This summer, The Stand offered a new storytelling series — From Where We Stand — in which South Side and West Side residents shared their families’ summer stories through photos. The participants’ photos will continue to be on display through mid-October in the Link Gallery at Syracuse University’s Cantor Warehouse in downtown. The gallery is based on the ground floor …

Writes 100K check to Mary Nelson Center Monday, Sept. 29, after attending the dedication ceremony at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Oprah Winfrey traveled to Syracuse’s South Side to visit the Mary Nelson Youth Center. She was invited by Nelson, who hoped Oprah would support her plan to add a basketball court to her center for local youth. …

Jeff Houston plays, writes and hopes to record as he battles cancer Some people say music is healing. Jeffrey Houston of the Jeff Houston Experience believes that wholeheartedly. Jeff is a local guitarist and bandleader. He has been performing since his childhood in a number of local bands, including Strive, Fresh Air, Soft Spoken Band, Positive Attitude and the J …

During third speaker series, keynote encourage Syracuse to have a wider vision William Shakespeare, Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein were present in spirit in the Onondaga County Civic Center on Sept. 24. Peter Park used phrases attributed or misattributed (in Einstein’s case) to these historical figures and others to buttress his arguments during his lecture titled “Remove a Highway, Improve …

Syracuse’s Underground Poetry Spot holds poetry slam anniversary Members of the Underground Poetry Spot performed original slam poetry pieces covering themes of love, relationships, authenticity and depression during its fifth anniversary show held Friday, Sept. 19, at Syracuse Stage. Seneca Wilson founded UPS in September of 2009. It was a way for him to engage with poets in the community …

Call for New Board Members The Stand currently has an opening for a community member to join our Board of Directors. Board members meet every other month for two hours on a Saturday morning. Members discuss story suggestions, events, advertising opportunities and workshop offerings.

Jon Speed: The Book Scout has an inventory of 15,000 books Jon Speed held its grand opening this week. The business hours are from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Owner Jon Speed brings 20 years of antiquarian bookselling experience to the Syracuse literary scene, and the store’s fields of specialty are: literature, modern first editions, Americana and …

Reception for From Where We Stand is Tonight This summer, The Stand offered a new storytelling series — From Where We Stand — in which South Side and West Side residents shared their families’ summer stories through photos. The idea was simple: put real people behind the camera and let them tell their own stories.

Market set for first two Saturdays of each month A soft rain is falling, coating a carton of Concord grapes in a fine layer of mist, as South Side residents pass by the Eat 2 Live Food Co-op. The building’s doors are shut, but a group of community members are grouped on the sidewalk beneath a white tent, resilient to …

Twiggy Billue’s book documents suspensions in city schools Nina Billue thought that her life was over when, after graduating from the Syracuse City School District, a school counselor told that she was performing at a third-grade level and she was not “college material.” The counselor then suggested that she should enroll in the military or in a trade school. “I …