GRAND & GLORIOUS FAIR – 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Free community event featuring live music, garage sales, games, food, local arts & crafts, more. Presented by the Catskill Choral Soceity in Neahwa Park, Oneonta. Visit catskillchoralsociety.com
LAURENS COMMUNITY DAY – All Day. Stop by Laurens for a day full of yard sales, activities and a concert. Activities at the school are 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and include glitter tattoos, the Utica Zoomobile, BJ the clown, make your own sundae, and more. The Fire Department will also be hosting an open house at 8 a.m. and will be serving hamburgers from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. The Laurens Village Library will have an exhibit ‘Honoring Women from the Laurens Township that Served in World War II. And finally at 6:30 p.m. there will be a concert at the Gazebo in Knapp Park by Shannon France on the ukulele. Village of Laurens.
CLEAN UP – 9 a.m. – Noon. Morris residents are invited to join the Butternut Valley Alliance, others, to show your love for our Earth and help clean up the local roadways and streams, donate to the food bank, more. Parking Lot, Morris Central School, 65 W. Main St., Morris. Visit www.butternutvalleyalliance.org
RECYCLING – Noon – 3 p.m. Celebrate Earth Day and recycle responsibly. Bring your hard to recycle items including rigid expanded polystyrene containers and packing material, natural wine corks, paper shredding for residents, a clothing and textile collection, and more. Participants will receive a coupon for 10% off at the Ommegang Tap House. Pre-registration required to avoid congestion. Brewery Ommegang, 656 Co. Hwy. 33, Cooperstown. 607-547-4488 or visit occainfo.org/calendar/earth-festival-drive-through-drop-off-recycling/
RECRUITNY – Local fire stations open their doors to the public to recruit community members to the local volunteer fire department. Visit with the:
• West Oneonta Fire Department, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. featuring tours, demos, Q&A. 2865 Co. Hwy. 8, West Oneonta. 607-432-1310
• Wells Bridge Vol. Fire Department, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Open House. 114 Co. Hwy. 4, Wells Bridge. 607-988-2542.
• Richfield Springs Vol. Fire Department, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. open house. 3026 St. Hwy. 20, Richfield Springs. 315-858-0863.
• Unadilla Fire Department, Hours TBD. Open house, come meet the members, see the equipment, more. 77 Clifton St., Unadilla. 607-369-9150.
• Worcester Hose Company Inc., 1 – 3 p.m. Open house with equipment displays, demonstration, and refreshments. 36 Church St., Worcester. 607-397-8032.
• Morris Fire Department, Noon – 4 p.m. Open house. 117 Main St., Morris. 607-263-5500.
BLOOD DRIVE – 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Burlington Flats Baptist Church, 101 Arnold Rd., Burlington Flats. 1-800-733-2767 or visit www.redcrossblood.org
Otsego County Chamber of Commerce Director of Operations Kathryn Dailey introduces Steven Smith, Executive Director of the Mohawk Valley Economic Development District, at the April 11 clean-up rally
Otsego County’s Chamber of Commerce joined Keep Mohawk Valley Beautiful this week to kick off Earth Day volunteer action aimed at registering individuals, businesses, organizations, and community groups to register cleanup or beautification events in the Mohawk Valley region.
The Chamber, part of a six-county group comprising the KMVB coverage area, hopes to register at least 50 groups toward the KMVB’s goal of signing up 300 cleanup crews as Earth Day and Earth Week approach.
“Oneonta has always been a stalwart environmental protection community,” said Otsego County Chamber Director of Operations Kathryn Dailey on the steps of Oneonta’s City Hall. “This city and all of Otsego County appreciate the value of a healthy and litter-free environment.”
Steven Smith, Executive Director of the Mohawk Valley Economic Development District, said groups can range in size from “one to two people to whole community groups getting together to clean up public space.”
FALL FLING – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. A spring tradition is happening in the Fall this year. The Cooperstown Rotary Club presents their annual craft fair featuring a growing list of vendors, artisans, food, drink, crafts and much more. New this year is the Utica Zoomobile. Returning is the ever-popular Basket Auction. Proceeds help to support variety of local foundations. On the Lawn, The Clark Sports Center, Cooperstown. Visit www.cooperstownfallfling.com
COOPERSTOWN — The fourth Susquehanna River Cleanup took place Saturday, July 17.
Community involvement in this project has continued to grow with more than 35 people volunteering this year. The Cooperstown Lions Club, Cooperstown Rotary Club, Rotary E-club of Global Trekkers, OCCA and Otsego 2000 as well as some individuals all made financial contributions to assist with building three new improved rafts.
The Susquehanna River Cleanup project came about because John Rowley and Maureen Rowley would walk the riverside trail between Mill and Main streets in Cooperstown on a regular basis.
They were dismayed by the amount of debris and garbage in that section of the river, including a large cattle-feeding trough.
Growing tired of seeing this, John proposed a clean-up project to the Cooperstown Lions Club, where he is a member and past president. Lions Club International Foundation had made environmental projects one of the club’s new initiatives.
The Cooperstown Lions Club embraced the project and set out to team with other organizations that would assist and guide the Lions with the project.
FAMILY FARM FUN – 11 a.m – 12:30 p.m. Bring the children, 4-8+, for fun program about the process of how plants, animals, and communities change through time. Includes reading of ‘A Farm Through Time’ by Angela Wilkes. Continued Thursday with scavenger hunt and finishes with historic childrens game. Free with admission, reservations recommended. The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org
By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
Earth Festival will again be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but this year the Otsego County Conservation Assocation is better prepared to replace its annual events with a virtual presentation from Thursday, April 22 to Saturday, April 24.
“In March (2020), I think we were all thinking, ‘let’s not cancel, yet,’ it will all blow over,” OCCA Program Director Jeff O’Handley said. “It seems crazy to think about looking back. We had no idea what to expect.”
To salvage an Earth Festival last year, OCCA kept some events going with social distancing, stressed its normal recycling efforts via dropoffs and refocused on the fly, O’Handley said. This year’s event has been much more focused to allow the group to use the virtual tools that have sprung up during the coronavirus pandemic. “You can’t do things like you used to do them,” he said. “It has been a puzzle to figure things out and you just hope you are providing people with some strong programming.”
EARTH FESTIVAL – 1 – 7 p.m. Fun Online Events to celebrate the little blue marble floating in space that makes us all possible. Celebrate with Otsego County Conservation Association. 607-547-4488 or visit occainfo.org/earth-festival/
FOOD WEBINAR – 2 – 3 p.m. Learn about food, recipes, and nutrition info you can use everyday. This week celebrate Groundhog Day. Free, registration for Zoom conference required. Presented by The Cornell Cooperative Extension. 518-234-4303 x120 or visit cceschoharie-otsego.org/events/2021/01/05/tuesdays-2
COOPERSTOWN REFLECTS – 7 p.m. Library Anti-Racism series continues with “Cooperstown Reflects on Racism in Arts and Monuments.” Panel includes Eva Fognell, Thaw Collection of Native American Art, Fenimore Museum; Tom Heitz/Sharon Stuart, Otsego town co-historian; CGP Director Gretchen Sorin, and Glimmerglass Festival Art & General Director Francesca Zambello. Free, registration required. Presented by Friends of the Village Library of Cooperstown. 607-547-8344 or visit www.eventbrite.com/o/friends-of-the-village-library-23034666815
MUSIC ONLINE – 8 p.m. “Thank You For Your Service: Songs Of Mineworkers And Their Families” concert by John O’Connor to celebrate mineworkers throughout US history. Presented by the Yager Museum, Hartwick College, Oneonta. Visit www.facebook.com/yagermuseum/ for info.
COVID TESTING – 8 – 10 a.m. Free Covid-19 testing for people with no symptoms. Call for an appointment. Bassett Medical Center, Cooperstown Clinic, 1 Atwell Dr., Cooperstown. 607-547-7973.
MAPLE SYRUP – 6 p.m. Learn how to make Maple Syrup at the micro scale with Aaron Wightman, Co-Director of the Cornell Maple Program. He will cover why sap flows, sap collection options, the basics of processing, filtering, and grading. Free, registration required by Noon. Presented by Cornell Cooperative Extension. 518-234-4303 ext. 111 or visit cceschoharie-otsego.org/events/2021/01/11/the-taste-of-the-hills-maple-syrup-for-beginners
ASTRONOMY – 7 p.m. “Naked Eye Astronomy, Winter Edition–Are You Sirius?” Tour the January night sky with the naked eye. Explore constellations Orion, Gemini, Taurus, the Winter Circle, the Pliadies Star Cluster, and maybe spot our neighbor galaxy Andromeda. Take place entirely outside so dress for the weather, bring a chair & blankets. Binoculars optional. Social distancing & masks required. Free, registration limited to 30. Presented by Otsego County Conservation Association at Mohican Farm, 7207 St. Hwy. 80, Cooperstown. 607-547-4488 or visit occainfo.org/calendar/naked-eye-astronomy-winter-edition-are-you-sirius/
THANKSGIVING DAY!
SCAVENGER HUNT – Thursday – Sunday. Participate in Thanksgiving weekend scavenger hunt. Find items indoors and out on the list, post them to facebook with the tag #OCCAfoundit for the chance to win prizes. Presented by Otsego County Conservation Association. 607-547-4488 or visit occainfo.org/holiday-2020-programming/
ANGEL TREE PROGRAM – Give the Gift of Christmas this holiday season. Adopt a family in need. Visit www.allotsego.com/angel-tree-program/ to learn how.