ONEONTA—Hill City Celebrations’ New Year’s Eve extravaganza at the Foothills Performing Arts and Civic Center was a huge success. “Holbrook-Wade School of Dance and Harmony Martial Arts were a wonderful complement to our professional entertainment. It was great to see the children and families celebrating together,” said Carol Mandigo, event coordinator. “We haven’t had a First Night since 2019 and it’s the first time we’ve tried to produce two events at the same time, the Festival of Lights and First Night at the Foothills. Everyone pitched in to make it possible…our sponsors, the businesses, and organizations that created beautiful displays in the park, and the community who supported us all the way. We’re very grateful and looking forward to next year!” Above, Raelyn Sinstack of Oneonta spreads her lighted wings during the First Night New Year’s Eve party.
ONEONTA—This light installation, created by Jeff Powell on behalf of the Oneonta Lions Club, is just one of the fabulous displays featured at this year’s Festival of Lights in Neahwa Park. Powell’s creation, which represents the Lions’ Club Trout Fishing Derby, is programmed to simulate a fly-casting fisherman with a fish jumping and water splashing. A separate part of the display presents a fish jumping from one splash to another. “It’s quite the display and Jeff worked on setting it up for six hours in the cold as he was recovering from the flu. He figured out how to program it, too. It’s the most animated of our displays and won first prize in the first year of our contest,” said Hill City Celebrations Vice Chair Carol Mandigo. The Festival of Lights can be viewed now through January 1.
ONEONTA — The Hometown 4th Festival will return to Oneonta’s Neahwa Park to celebrate the July Fourth holiday next weekend, with a theme of honoring essential workers.
The goal is to honor the workers, including grocery store staff, teachers, police officers, firefighters and healthcare workers, who took risks for the community good during the coronavirus pandemic, according to festival officials.
“We wanted to do everything we could to let them know that the First Night Board and the whole community appreciates them,” First Night Board Chair Carol Mandigo said.
The celebration will kick off at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 2, in Neahwa Park, with a free concert by country artist Michael Christopher.
At noon, Sunday, July 4, the parade will line up at Foothills Performing Arts Center on Market Street.
Carol Mandigo poses with some of her puppets in this undated photo.
A puppet theater with local roots will perform an old time musical with a modern message in Oneonta on Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15.
The Catskill Puppet Theater, which has been around since the late 1970s, will be performing “The Villain’s Mustache,” which is described on their website as a “lively musical” and a “traditional old-time melodrama.”
“The play is fast paced and exciting enough to hold the attention of even the youngest children but contains enough real drama and good music to grab the audience as well,” said the website description.
“It’s a cool show for Oneonta because it’s about the old railway,” Carol Mandigo said, co-founder of the Catskill Puppet Theater.
Little Nell, the show’s young heroine, struggles when her family falls on hard times. They come to the city in order to make money where she meets a ragtime piano player named Moe and a hobo named Curley.
Audiences are encouraged to get involved by cheering, shouting advice or booing at the characters.
Santa Claus is flanked by Oneonta First Lady Connie Herzig, left, and Festival of Lights organizer Carol Mandigo. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
As dusk settled over Neahwa Park, Carol Mandigo wasn’t sure what to expect when she flipped the switches to turn on the Festival of Lights.
What she saw were cars lined up as far as Main and River streets, waiting their turns to be driven around the 37 displays of holiday lights and decorations set up around the park.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mandigo said. “I had no idea it was going to be as popular as it was.”
Organizer Mandigo scrutinizes those pesky tripping circuits.
The event – it began last Friday, Dec. 18, and continues every night from dusk until 10 p.m. through Sunday, Jan. 3 – was a spin-off from the traditional First Night celebration, which, along with the Hometown Fourth of July, was cancelled due to COVID-19.
“Everyone on the board was really sad that we had to cancel,” she said. “We got together to decide if we should do something for New Year’s or just bag the whole year. No one would blame us if we didn’t put on an event.”
But Mandigo had seen the Lights on the Lake event in Liverpool, the Syracuse suburb, and although it cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to have it professionally put together, she pitched the board an idea: “What if we asked the community to put up displays?”
The board agreed, but she still wasn’t sure if the community at large would embrace the idea. “Then it would be lame, and that would be terrible for us,” she said.
She reached out to Ben Guenther at Five Star Subaru first to see if he would sponsor a display. “He was all about it,” she said. “And once I knew he was backing us, I knew we had something special.”
The Otsego County Chamber of Commerce sent out a call for displays in its newsletter, and soon, the emails started pouring in. “I was shocked,” she said. “I really thought we were going to have to do it all by ourselves.”
Several of the displays were dedicated to John Hayen, who in 2017 hung 23,500 lights in his home and yard on Tilly Avenue, surpassing the record set by Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” He passed away in November.
Bassett Healthcare employees’ display paid tribute to front-line workers, while the Brooks’ BBQ display featured Santa surrounded by chickens.
There were logistical challenges to overcome, including how to power each display without tripping circuits. “I’ve been living out in the cold from morning until night,” said Mandigo. “We had to figure out how to power everybody, how to run all these cords and how to protect the displays.”
And then came the snow.
Overnight snow on Thursday, Dec. 17, dumped 29 inches of powder on the city, burying all but the tallest displays. “People were worried that it wouldn’t work,” she said. “But no one ever said to postpone it.”
Instead, the groups came out to shovel out their displays. “It was a miracle,” she said. “We were still tripping circuits, but by 3:30 p.m. on Friday, we were ready to go.”
The event opened at dusk with entertainment, including Cosmic Karma Fire, Mike the Juggler and Santa Claus.
“Santa went to each car and asked the kids’ names and what they wanted for Christmas,” she said. “And the kids were so excited to see him.”
Even Mandigo donned a set of light-up wings to welcome visitors over the weekend. “I had so much fun seeing the kids faces light up,” she said. “That’s what First Night is all about.”
Connie Herzig, left, and event organizer Carol Mandigo, right, wave to visitors alongside Santa Claus during the opening night of The Festival of Lights in Neahwa Park earlier this evening. Visitors can make their way through the park via car and enjoy plenty of colorful displays created by local businesses and organizations. The event, sponsored by First Night Oneonta, is open each day at sundown for the next three weeks.(Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Oneonta Trailblazers flank Mayor Gary Herzig, Carol Blazina at right, and Kelly Ames at left, at the Tuesday, April 2, reception in Oneonta City Hall. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
By JENNIFER HILL • Hometown Oneonta & The Freeman’s Journal
ONEONTA – Early on in Carol Mandigo’s career, she decided to combine art with social services “to give a better quality of life in a fun way.”
“I wasn’t drawn to putting art in a gallery in a city with only a limited amount of people looking at it,” Mandigo said. “I brought art and theater to inner city schools, so kids could be exposed to art because their families might not be able to do that for them.”
The director of the Catskill Puppet Theater, a prevention specialist at LEAF Inc and the artist behind the murals on the side of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society, Mandigo was named as one of the 2019 Women Trailblazers, alongside Kelly Ames, Catholic Charities.
Oneonta’s 2019 Woman Trailblazer Award winners Kelly Ames, left, and Carol Mandigo were honored this evening with a City Hall reception before the Common Council meeting. Mayor Gary Herzig and Joyce Miller, chair of the city’s Commission on Community Relations & Human Rights, presented the annual award before a gathered crowd of friends, family and public officials. “(Kelly) embodies the phrase ‘service above self'” said Herzig, “whether it is through her work, volunteering, or her personal life, she makes life better for the under-privileged.” He went on to praise Mandigo, saying, “I can think of no one else more deserving of this award. Her combination of her talents, energy, doing coordinating large groups and doing whatever it takes has lead to events like First Night and the Hometown 4th of July Celebration, two of the City’s most successful events, and ones that are enjoyed by tens of thousands.” (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
ONEONTA – Kelly Ames and Carol Mandigo will be awarded the 2019 Woman Trailblazer Awards, Joyce Miller, who chairs the city’s Commission on Community Relations & Human Rights, announced over the weekend.
Andrew Zeh, manager of the Oneonta’s Stewart’s Shops, presents Carol Mandigo, First Night Oneonta chair, with a $1,000 check in support of annual Hometown Fourth of July celebration and New Year’s Eve events. “They have been one of our signature supporters for these events.” said Mandigo, “God bless them.” Zeh, who has been manager for the last three years, said they have been giving ever since he took the position. “As a company, we give as much as we get.” said Zeh, “It keeps us local and keeps our areas running. We have to take care of our communities, kids and adults.” (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Young Felix Palmer of Cooperstown mimics the pose he took for the photo that became the basis of the fifth of five murals for the Dietz Street side of the Oneonta History Center, unveiled this afternoon. The photo was taken when he was 7; next week, he turns 13. Also depicted in the mural are Felix’ mom, Angelica, and Gary Aney, Jordanville, a Farmers’ Museum docent who appears as David Wilber himself. The mural’s subject is Wilber National Bank, one of the History Center building’s occupants over the 150-year history of the first brick building in Oneonta’s downtown. At left is artist Carol Mandigo, who created the murals with the help of a NYSCA grant under the sponsorship of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society. Murals already completed are of Laskaris’ candy store, Gallin’s Jewelry, Brown Hardware and Joann Dress Shop. Wilber National Bank merged into Community Bank five years ago, (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
FAMILY PROGRAM – Noon – 2 p.m. Celebrate Latino Heritage month with Day of the Dead event. Make paper flowers, learn about Mexican traditions, listen to story time, more. Participants encouraged to bring photo of loved one who’s passed away. Designed for children aged 4-12 + family. Light snacks provided. Cooperstown Village Library. 607-547-8344 or visit www.facebook.com/VillageLibraryOfCooperstown/
FUNDRAISER – 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Construct you cat a cardboard castle with Superheroes in Ripped Jeans. Materials provided. Bring goods or monetary donation. 3rd floor, Community Room, Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut St., Oneonta. 607-432-1980 or visit www.facebook.com/hmloneonta/
Carol Mandigo of Catskill Puppet Theater and the painter responsible for the murals on the side of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society, explains to the visiting members of Artspace that her rented studio space is inadequate and that increased support for working artists is not only wanted but needed in Oneonta. To her right are James McKilroy, Nathaniel Francisco and Madeline Walker. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
Anna Growcott, director, consulting and strategic partnerships with Artspace, keeps track of everyone’s ideas.
ONEONTA – Whether they were painters, metalworkers, glassblowers or sculptors, many of the 31 gathered at the first Artspace focus group had one thing in common.
They were all using their own homes as their creative space.
“I do wood-burning at my dining room table,” said Anne Vrooman.
“I practice my dance and music in my living room,” said Elizabeth Raphaelson, owner of the Underground Attic.
“I’m trying to record music while the garbage trucks are driving around,” said James McIlroy.
Artspace, the Minneapolis-based not-for-profit, is in the city for three days, meeting with focus groups, touring sites and assessing whether or not one of their buildings – which offers low-cost live/work space for artists, community rooms and storefronts – would be a welcome addition to Oneonta’s downtown.
Artist Carol Mandigo, right, this evening unveils the third in a series of five murals planned on the Dietz Street side of the Oneonta History Center, as Libby Cudmore and Ian Austin, depicted in the mural, look on with delight. Mandigo and Frank Anthony of Hamden have been creating one mural for each of the tenants of 189 Main St., the old brick business block in downtown Oneonta, now marking its 150th year. Galinn’s Dress Shop and Wilber Bank murals are complete, withLaskaris Restaurant and the History Center remaining. Each painting includes a local couple in a historic setting. Libby and Ian, both of Onoenta, are Hometown Oneonta photographer and reporter respectively. (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)
“Laskaris,” a mural depicting the candy store that used to be in 183 Main St., now home to the Oneonta History Center, was unveiled at 6 p.m. today by artist Carol Mandigo and Bob Brzozowski, executive director of the Greater Oneonta Historical Society. The mural is the second in a series tracing the history of businesses that have occupied 183 Main St. since the 1860s. (Ian Austin/AllOTSEGO.com)
