GrassRoots Unplugged returns to Trumansburg for second year

The Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, a staple of life in Trumansburg and the broader region, is world renowned. 

Its success has been so resounding that local organizations have taken notice and expanded on Grassroots’ dazzling luster.

Such is the case of the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts (TCFA), which will host the second annual GrassRoots Unplugged, a pared-back, softer concert that features acoustic versions of the catalog of about a dozen local artists. The event will take place Sept. 8 and 9. The first show will take place at the Trumansburg Farmers Market, a first for Unplugged. The Sept. 9 show will be held at both indoor and outdoor stages at the TCFA building on McLallen Street.  

Tickets to the show went on sale July 15. Early bird pricing is $25 per day or $40 for a weekend pass. The standard pricing period begins Sept. 1, at a rate of $35 per day or $60 for a weekend pass.

Dona Roman, the managing director of TCFA and a key facilitator alongside organizers of GrassRoots, said that both parties are still working on scheduling a lineup of local and national acts.

Unplugged, Roman said, is unique in that it fosters a more intimate environment. This is partially because of the smaller venues, but also due to its “acoustic, mellow approach” to sound, she added.

“Some of these artists play the GrassRoots festival, but some do not,” Roman said. “Last year, they donated their time and talent. It was all pro bono. That is just such remarkable testimony to this community.”

Much like last year, the festival’s proceeds will support the conservatory’s role in the arts and arts education with its outreach in Tompkins and surrounding counties.

The event got started last year as part of TCFA’s campaign to raise capital. The organization needed to match a percentage of a $279,000 grant from New York state in order to work on remodeling TCFA’s historical building.

“A couple of people who were involved in the local music scene suggested that we partner with GrassRoots for fundraising, and it took off from there,” Roman said. “The conservatory is a fine arts hub in the area, and we have this incredibly beautiful Greek revival building built in 1851. Last year, we were able to get a lot of sponsor support. It was a really great event.”

The partnership between TCFA and GrassRoots is incredibly significant, Roman said. 

“I’ve only been the director for two years. I came right after venues started opening up post COVID-19. People were, of course, anxious to go outside again,” Roman said. “But we had this incredible opportunity to look around at other arts organizations and other groups and ask, ‘How can we partner with them?’”

The collaboration helped TCFA partner with other organizations. 

“Musicians in the area were all about wanting to help the conservatory because it’s got this really great history,” Roman said.

Roman said that last year’s event was highly successful in terms of fundraising, organization and fan experience. Organizers, she added, expect to continue to live up to that standard.

“We all had our act together. We had food and drink, and everything ran really smoothly,” she noted. “We had a canopied backyard and it didn’t rain, so the weather was optimal. We had a really tight schedule. I have a theater background, so I was the stage manager and just kept everything moving at a good pace. We had one band move in while the other one started playing, and they had a quick sound check. Everything was just lined up ahead of time. In terms of the artists’ needs, I thought it went really well.”

Ulysses Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:

The YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County will host a series of “Pop-up and Play” events at the Trumansburg Farmers Market during the week of Aug. 12-16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Children can participate in a diverse range of exciting activities hosted by YMCA staff at each location during the week. Please note that children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

To coincide with the free activities the YMCA will be hosting, each child (up to 150) will receive a free goodie bag to keep the fun going! These bags are filled with toys to help spark creative play and promote active fun.