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THURSDAY-FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27-28, 2014
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Ian Austin/
Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive in style in Pioneer Park on Friday, Nov. 28.
Help Welcome St. Nick To Cooperstown Cottage
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ristian House at Oneonta’s Monkey Barrel Toys isn’t interested in being just another toy store. “We don’t carry the hot toys like one of the big box stores,” he said. “We carry the cool toys.” “We don’t THINK want to LOCAL FIRST give the & rs Ot be seg same exo County Cham perience as you get everywhere else,” said Todd Gibbons, owner of Riverwood in Cooperstown. “It’s about finding toys to fascinate, toys to inspire.” As shoppers – and Santa! – start making their holiday shopping lists, House and Gibbons are stocking their shelves with toys to stimulate play and imagination. “We’re interested in kids being able to play and interact with their toys in a way they can’t with video games,” said House. “We want to spark an interest in using their imaginations.” On Saturday, Nov. 23, as Santa Claus himself was signing copies of “Santa’s Second Home” in Riverwood, Gibbons was already selling out of one the most popular toys he has in stock. “We’ve got this little desktop drum kit,” he said, banging out a rhythm on the demo set. “The rock ’n’
ou know it’s Christmas when Santa Claus parades down Main Street and pulls up his sleigh in front of Pioneer Park! Enjoy cookies, cocoa and music and visiting at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28 at the Christmas Cottage in Pioneer Park, Cooperstown. WORK UP AN APPETITE: The Turkey Trot 5K and 2.5K walk helps benefit Catskill Area Hospice. $27 registration fee. 7:30 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. start, Thursday, Nov. 27, Oneonta Boys & Girls Club, 70 River St., Oneonta. Info, (607) 432-6773, roll careers start with these drums.” One customer bought three sets, and another, worried that they might sell out, picked up one for under her tree. Also selling out were bubble guns, which Rick had picked up at the toy expo in New York City earlier this year. “We were filling the streets with bubbles on Induction Weekend,” said Please See TOYS, B4
THANKSGIVING AT THE FARM: Go down on the farm to experience oldfashioned Thanksgiving traditions! 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday-Saturday, Nov. 2829, The Farmers’ Museum, Cooperstown. Info, www.farmersmuseum.org.
Riverwood’s Todd Gibbons, above, tries out a Bubble Gun. At left, Monkey Barrel’s Kristian House, left, shows off his shelves of classic toys.
HISTORY CRAFTS: Holiday gift vendors at the Oneonta History Center. Free. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, Oneonta History Center, 183 Main, Oneonta. Info, www.oneontahistory.org WREATHS-A-PLENTY: Admire and bid on over 100 wreaths decorated by local artisans and businesses at the AdornA-Door festival. $2. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, Cooperstown Art Association, 22 Main St., Cooperstown. Info, www.cooperstownart.com
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Ian Austin/
Wild Turkeys Peaked In ’01, But Still Plentiful
AUTHOR AUTOGRAPHS: Get autographed books from Marly Youmans, the Beekman Boys (11 a.m.-noon only) and other local authors at a Book Signing Day. $2 plus regular admission. 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Friday, Nov. 28, Fenimore Art Museum, 5798 Rte. 80, Cooperstown. Info, www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
Cheryl Shackleton, Oneonta town clerk. “It’s more flavorful than a domestic turkey like you’d buy at the store,” said Schiat’s Thanksgiving, and that means turkey vone. “Store-bought turkey is pretty bland. – but not just on your plate. That’s why we have to do so much to it.” Take a drive anywhere in Otsego County But it wasn’t always so easy to spot – or and chances are you’ll see a few wild turhunt – a tasty turkey Upstate, although they keys waddling across harvested field pecking may have pre-dated human settlers. Still, leftover corn. “They’re a popular bird,” said for nearly 100 years, they were extinct from Michael Schiavone, a wildlife biologist with Binghamton to Lake Placid. the state Department of Environmental Conser“It started with the European settlers vation. “People really enjoy seeing them.” clearing land and destroying the turkeys’ They’re also a popular treat on the dinner habitat,” Schiavone said. “There were no Ian Austin/ OTSEGO.life hunting regulations or season and settlers table, with 100,000 hunters statewide purchasIn 1962, 30 turkeys were reintroing permits and licenses. “They’re still huntbrought over domestic poultry diseases, so duced to Milford, and they’re still ing turkeys around here, that’s for sure,” said Please See TURKEYS, B4 By LIBBY CUDMORE
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HOLIDAY CONCERT: Catskill Symphony Orchestra presents Cherish the Ladies, a quintet offering traditional Irish music and festive holiday tunes. $30, children free. 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30, Hunt Union Ballroom, SUNY Oneonta. Info, tickets, www.catskillsymphony.net.
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plentiful along Route 28.
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