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OTSEGO.life PAGE B-1
THURSDAY-FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28 – MARCH 1, 2013
WEEKEND’S
BEST BETS Gary Laing in his box at Damaschke. Luisa Montanti delegated part of her bid for guest conductor to Emily Stanley and Miranda Carrabba, who helped her win the spot at the 2012 CSO Cabaret finale.
Conductors Clash, Ladies Sing At CSO
Laing New Trail Boss On Damaschke Roundup By LIBBY CUDMORE
ONEONTA
‘I
used to sit on this fence and shag foul balls,” said Gary Laing, slapping the side of the Damaschke Field fence. “If you brought one back, Sam Nader would give you a soda or a hot dog.” Now, inspired by The Dean of Oneonta Baseball’s devotion to keeping baseball in the City of the Hills, Laing, the owner of The Shipping Room, is preparing for his first season as owner of the Oneonta Outlaws. “He took good care of us,” said Laing. In the winter, Laing and other neighborhood kids would slip through a hole in the fence to play softball on the famous field. In the summer, Laing got his start on the “grasshopper” league
and went on to play for the Elks’ Little League team. At OHS, he pitched a season with the Yellowjackets. And the diamond was where he met one of his closest friends, now-attorney Mike Getman, who is part of Laing’s non-profit Oneonta Outlaws Baseball Club. “He hit a grand slam off me,” said Laing. “We talked after the game, and we’ve been friends ever since then – that was 42 years ago.” “Encouraged” by his two sons, Josh, 10, and Chris, 11, Laing returned to Damaschke in 2011 to start watching Outlaws games. “Soon we were going to every game and getting to know the players.” In 2012, the Laings hosted pitcher Nathan Abel and first-baseman Zander Wiel at their home, and that expanded over the summer. “The whole team was coming over every night – we’d feed Please See LAING, B3
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im Maloney, George Wells and Mike Lynch vie for the honor of conducting “Stars and Stripes Forever.” Also featuring Irish music sensation Cherish the Ladies. 4 p.m. Sunday, March 3. Alumni Field House, SUNY Oneonta. Info, tickets, www.catskillsymphony.net. HOME SHOW: Jimkata return to their hometown to promote the new album “Die Digital.” $10 advance, $12 door. 9 p.m. Friday, March 1. Oneonta Theatre, 47 Chestnut St., Oneonta. Info, www.jimkata.com.
AllOTSEGO.life
Photos by Ian Austin/
For Fresh Look At Bridal Planning... By LIBBY CUDMORE ONEONTA
I
t may be wedding season, but Bobbi Harlem and Paula Fassler are NOT putting on ANOTHER bridal show. “Not Another Bridal Show” won’t just IF YOU GO: 6- showcase 9 p.m. Saturday, the latest March 2; noon-4 gowns or the tastip.m. Sunday, est cakes March 2, Car– Bobbi riage House, Southside Drive. and Paula wanted to host a bridal show like nothing anyone had ever seen. “We’re very excited.” The two-day event – its goal is to give brides a rehearsal – will feature a fashion show of 48 wedding gowns, vendors and a cash bar. “It’s so good, there are two shows!” said Harlem.
AllOTSEGO.life
Ian Austin/
Organizers Paula Fassler, left, and Bobbi Harlem make sure everything’s just so.
They arranged the runway “like a chapel” so that brides can envision what they’ll look like walking down the aisle, just like on the real day. Morris Tent Rentals, one of the main sponsors, will be set-
ting up a mock reception table. Upstairs, brides will be able to sample “culinary delights” and cakes. With over 30 vendors, there’s something for every piece of the wedding, including a kiltmaker who drove from Highland, in the Hudson Valley, to promote her wares. “She responded to our call for vendors and we were thrilled.” Vendors will be featured in 15-minute “Spotlight Specials” to lure brides to their exhibits. “One group is bringing a photo booth,” said Harlem. “They’ll even have all the props.” One of the important parts of putting the show together was raising Oneonta’s profile as a destination for will-be brides. “We reached out to places like Cobleskill,” said Harlem. “Most people aren’t going to want to travel to a show in Albany.” There’s also a grand-prize drawing for a romantic trip for two on Sunday.
Laing and his GM, Steve Pindar, scan venerable Damaschke Field from the bleachers.
BOWL-A-THON: United Way Bowling Fundraiser. Raffle for an iPAD Mini. $50 suggested donation. Noon, Sunday, March 3. Holiday Lanes, Southside, Oneonta. Info, (607) 4328006.
‘Love All’ Brings ‘Sex Cure’ Scandal Into 21st Century
EMPTY BOWLS: Soup and bread in a hand-made bowl you choose. Benefits go to the Cooperstown Food Pantry. $15. Noon - 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2. Cooperstown Veteran’s Club, 60 Main St, Cooperstown. Info Donna Bailey-Mackie, (607)547-9359.
By LIBBY CUDMORE COOPERSTOWN
C
allie Wright’s debut novel aims to bring some skeletons out of Cooperstown’s bedroom closet. “Love All,” takes place in Cooperstown, 1994, and follows the Obermeyer family in the wake of matriarch Joanie Cole’s death. Among her belongings they discover a copy of “The Sex Cure,” a real-life, “Peyton Place”-like novel by Isabel Moore (pen name: Elaine Dorian) that had the village astir for years after its 1962 pubPlease See NOVEL, B3
HIGH FASHION: The eighth annual CCS Fashion Show, organized again this year by seniors Abby Wilcox and Sara Breiten, is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 1, in the auditorium. COUNTRY BALLADS: The Deadstring Brothers debut songs from their new album “Cannery Row” with opening act by local band Esquela. $5. 8 p.m. Saturday, March 2. B-Side Ballroom, 1 Clinton Plaza, Oneonta. Info, www. bsideballroom.com.
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