While we hear lots of noise from the West Fayette Street-Delavan-Lipe Park art initiatives, the Hawley-Lodi neighborhood continues to quietly blossom into a vibrant arts district. The North Side neighborhood already houses businesses such as ArtRage Gallery, the Syracuse Cultural Workers and SparkyTown restaurant. And now, it welcomes Sculpture/Culture.
The new art studio – jointly owned by Charles Crafts and Tom Huff at 522/524 Hawley Ave. – hosts an open house from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4; 314-6912. Saturday’s open house is free and open to the public. The studio will also be open to the public on three subsequent Saturdays, Feb. 11, 18 and 25. Sculpture/Culture is currently exhibiting Native American art and Haudenosaunee crafts. Huff, an internationally renowned Iroquois sculptor, is now accepting stone-carving students. Classes are scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and students can utilize the studio on their own time. “I see my ability to carve and create as a gift from the creator,” Huff said, “and it’s my responsibility to share that gift.” Huff’s roots are in the Deer Clan of the Seneca and Cayuga nations.
As a boy, he began carving stone, wood and antler inspired by the artists at the Cattaraugus Seneca Nation. Now he’s a world-renowned stone sculptor working in a variety of stones, styles and themes, traditional and contemporary. He also creates mixed media/found object sculpture. His stunning stone work has been exhibited from New Mexico to old Germany. In 2010 Huff curated “Tonto Revisited: Native American Stereotypes” at the ArtRage Gallery, and in 2011 he oversaw “Haudenosaunee Elements” at downtown’s Everson Museum of Art. ‘Some Like It Hot’
As though to affirm that “art” can also be “entertainment,” ArtRage Gallery screens the 1959 Billy Wilder comedy “Some Like It Hot” at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4. In the film, two musicians witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and try to elude their pursuers by joining an all-girl band traveling to Miami. Actors Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis dress up as ladies while actress Marilyn Monroe turns in a memorable comic performance as singer Sugar Kane. ArtRage is located at 505 Hawley Ave, on the near North Side. The suggested donation for the screening is $5; 218-5711; artragegallery.org. Lavendar Inkwell online
Another North Side cultural landmark, the Lavendar Inkwell Bookshop owned by John Besaw and Scott Henni, got its start there at 304 N. McBride St., but now does business exclusively online at lavenderinkwell.com; 378-1345. Puerto Rican power hitter
Over his 16-year major-league career, Puerto Rican power hitter Carlos Delgado blasted 473 home runs while batting a respectable .280. Having spent the bulk of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays, Delgado was a three-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award (1999-00-01) and won the American League’s Hank Aaron Award in 2000. But the honor closest to his heart has to be the 2006 Roberto Clemente Award. Like Clemente, Delgado is a peace activist. When the U.S. Department of Defense was using the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, as a bombing target-practice facility, Delgado spoke out against the detonations until the government ended the bombing in 2003. That same year, he voiced his opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a stance that prompted negative responses from baseball fans. Delgado appeared in 181 games for the Syracuse Chiefs during his minor-league career. The slugging first baseman smacked 43 career home runs in a Chiefs uniform, primarily during the 1994 and 1995 seasons. Hot Stove heats up here
Now 39, Delgado will be inducted into the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Fame in a special ceremony at the Syracuse Chiefs’ annual Hot Stove Dinner & Silent Auction, at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Liverpool. Chiefs infielder Seth Bynum and new Chiefs manager Tony Beasley will join Delgado at the head table. “It’s a tradition for our manager to attend the Hot Stove dinner,” said Chiefs General Manager John Simone. Last season, Beasley managed the Double-A Harrisburg Senators to the top of the Eastern League’s Western Division. He’s a three-time winner of Baseball America’s Manager of the Year award. A silent auction gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Friday with the dinner program following at 7 p.m. Tickets for the Hot Stove cost $55 for adults and $25 for children ages 12 and younger, or $500 for a table of 10; syracusechiefs.com; 474-7833.