We’re planning our first informal meetup this Saturday at the Food Truck Battle. Come find us at Chevy Court between 4 and 6 PM, in the seating near the kid zone and the bathrooms. Bring the family, grab dinner off a truck, and say hi.
If you're planning to come out, hit reply so we can coordinate.
Can't swing it this weekend, but want in on the next one? Reply with “meetup,” and we'll loop you in when the next one's set.
Here's what else is happening this week:
Photo: Clark Reservation State Park in Jamesville
TL;DR:
The Lineup: Syracuse Food Truck Battle takes Chevy Court Friday and Saturday with pop-punk band Mayday Parade headlining; the Mets are home all week vs. Rochester; Wildflower Walk at Clark Reservation Friday.
Live Music: Earth Crisis at Sharkey's (Fri), Anne Wilson at Landmark (Thu), Count Blastula and The Late Night Playlist free at The Fitz (Fri & Sat), the Syracuse Orchestra's 2025-26 season finale at Crouse-Hinds (Sat), Paul Gilbert at Sharkey's (Sun).
The Tab: Dakshin Indian Cuisine on Walton Street, a year into staking out South Indian cooking in Armory Square.
The Spotlight: Doula SeQuoia Kemp has been working against Syracuse's Black infant mortality rate since she was 18 — Crouse Hospital came to her.
The Build: Former Skyline Apartments missed their April 30 deadline to fix tenant-safety violations — Code Enforcement found unfinished bathrooms and exposed wiring.
The Block: Jamesville — Clark Reservation cliff trail, Jen and Kerri's Ice Cream open for the season, Robbie T's cheeseburger calzone, Brian's Landing brunch.
The Scoreboard: Crunch eliminated in triple overtime Sunday; SU lacrosse — both teams in the NCAA Tournament; Mets vs. Rochester home series.
…and more!
THE LINEUP
Events this week — what's on, where, and how to get in.
Featured Event
Syracuse Food Truck Battle NYS Fairgrounds, Chevy Court Friday, May 8, 4–10 PM and Saturday, May 9, 11 AM–10 PM. Tickets — pricing varies
60+ food trucks parked in Chevy Court for two days, plus a beer garden, Ashley Lynn wine slushies, an Artisan Village, and a KidZone with bounce houses and balloon twisting. Music headliners: Dangerous Type on Friday, Mayday Parade on Saturday.
Presale tickets are $5 through Tuesday, May 5 — after that, $10 Friday, $15 Saturday, and $35 for the Saturday Music Lovers VIP. Kids 12 and under are free, parking is free in the Brown Lot, and proceeds go to Seventh Heaven Rescue.
This Week
Syracuse Mets vs. Rochester Red Wings — NBT Bank Stadium, Tuesday, May 5 through Saturday, May 10. Six-game home series; first pitch 6:35 PM weeknights, 1:05 PM Saturday. Tickets
Warblers After Work — Beaver Lake Nature Center, 8477 East Mud Lake Rd., Baldwinsville, Tuesday, May 5, 6–7:15 PM. Free with park admission ($5/vehicle). Naturalist-led stroll for migrating warblers; binoculars to borrow on site. Details
World Ballet Company: Cinderella — Crouse-Hinds Theater at the OnCenter, 421 Montgomery St., Wednesday, May 6, 7 PM. The full-length classical ballet on a national tour. Tickets
GENIUS NY Pitch Finals — INSPYRE Innovation Hub, Thursday, May 7, evening. Five startups in CenterState's annual drone accelerator pitch for a $1 million grand prize, with four $500,000 finalist awards. RSVP
Wildflower Walk at Clark Reservation State Park — 6105 East Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville, Friday, May 8, 2–3 PM. Walk is FREE; park admission $5/vehicle (Empire Pass works). Leisurely 1–2 mile walk with an environmental educator — meet at the flagpole in front of the nature center. Details
Mother's Day Picnic at Beak & Skiff — 1911 Tasting Room, Lafayette, Saturday, May 9, and Sunday, May 10, all day. Details
Brian's Landing Mother's Day Brunch — 6523 E Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville, Sunday, May 10, 9:30 AM – 2 PM. First-come, first-served seating; no reservations. Details
Mother's Day Brunch 2026 — Marriott Syracuse Downtown, Sunday, May 10, 10 AM. Reservations required. Tickets are going fast. Reservations
Light Collage — Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison St., Sunday, May 10. Drop-in kids class — iridescent films, mirrors, transparent surfaces. Standard museum admission ($14 adult / $5 kids 6–12 / $2 EBT / free under 5). Details
Live Music
Anne Wilson — The STARS Tour — Landmark Theatre, 362 S. Salina St., Thursday, May 7, 7 PM. Christian-country crossover artist on her second album tour. Tickets
Earth Crisis — 30-Year Anniversary of Gomorrah's Season Ends — Sharkey's Event Center, 7240 Oswego Rd., Liverpool, Friday, May 8, 5–10 PM. The Syracuse-bred hardcore band that put this scene on a national map plays their 1996 record front-to-back. We put this in Coming Soon two weeks ago. Tonight it's here. Tickets
Count Blastula — The Fitz, Friday, May 8, 8:30–11:30 PM. Free, no cover. Recurring local jazz combo at the listening end of the bar. Details
The Late Night Playlist — The Fitz, Saturday, May 9, 8:30–11:30 PM. Free. Details
The Syracuse Orchestra: Grand Finale Masterworks — Crouse-Hinds Theater, Saturday, May 9, 7:30 PM. Season finale conducted by Gerard Schwarz. Julian Schwarz on cello premieres a new Jennifer Higdon concerto, with Diamond's Romeo and Juliet music and Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier Suite on either side. Tickets
Paul Gilbert w/ Greg Koch & Ethan Brosh — Sharkey's Event Center, Sunday, May 10, 6–10:30 PM. Mr. Big frontman on a three-act guitar-virtuoso bill. Tickets
Coming Soon: Davina & The Vagabonds at The 443 (May 14). Lincoln Auditorium reopens with Syracuse STEAM High students' first performance there in 50+ years (May 14). Disney's Frozen at Syracuse Stage (May 13 – June 21). Joe Satriani & Steve Vai at Landmark (May 17). An Evening With Cake at Beak & Skiff (May 30).
THE TAB
One food or drink spot this week — what to order and where to find it.
Photo: Meghan Martinez
Dakshin Indian Cuisine 216 Walton St., Armory Square Opened May 2025
You probably know the Indian food rotation around CNY — tikka masala, butter chicken, that creamy dairy-thickened school of curry. Dakshin's not that. Vimala Mohanraj has been running this Armory Square spot for a year on a different set of staples and a different flavor logic: South Indian cooking, which leans on coconut and tamarind instead of cream and butter, and lands closer to Southeast Asian than to North Indian. Per This is CNY food writer Jacob Pucci's review, that distinction is the kitchen's whole approach.
Hours are lunch 11 AM – 2:30 PM and dinner 4:30 – 9:30 PM most nights, 4:30 – 10:30 PM Fridays and Saturdays. Closed Tuesdays.
Where to start, per Pucci's pick: Chettinad lamb curry ($18.99), built on a Tamil pepper-and-spice base. The moilee shrimp ($21) is the coconut-curry showcase. Tandoori chicken wings ($11.99) and samosa chaat ($9.99) anchor the appetizer side.
Read the full review at This is CNY.
THE SPOTLIGHT
A deeper look at one person, place, or project in Syracuse.
SeQuoia Kemp and Doula 4 a Queen
Crouse Hospital — the busiest birthing hospital in Central New York — came to SeQuoia Kemp in recent years to build a partnership called Standing in the Gap. By then, she was already a fixture on Crouse's floors. In April 2025, the hospital held a Black Doula Day.
Kemp is 31. She founded Doula 4 a Queen at 19, supporting mothers and families before, during, and after pregnancy. She's a co-founder of the Sankofa Reproductive Health and Healing Center, which runs reproductive health and wellness programs. And she's CEO of Cafe Sankofa, which approaches maternal health through writing workshops and yoga.
Together, they’re a layered ecosystem. Doula 4 a Queen is the practice itself; Sankofa Reproductive Health and Healing Center carries the work out into community programs; Cafe Sankofa adds cultural and wellness work on top.
Photo: Dennis Nett/Syracuse.com
SeQuoia’s mother lost a pregnancy before she was born and talked about it openly as SeQuoia grew up. By 13, SeQuoia was being treated for ovarian cysts; by 16, she'd had surgery. So when her pastor mentioned the Doula Pilot Program at 18, she came in with stakes the curriculum didn't have to teach her — and went through it as the program's youngest doula.
"It really just sparked something in me," she told Kathryn Miller in This is CNY's Syracuse Trailblazers profile last week. "And that spark never really went away."
The stakes are high here. Syracuse's Black infant mortality rate is 14 deaths for every 1,000 births — the highest it's been in years, per the Onondaga County Health Department. That's the number Kemp has been working against since she was 18.
If you want to follow her: Doula 4 a Queen is the front door for her doula practice; Sankofa Reproductive Health and Healing Center handles the broader programming.
Coverage from This is CNY.
THE BUILD
Construction and development around the city, in plain English.
The Skyline Misses Its Deadline
The former Skyline Apartments on James Street, on the city's Northside, were supposed to be tenant-ready by April 30 under a court-approved agreement signed last September. They're not.
The Skyline has a long arc behind it. Built in 1950 as a 12-story “residential hotel” marketed for long-term living, it became, over the last decade, the building most associated with Syracuse's housing-decline story. Its prior owners ran it through years of failed code inspections — declared unfit for human habitation eight times between 2019 and 2023. A March 2024 fire displaced the last twelve tenants. The building has sat vacant since.
Chicago-based Clear Investment Group bought it for $13 million in 2023 and announced a top-to-bottom rehab — 352 units, rebranded as "The Metropolitan." The City sued in April 2025 to put Clear into receivership for failing to follow through. The September 2025 court agreement was the alternative: Clear stays on, the City keeps weekly inspection rights, and Clear had until April 30 to deliver something tenant-ready.
When Code Enforcement walked through the building after the deadline, CNY Central reported finding unfinished bathrooms and exposed wiring in the ceilings.
The building everyone has been watching in the news for years is still not safe to live in, and the affordable-housing units it was supposed to deliver aren't coming online on schedule.
Coverage from CNY Central and Spectrum News.
THE BLOCK
One neighborhood at a time — what's there, what's changing.
Jamesville
Jamesville, a hamlet in the Town of DeWitt, is anchored by Clark Reservation State Park and bordered by the trail system out to Jamesville Reservoir.
Clark Reservation's cliff trail is the geological flex. Glacier Lake is a plunge basin from the last ice age, and the trail runs 175 feet above the water. Wear sturdy hiking shoes — there are some uneven trails, but they’re worth it. Five trails are open year-round; the Nature Center reopens mid-May.
Small play area for kids at Clark Reservation
A few of our favorite spots in and around Jamesville:
Jamesville Beach Park at 3992 Apulia Road — Onondaga County park on Jamesville Reservoir. The swim beach opens Memorial Day weekend, but the playground (rebuilt in 2021) is one of our kids' favorites, and the picnic shelters, boat launch, and trail access are all open now.
Jen and Kerri's Ice Cream at 6499 E Seneca Turnpike — about 1.5 miles down the road from Clark Reservation. Just started regular hours for the season May 1. Hours run Mon–Thu 4–8:30 PM, Fri 3–8:30 PM, Sat–Sun 1–8:30 PM.
Robbie T's at 4625 North Street — casual neighborhood spot known for a cheeseburger pizza and a cheeseburger calzone (the calzone is the one Syracuse food groups talk about — finished with melted butter, parsley, parmesan). Closed Sunday; otherwise 11 AM–8:30 PM Mon–Wed, 11 AM–9:30 PM Thu–Sat. (315) 469-3171.
Brian's Landing at 6523 E Seneca Turnpike — thanks to subscriber Angela, whose recommendation ran in Ed 3! Good food, cocktails, weekend live bands, and known for brunch.
What did we miss in Jamesville? Hit reply — we'll feature reader picks across the week on our Instagram.
THE SCOREBOARD
Local sports — what just happened and what's next.
Crunch eliminated by the Cleveland Monsters in triple overtime Sunday, 2–1 at home. The best-of-five North Division semifinal ended at the Upstate Medical University Arena. Forward Jakob Pelletier won the AHL's Sollenberger Trophy as scoring champion (77 points in 63 games) — only the second Crunch player ever to claim the title. His 20-game scoring streak was the longest the AHL has seen in 17+ years.
Syracuse Mets vs. Rochester Red Wings. Six-game home series at NBT Bank Stadium runs Tuesday, May 5, through Saturday, May 10. First pitch 6:35 PM Tuesday through Friday, 1:05 PM Saturday. Schedule
SU lacrosse, both teams in the NCAA Tournament. Men host Yale Saturday, May 10, 5 PM at the JMA Wireless Dome (No. 6 seed). Women open against Loyola Friday, May 8, 7 PM. Bracket
THE KEEPER
A local pet looking for a home.
Meet Bella! She is a 7-month-old Anatolian Shepherd/Hound weighing in at 42 lbs. She is spayed and does well with other dogs.
This week’s Keeper is ready for adoption at Helping Hounds Dog Rescue.
Here’s what the Helping Hounds team has to say about Bella: “Bella is a very sweet and playful girl who loves the attention of people and has been with adults and teenagers. She has not been with any young children, but she is a puppy and should be fine with respectful kids. Bella does well with other dogs. Bella, as with all puppies is still learning the way the world works and will thrive in a home that will help her become her best self.”
THE CLUB
Your space — reply and join the conversation.
Last week's question (the dish in Syracuse nobody talks about) is still open. Trying a different angle this week.
This week's question: Mother's Day is Sunday — what's a Syracuse memory with your mom, or the mom-figure who shaped your taste? A place, a meal, a Sunday morning, a drive. Hit reply. Best answers run next week.
THE VIEW
One photo from the week — from us, or from you.
Perfect Spring afternoon at Jamesville Beach Park
Every Tuesday, in your inbox.
Join the club.
— Salt City Club Team