CELEBRATION – 6 p.m. – Midnight. Fireworks at 10. Ring out 2018 with pizza party before parade down Main St. Ring in 2019 with performances by Alex Torres and his Latin orchestra. Free admission. Foothills Performing Arts Center, Oneonta. Visit firstnightoneonta.com
PRESENTATION – 7 p.m. “Commemorative Controversies: British Memorials in the Aftermath of the Great War, 1918-1939” by Dr. Stephen Heathorn on controversies around British WWI memorials in context. IRC 5, SUNY Oneonta. Visit oneonta.campuslabs.com/engage/event/2842330
SIT N’ KNIT – 1 – 2 p.m. Work on knitting or hand stitching project. Richfield Springs Public Library, 102 Main St., Richfield Springs. 315-858-0230 or visit www.facebook.com/Richfield-Springs-Public-Library-1068210423236404/
OPENING – Cooperstown Graduate Program auction opens, continues through November 9. Proceeds go to scholarships, activities of SUNY Oneonta Alumni Association. Visit www.biddingforgood.com/CGAauction
SIT N’ KNIT – 1 – 2 p.m. Work on knitting or hand stitching project. Richfield Springs Public Library, 102 Main St., Richfield Springs. 315-858-0230 or visit www.facebook.com/Richfield-Springs-Public-Library-1068210423236404/
MONSTERS & UNDEAD – 6 – 7 p.m. Presentation by Dr. Tracy Betsinger, bioarcheologist at SUNY Oneonta shares research on deviant burials, such as vampires buried in 17th-18th century Poland. Free, open to community. A. J. Read Science Discovery Center, SUNY Oneonta. 607-436-2011.
SPAGHETTI DINNER – 5 – 7 p.m. Support Cooperstown Boy Scouts, enjoy spaghetti with homemade sauce, sausage, meatballs, salad, dessert, more. Takeout available. Cost, $10/adult. Cooperstown Vets Club, 60 Main St., Cooperstown.
HISTORY PRESENTATION – 7 – 8:30 p.m. “Working the Night Shift: Life After Dark in the Ancient World” presented by archaeologist Dr. April Nowell on how night work differed in history from blacksmiths, hunters, agriculturalists, poets, rebellion leaders, navigators, more. A.J. Read Science Discovery Center, SUNY Oneonta. 607-436-2011 or visit oneonta.campuslabs.com/engage/event/2839174
WRITERS EVENING – 7 p.m. Local writers present works in progress followed by moderated Q&A session. New writers welcome to supportive community. Stamford Village Library, 117 Main St., Stamford. 607-326-7908 or visit roxburyartsgroup.org/2017/03/15/october-15-writers-evening/
COLUMBUS DAY!
GET KIDS OUT – 10 – 11:30 a.m. Bring kids out for Columbus day, explore world of trees. Kids explore property, learn tree identification, understand trees roles in world, have fun. Mohican Farm, 7207 St. Hwy. 80, Cooperstown. 607-547-4488 or visit occainfo.org/calendar/get-the-kids-out-trees/
GARDEN CLUB – 7 p.m. Presentation by Dr. Robinson, curator of The Jewell and Arline Moss Settle Herbarium containing specimens from the North East spanning 1898-2015. Learn about history, function of teaching herbariums, their importance to past, future of plants. Club also offering free bags of daffodil bulbs. Includes refreshments, free, open to public. St. James Episcopal Church, 305 Main St., Oneonta. E-mail Wendy at millerwillis3@gmail.com
PHOTOGRAPHY – 5 – 7 p.m. Take photographs during ‘Golden Hour’ just before sunset with staff member Kevin Gray providing pointers on composition, light, shadow, more. Cost, $17/non-member. The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org/Sunset-Farm-Photography
COMEDIAN – 9 – 10 p.m. Have a fun night out with bonafide Georgia peach (native) Mia Jackson, who has appeared on Last Comic Standing, NickMom’s Night Out, others. Water Front Room, Hunt Union, SUNY Oneonta. Visit oneonta.campuslabs.com/engage/event/2644366
DISTINGUISHED LECTURE – 7 – 8:30 p.m. Presenting this years Mills Distinguished Lecture, Bryan Stevenson is author of “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” describing the early years of Stevenson’s legal practice after founding Equal Justice Initiative to represent the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children and the injustice he and his clients encountered in our Justice system. Free, open to public. Alumni Field House, Dewar Arena, SUNY Oneonta. Visit oneonta.campuslabs.com/engage/event/2644191
PUBLIC SPEAKING – 5:30 p.m. Practice public speaking with the toastmasters. All welcome. The White House Building, The Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. Call 607-547-1466 or e-mail b.fischer@fenimoreart.org.