ART CLASS – 6-8 p.m. Learn “Water Color Fundamentals” with artist Emily Falco. Registration required. Class held Mondays through June 19. Cost, $90/non-member. Held in the studio behind the Community Arts Network of Oneonta, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. (607) 432-2070 or visit facebook.com/CANOneonta
DINE FOR A CAUSE—Each Monday and Tuesday through June 6, eat out at Eighty Main and a percentage of the proceeds will go to raise awareness of and support for local non-profit Helios Care. Eighty Main, 80 Main Street, Delhi. (607) 432-6773 or visit facebook.com/helioscarehospice
NYCON, Scriven Extend Deadline for Mini-Grant Applications
ONEONTA—The New York Council of Nonprofits has extended the deadline for its 2023 Otsego County Mini-Grant Program to Monday, June 5. The focus of this effort is to measurably improve the governance and management of qualifying Otsego County 501c3 charitable nonprofits. Initiated in 2004, the program is made possible with underwriting from The Scriven Foundation.The Mini-Grant Program is an important resource for local nonprofits facing significant challenges or striving to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational management, governance, and/or program services. “The foundation is proud to support this program as we recognize how important it is that our local nonprofits have access to high-quality advice and training as they seek to fully serve their clients and communities,” said Jane Forbes Clark, president of The Scriven Foundation. There is a total of $50,000.00 of grant funds available, with grant awards ranging from $500.00 to $2,500.00 per nonprofit applicant. Grants will be awarded competitively to qualifying nonprofits with approved project activities. It is recommended that applicants review the 2023 grant criteria before applying, at http://bit.ly/41hLV4Y. The grant application can be accessed at https://nycon.tfaforms.net/f/otsegominigrant2023.Award announcements will be made between June 1 and July 1.
Cultural critic, artist and award-winning journalist Anne Elizabeth Moore visited the Community Arts Network of Oneonta on May 18 to present selections from her new book. The Feminist Press at the City University of New York released a second, expanded edition of the award-winning “Body Horror: Capitalism, Fear, Misogyny, Jokes,” originally published in 2017, in April.
“Body Horror” is a wide-ranging collection of essays that examine the ways consumerist capitalism assaults and exploits women’s bodies. They range from investigative journalism to corporate history to the deeply personal, such as Moore’s struggles with chronic illness in a healthcare system that expends as much effort denying treatment as it does providing it. Featuring chilling illustrations by Xander Marro, “Body Horror” is an impressionistic look at the “gore of American culture and politics.”
The Community Arts Network of Oneonta will hold a benefit, “ReImagine the Local Arts,” in the historic Wilber Mansion at 11 Ford Avenue on Saturday, April 29 from 4-6 p.m.
The impetus for this event is two-fold: to gather community members and leaders to talk over ideas on how to best meet the needs of Oneonta residents and visitors, and to raise funds for CANO to help expand staff, offer more artistic presentations, and continue educational programming. Along with lively conversation about the future of the local arts, there will be hors d’oeuvres, drinks, music and a silent art auction.
WRITERS SALON—7:30 p.m. Stop by for open mic followed by a presentation/reading this month by featured author, Oneonta mystery writer Lesley Diehl. Free, open to the public. Community Arts Network of Oneonta, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. (607) 432-2070 or visit canoneonta.org
SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED—Artists are invited to apply to show your work during the annual “Art By The Lake” Festival. Painters, photographers, sculptors and more are invited to apply to set up a stand to display your work, sell your pieces, and do artist demonstrations. Deadline to apply is May 31. Presented by Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. (607) 547-1400 or visit fenimoreartmuseum.org
PERCUSSION PERFORMANCE—7:30 p.m. Join the Oneonta Concert Association’s own Julie Licata for a concert of solo and chamber ensemble music featuring driving rhythms, lyrical melodies, organ-like chorales, fixed instruments, and audience-directed improvisations. General admission, $25. Anderson Theater, Hartwick College, Oneonta. (607) 376-7283 or visit oneontaconcertassociation.org
“Spray paint for me is just a medium. It’s fast and you can get a nice airbrushed look when blending,” said artist James Mcilroy of his mural work in the City of Oneonta. Photo provided
On a 2015 visit to San Francisco, James Mcilroy stopped to observe a work by Austrian urban and graffiti artist, Nychos. The split animal anatomy in a spray paint medium left an impression on the curious Mcilroy that opened a new thought process—and inevitably would result in a major public artistic contribution to the community back home in Oneonta, bringing new life to the historic Ford Sales Building on Market Street.
“This was before I was doing any kind of serious painting,” Mcilroy recalled. “I was so impressed by the scale and started to pick the process apart: ‘okay, Nychos sketched this first and then came in with a flat color here and separated the values and did a complementary color scheme here’.”
WRITERS SALON—7:30 p.m. Stop by for open mic followed by a presentation/reading by this month’s featured presenter, The Catskill Community Players performing “Love or Best Offer.” Free, open to the public. Community Arts Network of Oneonta, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. (607) 432-2070 or visit canoneonta.org
ONEONTA—Chelly Nicholson, above, placed third in the Community Arts Network of Oneonta’s 18th annual Chili Bowl Cook-Off and Fundraiser on Saturday, February 11, in the “People’s Choice, Amateur” category. Nicholson is pictured with CANO Board President Jim Maloney. The full list of prize winners is below. Judges Choice: 1. Our Town Cafe; 2. SUNY Delhi; 3. Soda Jerks. People’s Choice, Amateur: 1. Tie: Sean and Doria Hall; 2. Lorraine Brady; 3. Chelly Nicholson. People’s Choice, Professional: 1. SUNY Delhi; 2. Wise Guy’s Sammy’s; 3. Our Town Cafe.
WRITERS SALON—7:30 p.m. Stop by for open mic followed by a presentation/reading by featured poet Peter Murphy. Come out to hear new work, work-in-progress, and published work from “Underwater” (Human Error, 2021), a collection one reviewer describes as “sometimes folksy, sometimes bawdy, always lively and intelligent.” Free, open to the public. Community Arts Network of Oneonta, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. (607) 432-2070 or visit canoneonta.org
BLOOD DRIVE—Noon to 5 p.m. Save up to three lives with the American Red Cross. SUNY Oneonta. Register at redcrossblood.org
BLOOD DRIVE—1-6 p.m. Save up to three lives with the American Red Cross. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. Register at redcrossblood.org
QUILT SHOW—11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Susquehanna Valley Quilters return with their 2023 quilt show, taking over the mansion with vibrant colors and designs. On view through 2/19. Community Arts Network of Oneonta, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. (607) 432-2070 or visit canoneonta.org/exhibitions
CHILI BOWL—Noon to 4 p.m. Local amateur and professional cooks compete to make the best chili, and you get to pick the winner. Stop by to sample the different chili concoctions and purchase one of the custom bowls for sale to support arts in Oneonta. Admission, $20/person. Community Arts Network of Oneonta, Wilber Mansion, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. 607-432-2070 or visit canoneonta.org/chili-bowl-fundraiser
TAX PREP—10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Get ready for tax season with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. Hartwick College accounting students who have been certified by the IRS, with their professor, will be available to provide one-on-one assistance in preparing individual tax returns. Either in person or online. Held at the Huntington Memorial Library, 62 Chestnut Street, Oneonta. (607) 432-1980 or visit facebook.com/ofoinc/
ONEONTA Community Arts Network of Oneonta will hold the 18th annual Chili Bowl Cook-Off and Fundraiser on Saturday, February 11 from noon to 4 p.m. at 11 Ford Avenue. Hundreds of locals come to purchase bowls handcrafted by local artists and taste delicious chilis. This popular Oneonta foodie competition is back in February, but has moved to the Saturday before Super Bowl Sunday.
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS—5-10 p.m. Drive through beautifully decorated Neahwa Park, featuring more than 40 displays from local businesses, individuals and organizations celebrating the holidays. Open evenings 12/18 through 1/1. Neahwa Park, 1 Neahwa Place, Oneonta. (607) 376-7599 or visit destinationoneonta.com/calendar
PUMPKIN SCULPTING – 5 – 8 p.m. Learn to sculpt your pumpkins for this Halloween with Ian McWeeney of the Community Arts Network of Oneonta and Huntington Memorial Library. Open to all aged 16+ unless accompanied by an adult. Held at The Studio at CANO, 11 Ford Avenue, Oneonta. Visit canoneonta.org/the-studio
