The Bear Hug- January 2025
Vision: The vision for the Friends of the Three Bears is to fully utilize the Seneca County Courthouse Complex buildings and become the heart of the community for fine arts and education, and as a hub of tourism for the Finger Lakes Region.
Mission: The mission of the Friends of the Three Bears is to preserve the buildings known as the (historic Seneca County) Courthouse Complex, implement art, music and other educational programs/events and provide historical building tours and area information to visitors. The Friends will accomplish this through fundraising and community outreach.
Hello Three Bears Friends,
Happy New Year! Last year was greatly successful, and we would like to take some time to thank you all for your contributions to that success.
Because of your support, we were able to host 45 events, 11 Farmers’ Market days, welcome 10 guest educators, were awarded two grants, and gave tours to various visitors and groups. We ended 2024 with our annual tree auction, where we made $790 thanks to your generous bids.
None of this would have been possible without your participation in our events and help from our volunteers! Thank you all so much for the various ways you have supported us and our mission over the last year! Your support of our fundraisers is essential to maintaining the buildings.
We have already turned our attention towards new programming to provide you all this year. Thus, we are looking for people who wish to volunteer with us. These volunteer opportunities include giving tours of Mama and Papa Bear during our open hours in the summer, helping to set up and facilitate our art and history programming, or helping us with other housekeeping tasks. Please email Sarah Byers at threebearsovid@gmail.com to find out more information or check out our website at https://threebearsovid.org for ways to engage, learn, and grow at the Three Bears.
Construction on Papa Bear is scheduled to start this Spring. This project will create an ADA accessible bathroom in Papa Bear, greatly improving access to facilities in this 180 year old building. This project will also secure the cupola, ensuring our beautiful buildings remain in good condition for many years to come.
For any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Thank you and we hope to see you soon!
Current Offerings
Tours of the Courtroom
By Appointment, email Sarah Byers at threebearsovid@gmail.com to schedule your tour!
The Friends of Three Bears is always excited to show guests around the beautiful 1845 historic courtroom. Please email Sarah to set up an appointment that would work best for you, your family, and friends. In May, we will once again move to Thursday-Saturday from 10:00am -2:00pm, and Sunday from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.
