Hello Sourcers!

Let’s be honest, the best advice for “what to do this weekend” is probably “stay in the house, it’s going to be very cold!” 

But we’re all winter-hardened, Game-of-Thrones-looking tundra-dwellers here, so let’s see what’s going on!

🍞Comfort Food

🔥A Song of Frost & Fire

🩲Men in Tights

🎲Play Destinations

One way to ward off the cold is with a bellyful of hot food. I really do try to keep salad in the menu rotation, but this week has leaned more towards pot roasts and raclette (hot cheese for the win!). Downtown Ithaca Alliance is clearly of a similar mindset, since they are currently celebrating the Comfort Food Trail on and around the Ithaca Commons. This is an opportunity for local restaurants to highlight their warmest and cheesiest offerings, giving diners a chance to win prizes for eating food. WSKG is excited to be the sponsor of this year’s Comfort Food Trail, mostly because it means when I say “I’m headed to work,” I might just be going downtown for mac and cheese.

This Saturday, Hammondsport is home to Frost & Fire, a festival that involves chili, storytelling, and a massive bonfire. The stars of the chili cookoff are the area’s first responders, and there are children’s activities throughout the day.  It’s also a nice excuse to hit up some of the wineries and breweries on Keuka Lake, many of which are open through the winter.

Finally, nothing says “subzero temps” like dudes in their skivvies. The Kitchen Theater in Ithaca is bringing back Undressed: The Musical starting this evening and running through the end of the month. This is a musical improvised by underwear-clad men based on audience prompts. Sort of a Whose Line Is It Anyway meets The Fully Monty. Well, the partial Monty. The show played this summer to enough rave reviews to warrant a revival. Audience members are allowed (and encouraged) to remain fully clothed.

That’s what’s up this week. Hopefully next week the temperatures will be up too.

See you soon, Sourcers.

Yours,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Welcome back to another edition of Waypoint, your personal compass for navigating the local game stores in our communities. I hope I can provide you with another point of interest for your local shopping desires.

This time, we turn our attention to Ithaca, home to Cantrip Cards and Games. This small game store has been around for a couple years, but despite its size, it’s a hub for local gamers.

The store definitely has a strong focus on Magic: The Gathering, with almost its whole display wall behind the counter filled with booster packs and boxes from a wide range of sets. There’s also other popular card games available for sale, like Lorcana and Pokémon. One can also find two computer terminals ready to accept singles orders for anyone hunting for the next addition(s) to their collection. Cantrip’s stock and selection of singles are also searchable by visiting their website—something I recommend doing before making the trip out.

And just in case you’re not as inclined toward TCGs, there are also other gaming materials available for popular tabletop activities, like add-on materials for Dungeons & Dragons, mini figures for TTRPGs and paints to customize them, dice and accessories, and more. I had seen a D&D add-on book inspired by Studio Ghibli animations, allowing you to add that same sense of whimsy and wonder to your own games; something I’ll have to stop back in for in the future! And while there isn’t a huge selection of board games, there are a few of the more popular ones available.

But if I had to pick a highlight for Cantrip, it has to be their community engagement. On the wall behind the register, there’s a calendar filled with all of Cantrip’s upcoming events for the month, and when I say filled, I mean filled; there were events every single day of the week for the whole month, ranging from Magic tournaments to casual play, learn-to-play sessions to board game nights, and including special events like pre-release events (which happened just this past weekend for Magic, and the entire space was packed).

The entire store is filled with tables that anyone can sit down at and start playing. Best of all, even if you didn’t bring your own game to play, along one of the walls are shelves of open board games, which people are invited to open and play at no charge. It’s obvious Cantrip aims to be more than just a store!

So if you’re in the Ithaca area and looking for a place to satisfy your tabletop desires, possibly find that single to complete your deck, or maybe even just sit down and play a quick game on a roadtrip, then Cantrip couldn’t be a more welcoming space with people who are happy to facilitate your gaming needs.

That’s all for this issue! Take care while out exploring, have lots of fun, and I’ll see you at the next Waypoint!

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Josie and I are taking this edition of Put Down The Tablet on the road for a trip to the Strong National Museum of Play, located in downtown Rochester! The Strong Museum has been open to the public since 1982 and now has over 282,000 square feet of room for historical exhibits and interactive children’s activities. Originally founded with the toy collection of Rochester native Margaret Woodbury Strong, the museum has only gained in stature over the past 40 years and is the only collections-based museum anywhere devoted solely to the study of play.

The Strong Museum is set up very cleverly: while the kids are having fun driving interactive race cars or winding their way through a ‘dizzy’ hallway, the adults can relive their own childhood looking at exhibits that highlight the history of toys and play. We checked out some of the many permanent exhibits including the ‘Wegmans Super Kids Market’, where Josie got to scan and ‘pay’ for her own items. We also visited the ‘Berenstain Bears: Down a Sunny Dirt Road’ exhibit complete with farming activities and kiddie power tools.

Of course, being a PBS Kid, Josie’s favorite exhibit was ‘Can You Tell Me How To Get To Sesame Street?’ She was able to sit on the famous 1-2-3 Stoop and wave hello to Big Bird. There is also an interactive “Elmo’s World” and you can even cook a meal with Cookie Monster in his food truck. I even got to show Josie a vintage Tickle Me Elmo doll!

Other highlights of the trip included the ‘Aquariums at Rainbow Reef’ where children could color fish and then scan the picture to have their creations swimming for all to see! We also visited the DanceLab to showcase some of Dad’s crazy disco moves and saw how children played in the past at the One History Place exhibit. Josie was confused when I told her a mini-chalkboard was their equivalent to an iPad. There’s an ‘Imagination Destination’ where children can become a stage actor, a helicopter pilot or a space ship captain!

I haven’t even mentioned the arcade featuring classic 1980’s video games or the ‘Pinball Playfields’ room, so bring plenty of quarters if you are a big kid! My family visited the Strong Museum for over three hours and didn’t even make it to the second floor to check out the Toy Hall of Fame so we are already looking forward to our next trip. The Strong Museum of Play is open all year round and is located at One Manhattan Square in Rochester.