2007 GravityFest

We received some great pictures from Frank and Penny Roberts in Hubbardsville of the 2007 Gravityfest in Munnsville.

Frank tells us this is the 6th annual event held in Munnsville. They get participants from all over the U.S. and as far away as France. There are several different competitions.... Road Luge, Street Boards, Gravity Bikes (No pedals, just brakes!) and Skull Luge, where you go head first... Reaching speeds up to 65MPH! These guys are NUTS!

For Gravityfest pictures, checkout the Close 2 Home Photo Gallery.

Weekend Well Spent

The weather was not an issue at all for enjoying the past weekend's festivities at all three of our spotlight events. Record attendance levels were recorded at both the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend and the Great American Irish Festival. Oswego Harborfest also finished with about 300,000 people strolling the streets and the best fireworks ever. We encourage anyone with photos of these events to share them with us at close2home@wktv.com

Here's a picture from Harborfest:


For more pictures, check out our Close 2 Home Photo Gallery. You can also upload your own pictures there.

You can also check out the Baseball Hall of Fame Section & Gallery.

LIVE From The Great American Irish Fest

NEWSChannel 2 is live from the Great American Irish Fest. This event is a full-blown festival with music, food and tons of people. This relentless weather is certainly not damping the spirits or people coming to enjoy some Irish culture.

CHECK BACK TO THIS POSTING FOR MORE DETAILS AND INFORMATION.

Really Big Weekend

This is one of those summer weekends that it's hard to decide what to do.

NEWSChannel 2 will be broadcasting our 5:00 and 6:00 newscasts with Steve McMurray and Kristen Copeland on Friday from the The Great American Irish Festival at the Herkimer Fairgrounds. The Irish Festival is returning for its third year and is growing bigger each year. The 2007 Festival is Friday, July 27 through Sunday, July 29, adding a third day to the merriment. NEWSChannel 2 will be wearin' their green at the CW Teen tent, a new attraction. Other new events include a Gaelic Mass on Sunday morning with FREE admission for those attending. There will also be artists merchandise available and Irish food. MORE DETAILS HERE

NEWSChannel 2 will also be proud to bring you extended coverage of the Induction Weekend at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Activities for baseball fans stretch out over 4 days, Friday, July 27 through Monday, July 30. Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken are inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, but there's plenty more to do. This weekend packs in fans from across the country, resulting in hotels being booked up throughout the Central New York area. MORE NEWSCHANNEL 2 COVERAGE

A couple of us from WKTV have wandered a little further from home this weekend and made our annual trek to Oswego Harborfest. Harborfest lasts four days, Thursday, July 26 through Sunday, July 29. For those of you that have never been here, that's four days of food, midway rides, an arts and crafts fair, flea market, free music, giant fireworks on Saturday and a Country music concert on Sunday. This all takes places in various parks surrounding the River. This year, Friday evening will introduce the Harboritaville Lighted Boat Parade. This should be a treat with the dozens of boats that dock up to three deep on each side of the canal lit up with a tropical theme. Tonight's opening act is Blood, Sweat and Tears. MORE HARBORFEST INFO

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you may be. We'll be sharing a few pictures throughout the weekend with you, so be sure to return the favor and let us know how you're spending your weekend.

Honor America Days

Coming up this weekend it the 24th Annual Honor America Days Celebration in Rome. It is presented by the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce.

The kick-off takes place this weekend with the Honor America Days Parade and Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert taking place at Fort Stanwix National Monument.

Returning this year is Carl Eilenberg who will be The Voice of Honor America Days during the parade and concert. Eilenberg and his wife, Susan, are visiting Rome just in time for Honor America Days.

CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE SCHEDULE

The County Fair Circuit

The County Fair has to be one of the staples of a close to home summer.

The season includes the Oneida County Fair in Boonville, NY July 23 - July 29. The Oneida County Fair is an old fashioned county fair-rides, games, truck pull, demolition derbies and a world of agriculture and exhibits. Grandstand headliner Tommy Cash will perform a tribute to his brother Johnny Cash and the midway is one of the area's largest, Coleman Brothers. MORE HERE.

More County Fairs (if you just can't get enough):
Otsego County Fair July 31 - August 5
Chenango County Fair August 7 – 12
Delaware County Fair August 13 - 18
Herkimer County Fair August 14 - 19, 2007
and the really Big Show - The Great New York State Fair August 23 - September 3

Send us some pictures or stories of your day at the fair.

Welcome to Close 2 Home

The staff here at WKTV are Central New York residents, just like you. We all have our favorite festivals, restaurants, parks and getaways that are pretty close to home. We plan to share a few of our favorite Upstate New York places with you, but this blog and wktv.com section is really about you.

Send us YOUR tips about how to enjoy an upstate summer, fall, or spring. Share how you survive winter here and even have fun.

Drop us a line about your favorite places. Send us pictures of your vacations close to home or maybe your favorite bistro or band. We want to know how you spend your weekends close to home.

Add your pictures and experiences about our featured events and places in the comment section of each post. If you've traveled some roads and found some treasures that we've missed, e-mail us at close2home@wktv.com. If you have pictures of your vacation or your favorite spot you want to share, you can also e-mail them to close2home@wktv.com or upload them from your computer to our Close 2 Home Picture Gallery at WKTV.COM.

After all, Central New York is a great place to work and relax because of folks just like you. See you soon.