Cruisin' the Campus to provide family-friendly activities

Wintertime fun takes on a wide variety of entertaining, recreational and educational forms as SUNY Oswego President Deborah F. Stanley invites the greater Oswego County community to the latest Cruisin’ the Campus, a series of family activities and events in late December and the first three weeks of January.

All of these offerings—many of them free—await the community from Dec. 26 to Jan. 22 during Cruisin’ the Campus, as well as a bonus week prior to that at Romney Field House. Parking is free; no permit is required, but drivers need to comply with reserved, handicap and overnight restrictions. Children 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Entertainment options include the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Men’s Hockey Classic, women’s ice hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling, and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.

Recreational opportunities include ice skating, hiking, running, walking, basketball, swimming and shopping.

Educational events include the Shineman Center planetarium, Rice Creek Field Station, Penfield Library and an exhibition at Oswego State Downtown.

The fourth edition of winter Cruisin’ opens up a number of college facilities while most students are home on break:

Athletic events

The Pathfinder Bank men’s ice hockey tournament at Marano Campus Center arena will pit perennial NCAA Division III powers Wisconsin-Eau Claire and SUNY Oswego (a rematch of the 2013 national championship game) at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, following the Curry vs. Utica game at 4 p.m. The following day, Oswego will play the winner of Curry-Utica at 7 p.m., while the other two teams will play at 4 p.m. Tickets are $8 (free for SUNY Oswego students with valid ID) at SUNY Oswego box offices, online at tickets.oswego.edu or by calling 315-312-3073.

Both Laker ice hockey teams will play home games later in January: The women’s team will host Utica at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, and the men will oppose Brockport at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20. Tickets to the women’s game are $4 ($2 for children ages 5 to 18 and free for SUNY Oswego students with valid ID and children under 5). Tickets for men’s ice hockey are $8 (free for SUNY Oswego students with valid ID).

The college’s basketball teams each will play multiple games at Max Ziel Gymnasium in Laker Hall. Tickets for men’s and women’s games are $6 ($4 for children 5 to 18; free for SUNY Oswego students with valid ID and children under 5).

The women’s team will tip off at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 2, vs. Nazareth; 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, against Oneonta; 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, vs. New Paltz; and 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, against Cazenovia. Laker men’s basketball will lace up in tandem with women’s contests three times: at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 6 vs. Oneonta, 2 p.m. Jan. 7 against New Paltz and 6 p.m. Jan. 10 vs. St. Lawrence.

Admission is free for wrestling’s Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championship from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, in Laker Hall’s Max Ziel Gymnasium, as well as for men’s and women’s swimming and diving meets in in Laker Hall pool vs. Cortland at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, and against Geneseo at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21.

Recreation

Rice Creek Field Station and Fallbrook trails will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, Jan. 7, 14 and 21. Free naturalist-guided Rice Creek Ramble hikes will take place from 11 a.m. to noon each of those days.

Marano Campus Center arena will open for public ice skating from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Dec. 26, 27, 29 and 30; and from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 8, 15 and 22. Admission is $3 ($1 for SUNY Oswego students with valid ID); skate rental is $3.

The public can use Lee Hall gymnasium—bring dry sneakers—from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26 to 30, Jan. 2 to 6, Jan. 9 to 13 and Jan. 17 to 20. Lee Hall pool will open 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dec. 26 to 30, and 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 2 to 6, Jan. 9 to 13 and Jan. 17 to 20.

Romney Field House—again, participants should bring dry sneakers—will open from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 19 to 24, and Dec. 26 to Jan. 1; and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 2 to 6, Jan. 9 to 13 and Jan. 16 to 20.

The College Store at Marano Campus Center will open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 2 to 5, Jan. 9 to 13 and Jan. 16 to 19; from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6; from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7; and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Jan. 20.

Oswego State Downtown, a branch of the College Store, will open from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 28 and Jan. 4 and 18; from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, Dec. 29 and 30, and Jan. 5, 6, 19 and 20; and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Dec. 31 and Jan. 7 and 21.

Education

The exhibition at Oswego State Downtown, artist Joan Applebaum’s multiple-media “Land, Sky, Water: Watercolor, Acrylic and Pastel,” will be available for free public viewing at the hours listed above.

The college’s planetarium in Shineman Center will feature “The Stars of Winter” at 2 and 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 30; and “The Weird Lives of Close Binary Stars” at 7 p.m. Sundays, Jan. 1, 8, 15 and 22. Seating is limited for the free shows; guests are invited to arrive early.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, Susan Gately will present “The Environmental History of Lake Ontario at Rice Creek Field Station.

Penfield Library will open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 3 to 6, Jan. 9 to 13 and Jan. 16 to 20; and from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.

For more information, visit oswego.edu/calendar.