The O-town Scene

Scene the O-Town Vol. 1, No. 8 www.otownscene.com 102 Chestnut St., P.O. Box 250, Oneonta, NY 13820 (607) 432-1000, ext. 255, editor@otownscene.com Managing Editor Cassandra Miller Associate Managing Editor of The Daily Star Adrienne Wise Publisher Armand Nardi Editor of The Daily Star Sam Pollak Cover Design David Fredette Contributors Sam Benedict, Mark Boshnack, Cherly Clough, Jemmy Delva, Tammy Doyle, Shannon Gregory, Trevor Hayes, Terry Ludwig, Jim Koury, Raul O’Toole, William Pharr, Emily Popek and Adrienne Wise. Circulation Director Fred Schmidt Advertising For info: 432-1000, ext. 222 The O-Town Scene is published Thursdays by The Daily Star Inc. Free copies are distributed throughout Oneonta, as well as parts of Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties. Member of The Associated Press and CNHI News Service Managing Editor’s Note Thanksgiving weekend is not only a time for fam- ily, pie and turkey, it’s also when native sons and daughters come back to town, expelling tales about their exotic adult lives in far- away places like Connecticut and Albany. Downtown, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is like a mini-reunion for those who went to high school in the Oneonta area. We’ve cap- tured some Kodak moments from that night on Page 25. This issue also features some exhibits at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, a must-stop for baseball tourists, but not necessar- ily something all locals take advantage of. It’s exhibiting not one, not two, but three shows focused on women. Almost makes you want to sing Spice Girls songs. Girl power. Two of those exhibits are full of portraits that one could spend hours staring at creat- 2 O-Town Scene Nov. 26, 2010 ing life stories for them. Our Casual Chit Chat this week is with one of the mu- seum’s curators, Chris Rossi, who makes the point that art is about stories about people. She also talks about being afraid of mummies and her love of the Decemberists and the Velvet Underground. That conversation is on Page 18. The Fenimore currently has a collection of paitings of one of the greatest portrait artists in the history of art, John Singer Sargent. I studied art history while at college in Boston, where Sar- gent is an adopted son of the city. I remember cramming for finals at the Boston Public Library, where Sargent’s mu- rals add a levity to the build- ing and made me feel more scholarly, although I don’t know if that really helped with test-taking. But his stuff is incredible. I was excited to see that some of his portraits of women would be hang- ing out in Cooperstown. His intriguing ladies are gathered in a pink room on the sec- ond floor of the museum through Dec. 31. This is the first exhibit to feature Sargent’s women in a museum setting. Kind of a big deal for those into art. And an interesting exhibit for those who just like to look at pretty pictures. December is a great time to visit the museum, with tourist traffic down and the museum closing from January to March. Our story on these exhibits is on Pages 20 and 21. _ Cassandra Miller

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