Help CPF keep historic Cazenovia beautiful by participating in a Carpenter’s Pond Clean-Up event from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. Meet at the trail kiosk on Willow Place and Carpenter Street. Come out for morning of clipping and pruning along this popular footpath. Tools can be provided. RSVP preferred, email [email protected]
The sounds of the fiddle and guitar, stomping feet, clapping hands, the caller giving directions and a lot of laughter filled the air last Friday night as nearly 100 people turned out for the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation’s Old-Fashioned Barn Dance at Deer Hawk Farm on Rathbun Road. People young and old, male and female, dressed casually or Western, learned contra dancing to the fiddle-heavy tunes of Johnny and the Jump Ups, called by Peter Blue, inside the refurbished 19th century barn owned by Paul and Cynthia Curtin.
“This is a friendrasier, not a fundraiser,” said CPF director Judy Gianforte. “This is just for fun and to honor this beautiful historic barn.”
People came from all over Central New York to attend the event: Not just from Cazenovia, but from Marcellus, Tully, Oneida and Liverpool. When not dancing, people stood in the autumn air under a field of stars and drank cider and talked, while up the hill was a bonfire where s’mores and hot dogs were cooked.
“This is a great success for the CPF and we’re great supporters of it,” Paul Curtin said. “We’re happy to take this hand-hewn, pre-1875 barn and open it up to the community. I hope this becomes an annual event.”
The CPF also raffled off four prizes during the dance, including two Madison County trail maps, two tickets to the CPF’s upcoming Walk Among the Spirits event in October, and a copy of a book on Cazenovia history by Russell Grills.
For more information about the CPF and its upcoming events, visit cazpreservation.org.
