🍁Autumn, Auroras, Additions and More!🍂

🍁Autumn, Auroras, Additions and More!🍂

Autumn in Stewart Park and on the Trail

Colors are popping in the trees and in the sky! Read on for updates on what’s happening in Stewart Park, the Waterfront Trail, and with our partner organizations. Enjoy these beautiful fall pictures!

Stewart Park was the place to be for Aurora Borealis sightings! What a treat to to see the Northern Lights over multiple evenings this October. Here are some of the beautiful pictures taken.


Photo Credit: Maya Haley (top, bottom right), Chris Ray (bottom left), and Todd Kurzweil (bottom middle)

Thank you Volunteers!

Friends of Stewart Park has recently hosted two large groups of volunteers in the park. Ithaca High School’s Code Red Robotics Team 639 (above) brought 43 teens who trimmed the lakeshore, picked up trash, de-cobwebbed the Cascadilla Boathouse, and raked on the playground for two hours on October 8. Then on October 19, Cornell University Glee Club (below) brought 21 students who did more lakeshore trimming and trash pick up, and even oiled squeaky chains on the bench swings!

Picnic Pavilion Addition Construction

On Monday, Sept. 23, Friends of Stewart Park and Wharton Studio Museum held a Groundbreaking to mark the beginning of construction of a new Addition to the back of the historic Picnic "Large" Pavilion.


Progress on the Addition is visible! WL Kline, the construction company, has been working hard! The project is being managed by Jennifer Ahrens of Bero Architecture in Rochester, who also led the Cascadilla Boathouse restoration in 2021 and is the lead architect on the Wharton Studio & Cafe project. The Addition is slated for completion by spring 2025 in time for the camp and rental season.


In the summer, the Picnic Pavilion home base for Ithaca Youth Bureau’s Stewart Park Summer Day Camp which has operated out of the building for over 60 years. This new Addition creates safer and more accessible storage for equipment and supplies for Ithaca Youth Bureau’s Camp staff and campers.


The project also paves the way for the future Wharton Studio & Café in the Wharton Studio Building across the way, where camp equipment and supplies are currently housed. Learn more about the project here.

Colors of Fall

Frank Muller is our Park and Trail Gardener and a skilled and dedicated horticulturalist. He is also a talented photographer. He has taken all these images this October. Follow Frank on Instagram at frankmullerphoto.

Grant for New Wayfinding Signs & More

Hats for Sale

Caps for sale! Friends of Stewart Park has new hats for sale in three different styles. A Stewart Park hat is a great way to show your love for the park. They make a great gift for the upcoming holidays, or a great costume if you plan to dress as Rick Manning for Halloween!


Hats can purchased online and picked up at the FSP office in the Aeroplane Factory Building at 120 Brindley Street. Shipping or delivery may be available in certain situations. Message info@friendsofstewartpark.org to arrange.

Furnishing Sponsorship Opportunities

Help FSP enhance the park to make it as comfortable, inviting and accessible as possible by sponsoring a beautiful high-quality furnishing -- perhaps a new glider, a new playground bench, or a new Waterfront Trail bench like the one pictured here!


Click below to learn more about furnishing sponsorship options. Every sponsored furnishing includes a custom dedication!

From Wharton Studio Museum

From Wharton Studio Museum, our partners in park revitalization:


It's been a lively Silent Movie Month and we're now in the home stretch with two more not-to-be-missed screenings, both featuring Clara Bow, It Girl of the 1920s.


Saturday, October 26th at 4pm, Cornell Cinema presents a double feature of the film It from 1927 and a short from 1923, The Pill Pounder. Accompaniment on piano by Philip Carli, one of the world's most celebrated composers for silent film. Please visit cinema.cornell.edu for tickets. Co-sponsored by Wharton Studio Museum.


And on Monday, October 28th, Cinemapolis, Wharton Studio Museum and Cornell Cinema present Dancing Mothers, a silent drama produced in 1926. 8pm at Cinemapolis. The screening is FREE!

Happy Fall, Ya’ll!

Pavilion Addition Groundbreaking, New Hats for Sale, and P4P Thank You

Pavilion Addition Groundbreaking, New Hats for Sale, and P4P Thank You

Thank you to everyone who attended, bought tickets, or donated to Party for the Park! Last Saturday's Friends of Stewart Park and Wharton Studio Museum’s annual fundraiser — our 9th — was a wonderful success. All proceeds from the event support park revitalization!


FSP and WSM were gratified to present the 2024 StewarTship Awards, which recognize our dedicated partners and volunteers, to these deserving honorees: Nick Helmholdt, Tompkins County Department of Planning and Sustainability; Jennifer Tavares/Tompkins Chamber of Commerce; Steve Lauzun, formerly of Parkitects and the FSP board; and our volunteer of the year, Ryszard Usack

So many partygoers got into the Roaring 20s spirit with their beautiful outfits and accessories. Capturing it all was Jyl’s Photo Booth. See the pictures online here.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

  • Lincoln Morse of Discover Ithaca for our Raffle grand prize.

  • FlipBooKit and the City of Ithaca for donating items for the Raffle.

  • Andrew Woodruff for the lovely jazz piano.

  • Everyone who helped set up or take down the party.

  • Laura Hunsinger, Andy Sciarabba, and Sally Manning for going the extra mile.

  • Gregg Houck for his remarks and his silent film director inspired outfit.

  • VanNobel Farms for the delicious food.

  • The Volunteers who helped clean the exterior of the Picnic Pavilion for the party, especially Rick and Carol.

  • Frank Muller for taking candid photos.

The 9th Annual Party for the Park was made possible by these generous Sponsors:

Groundbreaking

On Monday, Sept. 23, Friends of Stewart Park and Wharton Studio Museum held a Groundbreaking to mark the beginning of construction of a new Addition to the back of the historic Picnic "Large" Pavilion. Officials from the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County officials, FSP and WSM board members, and supporters gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking.


Built in 1894, today the Picnic Pavilion is a popular venue for spring, summer and fall weddings, parties and other gatherings. In the summer, it is home base for Ithaca Youth Bureau’s Stewart Park Summer Day Camp which has operated out of the building for over 60 years. This new Addition creates safer and more accessible storage for equipment and supplies for Ithaca Youth Bureau’s Camp staff and campers.


The project also paves the way for the future Wharton Studio & Café in the Wharton Studio Building across the way, where camp equipment and supplies are currently housed. The lake-facing 1000 sq. feet of the historic Wharton Studio Building, a vibrant motion picture studio from 1915-1921, is being developed into exhibit space and a café that will bring to life and highlight the unique history of the building. READ MORE.

Hats for Sale

Caps for sale! Friends of Stewart Park has new hats for sale in three different styles. A Stewart Park hat is a great way to show your love for the park, and they make great gifts!


Hats can purchased online and picked up at the FSP office in the Aeroplane Factory Building at 120 Brindley Street. Shipping or delivery may be available in certain situations. Message info@friendsofstewartpark.org to arrange.

From Wharton Studio Museum

October 2024 is the 13th year of Silent Movie Month in Ithaca! Event details coming soon! Follow Wharton Studio Museum on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with all that’s happening during Silent Movie Month!

Volunteer Highlight

You can help in the park like Code Red Robotics.
Learn more >>

Project Highlight

aquatix-splashpad-7.jpg

We built a new Splash Pad!
Learn more >>

Sponsor the Carousel

You can provide free summer carousel rides! Learn more >>