Hello Sourcers!

How are we enjoying the wild swing in the weather? Yesterday I grabbed one of my kiddos various bags for various activities and there were snow pants in there from Friday, while she has already decided it is now Shorts Forever Season. Me, I’m not packing up the hats and gloves just yet.

Let’s see what we’re up to this week!

🎶 Opera!

🌎 Earth!

📹 Experimental Video!

You know I try to spread the attention around, but wow there is a lot going on in Broome County this week. Starting with Tri Cities Opera’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata at the Forum on Saturday at 3pm. Can we all just pause a moment and reflect on something? We have an opera company. In our backyard! What an absolutely remarkable thing to even exist, much less to be as incredibly good as TCO? I just think it’s something worth being excited about.

If opera is a little high-falutin for you, you’re still in time for the tail end of school musical season. Ithaca’s got 9 to 5: The Musical and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, there’s a production of Annie in Owego, and Ride the Cyclone in Corning, just to name a few.

Earth Day is next Wednesday, and while we’ll cover a couple other celebrations in next week’s newsletter, there’s one coming up in Binghamton this Saturday as the Waterman Center celebrates not just Earth Day, but their birthday! From noon to nine at the Peacemaker Stage in Downtown Binghamton, they’ll be hosting a day of music, vendors, and [checks notes] environmentally-themed tattoos and piercings. 

Finally, this Friday, Binghamton University is hosting a retrospective on the work of Ralph Hocking, who passed away last year. Hocking was a bit of a legend in the world of experimental video, most notably as the founder of the (really incredible) Experimental Television Center. He’s a piece of BU’s larger contribution to the world of experimental film and video, and I would definitely recommend that, if you’re able, you attend the Harpur Cinema retrospective of his work on Friday at 7pm.

That’s this week’s slice of what’s going on. We’ve also got WSKG On Screen events next week! In Ithaca on Monday at 6pm, with Frederick Law Olmstead: Designing America, followed by a talk with Cornell History professor Aaron Sachs, and on Wednesday at our Vestal Studios, Shared Planet, with special guest, Michelle Knuepfer, Waterman Conservation Education staff naturalist. These screenings are both free and open to the public, but we do ask you pre-register.

Have a great week, Sourcers, and we’ll talk to you soon.

Yours,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Good day, travelers! We find ourselves at yet another Waypoint, and with me, I bring good tidings and great news. In the world of game stores, we love to see the community grow, whether it be via new members, new games, or new events, but I’d argue one novelty stands above the rest: new stores!

Yes, a new game store has opened in our listening area, taking up residence in Owego. The Royal Rook is set up in the middle of town, perfect for visiting while out touring the several other local shops that call Owego home. It shares the tabletop scene with my previously covered Sidequest Games, but thankfully, the Royal Rook doesn’t step on any toes! Where Sidequest is focused on a broad selection of board games, the Royal Rook has its focus on cards.

As an Owego native, I personally am excited by the prospect of just having a hometown game store. So frequently, I’ve had to travel to Ithaca or Vestal to find the next closest space, but now I (and I’m sure others local to the area) are rejoicing at the prospect of our own LGS. Plus, it’s awesome that there’s the opportunity to mix and mingle with new faces in a new community. But that doesn’t mean those who take a day trip into town can’t enjoy the new space too; Owego is a very walkable town with plenty of public parking, making it easy to stop in while you’re touring the other local shops.

The Royal Rook boasts a large space with plenty of tables available for playing, perfect for stopping in to play with some friends or for any of the many events the store runs. When I stopped in, there were several spreads of bulk boxes open for browsing, full of Magic: The Gathering cards, Pokémon cards, and even sports cards (meaning there’s more here than just stuff for gamers). There’s a large display case featuring the store’s selection of prized cards available for sale, with plenty of product behind for purchase. This is supplemented by the Rook’s online storefront, where you can browse the entire selection of singles, place your order, and stop in for pickup.

Perhaps coolest of all is the kinds of events the Royal Rook is hosting. You can expect the typical game nights for Magic and other games, but the store also puts on local card shows and trading events. Collectors, both of the TCG and sports variety, can bring their collections to show off what they have to fellow collectors, as well as swap what they have for something new with other local aficionados, helping to build community not just through playing but through the love of the medium itself.

So whether you’re an Owego local, in a neighboring town, or just passing through, be sure to stop in to the Royal Rook to give them a warm welcome! It’s always great seeing new game stores pop up in our communities, giving us all something new to share and bond over. Until next time, take care and have lots of fun, and I’ll see you at the next Waypoint.

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Hello and welcome to Put Down The Table, the column where my six year old daughter Josie and I search for fun throughout the WSKG coverage area without the help of our devices.

It has been an interesting time in our household over the past five weeks as we have dealt with a situation that a lot of parents can relate to–the loss of a family pet.

My wife and I moved into our Johnson City home in the spring of 2014 and shortly after we adopted Shea, a little beagle pup that filled our hearts with love, despite his possessive ways and constant need for treats.

Josie was born in 2020 and her ‘furry big brother’ was always super sweet around her. Unfortunately, pets not living as long as their owners is a lesson that many young children have to endure and Shea passed away last month. It was a hard time for the entire family and Josie remembered him by writing down her favorite beagle memories in a notebook.

It didn’t take long for Josie to start asking when we’d be getting a new dog. Her preference was adopting a puppy since Shea was fully grown by the time she was born. My wife and I explained that a puppy is a lot of work to train and we would need her help. We started looking online at local dog shelters and visited the Broome County Humane Society to meet their pups. The employees at the Humane Society did a great job in identifying what would work best for our family and the third dog we saw was a six-month old boxer mix that immediately won us over by hopping on my wife’s lap. We had a discussion on the way home, and less than 48 hours later, Josie and I were back to pick him up.

We decided to name him Soto (can you guess what our favorite baseball team is?) and while he has only been home for ten days it seems like he has been here for years. I made the joke that Soto must be ‘part cat’ because his favorite activity is laying on the couch and getting his belly rubbed. Josie has been doing her part by feeding Soto, helping with his potty training and taking him on walks to let loose that pent up puppy energy. She is really excited that, unlike Shea, Soto is able to sleep in her bed and is proud to declare that ‘the new dog likes me more than you, Dad!’ We have a list of goals: teaching Soto to sit and visiting a dog park are next on the list.

Please give your pet an extra hug after reading this and as the weather warms up let us know what locations across our coverage area we should visit with Soto!