Hello Sourcers!

Let’s see what’s good this week, shall we?

🎉 MAKING Party!

🛍️ Markets!

🦒 Animal Adventures!

🍺 Beer Adventures!

First, in case you missed it, public media darling Ira Glass will be spending an evening at the State Theatre in Ithaca on September 19th. Tickets go on sale Friday, but Sourcers can in on a presale by going to the State Theatre website and using the code WSKG2026. 

But let’s talk more immediate future. Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to check out MAKING, our new digital series highlighting regional artists. We’re so thrilled to have this out in the world that we’re throwing a party.

Come by Angry Mom Records in Ithaca on First Friday December 5th from 6-8pm for a MAKING Mixer. We’re screening a couple episodes, and we’ll have a panel featuring some of our spotlighted artists and MAKING creator Alyssa Micha. Mostly, it’ll be a chance to meet other creative folks. Plus, there will be snacks and swag.

On other fronts, like the stealthy Meleagris gallopavo (that’s “wild turkey” to you), Thanksgiving has snuck up on us. Maybe you’re fully prepped: bird in the freezer, wine in the cellar, brussel sprouts on that weird stalk they grow on. But if you’re a little behind the Butterball this year, there are a number of holiday markets happening where you can grab food and gifts before the big day.

The Upper Front Street Farmer’s Market in Binghamton hosts their Gather and Give Market from 4-7pm on Tuesday, November 25th. This is the Voltron of farmers’ markets, with the five markets from across Broome County combining into one unstoppable…market.

Also on Tuesday, Ithaca’s Press Bay plays host to the Holiday Food Fest, with dozens of local vendors selling their wares, and some live music thrown in for good measure. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by options, take a deep breath, buy something from Oracle Chocolates, and thank me later.

On Friday, the Roberson Museum kicks off its annual Home for the Holidays celebration, with over 100 trees decorated by community members and organizations (including WSKG!), and on Saturday, the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown launches the Glimmer Nights Holiday Light Show, which runs every weekend through the end of the year. These aren’t markets, per se, and it’s a little bit of Christmas stepping on Thanksgiving’s toes. But hot chocolate is worth bending the rules a bit.

That’s the skinny this week. I was thinking next week, we might include some last minute recipes, including the late Susan Stamberg’s legendary cranberry relish. So keep an eye out.

Take care, Sourcers, and see you soon.

Yours,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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One of my favorite things about being a parent is remembering what I was doing at my child’s age. My daughter Josie is five years old, and I recall my parents taking me to the now-defunct Catskill Game Farm when I was that age. The Catskill Game Farm (located ironically in Catskill, New York) housed many exotic animals during its 70 years in operation. It was so cool to visit a place where you not only got to see animals but were also able to feed and pet them!

Forty-five years later (that hurts to type) and I am delighted that one of Josie’s favorite places to visit in Broome County is Harpursville’s Animal Adventure Park! Much like the old Game Farm, there is an amazing array of animals to observe and interact with. The animals on display range as big as the Tibetan Yak to as small as the Patas Monkey.

Not all the animals on display are exotic. Josie’s first stop on the well-marked trail is to feed the barnyard goats that you can hear bleating throughout the park. She gets skittish when she approaches larger animals such as the Asian Water Buffalo, mainly due to how slobbery they are when taking the kibble. We continue exploring and discover reindeer that might be pulling Santa’s sled soon, peacocks strutting their finest feathers, and even lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) The park offers extensive educational opportunities with handlers and trainers participating in ‘encounters’ and special meet and greets with the animals.

Some of Josie’s favorite animals to observe are the extremely cute capybaras. Just a short stroll from there is her favorite animal, the long limbed flamingos!! Yes, it’s because they are pink!

We pass by other odd looking birds such as the African guinea fowl with its helmet hair and always poke fun at the alpacas’ need for orthodontic work! Our last stop is always our favorite as we visit with the world famous Animal Adventure giraffes. The giraffe holds a special place in Josie’s heart as it's her Grammy’s favorite animal. We have lost count how many giraffe trinkets she has in her Florida home. In my research for this article I was happy to discover that Animal Adventure’s most famous giraffe, April, who became famous for her 2017 livestreamed pregnancy, was originally born at…the Catskill Game Farm!

In addition to its regular park which has been open since 2013, Animal Adventure now has a Preserve Safari that you are able to drive through! We took the tour this past summer and it was a blast being able to drive around deer, alpaca and even water buffalo. Our one bit of advice is to hold on to the feed bucket really, really tightly.  Those animals are determined to get every last bit of food before you drive away. We were even tailed by a gang of donkeys! Josie described the entire experience as “hilarious!”

While normal hours for the park have changed with the colder weather, Animal Adventure’s annual “Jungle Bells” light display is running throughout the holiday season! Animal Adventure Park is located at 85 Martin Hill Road in Harpursville, New York.

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I was recently in Horseheads to check out Twin Tiers Comic Con and decided that after walking around seeing all the cool art and such, I needed a pint. I made my way to Rekt Brewing Company and Taphouse. While new to the area, opening during Covid, they have established a following that has allowed them to be a recognizable name. 

Rekt brews a few of their own beers. I started with one of these, Lucid Dreams, a double dry hopped, all citra IPA that comes in at 6.5% ABV. The choice of all citra hops is interesting to me. They don’t bring out the punch or bitter flavors that I normally favor with an IPA, and a dry hopped one I would expect a bit more up-front hoppiness. Instead you get something almost sweet, the citrus notes coming through so much this could almost be branded a “Candy IPA” (I’ll trademark that now!). 

Although Rekt doesn’t brew many beers, they have one of the best guest tap lists I’ve seen in the area, from some of the best breweries around. So many that I struggled to choose my third beer (spoilers, I tried 3).

But before that, my second beer I chose to try the other Rekt offering on the menu, Vanilla Cream Ale (5.1%). I confess I’m not normally a Cream Ale drinke; it took me a while to come around to them. But this is one that I could come around on more often. Pouring light amber and translucent, the vanilla doesn’t come across on the nose but does on the tongue. Well balanced and properly carbonated, maybe I need some more cream ales in my life. 

To end, I had to choose from the nicely curated list of guest taps, and while I could choose from some that are outside the WSKG coverage area that I love (Trillium in Boston, Mortalis in Rochester for example) I had to keep it in the region with Aurora Brewing’s Freshest Fresh 2 Death NEIPA (6.8%). I love Aurora brewing and they always impress me and make me want to nerd out on beer. This one is another great brew from them, with a soft mouthfeel, the beer feels pillowy as I drink it (this comes down to water chemistry) and it’s so smooth. More bittering hops than Lucid Dreams, and it’s a great night cap for a hop lover like myself.

Overall, Rekt was a great stop. They have live music often and good food, I recommend it for someone looking to try some great curated beers.