PARKS PERSPECTIVES September-October 2013 Issue NEIGHBORS, NEW COLLEGE FRESHMEN WORK TOGETHER FOR DAY OF SERVICE AT CITY PARKS Hundreds of college freshmen from Syracuse University , ESF and LeMoyne, along with some Neighborhood and parks Advocates, came together on August 24th for the annual Day of Service, and their hours and sweat yielded big results In the parks and green spaces throughout the City. Armed with saws, rakes, loppers, pitch forks, and shovels, the teams took on the daunting tasks of sprucing up areas in Thornden, Elmwood, Kirk, Lincoln, and Schiller Parks, and along the Creekwalk and Rand Tract in the val- ley. Miranda Hine, from the Thornden Park As- sociation, reported that the group at the park, adjacent to SU, spent three hours weeding stretches of walkways around the Rose Garden and Lily Pond, tended to newly-planted trees. She estimated that 165 hours of volunteer work had been done at Thornden Park alone. City of Syracuse Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs Stephanie A. Miner, Mayor 412 Spencer St. Baye Muhummad, Commissioner Syracuse, New York 13204 John Walsh, Deputy Commissioner www.syracuse.ny.us/parks 315.473.4330 SPECIAL EVENTS Syrathon is still running … Three runs that are part of the Syrathon series occur in Sep- tember and October The International Arts & Puppet The Strathmore It’s amore at La Festa Italiana Festival, hosted by the Open with all the food, the music, Parks Run Hand Theater, returns this fall on and a bocce ball tournament. Sat., Sept. 14 at its North Salina 4 mile-race will The festival will take place in Street location. Visit be held Sun., Sept. 15, starting front of City Hall Friday, Sept. www.openhandtheater.org and and ending in Onondaga Park. 13 through Sun., Sept. 15. For click on Shows. This year’s course will also in- more information, check out clude Elmwood Park. Visit www.festaitaliana.bizland.com www.strathmoreparksrun.com for all the registration and route information. A Run for Their Life will be on Sun., Sun., Oct. 13, beginning at Manley Field House. The 15K and 5K events will benefit the Carol Baldwin Foundation. Check out Celebrate the neighborhood’s www.cmbarunfortheirlife.com The Fair celebrates the diversity rich and musical heritage at for more info. and uniqueness of this neigh- this annual event on Sat., borhood on Sun., Sept. 15. Vis- Sept. 21, at Pass Arboretum. it www.westcottstreetfair.org The Eastwood For more information, visit for more information. Park-to-Park Run www.tipphillmusicfest.org is a 5-miler through East In the weeks ahead, be sure to visit wood, beginning at Sunnycrest Park. The event, presented by www.syracuse.ny.us/parks, and click on Cal- the Eastwood Neighborhood endar of Events for information on upcom- Association is slated for Sun., Oct. 27. Check out ing holiday events for you and your family. www.eastwoodrun.com for all the info. SPECIAL EVENTS Featuring The Once Upon a Nightmare Haunted House The Pumpkin Patch (for the younger little ghosts and goblins) Games, activities, face painting Free Admission 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 18 & 19 and 25 & 26 Burnet Park, Coleridge Ave. The event is inside so it goes on regardless of the weather Sponsored in part by: Taking steps to help at the Inner Harbor, downtown parks The Inner Harbor and various parks in the downtown Syracuse area and will host a number of walks and runs. Below is the list of events with the respective websites for more information. ALS Walk – Sept. 21 – Inner Harbor — http://webuny.alsa.org Stand Up Against Suicide – Sept. 28 – Inner Harbor Amphitheater — www.facebook.com/ standagainstsuicide Hope for Heather – Sept. 28 – Inner Harbor Amphitheater — www.hopeforheather.com Light the Night Walk to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Oct. 2 – Clinton Square — www.lightthenight.org CROP Walk – Oct. 20 – Columbus Circle — www.hunger.cwsglobal.org Making Strides Against Breast Cancer -- Clinton Square — www.makingstrideswalk.org SPECIAL EVENTS — Scenes from the Summer SPECIAL EVENTS — Scenes from the Summer (cont’d) SHAKING IT UP AT CLINTON SQUARE The Parks Department partnered with downtown’s Metro Fitness and Thrive magazine to present a new Zumba program during the lunch hour on Wednes- days. The program, held in Clinton Square, saw about 20 participants the first week, and it grew in popularity throughout the summer. Randy Sabour- tin, from Metro Fitness, already has some ideas for additional wellness programs during the summer of 2014. TOOTING OUR OWN HORNS The Stan Colella All-Star Band finished another successful season, having performed well over 50 concerts for CNY audiences. Un- der the direction of Joe Carello, the band is made up of some of the area’s most talented young musicians. Many of the sites where the band played, including Loretto Buck- ley Landing, Churchill Manor, St. Camillus, Iroquois Mursing Home, the Solvay Senior Citizen Club, The Hearth at Greenpoint, Geddes Seniors, St. John’s Golden Ages club, James Square and Members of the All-Star Band’s trumpet sec- Nottingham Retirement Community, made generous donations to tion, including, from left, Matteo Piriano, So- the Tim Laun Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides monies phia Kinne, Anne Marie Reedy and Joe for Barnes & Noble gift cards. These cards are presented to the Moore. band’s graduating members to help get them started on their col- lege careers. ADULT RECREATION And the winners are: Men’s A Champs: Donigan Insurance Men’s B Champs: Roadhawks ADULT RECREATION (cont’d) Women’s Champs: Liberty Lacrosse Winter Leagues Sign-Up Information AQUATICS Lessons for adults and youth; water exercise; public swim; lap swim; employment opportunities for life- guards, classes for water safety in- structors – all this through the city’s Aquatics Division. Visit www.syracuse.ny,us/parks. On the Divisions tab, click on Aquatics, and check out all that’s offered for you. YOUTH RECREATION WEST SIDE YOUTH SOCCER THIS FALL AT BURNET PARK Instructional youth soccer, for children ages 4 to 12, returns to Burnet Park on Saturdays, from Sept. 14 through Oct. 19, as the Parks Department partners with the expert coaches from the Ultimate Goal. Sessions are at 9 a.m, 10:15am and 11:30am, based on age division. Team games will follow several weeks of instructional clinics that teach a small, simple and realistic form of soccer! To register online, go to www.ultimategoalonline.com . On-site registration will be permitted, if space allows. Fees are $35 city resident ($60 non city) For more information, call Ultimate Goal: 673-4625 or City Parks 473- 4330, or e-mail: [email protected] EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT LEE GLOVER To say that Lee Glover stays active is an understatement. He is a ball of perpetual motion. He is responsible for the upkeep of the parks and the playground areas in the city’s North side, which consists of more than 50 acres. In addi- tion, he power washes each of the department’s picnic shelters on a reg- ular basis to make them more pleasant for patrons to enjoy. Lee has been with the City for approximately 18 years, the last 10 of which have been with Parks. Prior to that, he has worked in the Police Department, the Water Department and several division of the Depart- ment of Public Works. He also is involved in the Syracuse Elks Lodge #1104, on South Salina Street, and he works part-time as a security guard. Senior Center Director Earns “Going the Extra Mile Award” Senior programs director Tom White recently received the “Going the Extra Mile” award from Mayor Stephanie Miner in ceremonies at City Hall. The honor, presented quarterly, recognizes exemplary service to the public as a representative of the City of Syracuse. Tom marks his 30th anniversary with the Department in November. He has been in the Aquatics Division before moving into an administrative role. He currently oversees the Magnarelli Center at McChesney and coordinates the programming and activities for the Department’s senior centers. Barbara Grimes Retires We bid a fond farewell and wishes for a happy retirement to Barbara Grimes, a long-time director of the Wilson Com- munity Center. Because of the close proximity of the Center to Syracuse University, Ms. Grimes took the initia- tive to create a variety of partnerships with SU develop programs for the children who attended the Center. We acknowledge all her efforts and the positive impact she has had on the children at the center — as well as our staff. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS — Onondaga Park Designs SENIOR PROGRAMS Trips to the E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden, the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and the Cortland Reper- tory Theater, a lunch cruise on the Erie Canal, and a Luau Luncheon were just some of the fun activities seniors took part in through the Parks Department’s Senior programs. The Department’s Senior division offers day trips, fitness programs, special events , social activities and lunch programs out of the Mag- narelli Community at McChesney Park on the Northside, the Cecile Community Center in the Val- ley and the Westside Senior Center. Call the Mag- narelli Center at 473-2673 or the Cecile Center at 473-2678 for information. SUMMER CAMPS FROM A TO Z Whether it was arts and crafts or zoo animals, hundreds of local youth spent part of their summer in City parks, enjoying the wide variety of camps offered by the Department’s Recreation Division, By collaborating with such groups as Syracuse Stage, Syracuse University, the Syracuse Police and Fire Departments, SUNY ESF, the Museum of Science and Technology and the Rosamond Gifford Zoo, children were able to take part in Arts & Crafts, Ani- mal Camp, Robotics Camp, the MOST Science and the ESF Envi- ronmental Science Camps, Summerstage Camp, Track and Field Camp, Tennis Camp, Jr.