The Beat

Offering a unique virtual experience with programming, lecture series, social media events, and other activities

Ticonderoga, N.Y. – Fort Ticonderoga announces a 2020 Digital Campaign - an exciting virtual campus opening. This Digital Campaign features interactive programming, engaging lectures series, and a preview of the many experiences which will be featured on-site once Fort Ticonderoga’s gates open in 2020.  The museum and cultural destination’s 2020 opening has been postponed due to COVID-19.

This unique opportunity brings to digital visitors the layers of history and natural beauty into their homes across the globe. Featuring the museum’s annual interpretation (2020 is 1774!), Fort Ticonderoga staff continue to press forward with their commitment to providing resources and entertaining programs to engage, inspire, and give context to the world around us.

Hosts Digital Day Full of Programs, Activities and Games

Tupper Lake, N.Y. - The Wild Center is throwing a Virtual Not Quite Open But Dearly Hopin' Spring Jamboree on Friday, May 1, 2020. The all-day event celebrates and symbolizes a new season at The Wild Center, which normally opens its doors on May 1st to reintroduce visitors to the wonders of the natural world on its campus. Although public operations are temporarily suspended at the Adirondack-based science center and outdoor nature experience, the virtual party invites visitors to participate in fun activities and programs - all from their living rooms.

Oneida County Tourism Uses 37^th NTTW (May 3-9) to Look Ahead to Recovery

Utica, NY (April 29, 2020) — National Travel and Tourism Week (NTTW), the annual celebration of the contributions and accomplishments of the U.S. travel industry, will spotlight resilience and hope in the face of the coronavirus pandemic with this year’s theme: the Spirit of Travel.

Since in-person events that have been staples of NTTW in the past are not an option this year, Oneida County Tourism has created a campaign to engage the local community with a focus on their tourism pillars: Family Fun, Arts & Culture, Outdoor Recreation, History and Food & Beverage. The campaign will feature daily videos on social media that showcase Zoom interviews between a local attraction and DJs from Townsquare Media. The campaign will kick off on Friday, May 1 with Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute's virtual First Friday Happy Hour. Beginning on Monday, May 4, Oneida County Tourism will share videos across their social media platforms, specifically on Facebook at Visit Oneida County, NY.

To Support Local Restaurants and Frontline Workers

Utica, NY (April 22, 2020) - Feed Our Frontline Families is an initiative founded by three partners: F.X. Matt Brewery, the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce and The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties. The goal of this initiative is to inject cash flow into area restaurants, helping them to stay in business and keep staff employed, all while ensuring frontline workers get what they need.

Four films from the Museum’s festival of innovative cinema to stream exclusively on MUBI in May

New York, New York, April 28, 2020 — Four acclaimed international films — Bird Talk (Dir. Xawery Żuławski), Searching Eva (Dir. Pia Hellenthal), Transnistra (Dir. Anna Eborn), and Nofinofy (Dir. Michael Andrianaly) — featured in Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look 2020, a festival interrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, will make their online streaming debut on MUBI. Each Monday in May, MUBI will premiere a film from the festival and each film will be available to stream exclusively on their platform.

Rochester, NY (April 28, 2020) – John Nugent and Marc Iacona, producers of the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival, announced today new dates for two headliners shows for the festival's rescheduled 19th Edition October 2 -10, 2020.

Puss N Boots featuring Sasha Dobson, Norah Jones & Catherine Popper, originally scheduled for June 19, will now be presented on Saturday, October 3, 2020 at 8 p.m. at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.

Museum exhibitions and projects expand online, opening dates shift to fall

Saratoga Springs, NY (April 28, 2020) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, out of concern for the health and safety of the staff and community, and in accordance with guidelines from Skidmore College, is extending its temporary closure through the summer months.

This difficult but necessary decision comes after considering current projections about the outbreak, and means the cancellation of beloved Tang summer traditions such as the annual community open house, Frances Day, and the popular Upbeat on the Roof concert series. These traditions will be back in 2021. The summer closure also means changes—but no cancellations—to the Tang’s previously announced exhibition schedule.

Animal Cams Offer Peek At A Penguin Or Primate When You Can’t Get To The Zoo (Utica Zoo) –  Washington Post

Hotels Offer Discounted Gift Card Deals to Raise Cash – Will It Work? (The Roxbury at Stratton Falls) – Skift

The 20 Best Things To Do In Syracuse, NY For First Timers – Money Inc.

Aquarium Has Bred the First New Penguins in the State-of-the-Art Penguin Habitat, a Priority Project of Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative 

See photo of the new Humboldt penguin chicks here  

The Western New York Regional Economic Development Council (WNYREDC) today congratulates the Aquarium of Niagara on successfully breeding Humboldt penguins in the $3.5 million Penguin Coast exhibit. The exhibit, which opened in 2018, allowed the Aquarium to receive accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and restart a breeding program for these threatened species. Two recently hatched chicks join the existing colony of 14 adult Humboldt penguins. This is the first penguin hatching at the Aquarium of Niagara since April 2006. Animal care staff hope to welcome additional chicks over the next several weeks as they continue to monitor the penguin colony. The Aquarium of Niagara is currently closed to the public in response to the COVID-19 virus but a video of new penguin chicks can be seen here.

The Dance Party of the Year on Thursday April 30th at 6:30 PM ET (US) to energetically clasp hands and dance together across the Earth and its 24 time zones

New York, N.Y. – Mark DeGarmo Dance goes global by pivoting its annual community celebration and fundraiser, Dance for Dance 2020, into a virtual broadcast to connect with its local, national, and international audiences on Thursday, April 30th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM Eastern (U.S.) Time on Facebook and Youtube.