mission | about

Mission:

The mission of the Ithaca Festival is to celebrate the artist in everyone and arts in the community!

The tradition of the Ithaca Festival started in 1977 (some would say earlier:) as an arts festival called Celebration Ithaca, launched in partnership with NYSCA. Over the past 30 years, the Ithaca Festival has grown into a true celebration of community that is rich in talent, bringing together people of all ages, interests and origins. No one forgets an IFest!

Who:

The Ithaca Festival is a not–for–profit corporation (501–c–3). A volunteer Board of Directors establishes Festival policy.  The organization supports a year–round director and several seasonal part–time staff members. More than 200 community volunteers of all ages help transform our small town into a unforgettable cultural celebration each year.

Where & When:

One of America's best homegrown arts festivals, Ithaca Festival traditionally takes place each year on the first weekend after Memorial Day.  Our 2009 Festival will run from Thursday, May 28, 2009 through Sunday, May 31, 2009.

What is the Ithaca Festival?:

The Ithaca Festival is one of the largest annual events in Upstate, New York. Each year thousands are brought together by this unique, family-friendly celebration of the arts.

A showcase for over 1,000 local musicians, ensembles, community groups, visual and performance artists, craftspeople, actors, dancers, storytellers, poets, and writers, the Ithaca Festival provides an extraordinary opportunity for family, friends, and visitors to celebrate our community.

What’s up with Ithaca?:

Our community has a rich and diverse history –– we have always been on the cutting edge. We were one of the first communities to have telephones, electric lights and street cars –– partly because Cornell University is here, but also because Ithacans have always been visionaries.

Ithaca is also known as the birthplace of the ice cream sundae. And once upon a time, it was the home to a silent movie studio –– they called it “a director’s dream of paradise come true” –– the varied landscape of gorges, hills, waterfalls, and historic buildings captivated the eyes of early movie makers (until they discovered the more temperate zone of Hollywood.)

We think that you will feel at home here in Ithaca –– a lively and progressive upstate New York community at the base of Cayuga Lake –– artists, farmers, students, dreamers, absent–minded professors, writers, activists, musicians, teachers, Tibetan monks, belly dancers, happy families and hundreds and hundreds of rusted, but still servicable Volvos.

We look forward to having you visit us May 28th through the 31st in 2009.  Remember to ‘button up’—buy your collectible Festival button and T-shirt, which supports the costs of presenting this event and provides general admission to the performances!