 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday.

Kevin and Michael Bacon play two nights at the Clayton Opera House behind Ballad of the Brothers. Both shows are sold out, so this one is for the returns list and the box office at 315-686-2200.

A free concert on the lawn at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site, 504 West Main Street. David Cedeño & His Orchestra play Latin salsa and jazz. Bring a chair.

The last night of the chamber's Wednesday series, free at the Scenic View Park Pavilion, 8 Fuller Street, with Midnight Ryders.

The Bassmaster Elite Series closes its regular season on the St. Lawrence, Thursday through Sunday out of Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina, 301 Webb Street. Takeoffs are 7 a.m. daily and public weigh-ins are 3 p.m.

Four days of off road on 400 acres of farmland at 29850 Burnt Rock Road North in Cape Vincent, Thursday through Sunday. Trails, mud pits and bogs for four wheelers, side by sides, Jeeps and dirt bikes, with more than 40 music acts, food trucks and camping.

The Boulder country rock band, with founding guitarist Jock Bartley still out front, plays the Clayton Opera House. Tickets are $55 side, $60 center and $65 premium.

Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls holds a free three day Equality Weekend with ranger talks, Elizabeth Cady Stanton living history, the Terra String Quartet, family crafts, junior ranger activities and the park film. The M'Clintock House is open 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

The Skaneateles Festival closes with Rhiannon Giddens leading the Silkroad Ensemble in Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual, at The Vine Theater at del Lago Resort, 1133 Route 414 in Waterloo. Doors at 7:15 p.m., ages 21 and up.

The Finger Lakes Rail Experience runs two 90 minute Wine Train trips out of 210 West Williams Street in Waterloo. Ages 21 and up.

Auburn's second annual Porchfest puts more than twenty acts across eight stages on Grover Street, Tuxill Square and Janet Street, a few minutes' walk from downtown. Rain date is Sunday.

Historic Geneva's lawn benefit at Rose Hill Mansion, 3373 Route 96A, with Lakeside SOUND and tastings from Billsboro, Ravines, Brewery Ardennes, Trestle Thirty One and Watershed. Admission includes five tastings, $30 in advance and $40 at the door.

Sublime headlines CMAC in Canandaigua with Jakob Nowell sharing vocals alongside founding members Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, touring the first new album in three decades. Doors at 5:30 p.m.

A patio set by The Ende Brothers at the Fargo Bar & Grill, 384 Main Street in Aurora, across from the Aurora Inn. Part of the Inns of Aurora Sunday series.

The Smith Opera House in Geneva screens Oscilloscope's 70 minute compilation of cat videos. A portion of every ticket goes to local cat charities and shelters.

The City of Auburn's free summer concert at Hoopes Park, listed as the rescheduled Dead & Friends date and sponsored by Tobacco Free CNY. Food trucks on site.

Luke Bryan brings the Word on the Street Tour to CMAC in Canandaigua with Drew Baldridge, Lanie Gardner, Lauren Watkins and DJ Rock. Doors at 5:30 p.m.

Thank you for reading, sharing,
and being part of this.

Jono Chowdhury
Founder, 315NY