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“I Love Lucy” has its iconic moments, such as that time with the malfunctioning conveyor belt in the chocolate factory… or when Lucy hiked up her skirt and turned her feet dirty in an Italian vineyard. Something slightly different on the Cayuga Wine Trail this year happens on September 13 and 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., when Cobblestone Winery hosts its Third Annual Grape Stomping Festival.

Three years ago the winery started the grape stomping festival. Spokesperson Jennifer Clark said Cobblestone sets aside one to two tons of its table grapes specifically for the event each year.

“It’s harvest time and we thought ‘what better time to use our table grapes,’” she said.

The September event includes grape stomping, a grape stomping contest, live music, wine tasting, arts and crafts vendors, food and an “I Love Lucy” costume contest. Clark said about three or four people and a slew of children dress like Lucy Ricardo from the “Lucy’s Italian Movie” episode each day of the festival.

“We encourage people to come dressed as Lucy and if they stomp on grapes they get extra points,” she said.

The Honeymoon Begins with Mead

Vineyards spend years perfecting their grapes to make the perfect Merlot, Chardonnay or Riesling, but those annoying bees buzzing around the vines could prove just as lucrative.

Of the 16 stops on the Cayuga Wine Trail and 36 on the Seneca trail, a handful of Finger Lakes wineries around Ithaca produce honey wine, also known as mead.

“It’s kind of a niche thing,” said David Stamp of Lakewood Vineyards in Watkins Glen.

Lakewood offers two different honey wines, Seifu’s Tej and Mystic Mead, a wildflower blend. The vineyard only makes a “couple thousand” gallons of mead each season, but Stamp said Ithaca and the surrounding renaissance fairs are good markets for the product.

Montezuma Winery in Seneca Falls is the exclusive provider of mead to the Sterling Renaissance Fair near Oswego. Bill Martin, a wine maker at Montezuma, began using his father’s bees to make mead as a hobby nine years ago. Since the family was looking for another use for its honey the side project turned into a full-fledged business.

“It kind of fell into our laps, but it is something we were kind of looking for,” Martin said.

Looking Locally

Grocery stores offer exotic options like pineapple and star fruit, but eating produce grown close to home helps the local economy and may increase consumer nutrition.

Fruits and vegetables from distant places are nutritious, but eating locally allows consumers to know more about their food – which could lead to better growing methods and the decision to grow more nutritional produce.

Jennifer Wilkins, senior extension associate of nutritional science at Cornell University, outlines seven major factors that affect the nutritional value of produce: variety, production method, ripeness, post-harvest handling, processing and packaging, storage, and transportation.

“Most varieties of fruits and vegetables found in supermarkets today were chosen first and foremost for yield, growth rate and ability to withstand long-distance transport,” she said. “Farmers producing for a local and direct market are more likely to prioritize taste and nutritional quality over durability when making varietal decisions.”

Celebrating Community

Newfield Old Home Days likely started as a way for outlying neighbors to get together and socialize. Now neighbors still gather, but the two-day event also benefits local charities.

The simple neighborhood gathering dating from the early 1900s now hosts a carnival, fireworks, a parade, food stands and a 5K race. Many of the events are used by local organizations as fundraisers, said Florence Emery, a member of the Old Home Days committee.

“Everything we do in a sense is going to help the community, to help the different groups,” she said.

Students run booths at the carnival to earn money for class trips and other events.

“The seniors always do fried dough and the juniors are going to do a cake wheel,” Emery said.

Four years ago, the 5k race became a tradition with sole intention of raising money for the Newfield Good Neighbor Fund – a group that helps Newfield residents experiencing a financial crises. James Depue, who is in charge of the race, said the 5k’s partnership with the good neighbor fund is an example of Newfield’s “neighbor to neighbor spirit.”

“[The fund] was connected to Newfield, … tying into Newfield Old Home Days it just seemed like a pretty good match,” he said.

Guitar Man Plays Library

The professional black and white photo of Tom Sieling posed with a guitar on the fliers for his performance at the Newfield Public Library didn’t quite match up with the guy sitting in the crowd talking to kids about their summers while wearing a bright green “catch the reading bug” shirt, shorts and sandals. But come show time, Sieling walked to the front of the room and started leading the crowd through a version of the Village People’s “YMCA,” except spelling r-e-a-d, complete with dance moves.

Sieling’s performance on August 27 was one of the special programs regularly held by the library. Tina Winstead, library director, said every event offers something different.

“We have programs periodically throughout the year,” she said. “[There's] a huge variation.”

A former library trustee recommended Sieling, who sings and plays the banjo and guitar and specializes in children’s performances, as a potential program. Though the concert was open to everyone, the songs Sieling chose were meant to encourage participation from the youngest children.

More Culture, Less Parking

A number of changes and improvements will take place at the school this year, including classes in Arabic. The ongoing construction will not disrupt classes but will put students in a dilemma for where to park.

South Seneca is also adding new high school courses and new elementary school fitness initiatives.
A desktop publishing class ¬- which is a mix of art and business – is intended to make students “media savvy.” The high school is also offering an E-commerce class and is adding an Advanced Placement version of American History for seniors.

Chinese is no longer being offered at the high school because the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) Chinese instructor left the area said Superintendent Janie Nusser. As a replacement, the district is offering Arabic as a one credit elective. The class, taught by a BOCES instructor, will combine cultural lessons with a basic understanding of the language.

“We’re pretty proud of [the Arabic] for a rural district,” Nusser said.

Get Out of Jail Free

Never mind Park Place, Baltic Avenue and the railroads, now Trumansburg businesses have the chance get a space on a monopoly board.

The high school color guard boosters are creating and selling a Trumansburg version of the popular Parker Brothers board game.

All the spaces on the board are for sale to local businesses. For a little over $200, a business’ name and logo could be printed on a square.

“There’s 40 advertising slots that we are trying to sell to local businesses and local groups,” Salino said. “Whoever wants to will be forever immortalized in our Tburgolopy game.”

Spaces on the board cost between $225 and $250, with corner and utility spots reaching the upper price range. Participating businesses will also receive a free quarter page ad in two color guard home competition programs.

“We’re telling businesses that it’s … less than 40 or 45 cents per game for them to advertise,” Salino said. “How cost effective it is to them.”

Students guide to getting by on less

Ways to Save: Transportation

You’d be surprised how close things are in Ithaca if you look or try walking or biking,” said Tristan Fowler, an Ithaca College senior who has never had a car in Ithaca.

The Ithaca Commons and Collegetown offer many restaurants and shops to keep students busy, and both are within walking distance from their respective schools. Libby Sile, an Ithaca College sophomore, discovered The Commons during her freshman year.

“I walked to The Commons almost every week when I needed a break or some stuff downtown,” she said.

Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) runs through both campuses as well as downtown and to the Pyramid Mall and Wegmans on Route 13. The TCAT is $1.50 per ride, but those dedicated to the bus can get a pass. Lena Yue, a junior at Ithaca College, prefers the bus to the local taxi services.

“After my first three weeks at college, I discovered that cabs are overrated and never took one again,”she said. “The TCAT [isn't the best], but it’s so cheap that I’ll just deal with it.”

Trumansburg reviewing zoning after 30 years

TRUMANSBURG, NY — The Village of Trumansburg has set up a committee to review its zoning ordinance, which has been largely untouched since its instatement in 1971.

The eight-member committee is comprised of board members from several village organizations. Two members of the village board of trustees, two from the planning board, two from the zoning board of appeals and two independent members of the community will evaluating the zoning regulations. Joan Jurkowich, deputy commissioner of planning for the county planning department, will also be working with the committee, though she is not an official member.

Jurkowich will be providing “professional support” and will be helping the committee address issues it identifies. She will not be pointing out problem areas.

“I’ll help them draw out the ideas but it’s really their ordinance,” she said.

Timothy Hamilton, chair of the zoning board of appeals, said amendments have been made to the village’s zoning laws over the years, but the overall policy is largely untouched for more than 30 years.

“We need to update it, we need to define terms,” he said.