Connective Corridor Arts weekend will include extended bus service and free Syracuse Symphony concert in Armory Square

Connective Corridor Arts weekend will include extended bus service and free Syracuse Symphony concert in Armory SquareJuly 03, 2007SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

Thousands of Central New Yorkers will soak in the 37th Annual Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival, set for July 6-8 in Columbus Circle. The Downtown Committee of Syracuse and Syracuse University are collaborating to offer extended bus service and free campus parking for those riding the Connective Corridor bus to the festival, as well as for other cultural opportunities downtown, during what has been dubbed the inaugural Connective Corridor Arts Weekend.

“The Arts & Crafts Festival was the trendsetter for all of the great downtown festivals that Syracuse enjoys today,” says Irwin Davis, executive director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse. “This year’s festival is made all the more exciting by the fact that it is at the center of the first ever Connective Corridor Arts Weekend, showcasing so many of the outstanding arts and cultural institutions that Syracuse has to offer.”

SU will offer free parking in the Quad 4 parking lot, off College Place on the SU campus, directly across from the main campus bus stop. The free Centro bus will make scheduled stops at the festival, Armory Square and at the many arts and cultural venues throughout the weekend. Buses will stop every 20 minutes at the festival along the corridor route from 9:40 a.m.-11:40 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 9:40 a.m.-6:20 p.m. on Sunday.

Festival hours are from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Exhibit booths will be located throughout the Columbus Circle area in the 300 and 400 blocks of Montgomery St., the 200 and 300 blocks of East Onondaga St., and the 300 block of East Jefferson St.

In addition to the festival, the Armory Square Association’s Candlelight Series kicks off on Saturday, July 7, at 8 p.m. with a free performance by the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. The concert will be the first of seven set for the summer featuring top local musicians. New to this year’s Candlelight Series will be special screenings of entries in the 2007 Syracuse International Film Festival. More information can be found at http://www.armorysq.org

Connective Corridor Arts Weekend stretches from the SU campus to the burgeoning Warehouse District on the city’s Near West Side. Along the corridor, many of Syracuse’s highly acclaimed arts institutions will participate with a broad range of exhibits.

At the center of it all is this year’s Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival. The festival includes an exceptionally broad array of contemporary arts and crafts, and offers visitors the chance to become owners of original artwork. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional works are featured, including ceramics, drawings, painting, photography, sculpture, fabric and fiber, jewelry, glass, leather, metal and wood.

The festival transforms Columbus Circle into a vibrant, colorful mosaic of works from locally and nationally renowned artisans and craftspeople. Festival visitors will be able to shop and browse among the exhibits, meet the artists, create their own works of art, enjoy food and sample some of the wines produced in the nearby Finger Lakes region.

Street performances play an integral role in the Arts & Crafts Festival. These culturally diverse performances present instruments and techniques used around the world. With an ongoing schedule of performances, visitors will experience traditional European, African, Asian and Latin dancers and performers.

“Over the years, this has become one of the top arts and crafts festivals in the nation,” says Kevin Schwab, director of communications for the Downtown Committee. “Hundreds of artists from across the country submitted work to participate in this year’s show. Fewer than 150 made the cut to be selected.”

The Columbus Circle exhibits make up just one element of an art enthusiast’s dream weekend in Syracuse. Connective Corridor Arts Weekend also provides an opportunity for the public to experience Syracuse’s growing arts scene and envision what the new Connective Corridor will do to tie all of these elements together.

For a map of arts venues along the Connective Corridor and a listing of the shuttle bus schedule during Connective Corridor Arts Weekend, visit http://connectivecorridor.syr.edu/…2007artsfestad.pdf