Canton, NY, Mar 14, 2013 — You're invited to a preview of World Storytelling Day this Saturday night in Canton. A group of local storytellers and guests from the Ottawa Storytellers will host an evening of spinning their tales at the Unitarian Universalist Church (7 pm).

World Storytelling Day is next Wednesday. It's a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling, celebrated every year on the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, the first day of autumn in the southern.

Pyrites storyteller Jan Hutslar joins Todd Moe in the studio to share her love of telling tales with a story by Joseph Anthony, The Dandelion Seed.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Mar 11, 2013 — More than two-dozen teams of young cooks from Franklin, Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties gathered to show off their culinary skills in Canton on Saturday. Middle and high school teams with names like, The Bacon Boys of Brasher Falls, Peru Blue and the Massena Treble Chefs, competed for top kitchen honors at the North Country Junior Iron Chef competition at St. Lawrence University. The event was organized by St. Lawrence Health Initiative. The dishes were judged based on taste, creativity, presentation and whether their peers would eat them in the school cafeteria.

For today's Heard Up North, Todd Moe caught up with the Hermon-DeKalb Dominators -- 6th and 7th graders Garrett, Miranda and Cassidy, and their faculty coach Erin Green -- working on their Hillbilly Chili recipe.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Mar 08, 2013 — Bluesman Rick Bates (aka Tas Cru) and singer/songwriter Mary Ann Casale are hosting a series of concerts this spring that will benefit St. Lawrence County food pantries. The "RE-stock" series kicks off tonight with a house concert at Robin McCellan's home in Sandfordville.

Mary Ann and Rick joined us in the studio this morning, during The Eight O'clock Hour, to share their unique blend of folk/blues Americana born out of their shared experiences as young musicians when they met in Potsdam nearly 30 years ago.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Mar 01, 2013 — The sweet sounds of the St. Lawrence University Community Gospel Choir filled Gunnison Chapel in Canton this morning during The 8 o'clock Hour. Members of the ensemble, including co-directors Reverend Shaun Whitehead and Barry Torres, joined Todd Moe live from the chapel for a taste of gospel music.

William Hamilton, of the Chicago Mass Choir, is leading a gospel music workshop at St. Lawrence University this week. You're invited to move, swing and sing along Saturday night (7:30) as the singers present the tenth annual "Got Spirit?" Gospel Concert in Gunnison.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 27, 2013 — Considered America's oldest working woodlands, the Northern Forest -- stretching from the Tug Hill through the Adirondacks to the coast of Maine -- is also home to a remarkable range of traditional artists. This month, Traditional Arts in Upstate New York, opened a new exhibit that features art from among the trees.

TAUNY executive director Jill Breit says the concept behind Artists of the Forest is to showcase how artists are using the resources that are growing around them in the woods. The pieces featured in the show come from northern New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 19, 2013 — If you're one of the many cross-country skiers who enjoys the perfectly groomed trails on St. Lawrence University's golf course in Canton, here's the guy you want to thank.

Pete Ames is the chief engineer at the Best Western hotel. He volunteers every winter to lay 13 miles of trail with a snowmobile. David Sommerstein came across him while on a ski recently and has this Heard Up North.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 15, 2013 — SUNY Canton's interim president Carli Schiffner is resigning her post after six months on the job. In a press release, SUNY Central in Albany says she is taking another position in Washington state, where her parents live.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 14, 2013 — According to the USDA, there are more than 200 regional "Food Hubs" in the US. The USDA says it believes the hubs "offer strong and sound infrastructure support to producers across the country which will also help build a stronger regional food system."

New York recently announced funding for four more across the state, including one in Canton, through its Regional Economic Development Councils. Canton's grant is for $350,000. The details are still in flux, but David Sommerstein spoke with one of the project's organizers, United Helpers CEO Steve Knight, to get a sense of the food hub's vision.

United Helpers is a non-for-profit organization known more for health care than for work on food issues, but it's bought the old Community Bank building, on Main Street in Canton, to house its new for-profit business incubator, Sparx Corp. Sparx, says Knight, is a partner in the food hub project.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Feb 13, 2013 — Just in time for Valentine's Day, the Grasse River Players will present a love story as part of Canton's Winterfest celebration this weekend. "The Philadelphia Story", the 1939 Broadway hit, is the story of a socialite whose wedding plans are complicated by the arrival of her ex-husband and an attractive journalist. The show opens in the Black Box Theater at St. Lawrence University Thursday night. Todd Moe talks with two of the actors in the show.  Go to full article

Canton, NY, Jan 25, 2013 — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released his annual budget earlier this week, and since then school superintendents have been figuring out what it will mean for their districts. Canton Central Schools Superintendent Bill Gregory presented his findings to the Board of Education Thursday night.  Go to full article