Location(s)

Forbes Magazine rates Syracuse #4 on America’s Best Places to Raise a Family list. To find the cities where families fare best, Forbes ranked America’s 100 largest metropolitan areas in seven categories.

Forbes looked at the cost of living, prevalence of home ownership, median household income, housing costs, commute time, crime and the percentage of young adults that graduate high school. Other New York state winners include Rochester #3, Albany #9, and Buffalo #10.

Check it out:

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/best-places-family-lifestyle-real-estat...

The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra features outdoor concerts in the summer all over CNY. Most are free!

On July 10th they'll be in ARMORY SQUARE, SYRACUSE
Grant Cooper, conductor
Rain location: Mulroy Civic Center, Syracuse
Sponsored by The Wladis Companies; Armory Square Association; City of Syracuse Parks Department

http://www.syracusesymphony.org/pages/concert-season/sounds-of-summer/

According to CNNMoney.com, third place for the most affordable housing in the US is Syracuse, N.Y.

From: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/real_estate/1005/gallery.The_most_af...

Median home price: $95,000
Median income: $64,300
Affordability score: 94.5%

A newcomer to the list, Syracuse is one of the many Upstate New York cities that grew up along the route of the Erie Canal, which made them wealthy. Syracuse's importance as a transportation hub continues to this day, with two major interstates crossing here.

Join the Stewards of Lipe Art Park and
40 Below on Saturday, May 15th from 2-6pm as we open Lipe Art Park for the summer with a new art
installation by local artist, Brendan Rose.

Wear your favorite beach attire, bring
a picnic, beach chairs, bats and balls, Frisbees, friends and families for an afternoon of fun in the sun!... We’ll provide the life guards and music.
Visit http://lipeartpark.com/ for more info and to learn about the new installation!

By John Mariani / The Post-Standard

Syracuse, NY -- You want fun?

Forget Vegas. Ignore Orlando.

Think Syracuse.

The Syracuse metropolitan area, at No. 17, ranks ahead of those two cities on the Portfolio.com Fun Index of America's 100 biggest cities.

Las Vegas, the nation’s gaming capital, ranked No. 26, and Orlando, home of Walt Disney World and a plethora of other theme parks, came in at No. 42, according to the business magazine's web site.

Location(s)

I attended last year’s Balloon Fest for the first time, by accident, when my friends and I decided to spend a day at Jamesville Beach Park. Upon arrival, we were surprised to see the park packed and bustling, and even more spectacular, to see the green lawn covered with an expanse of bright colors. Balloons were laid out as far as the eye could see, ready to be filled with hot air and take off, one after the other in a beautiful air parade.

Location(s)

Presented by the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, the 2010 Downtown Living Tour is scheduled for Saturday, May 22nd from noon-6 pm.

Its that time of year again to celebrate Syracuse’s second favorite season (after March Madness, of course). From February 11 to Febuary 21st, the city will be abuzz with activities for all ages. For the kids, there is a Kids Karnival at the City Hall Commons complete with games, food, and the Winterfest Mascots. For the adults there is Martini, Cosmo, and Margarita mixing contests along with Chili and Chowder cookoff (all of which invite the public to sample and vote for their favorite).