Author: Bill DeLapp

Colorful chalk artwork will again adorn the sidewalks of Montgomery Street in downtown Syracuse (at least until some rain will inevitably wash it all away) during the 28th annual Street Painting Festival, presented by the Syracuse New Times and Famly Times. The event runs Saturday, July 28, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The rain date will be Sunday, July 29. Street Painting has become a popular tradition during Arts Week, which celebrates the local and national culture of the arts with festivals, performances and gatherings at Hanover Square, Columbus Circle and Clinton Square. Artists of all age groups can participate,…

Back in the 1950s, folks around these parts were actively following the exploits of the Syracuse Nationals professional basketball team. Although the team’s moniker was discarded when the Nats relocated to Philadelphia in 1963, the Syracuse Nationals name is now attached to the largest car show in the Northeast. The event returns to the New York State Fairgrounds on Friday, July 20, through Sunday, July 22. That’s when hundreds of classy chassis, accompanied by their watchful owners, will display their shiny hubcaps and hyper-vibrant paint jobs as they park everywhere from the grassy space at Chevy Court to the 4-H building’s distant location. Not that far away from…

Summertime is prime time for a visit to Howe Caverns, the hot-weather destination in Schoharie County that has lured thousands to partake in atmospheric spelunking 15 stories underground. From impressive rock formations to other geological wonders, Howe Caverns rates as a must-see. On Saturday, July 14, however, there will be much more to see than stalactites and stalagmites. In celebration of International Nude Day, Howe Caverns will host “Naked in a Cave,” extending an offer to nudists to spend an evening engaged in au naturel activities. Even Sarah Danser, a survivalist star of the Discovery Channel’s cultish reality series Naked and Afraid, heard about Howe’s special occasion…

Our special Summer Times edition hit the stands in mid-June, and we stuffed it with every venue and directory we could think of to keep you occupied all summer long. For those looking for more thespian entertainment, the following summer stage directory lists 12 popular venues for live theater throughout Central New York. Upcoming summer shows are also listed with run dates. Auburn Public Theater. 8 Exchange St., Auburn. (315) 253-6669. Summer shows include stand-up comic Brad Zimmerman’s show My Son, The Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy (June 28-30), the return of the squabbling kitchen ladies (ahem) for The Calamari Sisters in Beat Until Stiff (July 5-7),…

On May 5 during the 40th annual Syracuse Press Club Awards ceremony, WSYR-Channel 9 reporter and weekend anchor Tammy Palmer earned a number of awards for her station, as well as snagging several prizes during the evening’s frequent raffles. On May 29 Palmer channel-surfed up the dial ever so slightly, as she switched from local broadcaster WSYR to cable television to host the evening segments on Spectrum News’ channel 10. Palmer’s surprise return to the cable system could make her Spectrum’s homecoming queen. In 2003 she helped start News 10 Now, the Salt City-based all-news channel created by Time Warner Cable. Palmer stayed through 2011, handling everything from…

Horror movies and guest stars will be on deck April 28.

Editor’s Note: This story was written and submitted by Abby West, a senior in SUNY Oswego’s English and Creative Writing Program. Each year, a grouping of innovative young artists presents the fruits of three years’ worth of work for Syracuse University’s Masters of Fine Arts thesis exhibition. This year, 31 candidates from the School of Art, School of Design, and Department of Transmedia have contributed to Hiding in Plain Sight, an energetic show intended to rereflect “an age where judgment is shaped by ‘alternative facts,'” according to the exhibit’s press material. Hiding in Plain Sight includes sociopolitical statement pieces from some students and deeply personal works from others. The show appears in three separate venues…

Every day for more than 50 years the snoozing destination of Bridgeport has been blasted by the noontime greeting of the town’s fire station whistle. But now that whistle has some competition, and it’s right across the street from the station’s Route 31 address. That’s where the sounds of video slot machines and rolling dice can now be heard. Point Place Casino is the new 24/7 gaming emporium that premiered March 1 from the Oneida Indian Nation, which also controls Verona’s Turning Stone and Chittenango’s Yellow Brick Road casinos. It’s certainly the most seismic event to occur in this community…

The 2018 Syracuse Winterfest offers an 11-day stretch that celebrates fun in the Salt City, with chicken wing walks, chili cook-offs and ice carvings to lure Central New York residents to enjoy the downtown happenings. But while all good things must come to an end, at least the traditional Winterfest finale always provides some harmonious ear candy. That’s when the 14th annual Hammond Jammin’ takes over the Upstairs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que venue, 246 W. Willow St., on Sunday, Feb. 25, noon to 6 p.m. The free six-hour concert, which usually gets packed for much of the afternoon, will be…

The 1970s-era rock quintet Dove will reunite for a performance and to accept Hall of Fame honors during this year’s Syracuse Area Music Awards (Sammys). The announcement was made during the Feb. 6 press conference held at Eastwood’s Palace Theatre, as smooth grooves from Bobby Green and his band provided an aural backdrop in the bijou lobby jammed with local musicmakers and aficionados. Other inductees to the Hall of Fame include music promoter Stacey Waterman, acclaimed musician John Cadley and veteran concert production manager Maryjo Spillane. Hamilton College’s Monk Rowe has been named music educator of the year, and radio…

Famous Artists, the company founded by the late showman Murray Bernthal that has brought Broadway-caliber productions to Central New York for more than 60 years, has moved its business from West Fayette Street to a new corner office at 374 S. Salina St. The location is just a storefront away from the Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St., where the Famous Artists Broadway Theater Series presented last fall’s production of the Disney musical The Lion King. Splashy posters for upcoming shows fill the office’s windows on West Jefferson Street. Famous Artists president Albert Nocciolino was on hand along with Alan…

With a release date slated for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend and an advertising campaign that paid homage to the blaxploitation cinema era, things seemed to be looking good for Proud Mary (Sony/Screen Gems; 89 minutes; widescreen; R; 2018). The title sequence features the title character, sultry assassin Mary (Hidden Figures’ Taraji P. Henson), as she gets gussied up with a blonde wig, then heads to the Boston apartment of a hapless bookie and pulls the trigger on him, as The Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” wails on the soundtrack. Combine that snappy setup with the movie’s…

The holidays used to mean curling up in front of a Philco boob tube to watch It’s a Wonderful Life or White Christmas. Now there are 60-inch-wide wall TV monitors that overwhelm viewers, even though the usual yuletide suspects still turn up on cable channels, with umpteen runs of The Polar Express and A Christmas Story, while charming oldies such as Holiday Inn and The Bishop’s Wife are dusted off one more time. Beyond the standard go-tos, however, the joyous season has been employed as a backdrop for plenty of other cinematic efforts: The Cowboy and the Indians (1949) The…

With the Christmas season in full swing, the History of Syracuse Rock’n’Roll music series adds to the good cheer with its annual holiday shindig, which takes place Sunday, Dec. 3, 4 to 7 p.m., at the Holiday Inn, 441 Electronics Parkway, Liverpool. This installment is again being dubbed the “Classic Canteen” with its salute to the Sunday-afternoon Teen Canteen rock shows of yesteryear that packed the former Three Rivers Inn nightclub in Phoenix. Series producer Ron Wray still affectionately recalls those days when he joins morning-drive radio host Nick Caplan each week during the 8 a.m. Wednesday sloton The Dinosaur…

The former A.V. Zogg Middle School in the village of Liverpool will soon come to life as a backdrop for a teen-geared movie comedy set to begin filming through December. And the American High production company is on the hunt for extras who will fill the school’s hallways. The Liverpool School of Cinema, as Zogg has been rebranded, is the brainchild of Hollywood writer-director Jeremy Garelick. His American High concept, which came from his love of high school movies, especially Brat Pack auteur John Hughes’ films of the 1980s such as The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Sixteen…