Asteri opening, food trucks, Farmers Almanac forecast, Moon House, weekend planner

Good morning ☀️

It’s Thursday, so keep it up. We’re almost through the week.

Later in this newsletter I’m showcasing some events going on around the Finger Lakes this weekend.

If you have any Finger Lakes moments you’d like to share, send your best photos and a short passage to JMack@gannett.com so you can help share the love with other readers each Friday.

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Without further ado, here's an update on a downtown development a decade in the making.

Asteri Ithaca provides opportunities for downtown housing, work, tourism

After over a decade in the making, Asteri Ithaca opened its doors Tuesday afternoon to a lot of promise for budding businesses and those struggling to find a home in the city, as well as plenty of fanfare from state officials.

The $96 Million all-electric development at 166 – 118 East Green Street includes 181 housing units - 40 with on-site support services for people struggling with homelessness – and the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center, poised to help fuel the city’s continued economic growth with bookable function space including an executive board room, grand ballroom, breakout rooms, pre-function space, and a full production kitchen.

The 12-story building is split, with the conference center and other community spaces occupying the first three floors, and the other nine dedicated to housing, developed by the Vecino Group.

Learn more about the development here.

Here’s some more of what you need to know today

• This modern NY home looks out-of-this-world : The seven-bedroom, six-bathroom house is centered around an indoor swimming pool and terrarium in a large dome-shaped atrium. From above, it looks like a moon.
• If you’re in the mood for a delicious pit stop in Ithaca today, the city’s food trucks have tons to offer: Check out this article by Mark Anbinder to get a taste of what they’re plating up.
• Are you ready for a wet winter whirlwind?: The Farmers Almanac predicted rapid-fire storms bringing both rain and snow will hit NY this Winter. Learn more about the forecast and NY snowfall averages here.

What’s up this weekend in Tompkins?

For those wondering about the Ithaca Artist Market , the event was recently moved to Friday August 16 due to some bad weather caused by tropical storm Debby. In its 32 year running a juried show and art sale, the landing is expected to be filled with live music, great food, craft beer, wine and cider. Check out this page for more details, and consider meeting some Ithaca artists this weekend. It all starts at noon Friday at Steamboat Landing.

August is National Fishing month, and the Paleontological Research Institution is celebrating by hosting “Shark Fest” at Museum of the Earth on Trumansburg Road Saturday . For the usual $12.50 price of admission, explore the museum and take part in shark-themed games, all while learning more about sharks. You might even score an ancient shark tooth to bring home.

Another, albeit less toothy, festival is going on at Finger Lakes Cider House in Interlaken this Sunday . The Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York is setting up a vendor marketplace at the cider house all day long, and farm tours will take place at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Although it’s free to attend, I’d personally blow way too much on organic food and craft cider, so bring some spending money if you’re into that.

That's all I've got for you today, but check your inbox tomorrow for more updates, and feel free to reach out to me at jmack@gannett.com with any comments, questions, or concerns regarding this newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: Asteri opening, food trucks, Farmers Almanac forecast, Moon House, weekend planner