Northside Urban Partnership

Loren Barrigar will perform a solo concert co-hosted by Women Transcending Boundaries (WTB), Syracuse Grows and the Northside Collaboratory. The concert will be held in Hendrick’s Chapel on the Syracuse University campus on Saturday, April 10th at 7:00pm.

The artist to perform, Loren Barrigar of the Barrigar Brothers, is a local favorite in Syracuse, playing at venues throughout the city as well as tour dates for 2010 that take him as far as Tennessee. Barrigar started playing guitar at four years old and by the age of six, performed at the Grand Ole Oprey in Nashville with Chet Atkins. Before settling down in Central New York, Barrigar studies with Jimmy Atkins, Chet’s borther, which led to a national tour with the family band.

Awards and accomplishments include a #1 rated CD in Syracuse, Dusty Pascal’s “Home”{2007}, on which Barrigar played and produced, melodies featured on NBC’s #1 rated  show “ER” and on a Christmas CD with BB King and Patti Labelle. In 2009, Barrigar released his CD, “Dance With Me,” that won a SAMMY award for best album of the year.

All proceeds will benefit the Isabella St. Tapestry Garden built in 2009. The garden is located at 127 Isabella St., off North Salina St. It serves a diverse neighborhood on the
Northside of Syracuse, many of whom are recent immigrants from Burma, Bhutan and Burundi. The garden itself was built with donated materials from community members and proves to be a central gathering point for neighborhood gardeners.

Admission is $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, children and students (valid ID is required).
Free Parking is located adjacent to Hendrick’s Chapel in the Quad 1 lot.

The Cathedral Academy at Pompei (CAP) is hosting an open house on April 7 from 7-8:30 pm. CAP invites the public to meet the teachers, visit classrooms, and hear the children’s choir. Pompei, a school for Pre-K through 6th Grade, offers small class sizes, where students receive greater attention from teachers and faculty. There are several before and after school programs, as well as specialized programming such as Chinese Mandarin and Spanish language classes.

The caring administrative leadership and staff, include experienced New York State certified teachers, are invested in the success of the students, whose achievement on Standardized Test Scores are significantly above local, state, and national urban schools. Also, contributing to the success of Pompei students is a community mentorship program culling from local professional and educational organizations.

The Cathedral Academy at Pompei also boasts:

Ten-minute walk from St. Joseph’s Health and Rehabilitation Center
Celebrates diverse groups of people from 5 continents, 20 nations, 10 languages and 4 major religions
Le Moyne College student teachers, tutors, and professors
Syracuse University Literacy Corps
Summer Literacy Program

Pompei is supported by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse and Father Champlin’s Guardian Angel Society.
For more information please check out the school’s website by clicking here (www.capsyracuse.org) or call 422-8528

TRAVELER ADVISORY – Left Lane Closure on Southbound I-81, City of Syracuse (Onondaga County)

The New York State Department of Transportation announced that the left lane of southbound Interstate 81, from Park Street to the eastbound I-690 off-ramp, will be closed from March 20, 2010  at 7:00 a.m. until approximately June 1 for center pier reconstruction work at the Butternut Street bridge.

Two southbound through lanes will be available approaching the work site.

For updated information on this project, check www.511ny.gov or dial 511. Or click here for the NYSDOT website.

Mothers Against Gun Violence in conjunction with Corcoran High School & the Syracuse Onondaga Drug & Alcohol Abuse Commission will be hosting a series of informational forums to address the use of: Embalming Fluid, PCP, Formaldehyde (a.k.a. “Water”) as a drug throughout the community.

When: March 19, 2010
Where: Corcoran HS (Cafeteria)
Time: 6:00-7:30 pm
What: A panel discussion on the damage these drugs do to one’s MIND & BODY.

Panel will consist of Frank Fowler (Syracuse Chief of Police), Dr. Cynthia Morrow (Onondaga County Commissioner of Health), Kimberly Sacco (Syracuse/Onondaga Drug & Alcohol Abuse), Charles Garland (Garland Funeral Home), & community members who have facts and information.

The weather has turned (at least for now) and people in the city of Syracuse are taking advantage of the daylight and moderate temperatures to enjoy a variety of activities from shooting hoops to simply taking a walk. Tonight, why not plan on taking a walk around the Northside? Several of the city’s galleries have things going on tonight and the Northside galleries are no different. (Click here for information about Th3 throughout the city.)

C2 – Craft Chemistry is having a gallery opening for the work of artist and engineer Mark Povinelli. The exhibition is of over 80 or more of his most recent studies, titled Reassemblages. Povinelli navigates mythaglyphic language within the matrix of drawings as captured portals. The opening reception is tonight from 5-8pm. There will be refreshments. Also on display will be a window installation designed by the artist. The exhibition is on display on the gallery wall from today through April 11th. (for more information and other CraftChemistry happenings click here.)

ArtRage is hosting a free screening of WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? – a special Women’s History Month & Th3 Event! The event begins at 7pm, and following the screening there will be a discussion including local women artists. WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? is a feature documentary directed by Pamela Tanner Boll and co-directed and edited by Nancy C. Kennedy from the producing team, that won an Academy Award for Born Into Brothels. It is a film that examines some of the most pressing issues of our time: parenting and work, partnering and independence, economics and art. The film follows five women artists as they navigate the economic, psychological, and spiritual challenges of making work outside the elite art world. From Hawaii’s Big Island to the suburbs of Ohio, from New York City to the deserts of New Mexico, we watch as these women—ranging in age from 27 to 65—fight to honor their vision and families every day. (for more information and other ArtRage events click here.)

What: Mujeres de Arena: Testimonios de Mujeres en Ciudad Juárez – Women of Sand: Testimonies of Women in Ciudad Juárez
Dramatized reading of the documentary play “Mujeres de Arena.” Directed by Rebecca Fuentes

When: Friday – March 19 at 7pm

According to reports, since 1993 more that 576 women have been murdered and over 600 are still missing in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
The climate of violence and impunity continues to grow without any concrete actions being taken to put and end to this femicide. They are young women employed in maquilas or sweat shops and many of them are migrants. The murdered women of Ciudad Juárez are more than a statistic, they have names, faces and stories that are too often neglected.
Join us in solidarity with the women of Juárez and the world. ¡Ni una más!  Not one more!

A discussion and reception to follow. Donations will be welcomed for the organization “Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa” which supports families of the victims.
An independent production of Palabras Acentuadas: Un Espacio para Conocernos Mejor. www.palabrasacentuadas.wordpress.com
For more information www.mujeresdearenateatro.blogspot.com  (in Spanish)

For more information or for upcoming events click here to visit the ArtRage Gallery website.

On Saturday night, from 8-10pm, ArtRage is host to the local improv group “Don’t Feed the Actors.”  The comedic group specializes in audience interactive improvisation. They pride themselves in bringing their unique show to locations all over Upstate New York. The group is made up of a dozen of Central New York’s finest local comedic actors.  With different actors and different games in each show, and of course different suggestions from the audience, they all but guarantee a new and exciting show each time. Tickets are available at the door for $15.

Then on Monday, March 15 from 7-9pm Dan Leonard gives his talk “Men are Victims, Too,” speaking on the sexual abuse of little boys through the vehicle of his own story.The commonly accepted figures state that in the USA, 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are abused. Dan will relate his experience as a fraternity member to the overall issue of sexual abuse; “Macho” football player, he seemed to have no apparent problems with the outside world – a productive member of society – but holding a terrible secret. Join us to hear his story and the story of thousands just like him…and you…and me. The event is free and open to the public.

Click here for more information on these and other events happening at ArtRage.

Craft Chemistry will be featuring artist, Mark Povinelli, from March 18th – April 11th on the gallery wall. The opening reception will be held next Thursday,  March 18th from 5-8pm. We encourage you to stop by, check it out and enjoy yummy refreshments. Mark Povinelli is curating this exhibition of over 80 or more of his most recent drawings, titled Reassemblages. Povinelli navigates mythaglyphic language within the matrix of drawings as captured portals. Also on display will be a window installation designed by the artist.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the current showing of Brendan Rose’s mural and modeling of the installation purposed for the recently cleaned and greened open lot along the 700 block of North Salina Street, the exhibition will remain at C2 through Saturday.

For more information on these showings check out Craft Chemistry’s events page by clicking here.

Craft Chemistry, partnering with the Syracuse University COLAB, is presenting a film screening of Handmade Nation at 5:15pm tonight. The film with an artist talk to follow by documentary filmmaker Faythe Levine will be held at Watson Auditorium on SU’s campus. For more information please click on this link to Craft Chemistry’s website or check out the COLAB blog by clicking here.

Women Transcending Boundaries (under a grant from the Central New York Community Foundation) is inviting organizations to join us in a weekend of volunteerism and community building. The “Acts of Kindness! (A-OK!) Weekend” will take place on Saturday and Sunday, September 11 and 12, 2010. This exciting weekend will provide many opportunities for networking among groups across the city—highlighting the extraordinary work already being done in addition to attracting more volunteers to expand current service projects and create new ones!
 
Planning for the “A-OK! Weekend” will be done by a committee consisting of one representative from each participating organization. The initial organizational meeting will be held at four different times and places, so that all who wish to get in on the ground floor of this unique, collaborative effort will have the opportunity to do so. (Please note: You or a designated representative need be at only ONE of these initial meetings.)

 
•     Monday, March 8, at 7 p.m. at Betts Library (4862 South Salina Street, Syracuse)
•     Tuesday, March 9, at 7 p.m. at Butternut Community Policing Center (907 Butternut Street,
       Syracuse)
•     Wednesday, March 10, at 7 p.m. at Jowonio School (3049 East Genesee Street, Syracuse)
•     Thursday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Hazard Library (1620 West Genesee Street, Syracuse)
 
Please feel free to call or email any of us to let us know of your interest or to get more information about this extraordinary initiative.
 
                              With Gratitude and Hope, from the “A-OK! Weekend” Anchor Committee,
                                       Betsy Wiggins (315-446-1694, bwiggins@twcny.rr.com)
                                       Danya Wellmon (315-446-7156, wellmond@msn.com)
                                       Gay Montague (315-457-6434, graceofsummer@yahoo.com)
                                       Daryl Files (315-478-0508, darylteam1@att.net)
                                       Jennifer Roberts Crittenden (315-633-2817, robertscrittenden@verizon.net)
 
P.S.:  To see how a small, interfaith women’s group— SARAH—galvanized a California community to join together in a weekend of service, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OMoX_FxnYA).