With final exams wrapping up this week, it’s time to start thinking about winter break plans. The temperature is dropping and snow is falling, but entertainment in upstate New York is anything but frozen this holiday season. Here are eight arts, food, entertainment and outdoor activities to keep you busy during Winter Break.

Kazoo Festival

Camp Good Days and Special Times is hosting their annual winter fundraiser, the Joe Benet Memorial Kazoo Festival. Volunteers will perform and sell Kazoos at the first level of Destiny USA between Victoria Secret and the Disney Store Thursdays through Sundays until Dec. 23.

Patrons can expect to see the group kazoo winter classics such as “Frosty the Snowman,” in addition to some hard-rock anthems. Cookbooks, $1 Kazoos and candy canes are sold by volunteers performing Christmas carols, said Kathy Reilley, central New York regional director for Camp Good Days and Special Times.

“We are a huge ‘Frosty the Snowman’ kazoo group, we really like our Frosty,” Reilley said. “We have been known to hum a couple Metallica songs.”

The organization is a nonprofit program for children and families who have been affected by cancer. For every dollar donated, 90 cents is donated for a cancer patient to go to camp. The organization has hosted the festival for more than 30 years and continues to fundraise for cancer patients.

Symphoria

The sounds of the season will ring loud and clear this Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Crouse Hinds Concert Theater. Symphoria, a Syracuse based orchestra, will present their “Magic of the Holidays” concert.

The show will feature performances by the Syracuse Pops Chorus and the Syracuse Children’s Chorus, as well as dance numbers and a guest appearance from Nick Ziobro, an award-winning vocalist who has previously performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Ziobro, a Syracuse native, said the concert will be full of familiar and fun holiday tunes, as well as traditional pieces that celebrate the nostalgia of the holidays.

To add to the spirit of giving, Symphoria, a registered non-profit, will be collecting gently-used winter coats for the 20th annual Coats for Kids drive. All collected items will be donated to Syracuse children in need.

Dickens Christmas

Travel back in time to 1852 at The 25th Anniversary Dickens Christmas, which runs every weekend through Dec. 24. The event features local art and live holiday music in the heart of downtown Skaneateles.

Visitors can expect to see more than 50 Charles Dickens’s characters as they walk around the village, said Hilary Fenner, executive director of the Skaneateles Chamber of Commerce. Each day at 2 p.m., all the characters gather at the gazebo for a caroling session with the audience.

Fenner recommends trying the fire-roasted chestnuts and sticky pudding, as well as seeing “A Christmas Story—The Radio Play” at the Auburn Public Theater on Dec. 20. Other featured activities include wine tasting, a trunk show, raffles and a snowman-building contest.

Resolution Run 

Get a running start on your New Year resolutions with the Syracuse Track Club’s 41st Annual Resolution Run on New Year’s Day. No running experience is needed — the “fun run” isn’t officially timed, said Jon French, a member of the Syracuse Track Club’s board of directors.

French said the run is a relaxed environment, with some people choosing to run in costume. The 4-6 mile course starts and ends at the Spaghetti Warehouse and weaves through different neighborhoods in North Syracuse.

Around the 4-mile mark, runners will be treated with champagne at one of the water stops. Participants can warm up with pasta and chili from the Spaghetti Warehouse after the run.

CNY Regional Market

The Central New York Regional Market will add some festive flare to their weekend market sales this holiday season. With more than 200 participating vendors from 22 different counties, the year-round markets will offer handcrafted artisan gifts, holiday decorations and specialty items during December, said Barbara Cappotto, an office assistant at Central New York Regional Market Authority.

The CNY Regional Market also provides visitors with farm-fresh produce locally sourced as a way to promote regional businesses and farm owners.

The CNY Regional Market’s farmers market, located at 2100 Park Street in Syracuse, runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and their flea market is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. For more information, contact the CNY Regional Market Authority at 315-422-8647.

Dave & Buster’s Holly Jolly Breakfast with Santa

Fuel your holiday shopping this weekend with a hearty breakfast with Santa at Dave & Buster’s. Their Holly Jolly Breakfast with Santa will take place on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at its Destiny USA location.

The event costs $19.99 per person and features a full breakfast buffet — including scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, bagels, breakfast meats and a variety of beverages — along with a $10 power card for ticket games and unlimited video game plays, per their Facebook page.

For more information, contact Dave & Buster’s special events department at 315-401-3706.

Lee Terrace at the Westcott 

Syracuse-based band Lee Terrace is scheduled to hit The Westcott Theater for their final show on Sunday, Dec. 22.

The band formed in 2007 as a “passion project” of Kevin Metzger and Mike Sloan, Sloan said. Since then, they’ve accumulated the rest of their members – PJ Sweeney, Ian Doherty, Zack Parsell and Steve Graf – until they were put on an indefinite hiatus when Metzger moved to Boston for graduate school after graduating from Syracuse University.

Sloan described the band’s overall sound as “alternative progressive rock,” although it has changed slightly throughout the years.

Now, the band is reuniting to make its final mark on Syracuse at The Westcott Theater before Metzger leaves the band again and moves to Texas.

“We are so happy to have shared our sounds with our fans over the years,” he said. “It has been one fun ride with lots of great stories.”

Tickets for the all-ages concert are $10 and the show begins at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m.

Exmag at Funk ‘n Waffles 

Trio band Exmag will play at Funk ‘n Waffles on Sunday as part of their “Glimpses of a Vision” tour to promote their newest album release.

The band’s manager, Aaron Giles, said in an email that the band’s name is short for “extraordinary magnitude.” The three members – Eric Mendelson, Tyler Dondero and Dave Carls – use “celestial harmonies and ancient rhythms take you on a journey neither here nor there,” the band said in a press release.

The band kicked off their 11-stop tour in Pennsylvania, with Syracuse as their ninth show. It will end its tour again in Pennsylvania on Dec. 31.
At Funk ‘n Waffles, Exmag will perform with band Skunk City. The show is ages 18 and up, with tickets ranging from $12-$15. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show begins at 9 p.m.

Graphics by Talia Trackim | Senior Design Editor