Author: Kira Maddox

During a segment on the July 23 edition of WSYR-Channel 9’s infotainment show Bridge Street, Syracuse New Times publisher Bill Brod chatted about the Street Painting event that would be held July 28 during Arts Week in downtown Syracuse. Accompanying Brod was an artist wearing a Four Color Demons T-shirt (the self-described motorcycle club for comic book fans), a pyramid studded belt and lime green gauges. Using chalk on  a stretch of pavement, he sketched a cartoon-style pencil that was curved at the side, had tiny bumblebee wings and was spelling out a curly “lol.” That man was local graphic…

The early weather forecasts were wrong for Saturday, July 28, as sunshine pushed past rain clouds for the 28th annual Syracuse New Times Street Painting event. Nearly 60 people participated, which saw the sidewalk blocks of Montgomery Street from East Fayette to East Washington rainbowed — sometimes literally — with chalk artwork. A pink parrot took flight a few squares up from a very meta chalk painting of the late artist Bob Ross making another painting. Farther down the line, an octopus in an antique diver’s helmet burst from the pavement, with an arrow from the artist pointing to an…

Syracuse isn’t shy when it comes to boasting its annual summertime street fairs. From the New York State Blues Festival that draws thousands of music fans to the more than 200,000 who flock to Taste of Syracuse, the city has cemented its knack for celebrating. But there’s another annual downtown festival whose smaller size shouldn’t be cause to underestimate it: the Stage of Nations Blue Rain ECOfest. “I don’t need to be flashy,” said Irving Lyons, co-producer of the festival. “I just want to be representative of who we truly are,” The event celebrates Haudenosaunee and the comprising Six Nations’…

With the historic Landmark Theatre on South Salina Street and the Everson Museum of Art on Harrison Street as its borders, downtown Syracuse has been flourishing with an array of arts. Recent developments like the Redhouse’s move from Armory Square to South Salina, the opening of local craft business Wildflowers Armory and the reimagining of 40 Below as Adapt CNY have only strengthened the creative hub. But for many who don’t live or work in that part of the city, these things could be overlooked. That’s where Arts Week comes in. “We get to experience that year-round, so Arts Week…

The phrase “buy local” is not new. A movement to purchase goods and services produced and made in your neighborhood, instead of giving money to big businesses or chain-store companies, has been going strong nationwide since the early 2000s, according to The Economist. In Central New York, more centralized venues for buying local have begun to spring up. 20|East in Cazenovia, The Shoppes at Johnny Appleseed in Erieville and Wildflowers Armory in downtown Syracuse resemble mini-craft fair markets, with walls and shelves stacked with your favorite regional fare. But unlike a craft fair, they’re permanent installations, providing makers with a vendor space to always sell from while making it easier for buyers to seek out their products. 20|East 85…

Isaac Bidwell describes his art, a stylized collection of morphed animals, skull children and 1920s carnies, as “creepy cute.”

“Cut to the Chase,” an app developed by two Syracuse-area women, wants to keep the dating world straightforward, honest and safe.

The bill will be introduced to the senate in the coming months.

Mindful Yoga opened earlier this year in Fayetteville.

The Carol Watson Greenhouse sits tucked away in the rolling rural countryside of LaFayette. The nursery is marked by a modest sign along Sentinel Heights Road, that sends visitors up a long driveway that passes the owner’s home before opening up into a parking lot. Inside, the normally dismal Central New York landscape of melting snow, gray skies and still-crisp air is shoved aside by near-tropical temperatures and thick humidity. Flower blossoms pop with bright reds and oranges, as they hang in pots on suspended rods, arranged in wrought-iron display stands and blanket tables as if the place were one expansive field. The sounds of bubbling water as it splashes into…

In July 1971, hundreds of law enforcement officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation and military special forces flooded the Adirondacks in a search for 8-year-old Douglas Legg. The boy went missing from his great-uncle’s home in Newcomb, Essex County, according to New York Times archives. The Syracuse-area child was never found, the Post Star stated. But the search, believed to be one of the largest in the state park’s history, sparked the formation of a new team of civilian search-and-rescue volunteers. There are now more than 20 different chapters across New York state, according to the Federation of Search and Rescue Teams. Onondaga County’s Wilderness Search and Rescue…

Get ready for the revving of engines and for dirt to fly when Monster Jam takes over the Carrier Dome on Saturday, April 7, 7 p.m. Sixteen monster trucks will be racing, crushing and potentially backflipping their way to a first-place victory. Ticket prices range from $22 to $100, and are available on the Monster Jam website. Monster Jam driver Brianna Mahon has made waves recently after completing her own custom truck named Whiplash. Mahon, originally from Sullivan, Ill., spoke with the Syracuse New Times about her path to monster truck driving, what it’s like behind the wheel and what’s in store for the Dome show. How…

Syracuse Stage and Rain Lounge are partnering up to put on a Drag Battle performance on Friday, March 23.

A different perspective on combating sexual and domestic violence is being highlighted in Central New York: the White Ribbon awareness campaign aimed at men and male involvement. “Allyship means you have to be willing to give up something, or to check yourself,” said Eric McGriff, a prevention educator at Vera House. The White Ribbon campaign challenges men to do just that, he said. This month marks the 24th year Vera House has promoted the annual movement, which began in Toronto, Canada, in 1991 and has since spread to more than 60 countries. According to the campaign’s website, the event calls…

Over the past two weeks, more than 20 local eateries threw down the gauntlet to see who could come out on top in tests of booze, hot wings and general culinary prowess. As part of Winterfest, a Syracuse staple that has brought residents into downtown for winter activities and good eating since 1985, downtown restaurants and pubs cooked up their best dishes and mixed their best drinks for patrons to sample at discounted prices. Downtown parking was at a premium over both weekends as city residents and suburbanites flocked to the heart of the city. Eventgoers handed over $5 to…