Hello Sourcers!

We are well into Sweater Season, which means Leaf Peepin’ Season is right around the corner. But what’s blooming this week?

🔵 Blues

📚 Books

⛰️ Hills

🎥 Films

🎭 Theater

Let’s be up front about the fact that September is packed. If you can’t find something to do this month, you’re not trying.

This Saturday, Binghamton hosts Blues on the Bridge on the South Washington Street Bridge, with performers from noon to 10pm. This free event draws over 10,000 folks with food and drinks available for sale (organizers ask that you leave coolers and any glass containers at home). 

All this weekend, Ithaca will host one of my favorite newer festivals, Ithaca is Books. This is a collaboration between a bunch of bookstores, plus the library, plus a couple more folks. It includes a whole slate of events from Friday through Sunday, and a book fair on the Commons all weekend. Not to pick favorites, but poet Eve L. Ewing is going to be in town, and she is amazing. Also, I hear the guy hosting Literary Trivia is a real charmer.

At the other side of the region, Oneonta is throwing its City of the Hills Festival, with music, art, and vendors all over the city Saturday and Sunday. I have just learned that the slogan for the city of Oneonta is “We’re onta something,” and I’ve decided this is genius.

Finally, this weekend and next weekend, the Reproductive Rights Film Festival will be going on at Cinemapolis in Ithaca. Screenings, talkbacks and virtual panels make up this fest, the only one of its kind in New York state and now in its third year.

Finally, next week is Porchfest in Ithaca, and we'll be there with bands and more. If you're interested in volunteering to help out with the event, sign up here!

I hope to see you all out there, wearing your best cardigans and/or rattiest hoodies.

Yours,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Another month of engaging live theatre happening across the region in September! From Shakespeare spoofs to bears to books, there’s something for everyone’s taste and price range. Please support your local theatre companies! 

Bad Books is presented by the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca from 9/5-9/21. The Kitchen offers a variety of ticket pricing options. Bad Books tells the incredibly modern yet timeless story of an overworked, overprotective mother just trying to do her best for her children, sometimes to a fault. The play begins when The Mother confronts the town Librarian for recommending an “inappropriate” book to her 15 year old son titled...actually, you'll have to go to find out the title. What follows is a multi-layered tale of censorship, generational trauma, and community that will make you laugh, cry, and support your local library. The Kitchen also hosts talkbacks after the show to further engage with the production team and demonstrate how the story connects with issues in our local community.

I had the pleasure of attending this performance opening night and can I just say… WOW! While I am not in the business of reviewing productions (I believe in encouraging folks to go see as much theatre as possible regardless of one gal’s opinion), I do have a few thoughts I’d like to share from my time at the Kitchen. It always amazes me what small theatres are able to do with their space. Tyler Perry’s scenic design and Cora McKenna’s lighting truly transported me to a variety of locations whilst never really moving that much. They maximized the minimalist vision! As they say at every show, “Important conversations happen in the Kitchen”. My posse and I couldn’t stop talking about this show the entire hour long car ride home. In essence, go see Bad Books! I’d love to talk about it more with you!

If you need a place to take the kids, the Tri-Cities Opera is presenting a FREE show for children, The Three Bears, on Saturday, Sept. 13 at 11:00 AM at the Tri-Cities Opera Center at 315 Clinton Street in Binghamton. The performance is relatively short and is recommended for ages 4-12, but all are welcome to attend! There will be a Q&A and a short tour of the costume and scene shops following. TCO does children’s events every season. This production features their four Resident Artists, selected through a highly competitive audition process. It’s a privilege to have such talent featured in our own community.

Tri-Cities Opera will also be presenting Puccini’s Gianni Schicci October 10th-12th if you’re an opera fanatic who prefers to leave the kids at home!

Picnic Basket Productions will present “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged” at The Foothills Center of Performing Arts and Civics Center in Oneonta for 2 nights only, September 12th and 13th at 7pm. This quirky piece features 3 actors recounting all of Shakespeare’s greatest hits. I saw a production several years ago at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY, and whether you are a huge Shakespeare aficionado or read a few of his plays in high school, I think you will find this play incredibly entertaining. Admission is FREE, with a suggested donation of $20. 

As always, there are many opportunities to see great theatre in your community without breaking the bank. I firmly believe art should be for everyone and everyone should see art! Please let me know about shows you’re excited to see this Fall. I hope to see you there!

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