Culture of Ithaca

Other festivals occur annually, usually centered around food, music, and/or spirits. These include The Apple Festival in the fall, with many different varieties of apples and apple products; Chili Fest in February, a local contest involving many local restaurants who compete to make the best chili in several different categories; the Finger Lakes International Dragon Boat Festival in July; Porchfest in late September, which includes an eclectic mix of local musicians performing throughout the day on an array of porches in Fall Creek homes; and Ithaca Brew Fest in Stewart Park in September, usually featuring tastings of over 100 varieties of beer from regional, national, and international Craft brewers, food from local vendors, and music from local bands.

Ithaca has also pioneered the Ithaca Health Fund, a popular cooperative health insurance. Ithaca is also home to one of the United States' first local currency systems, Ithaca Hours, developed by Paul Glover (building on the pioneering work of Ralph Borsodi and Robert Swann).

It is claimed locally that in 1891, Rev. John M. Scott and a local druggist, Chester Platt, invented the ice cream sundae in Ithaca, though other cities make the same claim. The local Unitarian church, where Rev. Scott preached, has an annual "Sundae Sunday" every September in commemoration