FUNDRAISER – Noon – 4 p.m. Stop by for Chili bowl cook-off & fundraiser. Featuring delicious chili & hand-decorated bowls. There will also be live music from Hanzolo, Jump the Shark, and the Mansion Jam Band. Help support our local artists. Wilber Mansion, Community Arts Network of Oneonta, 11 Ford Ave., Oneonta. 607-432-2070 or visit www.canoneonta.org
We can think of no one other than Vladimir Putin, conspiracy theorists, or tin-foil-hatters who doesn’t support Ukraine these days. Otsego County has stood up large for a nation thousands of miles away, a noble testament to our region’s inherent benevolence.
This newspaper has published several reports about people doing good things on behalf of Ukrainians everywhere and, we’ll be honest, we’ve reported only after hearing about the events almost by chance. Maybe we saw a social media post or a flyer taped to a storefront and thought we could amplify the cause with a notice in our paper.
We rejected the one proactive release we’ve received to date: one dated April 4 from the Otsego County Democratic Committee announcing they had raised $5,000 to send to World Central Kitchen — that’s the group preparing hot meals for Ukrainian refugees.
A worthy cause and, well done for raising the cash. The release (now deleted from the party committee’s site, by the way), finished with this nugget: “Of course, our role as the County Party is to register Democrats, and support and elect Democratic candidates, but it’s also important that we help in non-partisan ways that make our community and world a little better. We are Democrats and we support Democracy here at home and abroad, in words and deeds.”
The make-the-world-a-little-better message, we thought, was a good one — until partisan politics reared its omnipresent head. We cringed a little at the blatant grandstanding and took a pass.
EASTER BUNNY – 10 a.m. – Noon. Bring the kids out to celebrate spring and meet with the Easter Bunny. Take pictures, enter to win an Easter Basket, enter the coloring contest, and each kids brings home a goodie bag. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. 607-376-7599 or visit www.destinationoneonta.com/calendar
The Mamaroneck Historical Society succeeded in its ambitious quest to raise the funds needed to save James Fenimore Cooper murals from destruction, but more work remains as the group strives to rescue the artwork from the walls of Mamaronek High School.
The Freeman’s Journal / Hometown Oneonta first reported on the endangered murals as word spread of the high school’s plan to cover – and in some cases, destroy – eight Depression-era murals depicting scenes from James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking novels and his life as a resident of the Westchester County town. The murals stand in the way of the Mamaroneck High School’s plans to build new computer learning labs, and the Historical Society leapt into action to spare them from the wrecking ball.
“It’s good news but it’s different news,” Mamaroneck Historical Society’s co-president John Pritts said of the group’s success to date. “We had no idea until we started how complicated it would become to save the artwork.
ICE HARVEST FEST – 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Enjoy a traditional ice harvest featuring a chance to get on the ice and help saw away some blocks, ice carving, blacksmithing demonstrations, local exhibitors, more. Event depends on the thickness of the ice. The will not be a hot soup buffet this year due to the Pandemic. Check website for updates on ice conditions. Hanford Mills Museum, 51 Co. Hwy. 12, East Meredith. 607-278-5744 or visit www.hanfordmills.org
FUNDRAISER – 3 – 7 p.m. Raise funds for schools in the Dominican Republic and Santa Cruz while enjoying dinner of chili, cornbread, and chicken burritos. Available on a dine-in or take-out basis. All welcome, masks required. Cost, $7/adult. St. James Episcopal Church, 305 Main St., Oneonta. 607-432-1458 or visit www.facebook.com/stjamesoneonta/
BLOOD DRIVE – 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Briggs Hall, Main Street Baptist Church, 333 Main St., Oneonta. 1-800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org
CHRISTMAS – Be an Angel. Sign up to give the gift of Christmas to local families in need with this years Angel Tree Program. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ for details.
FUNDRAISER – 8:30 – 10 a.m. Spin to support the Cooperstown Food Pantry. Sign up online with a minimum donation of $10 to go to the pantry. Clark Sports Center, Cooperstown. 607-547-2800 or visit www.facebook.com/clarksportscenter
Gillian Spencer (back), Adaline Spencer (front), and Director Janet Erect (right) in front of Adalines favorite wreath at the Adorn-A-Door wreath festival. The festival continues through 4:30 p.m. when the drawing for the silent auction will take place. (Larissa Ryan/AllOtsego.com)
Milford fundraiser rescheduled for Saturday at park
A community fundraiser for Milford Central School graduate Caleb Radulewicz, who was in a serious car accident in Ohio last month, was rescheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, July 24, in Milford’s Wilbur Park.
There will be a raffle, free activities and food available from Big Al’s. Raffle winners will be announced at 2 p.m.
Railroad announces reopening event
The Leatherstocking Historical Railway Society has announced a resumption of service beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7.
There will be a special train robbery reenactment on that date, as well as again during several weekends in August and September.
Go to Cooperstowntrain.com for event dates and other information.
BOAT PARADE – 3 p.m. Get out for the annual decorated boat parade. This years theme ‘Here Comes The Sun’ song by the beatles. All boats welcome from human powered to motor powered and all in between, decorated or undecorated. Covid protocols will be in effect. Parade assembles at 3 Mile Point and proceeds on West Side of the Lake to Lakefront Park, Cooperstown. Rain or Shine. 518-542-6630 or visit otsegolakeassociation.org for info.
A fundraiser is being held all weekend for a Milford Central School graduate who was involved in a serious ATV accident on Thursday, June 13.
Caleb Radulewicz, 29, has been in recovery since the accident, which occurred in Van Wert, Ohio, who he lived. Radulewicz was a passenger in a side-by-side when it was hit by a car and he was ejected, suffering critical injuries, including head trauma.
According to the Facebook page Radulewicz Recovery, Radulewicz was flown to a hospital in Indianapolis, after initially being take to a local hospital. He had surgery has been recovering since, making steady improvements. However, the medical bills and the need for him and his wife, Christy, to miss work has left them in need of help, according to the Facebook page.
There will be a barbecue benefit at Wilber Park baseball field with food from Big Al’s BBQ from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday, July 2, Saturday, July 3, and Sunday July 4.
Go to RadulewiczRecovery on Facebook for more information.
CONCERT – 7:30 p.m. Kimberley Hawkey to perform mix of songs from Jazz, Broadway, and folk. She will be joined by pianist/vocalist Loren Daniels, bassist Evan Jagels, and drummer Graeme Francis. Music charge, $15. Origins Cafe, 558 Beaver Meadow Rd., Cooperstown. 607-437-2862 or visit www.celebrateorigins.com
JUNETEENTH – 3 – 8 p.m. Celebrate the 2nd annual Juneteenth, the celebration of the emancipation of the last enslaved people in the US, with food, live music, and art from a variety of local artists and authors. Neahwa Park, Oneonta. www.juneteenthoneonta.com
Although COVID is starting to fade in Otsego County with towns such as Cooperstown and Oneonta lifting mask restrictions, the same cannot be said for many countries such as Nepal.
Zak Aldridge, who was born in Cooperstown, went to Milford Central School and considers himself an “honorary Oneontan,” said he didn’t intend to stay in Nepal for more than a year, but COVID-19 changed his plans.
He said he planned on staying there for two weeks. That was 15 months ago.
“I was planning to come to check out a school over here that I was thinking of coming to study languages and Buddhism,” Aldridge said. “And the lockdown happened and I wound up getting stuck. That was a year ago.”
Aldridge, who is a Columbia University graduate, has decided to help feed families in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, which is currently under a strict lockdown, causing day laborers to suffer from malnutrition.
CRAFT SHOW – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Find something for Mom made by a local artisan. There will be quilts, jewelry, tumblers and more. Enter the raffle to win a free gift and to support Supper Heroes in Ripped Jeans. Southside Mall, Oneonta. 607-432-4401 or visit www.facebook.com/southsidemall/
