Downtown Ithaca

Greater Ithaca Art Trail 2nd Saturday Open Studios
2025-12-13 12:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County, 110 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca
December 13th is a Greater Ithaca Art Trail “Second Saturday” event, where a
selection of about 12 Art Trail artists open their studios to you.
No appointments or fee. Just go! The artists will be THRILLED to see you! BUY HOLIDAY GIFTS!
Our CAP-a-Palooza ArtSale will also be open at the CAP Artspace!
See all 55 ArtTrail artists at ArtTrail.com and download our PDF guide to see where the open artist studios are!
Art in photo by Karen Viola.

Sip & Sparkle Holiday Jewelry Party!
2025-12-13 12:00 - 19:00 | Press Bay Alley, 118 West Green Street, Ithaca, NY, United States
✨🎄 Sip & Sparkle – Holiday Jewelry Party! 🎄✨
Enjoy the best parts of the season right from the start—complimentary bubbly mimosas, artisan chocolates, 15% off storewide, and free bath & body care sample giveaways for all guests! Plus, every attendee can enter our Holiday Raffle for a chance to win a $100 gift card.
Wrap yourself in the magic of the season at our monthly Sip & Sparkle event at Fall Creek Atelier! This month, we’re celebrating Christmas with style, joy, and a whole lot of sparkle.
Join us for a festive evening of holiday gift shopping featuring meaningful, handcrafted gemstone jewelry infused with energetic benefits—perfect for treating yourself or finding a thoughtful gift for someone you love.
Alongside our jewelry collection, explore a curated variety of all-natural bath, body, and home care products—including organic soaps, essential-oil shower steamers, natural perfume oils, luscious creams, refreshing scrubs, hand-poured candles, and uplifting room sprays.
As you browse, sip your mimosa, savor your chocolate, mingle with friends, and soak in the cozy-glam holiday ambiance.
We’ll announce the winner of the Fall Creek Atelier Holiday Raffle during the event, so be sure to RSVP and register for your raffle ticket. Your RSVP helps us prepare the perfect sparkling evening just for you.
Come sip, sparkle, and celebrate the season with us! ✨🎄

"His Majesty the Worm" TTRPG Session
2025-12-14 15:00 - 18:30 | Riverwood, 116 E State St, ITHACA, N, 14850, United States
Play in a classic dungeon crawler experience using the “His Majesty the Worm” system run by GM Korrie!
Food provided by Sushi Osaka!

LET’S READ + TALK ABOUT CLIMATE - CLIMATE LIT. DISCUSSION
2025-12-17 16:30 - 18:30 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join us at Buffalo Street Books for community-led conversations about climate change, as we discuss The Light Pirate and Flotsametrics and the Floating World
The Climate Literature Book Club meets every third Wednesday of the month, shop with us for 10% off these titles!

Teach and Play at Riverwood
2025-12-17 16:30 - 20:30 | Riverwood, 116 E State St, ITHACA, N, 14850, United States
Enjoy your evening learning how to play fun and challenging board games at Riverwood. this week is Finspan and Wyrmspan!

Solstice Craft Market at Buffalo Street Books
2025-12-20 11:00 - 17:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Come to your favorite Ithaca non-profit bookstore to celebrate local crafters on the Solstice! There will be a curated collection of artisans exhibiting ceramics, jewelry, confections (Oracle Hot Chocolate anyone?), prints, stationary, and more gathered in the Reading Room and DeWitt Mall.

Press Bay December Holiday Food Market
2025-12-23 15:00 - 19:00 | Press Bay Alley & Court, 110-118 W. Green St., Ithaca, NY, 14850, United States
Bundle up and enjoy this open-air holiday food market as the light turns to darkness under the cozy Press Bay lights! Wander through the Press Bay Back Lot (corner of Geneva & Green St), the Alley and the Court to enjoy the festive atmosphere, enjoy ready-to-eat hot food, and pick up the local necessities for your holiday table. Press Bay Shops will be open as well as our popup guest vendors!
LIVE MUSIC in both Press Bay Alley and Press Bay Court!

New Year’s Gala 2026
2025-12-31 20:30 - 2026-01-01 02:00 | Argos Inn, 416 E. State St., Ithaca, NY, 14850
Welcome in the New Year at two beautiful venues connected by an outdoor patio with fire pits…
Listen to amazing live music in the former Ithaca mayor’s house and Duncan Hines world headquarters. Nosh on some of our complimentary savory bites and sweet snacks, relax on one of our 19′ velvet couches, cook s’mores around the fire pits, order award-winning cocktails from one of our beautiful bars, and bring in the New Year with style!
At the Argos Warehouse, get down to the grooves of New Planets, playing from 9pm-12am. Starting at midnight DJ Tuggle will be spinning a mixture of funk, soul, reggae & hip-hop until 2am.
Bar Argos will be hosting The Djangoners, playing Paris Hot Club Swing music from 9:30pm-12:30am.
Doors open 8:30.
Music 9pm-2am.
Advance tickets $45.
Day of $55. (Cash or Venmo accepted at the door.)
21+ only

Human Trafficking Awareness Month Resource Fair
2026-01-08 17:00 - 18:30 | Tompkins County Public Library, 101 E. Green Street, Ithaca, NY, 14850
Join the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County to get educated on the state of local sex trafficking and connect with community resources. During the evening portion on January 8th, there will be an opportunity to hear updates from Kate Booth, the Director of Tompkins County Youth Services, at 5:30pm on risks, data, and services. Also the evening of the 8th, community organizations will be tabling, a display from The Clothesline Project will be up, and we will serve light refreshments. On the 9th, The Clothesline Project Display will continue and individuals are welcome to come and contribute their own shirts to the collection. Access to resources and education will be available as well.
Where: The Tompkins County Public Library, Borg Warner Room
January 8th, 5-6:30pm
January 9th, 11am-1pm

Author Reading with Elizabeth Hoover
2026-01-10 16:00 - 18:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join poet, essayist and critic Elizabeth Hoover as she shares an excerpt of her first poetry collection ‘the archive is all in present tense’ @ Buffalo Street Books!

On the Moors of Omaha: Essays with Trebbe Johnson
2026-01-13 16:00 - 18:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Trebble Johnson neither hides from pain nor romanticizes joy. In the distinctive voice for which she is known, she explores how the true value of a sacred site is not always where we think it is, how a motorcycle ride upended a fear of desire, how it’s possible to make friends with a clear-cut forest, and other pieces that bring startling new perspectives to things we often take for granted. These sixteen essays not only chart one woman’s journey through a passionate life, they inspire all of us to open up to the marvels that are waiting to reveal themselves.
Join Trebbe Johnson for an author reading of On the Moors of Omaha: Essays at Buffalo Street Books!

The Comfort Food Trail
2026-01-16 - 2026-02-01 | NY
Downtown Ithaca’s Comfort Food Trail is a cozy winter event running January 16 – February 1 that invites food lovers to explore local restaurants while enjoying warm, comfort-food dishes around town. Participants scan QR codes at participating eateries to log visits, collect entries in a digital passport, and earn chances to win weekly $50 Downtown Ithaca gift cards or the grand prize of a $150 gift card—all while savoring seasonal comfort favorites and supporting local businesses. There’s no separate fee to join; simply order featured items and scan the QR code at each stop to get more chances to win and make your way through Ithaca’s vibrant Downtown dining scene.

Silver Rein Album Release Show
2026-01-16 19:00 - 23:00 | The Nocturnal Café, 103 S. Geneva St., Ithaca, 14850
Join us Friday, January 16th to celebrate Ithaca’s operatic enchantress Silver Rein’s second full-length studio album release. An epic performance of the entire album with guest instrumentalists, performers, and choir, featuring Nick Scollard, Alejandra Diemecke, Chris Ploss, Sue Green, Jen Cork, Mandy Goldman, Hayden Eager, Annie Sumi, Erin Griffeth, and Heidi Oros.
Opening acts: Victoria Anine and La Llorona.
Come out to The Nocturnal Café, fill your cup with a nourishing beverage, and immerse yourself in this unique music experience.
CDs and digital downloads of the new album will be available during the show.

"Great Opera Choruses" concert
2026-01-17 19:30 - 21:00 | St. Paul’s Methodist Church, 402 N Aurora St., Ithaca, 14850
The Ithaca Community Chorus & Chamber Singers will present “Great Opera Choruses” by Monteverdi, Purcell, Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, Mussorgsky, Beethoven, and more at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 17, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 402 North Aurora Street, Ithaca. Tickets are $20 (students & children free) and are available in advance online at https://acithaca.org/groups/icccs/tickets/ and at the door.

Gayogohó:nǫˀ Learning Project Book Club
2026-01-18 14:00 - 15:30 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join the Gayogohó:nǫˀ Learning Project Book Club for a discussion on The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo by Kent Nerburn @ Buffalo Street Books!

LET’S READ + TALK ABOUT CLIMATE - CLIMATE LIT DISCUSSION GROUP
2026-01-21 16:00 - 18:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Community-led conversations about climate change, as we discuss ‘The Deluge’.
Climate Literature Book Discussions meets the third Wednesday of the month @ Buffalo Street Books.
Shop with us for 10% off these titles!

Bennie and the Rest: A Tribute to Elton John
2026-01-24 19:30 - 21:00 | Hangar Theatre, 801 Taughannock Blvd., Ithaca, 14850
A joyous musical journey through the hits of Sir Elton John begins at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca.
Piano player, singer and Broadway and TV actor Jason Ostrowski and a band of skilled musicians will capture the essence of the legendary artist who brought us “Tiny Dancer”, “Rocket Man” and many other hits. “Bennie and the Rest: A Tribute to Elton John” is part of the Hangar’s In Flight Entertainment Series. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online or at the door.
“People should come ready to sing along, get up and dance if they want to, and be transported back to the first time they heard some of these songs. I hope people come wearing big glasses, feather boas, lots of sparkle,” Ostrowski said. “The audience is just as much part of the show as all of the band members and me up on stage. It’s a group experience.”
Ostrowski will be joined on stage by a roster of experienced Ithaca-area musicians, including Robert Keefe (guitar), John White (bass) and Mark Joyce (drums).

Cafe Do What?
2026-01-28 17:00 - 19:00 | Cafe DeWitt, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, N, 14850, United States
Come for an art jam, stay for the creative juices!
Join So What? Studio + Creative Reuse of Ithaca at Cafe Dewitt for an art social! Come by yourself or with a friend to imagine, play, tap into that inner child, and see what happens when you give yourself permission to just have fun being creative in the presence of others. All materials will be provided. Zero experience encouraged!
So What? Studio is a new social arts club dedicated to the transformative power of the creative arts to connect community and heal from the inside out. To learn more, visit @sowhatartclub on Instagram

Book Launch: The Oak and the Larch
2026-01-29 17:30 - 19:30 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join us to celebrate the book launch of The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and its Empires by Sophie Pinkham with conversation and Q&A.
From the Baltic to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the steppes of Central Asia, Russia’s forests account for nearly one-fifth of the world’s wooded lands. Sophie Pinkham’s new book “The Oak and the Larch” is the first-ever English-language exploration of this vast expanse—a dazzling environmental history of Russia that offers an urgent new understanding of the nature of Russian power, and of Russia’s ideas of itself.

Narrative Poetry & Crafting
2026-01-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join R.C Lloyd as she discusses narrative poetry in conversation with BSB Staff, Gabriela Medina + Candle Painting* at Buffalo Street Books!
*tickets needed for candle painting

Book Bedazzling
2026-02-05 08:00 - 17:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Come bedazzle books with us! $5 if you purchase a book or $10 if you bring your own book!

Returning Light.
2026-02-05 12:00 - 2026-03-01 17:00 | State of the Art Gallery, 120 W State St #2, Ithaca, 14850, United Kingdom
Please join us this month as fifteen of our artist members celebrate the returning light. The show will feature paintings, photos, prints, and drawings representing a broad spectrum of styles.
The show will run from February 5th through March 1st, 2026. Opening reception Friday, February 6th, 5–8pm
Regular hours Thursday-Sunday 12-5 pm. 120 W State St. Curbside parking and ADA accessibility. 607-277-1626. Made possible in part with funds from the NYS Council on the Arts, administered by the Community Arts Partnership.

POETRY, PAINT & SIP
2026-02-06 15:00 - 18:00 | NY
Join filmmaker, poet, and songwriter Desoni Cooper for a creative and inspiring Poetry + Paint & Sip workshop. This class blends writing and visual art to help you express yourself in a fun, supportive space.
• You’ll spend the first 15 minutes writing a poem, then paint a visual interpretation of your words. If you prefer, you can paint first and write after
-this is your space to explore creativity your way.
All painting materials will be provided. Non-alcoholic wine, wine, canvasses, and paint brushes will be supplied. Come ready to sip, imagine, and create from the heart.
• Class Details
• • Sliding Scale: $15-$25
• Scholarships available – email to request
• Payment Options: Website, Venmo, or cash
• RSVP: Through the website, email, or Venmo
*Address is provided at registration
ithacawritingstudio.com

"Ethica Eterna" Opening Reception
2026-02-06 17:00 - 20:00 | Community School of Music and Arts, 330 East State Street, Ithaca
Join us for the opening reception of Ethica Eterna, our newest exhibition at CSMA! Visit us between 5-8pm in our upstairs gallery for light refreshments and art.
“This is a depiction of light abstractions and subtle energy phenomena. It is a study of how luminous color and shadow create dimension giving us a way to perceive the world. Reflective of patterns in nature and the cosmos, these are meant to be a probe to expand our view. My intent is to capture the magical essence of the radiant energy felt by a sunset and the wonder felt when looking up, beyond the clouds. In this visual journey, I paint for power giving myself a boost that prompts exploration of the known into possibilities of the unknown.”
—FúLàng, artist

Art Opening at MIX Art Gallery on the Ithaca Commons - Ithaca Gallery Night
2026-02-06 17:00 - 20:00 | MIX Art Gallery, 156 E. State Street, Ithaca, 14850
February at MIX Art Gallery on the Ithaca Commons is all about turning up the rhythm, the color, and the connection. Known for its vibrant exhibitions and intimate live events, MIX is serving a full month of art and music that makes winter in downtown Ithaca feel anything but quiet.
The month kicks off with “Jazz It Up!”, a curator’s-choice exhibition opening Friday, February 6, from 5-8 PM. This lively group show celebrates movement, improvisation, and visual rhythm, pairing perfectly with MIX’s signature blend of contemporary art and community energy. Expect bold works, great conversation, and the kind of opening night buzz that reminds you why downtown Ithaca thrives. This exhibit will be up all month long to view and purchase.
Located at 156 E. State St. (2nd Floor) on the Ithaca Commons. Gallery Hours Th & F 3-7, Sat. 12-6. Private bookings available. www.mixartgallery.com

Art Opening at MIX Art Gallery - Gallery Night on the Ithaca Commons
2026-02-06 17:00 - 20:00 | MIX Art Gallery, 156 E. State Street, Ithaca, 14850

Busking for Justice
2026-02-06 17:30 - 19:00 | Cafe DeWitt, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, N, 14850, United States
Busking for Justice Returns to Café Dewitt with First Friday Concert Series, February–June
ITHACA, NY — Busking for Justice, a community-driven fundraising concert series featuring local musicians, returns to Café Dewitt in downtown Ithaca’s Dewitt Mall on the first Friday of each month from February through June. The series runs from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m., with free admission and donations encouraged. All funds raised will support immigrants and their families facing the impacts of detention and deportation.
Rooted in the belief that music can unite, inspire, and mobilize, Busking for Justice brings artists and audiences together in a spirit of generosity, shared humanity, and solidarity. The series creates a space where live music serves both as cultural expression and as a call to collective care.
The February 6 concert will feature original music by singer-songwriter Tom Mank and cellist Sera Smolen, with Mank (vocals and guitar) and Smolen (cello) joined by Laura Branca (vocals) and Rich DePaolo (vocals and guitar). Mank and Smolen have collaborated since 1994, blending Americana songwriting with classical cello into an eclectic sound, and have toured extensively throughout Europe—often with DePaolo on guitar. DePaolo is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer-engineer who has recorded and toured widely across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Branca, a co-founder of Rising Sign—a local Latin band that performed original music and danceable covers for two decades—and a longtime social justice advocate, brings deep community roots and a strong commitment to human rights and collective action.
Busking for Justice – Spring 2026 Schedule
• February 6 – Tom Mank (vocals & guitar) and Sera Smolen (cello), with Laura Branca (vocals) and Rich DePaolo (vocals & guitar)
• March 6 – Joe Crookston (vocals & guitar)
• April 3 – 14Strings! (Filipino style Rondalla)
• May 1 – Lavine and the Flying Machine (Klezmer group) – Jennie Lavine (clarinet & vocals), Dave Davies (guitar), Sam Swartz (tenor horn & vocals), Greg Ezra (percussion)
• June 5 – TBA
Event Details
First Fridays, February–June
5:30–7:00 p.m.
Café Dewitt, Dewitt Mall, 215 N. Cayuga Street, Ithaca
Free admission; donations encouraged, food available for purchase
Press Contact
Saoirse McClory
saoirsemcclory@gmail.com
607-272-9088
Additional information
Café Dewitt
cafedewitt.com
Tom Mank & Sera Smolen
tommank.net
14Strings!
14strings.com
Joe Crookston
joecrookston.com

De-escalation Training with QuAC
2026-02-07 13:00 - 14:30 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join QuAC (Queer Anarchy Collective) for a de-escalation training session.
When and how to de-escalate with people, interpersonal conflict, and police interactions!

Book Launch Party: Social Change
2026-02-07 15:00 - 17:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join us in celebrating the launch of a new book by local educator Alicia Swords, professor of sociology at Ithaca College. Social Change: Movements, Politics, and Technology (SAGE, 2025) explores social transformation in historical and contemporary episodes, centering the lives and struggles of the poor and dispossessed as agents of their own liberation and offering powerful lessons for today’s social movements. Alicia will share brief excerpts from the text and will be joined in conversation by local engaged scholar Richard Kiely.

Ithaca Trans Center Book Club
2026-02-08 14:00 - 15:00 | Buffalo Street Books, 215 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca
Join us to discuss ‘So Many Stars’ by Caro De Robertis!
A book club hosted by the Ithaca Trans Center
All book club books have a 10% discount
