Orange Line Gallery ArtsWeek combines the AmeriCU 40th Annual Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival, the popular Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival and the Blue Rain ECOfest with more than 20 interactive arts activities that are sure to bring out the creativity in everyone who visits. An arts walk links the two festivals from Columbus Circle to Clinton Square.

Activities include:

• AmeriCU 40th Annual Syracuse Arts & Crafts Festival - A spectacular 3-day showcase of the country's most talented artists, craftspeople, and entertainers is centered on historic Columbus Circle in downtown Syracuse. The expanded show features 26 more artists than last year representing 27 states and Canada. The event features contemporary arts and crafts, ranging from functional to decorative, a wide variety of music, multi-cultural performances, summer refreshments, and participatory activities. Throughout the weekend there will be performances by DaProf N Starr (Celtic, Originals, and Old-Time Music); Girl's Night Out (Eclectic Original Songs); Shaker Fiddle (Vintage Violin, Mandolin, Banjo); The Finger Lookin' Good Band (Folkie Music); Miller's Wheel (Old-Time String Band); PUENTE FLAMENCO (Flamenco Dancing); The Darlings (Old-Time String Band); Friends Union (Strolling Fiddle and Guitar); Huzzah! (Tribal Belly Dance); Whirled Peace Hoops (Hoop Dance & Demonstrations); Marc the Zani (Circus Variety, Magic and Balloon Twisting) and many others. Visit www.syracuseartsandcraftsfestival.com for more information. Visit www.syracuseartsandcraftsfestival.com. Columbus Circle, July 30-August 1, Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday & Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm.

• Northeast Jazz & Wine Festival - A three-day event that includes three outdoor stages, strolling musicians, open on-stage master classes and clinics with student groups by guest artists, and downtown nightclub jams mixing touring musicians with local and regional talent. Visit www.nejazzwinefest.org for more information. Clinton Square, Hanover Square July 29-31, Thursday 5 pm - 11 pm, Friday 5 pm - 11 pm then jams until 2 am, Saturday 12 pm - 11 pm, then jams until 2 am.

• Syracuse New Times 20th Annual Street Painting Festival - A Sidewalk Art Contest where artists will create masterpieces in chalk on the 200 block of Montgomery Street from the Hills Building to City Hall, over to L'Adour Restaurant. The contest is open to 125 artists. Each entrant receives an assortment of colored chalk at registration, but is encouraged to bring his or her own as well. Clear lacquer or hair spray can be used to preserve the work. Award categories include best original, best "copy of a master," best teen work, best youth work and people's choice award. Pre-registration is recommended - call 422-7011. Visit www.syracusenewtimes.com for more information. 200 block of Montgomery Street, Saturday, July 31, 8 am - 3 pm.

• The Blue Rain ECOfest - The first and only urban multi-day environmental outreach festival in Central New York, its goal is to educate families about their responsibility for the planet, and how they can learn to help. An eclectic, family-oriented lineup of live music and dance is presented throughout the event. It is presently supported by National Grid, Save The Rain, the Center of Excellence, NYSERDA and others. Exhibitors of all kinds attend, from individual entrepreneurs and inventors to large institutions. Visit www.bluerainecofest.org for more information. Hanover Square, Friday July 30, 5 pm - 10 pm and Saturday July 31, 12 pm - 10 pm.

• Orange Line Gallery Reception: The Art of ArtsWeek - Artwork will be displayed and appetizers served courtesy of Dolce Vita World Bistro, Gentile's Restaurant and L'Adour Restaurant Francais. Guests will be encouraged to participate in hands-on activities of face painting and mask making, then dance to the music at the "Mask-A-Raid Ball" included as part of the festivities. Face painting and mask making supplies will be provided free of charge courtesy of the gallery. This event is free, open to the public and marks Orange Line Gallery's return in their new location, 106 Montgomery Street, Syracuse NY 13202. More information available by calling (877) 588-5005. 106 Montgomery Street, Saturday July 31, 2010 from 5-10 pm.

• Everson Museum of Art- Design and create your own candy furniture using the designs of Herman Miller as inspiration. Inspired by the upcoming exhibition Good Design: Stories from Herman Miller, on view at the Everson Museum of Art from August 15th to October 17th. Posters will be displayed with images from the exhibition to show examples of the work. Participants will sketch their design on a piece of paper, then create their furniture. They will be given a small plastic bag with materials including candy, toothpicks, pipe cleaners and more. Documentation will include photographing the design and the finished product together. Completed work can be taken home, eaten or donated to the Everson Museum for display in a model "room" created beforehand. Museum staff will be on hand to supervise and give tips on design, as well as to provide information about the museum and the upcoming Herman Miller exhibition. Visit www.everson.org for more information on the exhibit. City Hall Commons, Saturday, July 31, 10 am - 5 pm.

• SeekSYRACUSE - Come view the results of Syracuse's first ever SeekSYRACUSE photography competition. SeekSYRACUSE is a participatory public art project that in this its inaugural year invited people to find and photograph the letters that spell ‘SYRACUSE' found on historic buildings in downtown Syracuse. The catch was the letters must come from the architecture itself: a window frame forms the letter "E"; the connection between a sign and a building forms a "Y". The second catch was that the letters must be "found" on a particular set of buildings. To identify which buildings, participants had to solve simple riddles about the history of the city. On ArtsWeek Saturday, the winning submissions will be announced and on exhibit. In addition, every submission will be part of a video display that will run throughout the day. Visit www.syracuse.ny.us for more information.  City Hall Commons, Saturday July 31, 10 am - 5pm.

• One Wish: A Community Art Project - If you had one wish, what would it be? This project joins the spirit of wishing along with coming together as a community to create a conceptual art installation. In this piece, the idea of ‘making a wish' doubles as instructions. Members of the community will create a series of art pieces by expressing what each person truly desires. These panels will be free-standing wooden canvases for the public to turn their wishes into visual art. Paint, markers and other weather-proof materials will be used on approximately 6'x4' wooden sandwich panels. Columbus Circle, July 30 & August 1, City Hall Commons, July 31, Friday - Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm.

• The Art Store Community Wall - Tell us "What Hooks You Here" - Visitors will be invited to visually depict what brought them to Central New York and what keeps them here. All day Friday and Saturday, passerby will be encouraged to stop in and tell us what hooks them here to Central New York and enter a competition that will be judged Sunday morning. Whether it is your job, family, geography, or fate... something brought you to the Central New York Area. What was it? Were you born here? Is your job here? Is it the diverse geographical area? What? And what keeps you here? Or keeps you coming back to visit? Is it the same thing... or have you never really thought about it. Something brought us together here, and something keeps us. Even those that wander the world often wind up back here. Why? We have more in common then you might think. Beliefs, interests or education are many and varied, yet, it is often our very differences that make us friends, communities, and families. Visit www.commercialartsupply.com for more information on the Art Store. Columbus Circle, July 30 & July 31, Friday 10 am to 6 pm, Saturday & Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm.

• Th3 & The CNY Arts Covenant - The CNY Arts Covenant will hold a quilt signing. Supporters of the arts sign up for the Arts Covenant with their creatively painted handprint on a one-of-a-kind Arts Covenant Quilt that becomes a piece of public art displayed throughout the community. Also, an adult and children's art project: Create an Arts Covenant pennant/flag for gardens/porches and take it home. Visit http://th3syracuse.com for more information about Th3 and the Arts Covenant. Columbus Circle, July 30 & August 1, City Hall Commons, July 31, Friday & Sunday 12 pm - 5 pm, Saturday 10 am - 5 pm.

• Plymouth Church - All are invited -- especially families with children -- to create an artistic greeting to children hospitalized in Bagdad, Iraq. Iraqi children's art on display and the art greetings created both afternoons will be given to hospitalized Iraqi children through the Iraqi Children's Art Exchange program. Those participating in this activity will also receive a postcard of art work done by an Iraqi child. Visit http://plymouthuccsyracuse.org for more information about Plymouth Church. 232 E. Onondaga, Saturday & Sunday, July 31 & August 1, 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm.

• The Downtown Writer's Center at the YMCA - Faculty publications will be available for sale and information will be available about each of the Downtown Writer's Center's programs, including course schedules and brochures. The Writer's Center will also have some fun take-away activities like magnetic and collage poetry, and have a schedule of events happening inside the DWC: book signings by local writers, and free, quick workshops on found poetry, poetry collage, ekphrastic writing and family storytelling. Visit www.ymcaofgreatersyracuse.org/arts/ for more information about the Downtown Writer's Center. 340 Montgomery Street, Friday - Sunday, July 30-August 1, 10 am - 5 pm.

• Media Unit Dancestravaganza will feature ballet, hip-hop, jazz, modern dance, step dancing, African and Middle Eastern. City Hall Commons, Saturday, July 31, 12 pm - 5 pm.

• Media Unit Monster Sale - The region's largest annual used book and vinyl MOSTER SALE, outside the WMU Studio at 327 Montgomery Street. Browse used books at bargain prices and interact with Wizard of Oz characters. Columbus Circle, Friday - Sunday, July 30 - August 1, Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 5 pm.

• 40 Below's Public Arts Task Force Mp3 Experiment - An Mp3 experiment is a public performance involving many participants. The exercise is part guerilla theater, part flash mob, part "Simon Says," and entirely fun. Everyone who wants to participate will download a pre-recorded Mp3 file onto their personal music player. They will gather in Columbus Circle, wait for the signal and start listening to the Mp3 at the exact same time. This summer's experiment will lead participants on another exciting and unpredictable journey around downtown Syracuse. To look at pictures from last year's experiment, check out http://syracusemp3experiment.blogspot.com. Columbus Circle, Saturday, July 31, 4pm.

• 40 Below's Public Arts Task Force ArtStrong during ArtsWeek - 40 Below's Public Arts Task Force is transforming a vacant storefront into a pop-up art gallery featuring over 20 located artists. The gallery space will be up for the run of ArtsWeek. 451 South Warren Street, July 29 - August 7.

• 40 Below's Public Arts Task Force 5 & Dime pARTy - The ArtStrong show will be converted into a pARTy for the evening as donated artwork will be featured and sold for $10! The artwork will not be showcased beforehand and will be revealed as an exciting surprise for this event only. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Public Arts Task Force. 451 South Warren Street, July 29, 5-8pm.

• Erie Canal Museum - Come make your own paper bag mule puppet as you learn about life on the Erie Canal. Mules were important to the history of New York State because they pulled the boats along the Erie Canal. The mules were more sure footed than horses and they did not scare easily. A mule named Sal was made famous in the song, "Low Bridge! Everybody Down!" Also, throughout Arts Week, visit the Erie Canal Museum with exhibits including "Three Generations on the Canal" explores the life of one family to the New York State Barge Canal from World War II to the present day; the "Weighlock Game" is an interactive experience where visitors use a touch-screen to play the role of assistant weighmaster and learn to weigh boats, assess the correct tolls and virtually steer the boat into the weighlock building; and visitors are invited to come aboard an Erie Canal line boat. The museum is located at 318 Erie Blvd. and is open Fri. & Sat. 10 am to 5 pm; Sun. 10 am to 3 pm. Admission is FREE. Donations accepted. Visit www.eriecanalmuseum.org for more information about the museum. City Hall Commons, Friday, July 30, 10 am - 4 pm.
  

• Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) - As part of ArtsWeek, The Onondaga Historical Association Museum will host the artists, wares, and performances of the Native American Circle of Life at the OHA Museum, 321 Montgomery St. Their crafts will include cornhusk dolls, jewelry, handmade blankets and purses, and unique gifts from The Northern Door Trading Post. Also, artist John Arquette will be on hand with artwork for sale and available to draw portraits onsite. The Native Youth Shawl Dancers will perform in the museum's auditorium at 1:00 PM and 3:00 on Saturday, July 31st and Sunday, August 1st. Stacey Galvan, vocalist of the Gunrunners, a new Onondaga Nation Band will perform following the dancers on Sunday, August 1st. Traditional Native foods will also be available for sale outside the museum on Montgomery St. Visit www.cnyhistory.org for more information about the museum. 321 Montgomery Street, July 30-August 1, Friday 10 am - 4 pm, Saturday & Sunday, July 31 & August 1, 11 am - 4 pm.

• "Clinton Serenade" Mural - Watch Corky Goss and Chip Miller, of Art in Public Places, as they complete a 4,000 square foot mural depicting the Erie Canal. The mural is entitled "Clinton Serenade" and depicts the Erie Canal in Clinton Square on a 1912 moonlight night. Art in Public Places has been creating murals in CNY since 1984. Artists Corky Goss and Chip Miller are SU graduates who teach art in the region. They have also recently created murals on the Erie Canal in Wayne County in towns like Clyde, Lyons and Newark. Sidewalk bordering Willow Street is recommended for viewing mural progress. 126 N. Salina St., July 29 - August 7, 7am-3:30 pm.

• Family Friendzy - Presented by the City of Syracuse Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs, features multi-cultural live entertainment and lots of hands-on arts activities full of family fun, Clinton Square, August 7, 12 pm to 5 pm.

• Candlelight Series - The Syracuse Opera performs outdoors at the corner of West Jefferson and Franklin Streets. An opening act is performed by young talent beginning at 6:30 pm. Bring lawn chairs, area restaurants will feature extended sidewalk bistro dining. Rain location is 207 Walton Street. Visit www.armorysq.org/candlelight for more information. Presented by the Armory Square Association. Armory Square, August 7, 8 pm.

• Fayette Park Summer Music Series - The Syracuse Parks & Recreation All-Star Band will perform. Presented by the Downtown East Business Association. Fayette Firefighters Memorial Park, July 29, 11:30 am to 1 pm.

• Onondaga County Public Library - Create a personalized Jamaican Woven Fish using colorful strips of paper. Based on Jamaican palm-frond weaving. Younger children can decorate a paper flying fish, then toss it in the air and watch it flutter down. Visit www.onlib.org for more information about the Onondaga County Public Library. City Hall Commons, Saturday, July 31, 10 am - 5 pm.

• The Art Store Artist Demonstrations - On Sunday morning there will be a judging, based on posted criteria and at 1 pm Sunday, the winners of the categories will be announced, with prizes and gift cards given out. Visit www.commercialartsupply.com for more information about the Art Store. Columbus Circle, Friday - Sunday, July 30 - August 1. Click here for a schedule of artist demonstrations.

• Syracuse University Bookstore Book Fair - The literary and creative talents of local and regional authors and illustrators will be showcased. Many authors will be on hand to discuss and personally autography their books. In conjunction with Allie Larkin's appearance at the Book Fair, human and dog representatives from the German Shepard Rescue of Central New York, Inc. will be at the Bookstore tent on Saturday, July 31 from 1 - 5pm. GCRCNY is a federal non-profit organization that was created to provide a lifeline to German Shepard dogs with stable temperaments facing euthanasia in shelters throughout the region. Practice the Art of Compassion and adopt a dog during the Arts and Crafts Festival. Visit http://bookstore.syr.edu for more information about the Syracuse University Bookstore. Columbus Circle, Friday - Sunday, July 30 - August 1, 10 am - 5 pm. Click here for a list of authors and illustrators participating in the Book Fair.

ArtsWeek is the result of a partnership with many area organizations, including:
The Downtown Committee of Syracuse
The Orange Line Gallery
The City of Syracuse Public Arts Commission
AmeriCU Credit Union
CNY Jazz Arts Foundation
The Everson Museum of Art
The Erie Canal Museum
The City of Syracuse
The Onondaga Historical Museum
Syracuse University
The Arts Covenant
The Downtown Writer's Center
Th3
Commercial Art Supply
The Media Unit
40 Below Public Arts Task Force
The Syracuse New Times
Plymouth Congregational Church
The Downtown East Business Association
The Armory Square Association

Major funding for both anchor festivals was provided by a New York State Community Events Program Grant through Senator John A. DeFrancisco.