By Group M Communications

Grammie’s Pantry Reopens February 2nd, Offering Heart-to-Heart Tea.

Chocolate raspberry scones… Tea sandwiches… Corn chowder…

Hungry yet?

Throughout the month of February, Grammie’s Pantry Tea Room and Gift Shop, 1126 Woodworth Road, Skaneateles, will offer a seven-course Heart-to-Heart Tea Luncheon.

Also on the menu are tea or gourmet coffee, fruit cup, Grammie’s Feta Spread with crackers, a surprise entrée and chocolate cake.

The Heart-to-Heart Tea runs Feb. 2-27, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Cost is $23 per person. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 636-8111.

Grammie’s Pantry is located 11 miles south of the village of Skaneateles, off Route 41 (East Lake Road). For more information, visit http://www.grammiespantry.com.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

Ladies and Gents Nights Offer Sales and Specials:
What better way to spend an early December evening than gathering with friends and family to sing Christmas carols, strolling to the Gazebo for a tree-lighting, warming up with hot chocolate, and then attending openings at local art galleries?

Or, over the coming weeks, taking advantage of sales and specials designed specifically for local residents?

During Skaneateles Sings, Ladies Night and Gents Night, community members will have a unique opportunity to celebrate the season, while enjoying the beauty of the village’s Victorian Christmas.

Skaneateles Sings gets under way at the library at 6 p.m. Dec. 4, with Father Christmas and Mother Goose greeting children, reading stories and posing for photos. At 6:30 p.m., the Rev. Mark Luscombe of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church will dedicate the crèche in a candlelit ceremony.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

Imagine That…, the fine arts and fine craft gallery at 38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, will feature the work of ceramic artist Sarah Panzarella and printmaker James Skvarch throughout the month of December. Their show, “The Beauty Is in the Details,” opens with a reception Dec. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. The Usual Suspects, an old-time string band, will perform; hors d’oeuvres will be provided by the Blue Danube.
 
Panzarella, of Tully, is co-owner of the gallery, which opened this past summer. Although she says nature is the primary inspiration for her work, she also draws from the Arts and Crafts Movement—and its focus on craftsmanship, function and quality—and the Art Nouveau aesthetic.
 
“I look at the grace of line and movement in nature to inform those attributes in my pottery,” she says. “The rich textures of natural forms embellish my surfaces, and my glazes call quiet attention to the fine nuances of my pots.
 
“I create bowls that suggest generosity and abundance; vases that embrace the delicate elegance of flowers they contain; ewers that speak of rich substances and special meals.”

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

Dickens Christmas opens November 27th, 2009. Close your eyes and imagine. It’s easy if you try. The year is 1842. You’ve just met Charles Dickens and Queen Victoria, strolling the village streets. They’re accompanied by Scrooge, Tiny Tim, Jacob Marley, Fagin, the Cratchits, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, and assorted townspeople and street urchins—all delighted to meet you and draw you into their world.
 
The revels play. Visitors ride by in horse–drawn carriages. And there are free refreshments for all. In Skaneateles, it’s just a typical holiday weekend.
Dickens Christmas returns for its 16th year the Friday after Thanksgiving and runs noon to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 20, with a limited show (noon to 3 p.m.) Dec. 24.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

Local residents have long enjoyed the breathtaking views of Skaneateles Lake, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. Now, views of the lake and other village landmarks are available to all via Skaneateles’ new webcam, perched atop the Packwood House on Genesee Street. The site is at http://www.skaneateles.com.

“The SkanCam allows people to ‘be’ in the village 24/7 from anywhere around the world,” says Susan Dove, executive director of the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce. “They’ll be able to see Dickens Christmas, the high school graduation, summer band concerts, and other events taking place year-round in the village.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

Imagine That…, the fine arts and fine craft gallery at 38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, will host an opening reception Nov. 6 for ceramic artist Jeremy Randall, recognized by Ceramics Monthly as an Emerging Artist for 2009. The wine-and-cheese reception, from 6 to 9 p.m., will feature entertainment by The Usual Suspects, an old-time string band.

Randall, of Tully, is co-owner of the gallery, which opened this past summer. He also is a visiting professor of art and studio manager at Cazenovia College and an adjunct instructor of ceramics at Syracuse University.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

As the holidays return to Skaneateles, so do all things Dickens. Starting Nov. 3, Grammie’s Pantry Tea Room and Gift Shop, 1126 Woodworth Road, Skaneateles, will offer a traditional Dickens Victorian Christmas Tea.

The menu, which is subject to change, includes tea or gourmet coffee, warm fruit compote, cranberry-orange scones with lemon curd and Devonshire cream, Grammie’s own cheese spread with crackers, squash puree, tea sandwiches, and a holiday dessert. As in past years, the cost is $19.95, plus tax and gratuity. Reservations 24 hours in advance are requested. The tea is designed for guests over the age of 12. Grammie’s Pantry is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., through Dec. 23. For reservations, call 636-8111.

The tea room will reopen after the holidays for English afternoon tea parties, by reservation.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

Quilting, Sewing, Knitting Classes Offered by Patchwork Plus:

Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced crafter—interested in quilting, sewing or knitting—you can develop new skills and refine old ones at the dozens of day and evening classes offered this fall by Patchwork Plus Quilt and Yarn Shop, 2532 Cherry Valley Turnpike (Rte. 20), Marcellus.

Of special interest to beginning quilters will be “Basics and Beyond,” a six-session class starting Sept. 29. Once students learn fabric selection, rotary cutting, machine piecing, hand appliqué, hand quilting and finishing, they create a finished four-block wall hanging. Fee is $85.

For information on any of Patchwork Plus’ fall classes, go to http://www.patchworkplus.com or call 315-673-2208.

Contributed by Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

This photo by Stacia Landsberg, of a barn in Skaneateles, will be on display in her studio during the Artist Studio Tour.

The Skaneateles Area Arts Council will present its second edition of “Fall in Love With Art,” a tour of artist studios in the Skaneateles area, Oct. 3 and 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tour features 13 artists in 10 studio locations based in homes throughout Skaneateles; the work of five artists presented in the Strods Barn on Benson Road; and West Lake Conservators, a nationally known art restoration firm in Skaneateles Falls. Proceeds from the tour will support the Arts Council’s cultural events and community grants program.

Tickets are $20 (free, for those under 16) and can be purchased at the Sherwood Inn or the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information on the Artist Studio Tour or other Arts Council programs, call 315-685-2414.

Studios on the tour are those of:

• Phil Austin (glass blower), 4251 Jordan Road
• Paul Cowley (painter/designer), 9 Kane Ave.
• Steve Datz (sculptor) and Rachel Harms (painter), 3404 E. Lake Road
• Jill Doscher (printmaker) and Gary Trento (painter), 4458 State St.
• Hetty Easter (painter), 2949 W. Lake Road
• Len Fishman (sculptor), 2625 E. Lake Road
• Robert Kiltz (potter), 2435 E. Lake Road
• Stacia Landsberg (designer/photographer), 650 Crow Hill Road
• Ed Little (painter/sculptor) and Jill Little (painter/sculptor), 41 W. Lake St.
• Helen Woodmansee (painter), 1585 Willowdale Road  

Contributed by: Sandi Mulconry / Group M Communications

NOTE: Date was previously October 3rd and has recently been changed.
Gallery also introduces Trollbeads Empowerment beads in October, donating 50 percent of sales to Komen for the Cure

Imagine That…, the new fine arts and fine craft gallery at 38 E. Genesee St., Skaneateles, will host an opening reception Oct. 2 for an exhibition of paintings, jewelry and slumped glass plates by Seneca Falls artist Betsy Andrus Smith. The event, from 6 to 9 p.m., will offer an opportunity to meet the artist, along with refreshments and entertainment by The Usual Suspects, an old-time string band.

Smith, an award-winning painter, has exhibited at the Salon du Vieux Colombier Paris; Musee D’Art Moderne in Tonneins, France; and Agora Gallery and Abney Gallery in New York. Her work is currently featured in Manhattan Arts International magazine.