Big Paint Day

BIG PAINT DAY SLIDESHOW

ITHACA, N.Y. – A bit of frost on the grass and blue skies as far as the eye could see on the morning of Saturday, April 24th were signs that even Mother Nature was lending a helping hand at the Big Paint Day at Stewart Park!  A huge success by any measure, the Big Paint Day brought nearly 70 volunteers to Stewart Park to contribute over 340 hours of sanding, scrubbing, dusting, painting, raking, and collecting  trash around the Big Pavilion, DPW (Former Wharton Studio Bldg.), and the Boat House.

The Big Paint Day began in 2008 by Dan Mitchell – owner of Ithaca Beer Co. and founder of the Ithaca Brew Fest – as a day when friends and family got together to repair and paint the Big Pavilion at Stewart Park.  Since then, the Big Paint Day has quickly evolved into an annual tradition.  This year, the Brew Fest donated a portion of its proceeds to the Big Paint Day in order to buy paint and construction supplies.  The Brew Fest, along with generous help from media sponsor, Cayuga Radio Group organized volunteers  from various community groups and the general public to come down for the day and work!

Some of these organizations included the Friends of Stewart Park and the Cayuga Waterfront Trail who have a vested interest in Stewart Park as well as groups like the Cornell Public Service Center, Ithaca College and Common Council, and the Sigma Epsilon Fraternity at Cornell University.

In the last couple years, State Parks have seen dramatic budget cutbacks.  While Stewart Park is a city park run on minimal support, the problem is greater than ever, and community members are stepping up to keep the park alive – a true testament of commitment to service within the community!  The Big Paint Day is only a small step on a long journey toward bringing the park back.  There is still much work to be done!

Check out the Ithaca Journal’s write up of the Big Paint Day here.