Fall 2020

Sep 13

…and the beat goes on!

Amberations has always been fortunate to have some of the best local musicians supporting our cause. As the air turns crisp and fall activities beckon, we have been busy figuring out how we can put that live music back in our lives at our Fall event. We love what we came up with and are sure you will too.

We heard about a musical festival in Brittany, France that John and Sondra Bromka performed at. Musicians were staged at various locations in an outdoor venue and the guests wandered from performer to performer for their own, personal mini concert. With the approval of the Onondaga County Office of Economic Development, Amberations will host their own version of this musical format on Sunday – October 4th and are even so fortunate as to have John and Sondra performing at our event. For those not familiar with their music, you are in for a treat. Their duo, known as Bells & Motley, showcases their accomplishments in an array of traditional and early music that has brought their finely honed artistry to audiences around the world for over thirty years. Amberations is proud to add them to our lineup.

Harvey Nusbaum, our music coordinator extraordinaire, will be overseeing our event as well as sharing his legendary musical talents. We only recently got the go-ahead for our event so plans are still in the making. We are currently contacting musicians and finding that most are ecstatic at the opportunity to finally.…get out and play!

We will keep you posted on artists at our website. Currently, along with Bells & Motley and Harvey, we have one of our regulars and definitely one of our favorites—Bob Lyna, plus newcomers Jamee & Rick Swope and Steve & Sharon Hewitt. Along with the music will be baked goods, hot and cold cider, artisans and artistry and of course, the lovely grounds that make Amberations so special.

Please note, this event will take place in our upper field area – 2345 Amber Road. The barn animals will be below, always happy to greet visitors, while the festivities will be above this year. Please plan on arriving between 1 and 4 as the musical loop should take about an hour. Flaggers will direct you up our one lane access road and direct you to parking. We are requesting that guests circulate only with the people in their party to be COVID safe. Any questions please email: info@amberations.org. And don’t forget your duck for the exciting race that will close out our Festival...

Improvements at our Barn Area:

Stop by to see for yourself!

There was lots of activity at our barn area this Spring, not only among the frog population and the animals and guests. Amberations put in over 200 feet of pipe to address the drainage problem in our animal’s pasture. It seems to be working and new grass is replacing what used to be muck. Once that project was completed, we hired Empire Farm Fence and Supply to install new fencing. They did a wonderful job and the animals are most appreciative. We are now waiting for approval from the county health department for an upgrade to our composting toilet, having decided a holding tank will be more user friendly. We did install a foot pump hand washing station to address sanitation concerns and want to thank Beak & Skiff for their generous donation of hand sanitizer.

As people begin venturing out again it is wonderful to see so many children enjoying our grounds. The frogs and salamanders are caught, again and again, to the joy of so many. Big Joe and the goats are loving all the attention and our new kitties, Midnight and Amber, are extremely tolerant of it. While they do submit to being picked up at all sorts of weird angles, they are slowly learning the smaller kiddies seem less respectful of their internal body organs...translation: they hide as soon as they see some of our little regulars coming.

We are thrilled to see more and more visitors enjoying our grounds!

Every day our barn area echoes with the delighted voices of children. The natural playscape has become a classroom for inquisitive young minds. Our chairs are a source of relaxation for caregivers enjoying the respite afforded by the engagement of the young ones. The animals are loving the attention and endless apple and carrot treats. Hikers regularly pass through on their way to traverse the grounds; dogs, with their people, have made the freedom of running in the upper fields a regular part of their daily routine.

We are hoping to gain some support from all of our new guests. Amberations has identified the need for new board members and committee support to help us forge our future, handy people to help with some small landscaping and carpentry jobs as well as additional feeders to help care for our animals. Our site is supported 100% by volunteers and donations. We need a bit more help to keep it going. Please consider lending a hand. To volunteer, click here, or to make a donation, click here.

Let’s Bake the World a Better Place!

We will be hosting a Bake Sale at our Fall Festival. Please come prepared to take home some goodies and let us know if you would like to participate. Any donations must be individually wrapped and a record will be kept of donors. Hot and cold cider will also be available.

Duck Race

Our rubber ducks are lined up and ready to go. Be prepared to join in the fun by choosing your own contestant for our virtual race. 100 rubber ducks will bounce their way down our stream and the first three to tumble over the falls will win great prizes. Choose your individually named and attired duck at Amberations’ web site amberations.org and watch our virtual race from the comfort of your living room.

We are excited to have new artisans supporting our event, so please come prepared to do some holiday shopping.

Amberations Receives Grant:

The Future is Ours to See…

Amberations is pleased to announce they are the recipient of a grant from the Community Foundation. The money is to be used for determining a path to future development and sustainability. After meeting with local consultants Amberations has chosen Heidi Holtz from Stillwork Consulting Group LLC to work with us. We look forward to working with Heidi to determine Amberations’ future and to map a path to assure our dreams can continue.