Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/09/2022
2:00 pm

Categories

• Community

We invite you to join us for the dedication of the new Peace Garden in FT Proctor Park.  
The dedication will take place at 2:00 on Saturday, September 10th at the Peace Garden on the lower level of the park as part of Proctor-Olmsted Day – Utica’s first “Proctor Day” Celebration since 1942.

The Peace Garden was established as a place for peaceful reflection and solace is dedicated to the victims and survivors of violence. It is also planted with native plants as a way to heal the land as well as the inhabitants. Its creation is a result of the joint vision of Phil Bean, Indivisible Mohawk Valley, the Interfaith Coalition of Greater Utica, and the Unitarian Universalist Church. The planting was carried out by Olmsted City volunteers and Wild Ones Mohawk Valley. Most of the plants were lovingly grown and cared for by the Spring Farm CARES Nature Sanctuary and the Unadilla Community Farm. The existing, historic cistern was refurbished by local mason John D’Amore and the bluestone cap was funded by the CNY Conservancy. The City of Utica provided necessary materials, compost, mulch, and gravel. It was truly a collaborative effort.

Also on September 10th, Proctor-Olmsted Day will be free and open to the public from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM. It will offer activities for the amusement of families and children and the young at heart. Activities planned for the day include:

– Over one dozen antique musical machines, large and small, will be on display and will play music evocative of the period when the park was open back in 1914, courtesy of the Carousel Organ Association of America.

– The Utica Children’s Museum and ICAN are teaming up to bring some fun to the park. Take a look through the giant kaleidoscope (shown above—it’s huge!) and make your own kaleidoscope to take home with you. You can also take a spin in the wobble chair or build something big with the Imagination Playground.

– Geppetto Studios, a Utica-based custom prop and costume maker that has done work for Disney, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, David Letterman, and Broadway productions will display costumes and props, including some you can try on for size – perhaps for a photo!

– The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute will have crafts activities for children and a demonstration of “plein air” painting—live open-air painting right before your eyes.

– 4 Elements Studios, a community arts center based in Utica, will offer pottery and clay bead making activities and will demonstrate spinning clay into pottery.

– The Italian Heritage Club of the Mohawk Valley will offer lessons on how to play bocce (Italian lawn bowling).

– Phil Bean, Chair of Olmsted City, will offer a one-hour walking tour, explaining the design, history, and evolution of F.T. Proctor Park, as well as recent work at the park and Olmsted City’s hopes for it. The tour starts at 11:30 at the pavilion in the park’s Rutger Street Parking lot.

Proctor-Olmsted Day will not be the only event happening on Culver Avenue on September 10. Nearby Thomas R. Proctor Park (F.T. Proctor Park’s nearby twin, a 5-minute walk away from Proctor-Olmsted Day) is hosting the Redeemer Cup, Utica’s local soccer World Cup tournament, starring teams representing Utica’s refugee, immigrant, and ethnic groups on September 10-11. For more details about the Redeemer Cup visit redeemercup.com

We hope you will join us for the Peace Garden dedication. Bring your families and enjoy the whole day out at the park! Please visit our facebook page for all the details at facebook.com/olmstedcity.

-The Olmsted City team