shot clock Armory Square

The 24-second shot clock in Armory Square pays tribute to inventor Danny Biasone who first tested the basketball game-changer in Syracuse. Now we pay tribute to the city with 24 hours worth of Syracuse fun.

(Michelle Gabel | mgabel@syracuse.com)

Festival season in Syracuse has finished and now we're living in the weird weeks between Halloween and Thanksgiving. People forget how to be social, active adults. Normal Facebook and Twitter posts are replaced with countdowns to the holidays.

People forget there's lots to do here. There's something to do here every hour of every day. So here's a guide to prove that.

To clarify, no one should do all of this in one day. That would be a lot of driving and a lot of money. It's just a reminder there IS something to see, eat, drink and do every single hour in Syracuse.

Missing from this list is the bounty of natural goodness we have in Central New York. From archery to early morning hiking, there are too many activities to list available at local parks and nature centers, and many of them are free. Just stop by onondagacountyparks.com and start browsing.

It's also important to note this list focuses on the city of Syracuse and a few nearby villages. There's plenty happening outside the city limits, but still in our coverage area. Don't worry, we'll get to those places too.

Let's start your day early.

Chris Deferio, barista at Cafe Kubal, demonstrates "pour over" brewing method at the cafe's downtown location.

6 a.m.

Starbucks is great, but local business is greater. Grab coffee from a place you've never visited. Every

Freedom of Espresso

location opens at 6 a.m. from Monday through Friday.

Cafe Kubal

's other locations open later, but its airport booth opens at 4:30 a.m.

Freedom of Espresso downtown: 144 Walton St.

Freedom of Espresso in Liverpool: 403 First St.

Freedom of Espresso in Fayetteville: 128 West Genesee St.

Freedom of Espresso in Franklin Square: 115 Solar St.

Cafe Kubal in Eastwood: 3501 James St.

Cafe Kubal at Hancock Airport: 1000 Col. Eileen Collins Blvd.

Cafe Kubal downtown: 401 South Salina St.

Cafe Kubal on Syracuse University's campus: 720 University Ave.

Sun coming up on the Onondaga Creekwalk for a bike ride or walk, Syracuse, in May.

7 a.m.

The sun rises a little later at this point in the year, so 7 a.m. makes a great time to go for a walk, jog, run or bike ride in your neighborhood or on the newly-finished

Onondaga Creekwalk

. It'll be fully light out by the time you've broken a sweat. Construction on Creekwalk completed in October, much to every driver's relief (especially those who need 690 to go home/to work).

Owner Johanna Yorke and chef Carl Helgersen at the new Otro Cinco restaurant, 266 S. Warren St. in downtown Syracuse.

8 a.m.

Have breakfast at the

new Otro Cinco cafe

, a spin-off of Westcott Nation's popular Alto Cinco. Although Otro Cinco only seats 16, an early riser will have far better luck finding a quiet seat with huevos rancheros, rather than with a burrito during the lunch rush. They're open late too, until midnight.

Otro Cinco: 266 S. Warren St.

Massage therapy works to facilitate healing after rigorous workouts.

9 a.m.

Did you sleep on your arm last night? Sore from a workout earlier this week? Start the day relaxed with a massage (by appointment) from one of the city's several spas. The

Spa at 500

offers one-hour regular massages, deep tissue massages or couples massages.

Rejuvenations Day Spa

also has Swedish massages, warmed bamboo massages and aromatherapy.

Elan Therapeutic Massage

in Liverpool offers "zone packages," which include aromatherapy foot soaks, facial massages and complimentary wine. juice or tea in addition to your hour-long Swedish massage.

The Spa at 500: 500 W. Onondaga St.

Rejuvenations Day Spa: 1735 W. Genesee St.

Elan Therapeutic Massage: 400 7th North St., Liverpool

The interior of Lashes, Locks and Lips on Walton Street.

10 a.m.

A massage may not be for you, but maybe you'd like to get a little dolled up before a day out. Tucked in a warm, upstairs studio on Walton Street, Aubrey James of

Lashes, Locks and Lips

offers professional makeup services, eyelash extensions and airbrush tanning. Weddings make up the bulk of her work, but she'll help anyone feel a little more glamorous, no special occasion needed. Men deserve to be pampered as well. Head to

The Art of Shaving

at Destiny USA to be fussed over. Hear expert advice on finding the right products for a perfect shave, skin care and other grooming needs.

The Art of Shaving: 9090 Destiny USA Drive

Lashes, Locks and Lips: 136 Walton St., Syracuse

A pasta dish at Pastabilities restaurant.

11 a.m.

Meet a friend for lunch downtown. Whether you're craving basil pesto from

Pastabilities

or beef enchiladas from

The Mission

, you can beat the downtown lunch rush by ordering food at 11 a.m. instead of past noon.

Pastabilities: 311 S. Franklin St.

The Mission: 304 E. Onondaga St.

12 p.m.

Remember when you used to read? For fun? Spend an hour reading at the

Onondaga County Public Library

downtown or browsing at

Books End

in Eastwood, which sells out-of-print, used and secondhand works.

Onondaga County Public Library: 447 S Salina St.

Books End: 2443 James St.

Paul Mercurio takes a selfie with Ophelia, the Pacific octopus, at the Rosamond Gifford Giant Pacific Octopus Exhibit.

1 p.m.

Bring a date to coo over

Rosamond Gifford Zoo

's stunning herd of Asian elephants, waddling penguins or popular patas monkeys. The zoo's collection of more than 700 animals will fill you with warm fuzzy feelings for the next 24 hours, guaranteed.

Rosamond Gifford Zoo: 1 Conservation Pl.

People tour the Gingerbread Gallery at the Erie Canal Museum. Marilyn Austin from Syracuse points out details on a Holiday Carousel display to her granddaughter, Natalie Wilson, from Naverino. The display is by Patricia Miller and Germaine O'Donnell.

2 p.m.

Check out new exhibits at Syracuse's many museums, art galleries and historical sites. Currently, the Milton J. Rubenstein

Museum of Science and Technology

explores augmented reality and, starting November 22, the

Erie Canal Museum

will host the 28th Annual Gingerbread Gallery, which smells exactly as delicious as it sounds.

Tonight from 8-10 p.m., the Everson Museum of Art hosts a Video Games Live Concert featuring music from the most popular video games of all time often including Nintendo, Guitar Hero, Myst, Pac-Man, Mortal Kombat, The Sims, Tomb Raider, Tron, Grand Theft Auto and Super Mario Brothers.

Erie Canal Museum: 318 Erie Blvd E.

Everson Museum of Art: 401 Harrison St.

The MOST: 500 S. Franklin St.

Three green tea cookies from Roji Tea House.

3 p.m.

Roji Tea Lounge

has weird hours. There, I said it. But that hasn't stopped me from slipping away from the office to snag a black vanilla bubble tea when they open at 3 p.m. Fight a mid-afternoon slump with their cotton-soft green tea cookies. They're open late too, until 1 a.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Roji Tea Lounge: 108 E Washington St #2

Shopping in The Sound Garden in Armory Square.

4 p.m.

While the weather is still manageable, now might be a good time to get some holiday shopping done. Instead of hitting up the malls (which are far warmer to get to come Black Friday), check out the boutiques in Armory Square, Westcott Nation and close to Syracuse University. If your family is full of Orange basketball fans, don't forget to pick up the jerseys and foam fingers.

The sun rises over the ice skating rink at Clinton Square.

5 p.m.

Ice skating in Clinton Square, which opens at the end of November, is a holiday tradition for many Central New York families. Get there before the sun goes down, weather-permitting, because its location makes for a particularly beautiful view of the sunset.

Clinton Square Ice Rink: 2 North Clinton St.

6 p.m.

Have dinner at one of Syracuse's new upscale restaurants.

Alfa Bar & Dining Room

or

Small Plates Detroit

both opened in the last few months. If you haven't tried their food yet, maybe it could be your next date night.

Alfa Bar & Dining Room: 200 Waring Rd.

Small Plates Detroit: 116 Walton St.

Megan Miller, of DeWitt, (front left) and Jennifer Roscoe, of Syracuse, take part in a trivia night at Stingers Pizza Pub in Manlius.

7 p.m.

If you're a Syracuse trivia buff, you never have to go a weekday without showing off.

Syracuse Trivia Company

and

SmartASS Trivia

are useful pages to 'like' on Facebook for daily updates on where and when to play.

This Thursday, you can find 7 p.m. games at Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel, Pizza Man Pub in Baldwinsville, Trapper's II in Minoa and The Lamont Tavern in Solvay. At 8 p.m., Meghan MacMurphy's in Liverpool hosts a game and our own syracuse.com music writer, Chris Baker, hosts another at Quaker Steak & Lube.

Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel: 801 University Ave.

The Lamont Tavern in Solvay: 108 Lamont Ave.

Meghan MacMurphy's in Liverpool: 7984-7990 Oswego RdAC/AA.

Pizza Man Pub in Baldwinsville: 50 Oswego St.

Trapper's II in Minoa:101 N. Main St.

Quaker Steak & Lube: 3535 Walters Rd.

Nadine Malouf (Nawal) and Rene Millan (Wahab/Nihad) in the Syracuse Stage production of "Scorched."

8 p.m.

Catch a show at one of the city's music or performance spots. Subscribe to Facebook or Twitter updates from Syracuse Opera, Syracuse Stage, the Red House Arts Center, Rarely Done Productions, the Landmark Theater, the Oncenter, CNY Jazz and Syracuse University to keep abreast of shows each night.

This Thursday alone, Hot Buttered Rum will perform at Westcott Theater, Joel Lindley will do stand-up at the Funny Bone, CNY Playhouse puts on a stage adaptation of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Scorched" continues to run at Syracuse Stage until November 10.

Westcott Theater: 524 Westcott St. (Doors open at 7 p.m.)

Syracuse Stage: 820 E. Genesee St. ("Scorched" begins at 7:30 p.m.)

CNY Playhouse: Shoppingtown Mall.

Funny Bone: Destiny USA

A Pole Position Raceway employee gives a demonstration of one of the facility's go-karts at Destiny USA.

9 p.m.

Got a need for speed? Head to Destiny USA for go-kart racing at Pole Position Raceway. The raceway opens at 11 a.m. every day and closes at 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 p.m on Friday-Saturday and 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Pole Position Raceway: 9090 Destiny USA Dr.

Destiny USA.

10 p.m.

Stick around Destiny USA or head to Shoppingtown's cinemas to catch a late movie. Last week's big release was "Ender's Game" based on the book of the same name, by Orson Scott Card. This coming weekend will feature "Thor: The Dark World" in 3D.

Dave Hanlon's Cookbook band (from left) saxophonist John Kane, lead vocalist Ava Andrews and guitarist Lee Tiffault perform in their record release party at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que.

11 p.m.

A is for Al's. B is for Benjamin's, or Blue Tusk, or Black Olive. C will soon be for

Clark's Ale House

, which is expected to reopen this winter. Downtown's staggering growth of bars and pubs is a major draw for locals and university students. Start with a group of friends on Walton Street and break out into Hanover Square or up a few blocks to see who's playing at

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

. They have live music booked every single night.

Have wine and Death by Chocolate cake at Bittersweet.

12 a.m.

If you prefer cream puffs and candy-colored wine to mixed drinks, head to

Bittersweet Wine Bar & Desserts

. On most weekdays, it closes at 11 p.m., but on Friday and Saturday, it closes at 1 a.m. Ideal for late-night sweet teeth.

Bittersweet: 121 W Fayette St.

Members of Dave & Buster's installation team plays GRID before their flight leaves Syracuse.

1 a.m.

Win your honey a giant bear or Hello Kitty prize after hours of addictive gaming at Dave and Busters, which opened last August. From Sunday to Thursday, they're open until midnight, but on Friday and Saturday, they're open until 2 a.m.

Dave and Busters: 10335 Destiny USA Dr.

A woman shops at the salad bar for lunch at the Wegmans Market Cafe in Fairfax, Va.

2 a.m.

Yes, it's hard to find food this late at night. Luckily, one Wegmans grocery store in the area stays open all 24 hours. A few local and chain eateries in Armory Square will stay open until 3 a.m. for hungry crowds after bars close at 2 a.m.

And there's always the legendary B'ville Diner, which stays open around the clock.

Wegmans: 4256 James St.

B'Ville Diner: 16 E. Genesee St., Baldwinsville

Both Planet Fitness locations in the city are open 24 hours a day.

3 a.m.

Hit the gym in the middle of the night? Why not? If your job has weird hours, 3 a.m. for you could be like the rest of the world's 3 p.m. Thankfully, Planet Fitness has two locations in Syracuse which are open 24/7. Silver lining? No one will be there to take your favorite elliptical.

Planet Fitness near North Syracuse: 628 S. Main St.

Planet Fitness in Camillus: 2318 W. Genesee St.

MaMa Nancy's diner near the state fairgrounds is open 24 hours a day.

4 a.m.

MaMa Nancy's

diner calls itself the best kept secret in town, and with its 24-7 service, it very well may be.

Whether you need breakfast before a too-early flight or you need to feed hungry friends after a night of bar-hopping, MaMa Nancy's will welcome you with burgers, wings or breakfast at any hour.

MaMa Nancy's: Cannon Truck Stop, 512 State Fair Blvd.

Les Fletcher, left, and Marty Connelly have breakfast at Stella's.

5 a.m.

Stella's Diner

opens at the crack of dawn. Many Central New Yorkers have been to this popular diner before, but few have tried more than one or two items on Stella's monstrous menu. If you always get the same breakfast scramble, try The Monte Cristo breakfast sandwich or the Godfather rigatoni.

Stella's Diner: 110 Wolf St.

This is only a slice of what Syracuse can offer. I tried to find a variety of different activities to discover, but there's always more! Add your own recommendations to the list in the comment section below.