Ithaca Festival Highlights

Everyone knows, we guess, about the financial woes from the over-reaching Ithaca Festival of 2008.

The Fest is still here, thanks to some massive, active good will and acts of charity. It needs and deserves everyone's support, so by all means, buy a button, smile, and get out there to celebrate our community.

Some highlights, by our lights:

Thursday: The lead event is the Parade, which we think is the hippest part of the whole fest. Not many towns our size have enough going on to throw an hour-long parade in homage to their own character(s), communities, and causes. The parade starts moving south on North Cayuga Street at 6:30. Integral to the parade each year is a happenstance of rain. Be prepared.

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Friday: Irish music doesn't get much reeler or more jiggy than with Traonach. At the Aurora Street Pavilion on the Commons, 4:30.

The TalkToMes play that cockamamie local style in the Bernie Milton Pavilion at 6:30.

Adonai and I scratch that Hebrew-reggae itch. Aurora St., 7:30.

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Saturday: Is it really the return of the Hog Tie Sessions? Bernie Milton Pavilion, 4:30.

Pan-Gypsy music from Gadje, Cayuga Street, 5:30.

Mike Brindisi and the New York Rock, and they do, on Aurora Street, 6:30.

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Sunday, at Stewart Park.

All day long goes a new Jam Tent, featuring varied styles: Folk (noon), Bluegrass(1:00), Old-Time (2:30), Contra (4:00), Cajun (5:30), and Irish (7:00).

Jomo and Johnnycake play jug band music with an assortment of instruments, some they've invented, and a yodeling dog. Small Pavilion, noon.

Jali Jobateh plays Malian music on kora. Large Pavilion, 4 pm.

Ithaca's ambassadors, the Sim Redmond Band, on the Ballpark Stage at 8 pm.

have fun -
Steve Burke
for Ithaca NY Blog