Strathmore homes become adorned stages at 24th annual Art on the Porches
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
A walk down Ruskin Avenue in Syracuse’s Strathmore neighborhood revealed an idyllic scene late Saturday morning. The sunny day was complete with handcrafted jewelry, live music and local artwork adorning the street.
Throughout the event, thousands of attendees traveled down the avenue for one purpose: Art on the Porches. Even traffic was blocked off.
Art on the Porches began as a “small community event,” the event’s chairperson, Emily Tiberio said. But since its inception in 2000, the arts and culture festival has evolved dramatically in scale.
“It’s grown into something so much more,” Tiberio said. “This year, we have artists coming from Utica, Otisco and all over, and we’ve managed to keep that small community feel.”
Historically, the festival has been hosted on the weekend following Labor Day. During its production, neighboring residents’ porches become canvases to display artwork. This year’s event — which began Saturday morning and ran through the afternoon — is the 24th iteration of the festival; cancellations from 2020-22 occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Local bands, like nonprofit musical group Unity Street Band, performed while families arrived. Through performing at festivals such as Art on the Porches, the band aims to link the community together.
“I’ve been here for 50 years,” Unity Street Band member Stevi Ladd said. “This is a wonderful mecca for artists who are not professional to show their culture.”
As they performed, adults broke off into their own conversations while children participated in art-and-craft stations and painted signs. The signs came with sketches of homes in the local neighborhood, and the kids colored in the illustrations.
Within the Strathmore neighborhood, community members participated in and supported the event.
“I live just around the corner in Strathmore, and to me this event has always been about showing off to people who don’t live in the city how great it can be,” community resident Andrea Farrow said.
There were other activities, too, like a canvas roulette. Contributing artists took turns painting on canvases in increments of 20 minutes before rotating and adding their own touches to the previous artist’s work. Another was a paint-by-number game, where volunteers painted portraits and connected them together on a canvas.
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT
Winning NYS Fair painting contest honored SU administrator’s family legacy
As a child, Syracuse University employee Kevin Costello watched Bob Ross videos with his dad; in August, Costello won first place in the Great New York State Fair’s arts competition.
Some vendors — like Soul Solder and Stone’s Marie Stevenson and CNY Art Guild’s Tracie Moore — brought their work to Art on the Porches for the first time. Stevenson spends her time handcrafting jewelry, specializing in a southwestern, rustic-feel. Other vendors showcased their distinct skills, highlighting talents like oil painting and flag making.
For Stevenson, the event’s hospitality was a major selling point in vending at the festival.
“It’s nice to be down in the city neighborhood where people can appreciate culture and art,” Stevenson said. “All of my jewelry is handmade, and I just feel like I’m in my element.”
The Giving Bean, a local coffee truck, embraced the fall day by offering a seasonal menu to the festival’s attendees. The mobile coffee shop sold specials like a caramel apple cold brew, iced apple matcha and apple pie chai for festivalgoers to try.
Along Ruskin Avenue, resident Eric Wise enjoyed the neighborhood gathering together. Wise has lived in Strathmore for decades and had strong ties to the event. Before Tiberio took over as chairperson, Wise’s wife held the role.
To Wise, Art on the Porches represents everything he loves about Strathmore.
“This festival exists to promote our neighborhood,” he said. “We’ve had people move into our neighborhood specifically because they love events like this, and they want to be a part of it.”
