GHOST TOUR – 7 p.m. Come hear the tales of mysterious and frightful happenings in the shadowy corners of our local historic mansion. Cost, $20/adult. Hyde Hall, Glimmerglass State Park, 1527 Co. Rd. 31, Cooperstown. 607-547-5098 Ext. 1 or visit hydehall.org
SUNDAE RUN/WALK – 8 a.m. Support local community center and get outside for 5k, 10k run, or a 2 mile walk followed by opportunity to make your own ice cream sundae, 50/50 raffle, more. Cost, $25/person. Register the day of from 7 – 8 a.m. Richfield Springs Veterans Club, 13 Lake St., Richfield Springs. 315-858-3200 or visit runsignup.com/Race/NY/RichfieldSprings/RSCCRunWalk
VIRTUAL CONCERT – 4 p.m. Tune in for virtual performance of sacred songs from 1574 to 1655 performed by Oneonta Tenor Fred Chrislip, accompanying himself on the Lute. Performance for the Boston Early Music Festival which promotes historical musical performance. Visit BEMF Fringe Concerts channel on Youtube to view.
VIRTUAL CONCERT – 4 p.m. Tune in for virtual performance of sacred songs from 1574 to 1655 performed by Oneonta Tenor Fred Chrislip, accompanying himself on the Lute. Performance for the Boston Early Music Festival which promotes historical musical performance. Visit BEMF Fringe Concerts channel on Youtube to view.
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
FIRE PIT FRIDAYS – 7 – 10 p.m. Get out and enjoy a fun night around the fire with friends, drinks and music. This week features The Beadle Brothers, performing today’s country music. Brewery Ommegang, 656 Co.Hwy. 33, Cooperstown. 607-280-2900 or visit www.ommegang.com/event/fire-pit-fridays-2021-2/
By MICHAEL FORSTER ROTHBART • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA — It has been a dark time for theater in Otsego County.
In 2020, the Glimmerglass Festival and Fenimore Art Museum each canceled its summer performance seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In Oneonta, Foothills Performing Arts Center went 14 months without a live show, according to Operations Manager Geoff Doyle.
High schools and both Oneonta colleges experimented with streaming virtual theater, performed live without an audience. Local troupes such as the Catskill Puppet Theater and Orpheus Theatre cancelled shows, while Stuff of Dreams Productions pre-recorded performances for later broadcast.
This summer, stage by stage, the lights are back on and theaters are reopening — albeit with some modifications for COVID safety. Theaters have been operating at 33% capacity, with mask requirements in place, but that will change going forward, with an easing of most pandemic requirements from the state.
DRIVE WITH PRIDE – 2 p.m. Decorate your car for pride month and participate in parade down Main Street with the Otsego Pride Alliance. Line-up is at 1:30 in Neahwa Park. Also includes socially distanced and safe LGBT+ remembrance ceremony. Neahwa Park & Main Street, Oneonta. 607-386 1508 or visit www.facebook.com/otsegopride/
HOME GAME – 7 p.m. Local baseball team Oneonta Outlaws Vs. Mohawk Valley Diamon Dawgs. Damaschke Field, Oneonta. 607-432-6326 or visit www.facebook.com/oneontaoutlawsbaseball/
THEATER – 7 p.m. CCS Thespians present the dark comedy ‘A Little Shop of Horrors,’ about Seymour Krelborn finding love with the help of a talking plant only to discover the downsides of make a deal with a killer plant. Reservations, masks required. Auditorium, Cooperstown Central School. Visit www.cooperstowncs.org/article/469201?org=cooperstown-csd
ONEONTA PLANT SALE – 9 a.m. – Noon. Join Oneonta Federated Garden Club for annual plant sale featuring perrenial and house plants from members gardens. Will also include a ‘garden shed’ where gently used garden tools may be purchased. Huntington Park, Oneonta. Visit www.facebook.com/Oneonta-Federated-Garden-Club-133855897358767/
COOPERSTOWN PLANT SALE – 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Stop by the Master Gardeners spring 2021 plant sale for perennials, annuals, vegetables, and flowers chosen to do well in Otsego County. Mask/social distancing required. Proceeds support education & outreach conducted by Master Gardener volunteers. Cornell Cooperative Extension, 123 Lake St., Cooperstown. 607-547-2536 ext. 228 or visit cceschoharie-otsego.org/events/2021/05/29/otsego-master-gardener-spring-plant-sale-2021
HERITAGE PLANT SALE – 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Find organic plants of olden days to get a jump start on your gardening endeavors. Outside the main entrance of The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org/event/heritage-plant-sale/
THEATER – Stream on Demand. Get your tickets for local production of ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by Tennessee Williams. The play is a tender, and sometimes bitter, memory of the Wingfield family with matriarch Amanda Wingfield watching over her children Tom and Laura and attempting to control their lives. Tickets, $15. Presented by Stuff of Dreams Productions. Visit www.facebook.com/GEStevensOneonta/
SUNDAY SPEAKER – 3 p.m. Learn about recently opened Fenimore Art Museum exhibit “Keith Haring: His Art and Times” from Chris Rossi, Director of Exhibitions & Gary Cassinelli, collector and owner of artworks in the exhibit.Free, registration required. Visit libraries.4cls.org/cooperstown/2020/10/13/fovl-sunday-speaker-series-for-2020-2021/
By KEVIN LIMITI • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
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.
ART LECTURE – 2 p.m. Discuss naturalist author Susan Fenimore Cooper and her work ‘Rural Hours’ with leading scholar Rochelle L. Johnson and what her contributions mean in the era of climate change. Free, registration required for Zoom conference. Dontions of $10 or more requested. Presented by Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org