Archive for Ithaca
Ithaca Farmers Market: Rutabaga Curling World Championship 12/17/11
Press Release from the Ithaca Farmers Market:
14TH ANNUAL RUTABAGA CURL CONTINUES THE ITHACA FARMERS MARKET’S COMMITMENT TO TOSSING LOCAL VEGETABLES ON THE FLOOR
ITHACA -The Ithaca Farmers Market will be celebrating its roots once again this year by tossing them about as athletes from all over the globe vie in epic fashion for the gold medal, silver, or bronze. The competition will be stiff. Nate Nicholson, last year’s Gold medal winner, has just returned to Ithaca from his goodwill world tour. Even though nobody has ever successfully defended their title, Nate has vowed to give it his best shot.
The 2011 14th annual International Rutabaga Curling World Championship will be held at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market last selling day on Saturday, Dec 17. Registration for athletes will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. A $5 registration fee for the event includes your market grown rutabaga which we encourage you all to take home and thoroughly enjoy in a post games warm bowl of soup! Robin Ostfeld from Blue Heron Farm in Lodi, site of our official breeding program to produce genetically superior curling rutabagas tells us that this year they expect the biggest crop of official Curl rutabagas ever, especially grown with love and daily massage treatments for rounder profiles.
The Games open at high noon upon the arrival of the rutabaga torch borne by a toga-clad Dennis Hartley of Littletree Farms who will run the final leg of the torch run on its journey from “Mt. Cruciferous.” Christi Sobel,The Rutabaga Goddess leads the assembled throng in a moving “Parade of the Athletes.”
This years ceremonial opening rutabaga toss will feature Doug Derraugh, coach of the Cornell Womens Hockey Team. The games are closely monitored by our referees, and our esteemed announcer will be Peter McDonald of McDonald Farms. Dont miss the Vociferous Cruciferous Chorus in their rousing rendition of George Frederic Handels The Rutabaga Chorus.
First event up will be the Turnip Toss for athletes 8 years old and younger who find the heft of the rutabaga a bit too much to handle. After this event we have 3 rounds of Rutabaga Curling with the top 5 finishers from each round advancing to the nail biting Final Round.
For more information, visit
http://www.ithacamarket.com/ifm-events/rutabaga-curl/ or on our Facebook page at facebook.com/ithacamarket.
The Rutabaga Curl has been featured on the pages of many illustrious internet publications, as well as in National Geographic, and is such an ensconced, Ithaca tradition that it even has its own protesters, who annually demand justice for the cruelly treated vegetables.
History of the Rutabaga Curl: The sport of Rutabaga Curling was born on a cold December 1996 Market day, the last market day of the season. The few vendors present (perhaps 25 or so this time of year and point in our history) huddled together for warmth and camaraderie waiting for an occasional customer. Talk at some point in the day turned to unusual winter sports. Curling of course came up in conversation. None of us knew the rules; but before we knew it vendors’ wares were being “hurled” or “curled” down the market’s wooden floor. Potatoes, cinnamon rolls, cabbages, loaves of bread, and even frozen chickens were fair game in this impromptu outburst. There were no particular rules this day; we were going for style, distance, and laughs. But Steve Sierigk, one of the vendors present that fateful day and currently the self-proclaimed “Most Esteemed Grand Commissioner of the International Rutabaga Curl”, saw potential in the innocent play. The next market season Commissioner Steve codified rules and designed a court of play using market’s wooden floor. In 1997 an early form of our sport was born which allowed contestants to throw most any projectile available at market, although rutabagas were supplied. Commissioner Steve astutely recognized the inequities of this first year of organized sport; to level the playing field the Commissioner declared “any projectile besides a rutabaga illegal”. Hence the first official Rutabaga Curl was held in 1998.
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Related articles
- Learn more at the Rutabaga Curl Website
- Join the Facebook Group
- Read the Wikipedia Entry
- See the Flickr album
- Watch the Rutabaga Choir on YouTube
- Watch the Winners Podium on YouTube
- When Life Gives You Rutabagas (oolongrouge.wordpress.com)
- Advanced Rutabaga Studies Institute
11/19: Public Invited to Ithaca Children’s Garden Design Charette
ITHACA CHILDREN’S GARDEN REDESIGN TO FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY
Student Design Presentations & Charette
Saturday, November 19, 11:00am-3:00pm
BorgWarner Room, Tompkins County Public Library, 101 Green St., Ithaca
Students in Dan Krall’s Landscape Architecture class at Cornell
University have devoted a fall semester studio project to redesigning
the Ithaca Children’s Garden (ICG). Students will present their
designs on Saturday, November 19th at the Tompkins County Public
Library. The public is invited to attend and contribute their ideas,
and to learn more about the direction the Ithaca Children’s Garden is
heading.
With a new director and board, ICG’s focus now is on integrated
ecology, permaculture and on becoming a center for garden-based
environmental education in Ithaca and the Northeast. ICG welcomes
community feedback on how to effectively integrate these concepts into
future garden development.
“Some people may be unaware that the Children’s Garden is only about
40% developed,” says Erin Marteal, Executive Director of the nonprofit
organization. “There still is much to do to complete the site,
including an edible forest garden, gorge-inspired water garden,
3-season bulb labyrinth, and a 2500 square foot education building.
The Garden has been slowly developing since 2004 when the 3-acre
parcel was first leased from the City. It is time to revisit our
master plan and fine tune it to carry us into the next phase of
development given our emphasis on sustainability,” Matreal said.
Community members may drop in any time between 11:00am-3:00pm
to view student designs. A light lunch will be served at 12:30pm for those
engaging in the design charette, which will run from 1:00-3:00 pm.
Those planning to attend lunch are asked to rsvp to
ithacachildrensgarden ; no response is need to review
student designs or participate in the charette.
Questions? Contact Erin Marteal, Executive Director: enm6 cornell.edu,
or 607.272.2292, x122
Learn more about the Ithaca Children’s Garden at
http ://www.ithacachildrensgarden.org /
Related articles
- Interested in Ithaca area food security and urban ag? Gardens 4 Humanity “Social”, Thursday 5pm (flxpermaculture.net)
- 12/7: “Empowered” Encore Screening at Cinemapolis (flxpermaculture.net)
11/17: “Planning for Sustainability” is topic of CCE-Tompkins Annual Meeting
Apologies for cross-postings!
“Planning for Sustainability“
2011 CCE-Tompkins Annual Meeting
Thursday, November 17, 8:00-10:00am
Ramada Inn, 2310 North Triphammer Road, Ithaca
Enjoy a delicious breakfast of primarily local foods and learn about “Planning a Route to Sustainability: What the Third Little Pig Knew” with guest speaker Susan M. Christopherson of Cornell’s Dept. of City & Regional Planning, at the 2011 Annual Meeting of Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension. Professor Christopherson will discuss why building a sustainable, resilient community economy requires looking out at the changing economic landscape and anticipating both expected and unexpected change. A brief vote to elect the new board will follow. Tickets are $10/person and may be charged by calling (607) 272-2292. An invitation and response form to print and mail is available online at http://ccetompkins.org/annual-meeting. Please reserve by Thursday, November 10 to ensure a seat.
Related articles
- 20 Years in 20 Days: EVI As An Example (cohousingblog.com)
#flxpc Fwd: Beautification Brigade Training
Begin forwarded message:
From: Dan Klein <dek22>
Date: February 18, 2010 10:12:37 AM EST
To: “‘List Serve’” <TC-HSC-L>
Subject: Beautification Brigade Training
Reply-To: Dan Klein <dek22>Training for the 2010 Beautification Brigade will be held Tuesdays March 23 and 30, 6:00 – 8:30, at Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, 615 Willow Ave, Ithaca. The Beautification Brigade is a group of volunteers who work with the Community Beautification Program at various flower planting sites around the City of Ithaca. No previous experience is necessary to join. For more information and a volunteer application, contact Dan Klein at 272- 2292, ext. 123, or dek22@cornell.edu. More information can also be found at http://ccetompkins.org/community_beautification/index.htm
2010 Upstate NY Permaculture Gathering
Permaculture beginners and aficionados alike are invited
to come together for the
2010 Upstate NY Permaculture Gathering.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
9:30am – 5pm
The Gear Factory, 200 S. Geddes St, Syracuse, NY
This event is a regional scaled event designed to foster networking, coordination, and learning among the Permaculture and homesteading communities of Upstate New York. Permaculture is a whole-systems approach to community and landscape design that integrates regenerative agriculture techniques in order to meet human and animal needs in development projects to allow for more self-sufficient living.
