The Cayuga County Office of Tourism is open from 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Friday. 

CAYUGA COUNTY EVENT LISTING

Saturday, October 30 – Sunday, January 8 – Quilts=Art=Quilts – Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn.  International contemporary juried quilt exhibit.  Admission $6/adults, members and children under 12 free.   www.myartcenter.org           315-255-1553  

Saturday, November 19 – December 31 – Cayuga Museum 75th Anniversay Exhibit – Cayuga Museum of History & Art, 203 Genesee St., Auburn.  View the 75th anniversary exhibit chronicling the history of the Cayuga Museum of History and Art and the Case Research Lab.  Also enjoy the new exhibit ’Quilts’ by the Cayuga Lake Quilters Guild.  www.cayuganet.org/cayugamuseum  315-253-8051 

Friday, December 2 – First Friday Event – Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn.  Visit the Schweinfurth Art Center to celebrate the holidays – Enjoy holiday punch and cookies, make an artful holiday ornament, and have a festive photo taken in the Photo Booth.  Take advantage of a one-night Holiday Sale in our Gift Shop – non-members receive a 10% discount and members receive 20% off all purchases from 5-8pm.  Quilts=Art=Quilts will be on view in the galleries.  www.myartcenter.org  315-255-1553

Friday, December 2 – First Friday Event – Cayuga Museum of History & Art, 203 Genesee St., Auburn.  Stevie Tombstone, popular local singer/songwriter/musician, will anchor the Cayuga Museum’s First Friday celebration.  Tombstone will perform his Americana country blues from 5:00 – 7:30, and will have copies of his recently released c.d. Slow Drunken Waltz.  www.cayuganet.org/cayugamuseum  315-253-8051 

Friday, December 2 – First Friday Event – Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn.  Come view an exhibition of artwork by members of the Auburn community who are in various stages of recovery from mental illness. Featured artist is Angela Wright. Also enjoy local musicians perform for open mic night.  5-7:30pm.  www.auburnpublictheater.org  315-253-6669

Friday, December 2 – Sunday, December 4 – “A Yuletide Ballad”- Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn.  A Yuletide Ballad is a re-telling of the Christmas Story.  Directed and Produced by James Cantu and Choreographed by Yvonne Hassett, this truly unique family experience will warm your heart and ring in the Holiday Season.  $10 General Admission; $8 Seniors and Students: $5 Family Rate.  www.auburnpublictheater.org  315-253-6669

Friday, December 2 – Saturday, December 3 – “Another Earth” – Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn.  A coming-of-adulthood story that improbably blends a plaintive drama with romantic longing and far-out science fiction.  12/2, 1 & 8pm, 12/3, 8pm. $5.  www.auburnpublictheater.org  315-253-6669

Friday, December 2 – Sunday, December 4 – Holiday Shopping Spree – Cayuga Wine Trail, Cayuga Lake.  Experience the warmth of the Holidays while sampling fine wines & special holiday treats.  Take home a souvenir wineglass, a grapevine wreath, a unique specialized ornament from each winery, plus holiday recipe cards. Receive a shopper’s discount card that can be used at each winery. Fri. 1PM – 5PM, Sat. 10AM – 6PM & Sun. 10AM – 5PM.  Advance tickets: Single $ 35.00, Couple $ 50.00.  Tickets at the door: Single $ 40.00, Couple $ 55.00.  Designated Driver: Single $ 30.00, Couple $ 45.00.  http://cayugawinetrail.com/  800-684-5217

Friday, December 2 & Saturday, December 3 – Candlelight Tours – Seward House Museum, 33 South St., Auburn.  Celebrate the arrival of the holiday season with an enchanting candlelight tour of the elegant Seward House Museum. Top area florists, artisans and the Skaneateles Garden Club have adopted the Seward House to provide a showcase of holiday decorations! Experience the unique charm and history of the festively adorned Seward House Museum. Prepaid reservations required. $10 adult, $8 for twelve and under. Tours at 6:00 and 7:00pm.  www.sewardhouse.org  315-252-1283

Saturday, December 3 & Sunday, December 4 – White Barn Christmas – Izzo’s White Barn Winery, 6634 Cayuga Rd., Cayuga.  A Local youth group Christmas tree sale in our decorated barn.  Christmas Karaoke 12/4 from 1-4PM in the winery, sing along or listen to Sue Alexander and friends, wine specials to help you stock up for the holidays, and Christmas vacation trivia. Brush up on your Griswald facts for free tastings and other fun prizes!  Open Noon-5PM.  www.izzoswhitebarnwinery.com  315-283-8095

Saturday, December 3 & Sunday, December 4 – Holiday Festival Craft Show – Cayuga Community College, 197 Franklin St., Auburn.  Craft Fair & Cultural Food Booths Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 11am-4pm.  Children’s Play 12pm & 2:30pm both days.  Musician/puppeteer Stephen Baird 11am-4pm, acoustic performers Barrigan Brothers Sat. 11am-1pm, Sun. 12pm-2pm.  315-255-1743 x 2232

Saturday, December 3 – Pajama Party with Santa – Fingerlakes Mall, 1579 Clark St. Rd., Auburn.  10am-noon.  Kids can stay cuddled up in their jammies while enjoying milk and cookies and writing letters they can hand deliver to Jolly Old St. Nick!  www.fingerlakesmall.com  315-255-1188

Saturday, December 3 – Natural Holiday Ornaments – Sterling Nature Center, 15730 Jensvold Rd., Sterling.  Join Connie Cosemento and create a small holiday ornament made from natural materials.  All ages are welcome to create a natural treasure to take home for the holiday season.  Pre-register by November 28th to ensure we have enough materials for all.  1:00pm.  www.cayuganet.org/sterlingpark/  315-947-6143

Sunday, December 4 – “POLAR EXPRESS” – Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn.  Join WCNY at Auburn Public Theater for MOVIE AND A COOKIE! This family-friendly event will feature a visit from Santa Claus, a free cookie and a screening of the film. All proceeds will benefit WCNY’s programming and services. Doors open at 1:30PM, cost is $5 for children 6-14; Free under 5; Adults $10.  2pm.  www.auburnpublictheater.org  315-253-6669

Sunday, Decmber 4 – Slide Show on Auburn Railroad – Cayuga Museum of History & Art, 203 Genesee St., Auburn.   Richard Palmer will present a program entitled “Old Times on the New York Central Railroad” at 2:00 p.m. Palmer, who has researched and written extensively on the history of local transportation, will illustrate the lecture with images from his own collection.  This program is free.  www.cayuganet.org/cayugamuseum  315-253-8051   

Sunday, December 4 – A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols – Christ United Methodist Church, 36 Church St., Moravia.  Enjoy a traditional “Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols”Christmas service with Organ, Brass, and Choir Sunday, December 4, at 10:30 am and again at 3:30 pm.  There will be plenty of congregational singing to help get you into the Christmas spirit. Free and open to the public.  607-279-7636

Sunday, December 4 – Drop-In Family Art Making – Holiday Ornaments – Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn.  Children and their accompanying adults are invited to drop-in art making experiences.  Projects are inspired by basic art principles, materials, or techniques and will encourage participants of all ages to make art collectively.  Stop in between 1-4:30pm to complete a project.  $5 per project. No need to preregister. www.myartcenter.org  315-255-1553

Sunday, December 4 – Trunk Show – Quilts=Art=Quilts –  Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn.  Featuring Sally Davis.  Meet a regional quilter and see examples of their work.  Included with $6 general admission to exhibition, free for Art Center Members.  2:00pm.  www.myartcenter.org  315-255-1553

Wednesday, December 7 – “Science Alive” – Dr. Joseph F. Karpinski Sr. Educational Center, Ward O’Hara Agricultural Museum, 6880 East Lake Rd, Auburn.  Hosted by the new Dr. Joseph F. Karpinski Science Center at the Museum.  An exciting and fun-filled evening of hands-on science experiments for the whole family from 6-8pm.  Admission is $5 per person or a maximum of $25 per family.  Registration is required by November 30.  www.cayuganet.org/agmuseum  315-784-5479 or 729-0657

Thursday, December 8 – Make Shift:  Found Furniture with Norma Bliss – Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn.  A series of projects that focuses on using recycled materials to make art.  Beginners or experienced crafters welcome.  $10/members, $15/non-members.  Call 315-294-8841 to register.  6-8pm.  www.myartcenter.org  315-255-1553

Friday, December 9 & Saturday, December 10 – Candlelight Tours – Seward House Museum, 33 South St., Auburn.  Celebrate the arrival of the holiday season with an enchanting candlelight tour of the elegant Seward House Museum. Top area florists, artisans and the Skaneateles Garden Club have adopted the Seward House to provide a showcase of holiday decorations! Experience the unique charm and history of the festively adorned Seward House Museum. Prepaid reservations required. $10 adult, $8 for twelve and under. Tours at 6:00 and 7:00pm.  www.sewardhouse.org  315-252-1283

Friday, December 9 – A Classic Irish Christmas 2011 – Auburn Junior High School, 191 Franklin St., Auburn.  St. Joseph School Presents Andy Cooney for a Holiday Concert.  Andy Cooney, direct from Carnegie Hall, George Casey, Ireland’s New King of Blarney, Kate Purcell, Celtic Folk Artist and more.  Tickets $25.  Tickets will be sold at the door or call for more information.  315-253-8327

Friday, December 9 & Saturday, December 10^th – “Stitched” – Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn.  Stitched is a fun-filled documentary following three quilters racing to complete their entries for the International Quilt Festival, the largest quilt show in the nation. 12/9 1 & 8pm, 12/10, 8pm.  $5.  www.auburnpublictheater.org  315-253-6669

Friday, December 9 – Free Fun Family Night at the Fingerlakes Mall – Fingerlakes Mall, 1579 Clark St. Rd., Auburn.  Family fun night with Santa Claus!  Christmas activities and reindeer games for children.  This will take place along with the annual Bass Pro Shops Fishing Derby.  6-8pm.  www.fingerlakesmall.com  315-255-1188

Friday, December 9 – Christmas in Aurora – Route 90, Main St., Aurora.  Village-wide Christmas sales, children’s activities and entertainment.  10am-6pm all along Main St.  Check out the link for the schedule of events.  http://visitaurorany.com/cia.htm  315-364-7610

Saturday, December 10 – Reva Rollerdrome Christmas Party – Reva Rollerdrome, 359 W. Genesee St., Auburn.  Skate with Santa, snowball burst & coloring contest, free Christmas cookies & hot chocolate, win Happy Feet prizes, play great board games.  1:00-3:30pm.  Admission $4.50, skate rental $2.00.  www.reva-rollerdrome.com  315-252-8225

Saturday, December 10 – Come to Our Holiday Open House! – King Ferry Winery, 658 Lake Rd., King Ferry.  Enjoy warm, mulled wine and lovely live music by Cielle (performing from 2 to 5).  We’ll have a few special visiting vendors in that day, and we have a nice selection of wine-related gifts in our gift shop.  We will be running special deals on wines and shipping, and don’t forget to taste any of the new vintages you may not have tried yet.  Noon – 5pm.  www.treleavenwines.com  800-439-5271

Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 11 – White Barn Christmas – Izzo’s White Barn Winery, 6634 Cayuga Rd., Cayuga.  Local youth group Christmas tree sale in our decorated barn.  Christmas Karaoke 12/11 from 1-4PM in the winery, sing along or listen to Sue Alexander and friends, wine specials to help you stock up for the holidays, and Christmas vacation trivia. Brush up on your Griswald facts for free tastings and other fun prizes!  Open Noon-5PM.  www.izzoswhitebarnwinery.com  315-283-8095

Saturday, December 10 – Musica Spei Presents:  Saint Nicholas Saves the Day – St. Mary’s Church, 15 Clark St., Auburn.  Musica Spei presents “Saint Nicholas Saves the Day”  An evil Pagan king, a steadfast Christian boy, and a kindly Saint.  A sung Medieval mystery drama based on a miracle from the life of Saint Nicholas, and Renaissance choral music for the Christmas season.  7:30pm.  315-252-9545

Sunday, December 11 – Annual Holiday Wine Dinner with Treleaven Winery – Pumpkin Hill Bistro, 2051 State Route 90, Aurora.  $55.00 per person +tax and gratuity (includes 5 courses with paired wines) Begins at 4pm.  Limited seating is still available.  Please call for reservations.  www.pumpkinhillbistro.com  315-364-7091

Sunday, December 11 – Annual Holiday Traditions Open House – Auburn

      Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center – Noon-5pm.  Free.  Quilts made by 72 artists from all over the world will be on view in the annual Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibition.  Families are invited to complete a scavenger hunt in the exhibition.  In addition, members of the Studio Art Quilt Associates will present a show-and-tell of their recent work during a Trunk Show at 2pm.   Westminster Presbyterian Church – Noon – 4:00pm. In addition to tours of the recently renovated historic church and the display of Advent banners, Westminster will feature some family friendly offerings – children and families can make a ’Chrismon’ ornament to take home, and may also have their pictures taken wearing traditional Christmas pageant costumes.  The Masterworks Chorale will perform a free holiday concert at 3pm in the sanctuary.                                                                                                                                St. Mary’s Church, 15 Clark St. – Gift shop open, tours of Church, and refreshments.  1:30-3:00pm.                                                                                                                                   St. Francis of Assisi Church, 303 Clark St. – Auburn Chamber Orchestra to play at 4:00pm to 5:15pm.  Coffee hour to follow.                                                                        Seward House Musem, 33 South St. – Noon-5pm.  Free.  Area florists, artisans and the Skaneateles Garden Club have adopted the museum to provide an array of spectacular holiday decorations.  Live musical performances throughout the day will add to the holiday splendor, including a performance by the St. Alphonsus Children’s Choir.                         Harriet Tubman Home, 180 South St. – Noon-5pm.  Free.  Please call the home directly for details on the day’s events.                                                                                              Cayuga Museum, 203 Genesee St. – Noon-5pm.  Free.  The mansion will be decked out in its holiday best.  Current exhibits will be the Museum’s 75th Anniversary and quilts from the ’Cayuga Lake Quilt Guild’ based in Union Springs, NY.                                                   Willard Memorial Chapel, 17 Nelson St. – Noon-5pm.  Free.  1pm – read with Santa (sponsored by the Literacy Volunteers of America)  2pm – Susan may with Christmas Carols at the piano.  Noon-5pm – Used book sale and Friends of Hospice Thrift Shop open.       Ward O’Hara Agricultural Museum, 6880 East Lake Road, Rt. 38A – Horse drawn wagon rides, cookie decorating, coloring contests, ornament making, face painting, and much more.  Special herb garden activities, keyboard music, & The Barber Shop Singers will be performing their Christmas favorites. Tour the museum & visit the gift shop. Admission & parking free.  Donations accepted.  Noon – 4PM. 

NEW BUSINESSES NOW OPEN

Man in the Moon Classic Cheesecake & Dessert Bake Shoppe, King Ferry

Bayview Wellness Center & Spa, Fair Haven

Hanart Studios and Gallery, Fair Haven

Oak & Vine Restaurant at the Springside Inn, Auburn

Anchor Laundromat, 719 Main St., Fair Haven – Large capacity, sparkling clean, WiFi, TV

The Apple Station, 5279 Cross Rd., Cayuga

Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse, 181 Grant Ave. Auburn

The Auburn Ale House, 288 Genesee St., Auburn

Skaneateles resident Patty Elkovitch, whose “Lady of the Lake Baskets” quilt design is featured in the Spring 2009 issue of Quilt Sampler, learned recently that another of her designs, “French Floral,” is featured in the March/April issue of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine.

Elkovitch, a staff member and teacher at Patchwork Plus Quilt & Yarn Shop in Marcellus, submitted “French Floral”—an adaptation of a flower design from the 1930s made in Baldwinsville—to Love of Quilting almost two years ago. The fact that the designs are appearing back-to-back—bringing national acclaim to both the designer and the quilt shop—is happy coincidence.

“Patty is a treasure—I’m so glad her talent is being recognized by not one but two magazines,” says Patchwork Plus owner Judi West. “Patty has an amazing knowledge of textiles and quilt history and is very willing to share this with everyone. I love to eavesdrop when she is working with a customer because I know I will learn something new, either about an old design or fabric, or a tip to make a project go together easier.”

“Lady of the Lake Baskets,” co-designed with Skaneateles Falls resident Judy Sheridan, is described by Elkovitch as a juxtaposition of two patterns: the Lady of the Lake block, dating back to the 1830s, and a pieced basket block. Once the design was accepted for publication, Elkovitch and Sheridan had three weeks to construct the finished quilt – Elkovitch did the machine quilting; Sheridan compiled the pattern and instructions for the print. The design appears in the upcoming issue of Quilt Sampler, on sale May 12, in which Patchwork Plus is one of 10 shops profiled from across the United States and Canada.

Elkovitch has been affiliated with Patchwork Plus since its inception in the late ‘80s and currently teaches a hands-on class there in textile history, “Historical Threads,” offered the last Monday of each month, March through August, noon to 4 p.m. She notes that “there are a lot of talented quilters in this area,” and that Patchwork Plus often feels like a “fabric bar,” where salespeople and customers have come to know each other well.

“Quilting is an art that anyone can enjoy – it’s a real pleasure,” she says, noting that first creations can be highly skilled and “it doesn’t necessarily take years of training.” She describes the design process as “stepping back and asking ‘what if.’ What if I changed this, moved that, changed the color?”

Elkovitch, who earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Wells College and a master’s degree in museum studies from Syracuse University, has been making and designing quilts for more than 30 years.

She has exhibited at numerous festivals and invitational shows, including the Houston International Quilt Festival, the Shelburne (Vt.) Museum, the Inland Empire Quilt Guild Show in Riverside, Calif., the American Quilter’s Society Show in Padukah, Ken., Quilters Unlimited in Kansas City, and locally at Quilts=Art=Quilts at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn and the Thumbstall Quilt Guild Biannual Quilt Show in Skaneateles.

The “French Floral” quilt is currently on display at Patchwork Plus, 2532 Cherry Valley Turnpike (Route 20). “Lady of the Lake Baskets” will go on display in May, when kits and patterns become available.

Release by Sandi Mulconry