Photo Briefs: Art Trail, Loaves & Fishes fundraiser, Cornell student aid and more

Greater Ithaca Art Trail opens

The 22nd season of the Community Arts Partnership’s Greater Ithaca Art Trail has begun. On Oct. 10, 11, 17 and 18, the Art Trail will feature both live and virtual events. Twenty-three of the 40 artists on the Trail will open their studios to you during daytime hours, while virtual “Conversations with Art Trail Artists” will occur in the evenings.

The evening events will include studio tours, art-making demonstrations, along with plenty of interesting conversations.

“The pandemic has given us the opportunity to rethink how we connect artists with audiences,” said Robin Schwartz, CAP program director. “It now seems odd that previous year’s Art Trails only included live visits. This year, the virtual events will add an extra dimension to the Trail by giving more people the opportunity to meet the artists and providing access to great conversations. Our intention is to give visitors the sense that they are sitting around the kitchen table with the Art Trail artists as they share their work, thoughts and insights.”

The Art Trail is a wonderful addition to Tompkins County’s artistic offerings. Not only does the region have a wealth of amazing artists, but it’s also a beautiful area to visit, especially in October when the fall foliage is at its peak. Explorers on the trail will find painters, photographers, sculptors, printmakers, fiber artists, ceramists, makers of fine furniture, collage artists, illustrators, mixed-media artists, digital artists and creators of decorative functional art.

The artists are happy to talk to visitors any time about their work. Those who are on a quest to buy fine art will find art priced from $10 to $8,000 and everything in between.

According to Schwartz, “Artists on the trail offer a broad collection of original work at a wide variety of prices. Purchasing art can be an exhilarating experience and connecting with the artist is part of that experience.”

Visit ArtTrail.com to see all 40 participating artists, watch their videos, download the brochure/map, find out who will be open and register for virtual events. In this photo: artist Mary Beth Ihnken.

Cornell to distribute $8.5M to students in need

Cornell is distributing $8.5 million — including a new $1 million emergency relief fund and $7.5 million in grants to offset the loss of anticipated summer income — to help eligible students with financial needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic during the current academic year.

The new funding follows the distribution of nearly $5 million in emergency grants to more than 4,000 students in the spring semester, through the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. The $12.8 million CARES Act award included up to $6.4 million in direct relief for students, with the remaining $6.4 million intended for related institutional expenses, but President Martha E. Pollack has said that 100% of the federal funding will directly aid students.

“Right at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, Cornell committed to continue to fully meet the needs of all undergraduate students, as we always have, regardless of what that commitment might cost,” said Jonathan Burdick, vice provost for enrollment. “We also committed that every dollar that came in through the CARES Act would be turned around and given to students, and we’re following through on both of those commitments.”

More than $2 million, largely raised from donations to Cornell or diverted from other operational costs, will supplement the repurposed CARES Act funds, Burdick said. The CARES Act award was based on Cornell’s total enrollment and the number of students receiving Pell grants.

For this semester, Cornell has created a new $1 million emergency fund for students with urgent needs that were unforeseen when their financial aid packages were calculated. More information about this fund can be found on the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment website.

The university is also distributing $7.5 million in COVID Summer Savings Expectation Grants. These grants, ranging from $500 to $2,000, will be awarded to around 75% of undergraduate students who receive financial aid, in light of the fact that summer jobs may have been canceled or particularly difficult to obtain due to the pandemic.

Students awarded these grants will receive a revised financial aid statement in October. Students experiencing hardship can appeal to the financial aid office for additional support.

Tickets on sale for Empty Bowls To-Go

Tickets for Empty Bowls, the signature fundraising event for Loaves & Fishes of Tompkins County, are now on sale for the Saturday, Oct. 10 event. To ensure everyone’s safety, this year’s event will be a delicious to-go meal and will include a beautiful hand-crafted bowl donated by a local potter.

As a result of the pandemic, Loaves & Fishes now prepares 1200+ to-go meals each week — that’s three times more meals than a year ago. Many are delivered to food-insecure community members who are in quarantine.

Although Loaves & Fishes won’t be able to host a social dinner as in past years, staff hopes residents will still support their mission by purchasing tickets. Those who do will get 2 pints of soup of their choice as well as salad, fresh bread and a dessert, prepared by such local restaurants as Gola Osteria, The Boatyard Grill, Taste of Thai Express, Moosewood, Maxie’s Supper Club and Oyster Bar, Wide Awake Bakery, The Garden Cafe (Cayuga Medical Center) and The Statler Hotel at Cornell.

Loaves will choose a ceramic bowl for ticket-buyers to take home as a reminder of Loaves’ quest to reduce hunger in Tompkins County. Everything will be packed and ready for pick-up Oct. 10. Tickets, which are $75 each, can be purchased here.

All proceeds directly support Loaves & Fishes’ mission. After you complete your purchase, you’ll have a chance to select your soups (to be heated later). Pick-up times behind St. John’s Episcopal Church (210 N. Cayuga St.) will be confirmed closer to the event.

Land Trust raises funds for conservation through land donation

The Finger Lakes Land Trust has enhanced protection of 97 acres in the town of Caroline — a property generously donated to the organization by community members Cornelia “Nelly” Farnum and Jack Booker. In 2011, Farnum and Booker donated a conservation easement on their property where they shared a home for over 30 years.

The property includes a steeply sloping forest with a cascading creek and a 19th century Greek Revival home surrounded by native plant gardens. In 2019, they decided to donate the property and house to the Land Trust with the clear understanding that it would be sold to a private buyer subject to the easement.

Proceeds from the sale were placed in the Land Trust’s Opportunity Fund, a dedicated account created by the organization to make time-sensitive acquisitions possible. In conjunction with their donation, the Land Trust agreed to retire the right to build an additional house on the land, increasing protection of a scenic hillside visible from White Church Road.

The Farnum-Booker property also lies within the Emerald Necklace, an ambitious effort to link 50,000 acres of existing public open space that extends in an arc around Ithaca — from Finger Lakes National Forest in the west to Hammond Hill and Yellow Barn State Forests in the east. These lands host 78 miles of the Finger Lakes Trail, two Audubon-designated Important Bird Areas and several dozen Tompkins County-designated Unique Natural Areas.

The property is also located within Tompkins County’s Caroline Pinnacles Unique Natural Area and in close proximity to other protected lands, including Shindagin Hollow State Forest and a Cornell Botanic Gardens natural area.

The Finger Lakes Trail is easily accessed just south of the property on White Church Road. Learn more at www.fllt.org. Information on the region’s premier destinations for outdoor recreation may be found at www.gofingerlakes.org.