Winter Festival 2012 – December 1-9, 2012

Arts Events, Restaurant Week, Chowder Cook-off, Ice Carving, Film and more!

Visit Downtown Ithaca’s Winter Festival with special culinary events including Restaurant Week and a Chowder Cook-off, plus artists markets and gallery night, a film festival, and the 3rd Annual Ice Wars Ice Carving Competition.

December 1 – Santa’s Arrival to Downtown. Santa will visit Downtown Ithaca at Noon on Saturday, December 1st. The elves and Santa arrive from the sky and rappel onto the Ithaca Commons. This is followed by photos with Santa, games, music and dance in Center Ithaca. 12noon to 3pm.

December 1 – Habitat for Humanity Cookie Sale – Center Ithaca

December 1 – Wing Walk Benefit for Ithaca Youth Bureau – 11:30 to 4pm – This new event will feature wings from Thai to traditional Buffalo. Patrons will be able to visit restaurant locations and vote for their favorites. $7 for 10 tickets, $10 for 15 tickets. Each ticket gets you one wing.

December 1 – 9 – Restaurant Week in Ithaca. Ithaca’s Second Annual Restaurant Week will take place from Saturday, December 1st to Sunday, December 9. Restaurants will offer specials, fixed price menus and events including tastings and classes so you can try out new locations and your favorites. Check outwww.restaurantweekithaca.com.

December 2 – Temple Beth El’s Chanukah Festival & Jewish Book Fair (Cnr. Court & Tioga St.) 9am to 3pm – Arts & crafts, books, latkes and fritters, wandering Klezmer musicians, sing-a-long. Free and open to the public.

December 2 –A Brown Bear, a Moon, and a Caterpillar: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle by the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia – State Theatre – 12noon and 3pm Performances. www.Stateofithaca.com

December 6-8 – Ice Wars Ice Carving Competition – Ithaca Commons. Ithaca’s Ice Wars Ice Carving Competition is a National Ice Carving Association sanctioned event and will take place from December 6-8. Sixteen acclaimed ice carvers will compete in three competitions to win the prize money. Ice Carving Schedule: Thursday, Dec. 6th: Carving of the Large Display Sculptures including the Throne. Friday Dec. 7th – Speed Carving 5 to 9pm

Saturday Dec. 8th – 9am – 12pm. One block carve and deliver competition (Sanctioned), Saturday 2 p.m. to 6.m. Two block showpiece (sanctioned)

December 7 – Special Holiday Gallery Night – A walkable tour of downtown galleries with special events and giveaways for the holidays. 5-8pm Locations: Art and Found, Benjamin Peter, CAP, CSMA, CTB, Decorum-too, Fibers, Ink Shop, The History Center, Ithaca Hemp Co., Ithacamade, Ithacamade (Holiday Store), Jon Reis, New Roots, Oasis/Greenstar, State of the Art, Titus Gallery, & Crow’s Nest Cafe

December 7 – 5-8pm – Bool’s Flower Shop Annual Holiday Open House. 209 N. Aurora St. Refreshments and 10% off in store purchases, drawings and complimentary rose to the first 25 guests.

December 8 – 3rd Annual Downtown Ithaca Chowder Cook-off – 12noon to 5pm –Ithaca Commons
Twenty restaurants will compete for the coveted Chowder Cup. Tickets are $10 for 10 tastings and include vegetarian, seafood, and meat chowders.

December 7-8 – Mountainfilm: Telluride Mountain Film Festival – Cinemapolis
Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining.

December 7-9 – Ithaca Ballet presents the Nutcracker Suite at the State Theatre
Friday Dec. 7th Performance with the Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra 7:30pm, Saturday and Sunday at 3pm

Saturday, December 8 – Holiday Artists Market at the Holiday Inn
Holiday Artists Market – Saturday, December 8, 11am to 5pm
A juried fine art market featuring local painters, photographers, printmakers, sculptors, and more! Free admission. Bring your holiday shopping list!! A program of the Community Arts Partnership. For more information, visit www.artspartner.org or call 273-5072, ext. 20

Sunday, December 9 – 4pm – Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble present Handel’s Messiah – First Presbyterian Church

For more information on Winter Festival events, contact Patty Clark at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance at 607-277-8679 or patty@downtownithaca.com.