ITHACA WEEK | The Little Apple

If Ithaca possessed a “spirit food,” it would be the apple. After living in Ithaca for the past three years, I have consumed way too many apples in solid, liquid, and in-between forms. In their own subtle way, I feel as if apples define Ithaca just as much as the gorges or the freezing cold winters. In light of this, here are the three most “apple-ly” things in Ithaca that you should definitely check out if you haven’t already:

The Apple Harvest Festival

The Apple Harvest Festival represents Ithaca’s celebration to its inner-self. Apple-themed commodities, quirky street art and products, and random carnival-esque food stands fill the streets of the Commons. Some of the apple concoctions may seem a little dangerous at first glance; for instance, when I first saw a stand giving out samples of apple curry at Apple Fest last year, I felt a knot from in my throat.

ITHACA WEEK | Blue Balls

There are so many great things to do in Ithaca and I’ve certainly collected my fair share of memories and moments that have helped me to call this place home. I remember going to Taughannock Falls as a kid; I’ve been to the Ice, dog, and apple festivals; and I’ve spent days studying in the little coffee shops in The Commons and going to poetry readings at Buffalo Books (often because I was forced to trek down there when a professor didn’t want to support the Capitalist Pigs at the Cornell store). Each of these, in their own way, are indicative of this beautiful and weird place that we live in – the intense seasons, the amazing natural beauty, the weird, artsy-fartsy townies who got lost on the way back from Woodstock and never managed to get home. But I think that my own personal relationship with Ithaca is defined by one story. I was preparing to go visit my at-the-time long distance girlfriend in Atlanta for Valentine’s Day.

ITHACA WEEK | Ithaca’s Very Own Farmers Market

April: Amidst the hustle and bustle—the only trace of New York City here in Ithaca—it feels liberating to venture outside every now and then to explore Ithaca and recharge in the loving womb of nature. Don’t let the “there’s nothing to do, Cornell’s in the middle of nowhere” eye-roll mislead you. A welcoming, homey venue with polished rows of autumnal-colored bell peppers, the Ithaca Farmers Market at Steamboat Landing has been beckoning hungry travelers to its diverse selections, ranging from organic honeys to ginormous furnace-baked pizzas, since 1973. April: Follow the adventure of two such hungry girls as they wow at one of the country’s best farmers markets, their eyes drinking in the homemade apple ciders, 5-person-job pizzas, and Thai-flavored ice cream. Mango sticky rice and Thai tea

Grace: For an appetizer, we started off by splitting a mango sticky rice.