Hello Sourcers!

Welcome to October, universally recognized as The Best Month by leading calendar scientists. This October 1st finds us in a strange spot. As of today, for the first time in WSKG’s history, we find ourselves operating without federal funding. What was a looming threat at the beginning of the year, and a shocking crisis in the summer is now our new reality.

All of us here are so grateful to everyone who's stepped up to show their support in the recent months, whether that meant becoming a sustaining member for the first time, making an additional gift, or just showing up at events to tell us you've got our backs. It means so much to know our community stands with us to face it.

In my experience, when someone calls you a "radical left monster," you’re probably doing something right.

Okay, what’ve we got?

👻 Ghosts!

📖 Stories!

🔊 Noise!

✨ Hispanic Heritage!

🍴 Brunch!

(Possibly not in that order.)

First off, and this is a little in advance, the Chemung Historical Society currently has tickets available for their 19th Annual Ghost Walk. These are tours of Elmira’s Woodlawn Cemetery led and narrated by ghosts! Elmira Little Theatre actors take on the roles of historically deceased folks for tours on October 17-19th. I’m letting you know now because this event generally sells out, and it’s never too early in October to start planning your spooky activities.

On Tuesday, October 7th at 7pm, WSKG is bringing our Trampoline storytelling series back to Binghamton at our new monthly home at Atomic Tom’s! Show up and throw your name in to tell a five minute true story with no notes. Or just hang out, have a beer, and listen to other folks. These are great events, and I’m so glad to have them return to Atomic Tom’s. The theme for the Binghamton event is Running Away, but if you’re booked on Tuesday, we’ll also be in Ithaca’s The Downstairs on Thursday October 9th at 7pm, where the theme will be Close Encounters.

All this weekend, SouthWorks in Ithaca is hosting a Mural Jam, in collaboration with Ithaca Murals. There will be talks, workshops, and community painting. I’m looking forward to this because SouthWorks is one of several spots I drive by on my way to the WSKG Studios and wonder what they’re building in there. Also, I do love me a reclaimed industrial space.

Finally, this Sunday from 11am-6pm, the Latino Civic Association of Tompkins County is hosting a Hispanic Heritage Festival in Press Bay Alley. This is just part of a full month of Hispanic Heritage Month programs put on by LCA, but it’s been amazing to watch this festival grow over the last four years. The event runs from 11am to 6pm, and I recommend you show up hungry.

That’s what I’ve got this week. Send me your leads on spooky activities. We need all the scary (radical left) monsters and super (well-informed) creeps we can get.

Yours,

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Out of My Way- sharing stories of food across the region that I would go out of my way for…and so should you! 

Apple Hills Café

131 Brooks Road 

Binghamton, NY 13905

Open Thursday & Friday 8-2:00PM, Saturday 8-12:00PM, and Sunday 9:00-12:00PM

Who doesn’t love fall? The changing leaves, the explosion of mums, the pumpkin-spiced everything, and the slight chill in the air that makes you want to put on your favorite sweater (even though it’s 79 degrees as I write this!) And nothing evokes cozy fall vibes like a u-pick apple orchard with both a corn maze AND a superb homestyle café on the premises. Welcome to Apple Hills Farm & Café in Binghamton!

I’ve been to Apple Hills Café for lunch on several occasions. It’s located on a country road in the outskirts of Binghamton. The café shares a space with the Farm Store, which carries traditional country store fare like homemade fudge and seasonal decorations for hearth and home. But the main attraction here is definitely the food. 

Their menu features daily soup specials with a rotating selection of sides and desserts which have never disappointed. I especially like their half sandwich and cup of soup lunch special, which to me is the perfect amount of food. Most of their sandwiches can be served on your choice of homemade bread or panini. I’m a huge fan of their tuna melt which comes with tomato and Swiss cheese, but on my recent visit I decided to try their signature open-faced grilled apple sandwich. This beauty was served on fresh baked eight-grain bread topped with sliced apples, mustard, mayo, ham, and Swiss cheese and then grilled until the cheese was perfectly melted and the apples were warm.

I had the sandwich with a cup of their homemade Thanksgiving soup which included all of the most important Thanksgiving elements in one deliciously creamy soup, right down to the little bits of stuffing. All in all, it was a flawless comfort food mash-up of peak fall flavors. On that day, they had their homemade coconut cream cake as a dessert option, which is my absolute favorite, so I just had to get a piece to go. It was literally as big as my face! My husband and I savored it with our evening tea over the course of two evenings because while we both appreciate cozy, we aren’t total hedonists.

Apple Hills Café serves breakfast and lunch on Thursday & Friday and breakfast only on Saturday and Sunday. If you visit on a warm day, I highly recommend sitting outside on their wrap-around porch overlooking the corn fields.

What cozy restaurants, diners, bakeries or farms do you go out of your way to visit? Send me a note. I love discovering new places to eat in the region!

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For years I've only ever heard secondhand accounts about the Naked Noise performances in Ithaca. Seeing photos and some short videos circulate online from previous years. Having experienced and participated in experimental audio performances before, my expectations were somewhat grounded in the concept of improvised performance with either traditional instruments or DIY instruments. 

Naked Noise was different. It wasn’t a handful of musicians in a room. In the middle of the large reverberant room were three percussionists: one playing a full drum kit, one playing an arrangement of congas, bongos, concert toms and some cymbals, and a third that was manipulating a snare drum, bass drum and chymes with a series of pedals and effects. Surrounding those three percussionists were roughly twelve musicians on the outskirts of the room. Vocalists, string players, brass players, wind instruments, gongs, guitars, shakers and noise makers.

There is a tendency in experimental audio performances to do too much, to get overly excited with what’s happening and to over play. When performing with multiple people, that can quickly get out of control, leaving behind one of the most impactful tools of music: silence. 

This was not the case with Naked Noise. The restraint needed to not over play, to listen and interact with what others are doing in the space made this a lasting experience for me. Listeners were encouraged to walk around the room and experience each performer up close. As I made my way through the space, from station to station, my perspective shifting from one instrument to another, I realized that each performer's sound wasn’t not overpowering any of the others. I could hear the subtlety of each instrument. 

At one point I heard a very distinctive percussive sound, the sound of wood shells. I realized it was one person simply lifting and dropping wood shells into their hand. I stood in front of this individual for several minutes, in awe of the fact that I could clearly hear this subtle sound in a large room with 12 or more musicians, many playing through amps.

To me, that’s the power of Naked Noise. I was expecting to be assaulted with a cacophony of sounds for 30 plus minutes, so that leaving the room would feel like a relief. Which is, in its own way, something I enjoy. Instead, I got an immersive, interactive experience of sound and light that changed with every footstep I took around the room. 

I didn’t leave feeling bombarded, struggling to clear my mind from the sonic assault that I just had. I left remembering so many different sounds and textures, remembering short but impactful moments from individual performers, remembering the individualistic nature of the performances but also the way they slowly grew together and then slowly dissipated at the end. My only regret is waiting this long to experience it.