Baldwin event to promote cultural venues, businesses along Connective Corridor

Baldwin event to promote cultural venues, businesses along Connective CorridorDecember 10, 2007Susan Feightnersfeightn@syr.edu

The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY is teaming with Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, National Grid and local cultural organizations and businesses along the Connective Corridor for the first Baldwin Corridor Cultural Crawl (BCCC) April 25 and 26, 2008. Planned in collaboration with the Syracuse International Film Festival and the cultural venues of TH3, a citywide art open in Syracuse, this exciting two-day event will celebrate the cultural richness and business diversity Syracuse has to offer. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY Inc.

Business and cultural organizations inside and on the perimeter of the city’s Connective Corridor can participate by providing free samples, specials or activities throughout the two-day event. The event will allow cultural venues to showcase their artistic energy and bring awareness to the city’s cultural diversity and history while raising money for breast cancer research. Event attendees will purchase passports that will be sold in Connective Corridor locations and on the Web beginning in early spring. The passports will offer unique access to a special array of cultural, dining and shopping opportunities. Restaurants, shops and cafes will offer free samples and other specials to showcase their businesses. Patrons can have their passports stamped at each venue they visit and turn in their passport at a designated drop-off site to be eligible for a drawing held at the end of the event.

“Each year, the Syracuse International Film Festival attracts thousands of visitors, and the Connective Corridor and the arts organizations of TH3 are making arts and culture a year-round celebration in the heart of Central New York,” says Elizabeth Baldwin, director of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. “We felt it made sense to team up with these successful initiatives. We are hoping the businesses and cultural venues along the Corridor will also see it as an opportunity to gain some exposure and drive traffic into their locations while at the same time, helping a good cause.”

The Connective Corridor is a community-wide effort to link the vast array of arts and cultural happenings, businesses and neighborhoods in the city of Syracuse. The Corridor includes the areas of downtown Syracuse and the University Hill, home to three educational institutions and more than 20 arts and cultural venues — all within one mile of each other.

“As Central New York’s energy utility, National Grid is proud to support one current powerhouse of community spirit, the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, and a powerhouse-in-the-making, the Connective Corridor,” says Susan M. Crossett, National Grid vice president of energy solutions services for upstate New York. “We look forward to the success of the Cultural Crawl in linking these two extremely worthy initiatives.”

“Collaborations like the Corridor strengthen relationships among local cultural institutions, businesses and community members, expanding opportunities for artists, students, residents and visitors to Syracuse,” says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “We are pleased to be a partner in this effort to not only bring awareness to the businesses and venues along the Connective Corridor, but raise money for breast cancer research.”

Wanda M. Thompson, associate senior vice president of operations at SUNY Upstate Medical University, agrees: “We’re pleased to be a supporter of the Baldwin Cultural Crawl. It promises to be not only an interesting event but an enlightening and educational one as well.”

Businesses that would like to participate in the Baldwin Cultural Crawl should contact the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY Inc. at 672-5288.