Blues to cure winter illin’.
There’s a new baby on the Syracuse festival scene. On Feb. 20 at the Palace Theatre on James Street comes the Snow Plow Blues Festival.
If you want to read about the who-is-coming and why-is-this-happening, the event is the subject of my column today for my weekly community blog on Syracuse Public Media site waer.org. You can find it by clicking the link below.
http://waer.org/post/snow-plow-blues-festival-adds-syracuses-musical-depth
By the way, I’m all for another night full of music at the Palace, which is a couple of blocks from my dear wife Karen and I’s Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood.
And, the Friday night event also happens to kick off the second weekend of Syracuse’s annual Winterfest.
Can you bear the winter?
That’s the 14 days in which the citizenry of these parts says what the heck and parties because of the snow with chili cook-offs and wing walks and cocktail runs and Martinfest.
That last one is not an official Winterfest event. My friends host it in a nearby parking lot. It’s pretty awesome.
Here’s the link for the Snow Plow Blues Fest poster and Live Space Entertainment site.
Here’s the link to buy tickets to the Snow Plow Blues Festval. They cost $20, and also are available at Sound Garden in Armory Square.
Here’s the link for the Winterfest photo and other details.
Here’s the link to my story about last year’s Martinfest.
Los Blancos are, from left to right, Mark Nanni, Colin Aberdeen, Mark Tffault, and Steven T. Winston.
Los Blancos, Syracuse’s spirited roots and Americana band, plays at the the Snow Plow Blues Fest. Above, I caught them at last year’s Crawfish Festival in Clinton Square, kicking off the outdoor live music season. Full circle of life.
What does your city or region do to celebrate winter? How do you cure the winter blues? Is everybody set for blues music and Martinfest back-to-back?
Mark Bialczak 
I could stand to have a little corner booth and some live music. Sounds about perfect.
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Yes, fun is needed, Aud.
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You guys really do have the best (and the most!) fests, festivals, and events of any place I’ve ever known. How fun! 😀
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Yes, even in winter, Rachel. 🙂
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I know… that’s also what makes it cool! So much other stuff up there is “closed for the season.”
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what a great idea–celebrating winter with music. St. Paul has a winter carnival that’s a big deal, but not being a fan of winter I see no reason to celebrate 😉 One had a January is Over party–should really do that again. Gotta love your Syracuse scene, Mark!
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This is good stuff here, Liz. The wandering around outside for the Wing Walk and Chili Cookoff and Martinfest is a bit drastic, but if one is partaking in adult beverages … The inside music is quite warming, of couse. 🙂
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Love the idea of celebrating this time of year! So many people with the winter blues and blahs. It sounds like a sure cure:).
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It is time for a few parties, Kay. 🙂 Then it is time for spring, right?
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what a great idea for a musical blast. the red hot blues melting the cold away. wonderful. everyone wins )
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Win win for sure, Beth. Yay us. 🙂
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I have never seen a snow plow in person, nor a winterfest. I have seen a chili cook-off, and ate chili last night and will eat it again tonight because it is chilly, and chili is warming. It’s even “mystifying.”
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Yum yum to mystifing chili to cook away the chill, Kerbey.
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sounds great, if i start walking now do you think i will get there on time? x
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I think so, if you take the short cut west and not east, Justine. 🙂
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lol
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What a fabulous idea. The winter makes you hardy and you party. :
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Yeah, and we can throw out rhyming raps, too, Fannie! It’s snow, we know!
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No snow, rain or hail will keep you folks upstate from partying. I think it’s wonderful.
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We just get used to it, Kim. The elements. Well, the partying, too, I guess. 🙂
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We “celebrate” by closing the schools in the blink of an eye!
I like the idea of just embracing the season and having events like these 😀
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It is what it is, so everybody let loose for a bit. Not a bad plan, Sheena. 🙂
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I just know I would love the music scene in Syracuse Mark! I’m not aware of Calgary having a winter themed event, but I’m sure it does. Back in my home province there were many winter festivities including whole villages carved from ice and of course Monsieur Bonhomme de Neiges!
Diana xo
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I think a whole village carved from ice would be something special to visit, Diana, but I wouldn’t want to live there. 😦 Monsieur Bonhomme de Neiges is French to me. Head to Google … 🙂
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He’s like a big, friendly, snowman mascot kind of thing!
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Pretty cool Mark (pardon the pun). It sounds like a blast. We have Winterfest here in Ottawa as well. It runs from Jan 30 (this year) to Feb 16 – over three weekends.There are a lot of events and it centers aorund city hall and the canal as well as a close-by park. ther are events all over town, but many are in the aforementioned core, which is shut down to cars for the weekends.
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Paul, one of my fave childhood memories is skating on the Ottawa canal!
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It is quite spectacular Diana. The worlds largest skating rink.
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That sounds like a good city party, Paul. MDW Karen and I have walked the Wing Fest. Maybe again this year. We have experienced the Chili Cook-off many years. Both of those, it is amazing how some samples you love, and some you want to give the Big Ptoey.
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Ah, I was so much more in tune with the music scene before I had children…
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That happens, Marissa. Good things to come as they get older! When my daughter asked for Queen’s greatest hits for Christmas and started talking to me about the songs she dug from Journey, I knew we were past the Brittney Spears/Ryan Cabrera years. 🙂 Now we four go to Train concerts together.
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Yes, luckily my son was raised on rock from a very early age. He already goes to a lot of metal concerts with his dad. We are trying with my daughter and she’s doing pretty well although she does love Frozen and My Little Pony and occasionally we hear her singing a Demi Lovato. Maybe girls are a bit different that way??
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I don’t know if it’s x and y chromosone based, Marissa. A theory for you.
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Yes, I think you’re on to something!
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