The Ithaca Festival is this weekend! It was exciting to see the creativity variety among the Ithaca community during the Festival Parade on Friday. The festival provides a space for the community to come together and appreciate local talents, creativity, and resources. It builds on human and social capital. Below are photograph of my favorite parts of the parade:

Today, Saturday, there were also several vendors. l met Ithaca fiber artisan Julia Gray at her “Wool Ewe Play” booth (phonetic: wool you play & “ewe” is a female sheep). I bought gorgeous merino wool batting that I hope to turn into yarn this summer, and knit with in Fall.

There was also a Hip Hop showcase of young Ithaca hip hop artists and rappers. It was exciting to see their vibrance and feel their energy in front of the Ithaca crowd of kids, teens, and adults. It really highlighted the local talent of Ithaca youth. I was especially looking forward to seeing Sammus perform.

SAMMUS is an upstate New York-based rap artist and producer with Congolese and Ivorian family roots. She is also a Ph.D. student in Cornell’s Science & Technology department. Her production is characterized by her use of uniquely chopped samples, and video game-like synths. She has been called a “20-credit” rapper because of her smart lyrics, diverse subject matter and versatile flow. As her Metroid-inspired name reflects, it is her hope that listeners and future fans will be pleasantly surprised by the contrast between the person society says she should be as an artist and who she actually is.