Looking for a new conversation piece to hang on the wall of your new Saratoga vacation home? Two priceless paintings, previously owned by the “Queen of Saratoga,” Marylou Whitney, which were painted by famed English horse painter Sir Alfred James Munnings, are hitting the auction block at Sotheby’s in New York City on January 31.
The pair of paintings will be included in the upcoming Sotheby’s “19th Century European Art” showcase and include Munnings’ My Horse Anarchist (see below), which has an estimated value of between $200,000-$300,000; and the much more sought-after of the two, Mahmoud Being Saddled for the Derby (above), which has a predicted hammer-price in excess of $3.5 million.
The most ever realized for a single Munnings painting was a touch over $7.8 million in 2004 for his painting, The Red Prince Mare, also sold by Sotheby’s; previously, the painting had realized $4.3 million at Christie’s in 1999. In other words, Whitney’s Mahmoud Being Saddled for the Derby could be on its way to becoming one of the top Munnings to ever reach the auction block.
Sir Alfred James Munnings, P.R.A., R.W.S., ‘My Horse Anarchist,’ signed A J Munnings (lower left), oil on canvas, 20¼ by 30⅛ in. 51.1 by 76.5 cm (Sotheby’s New York)
According to Sotheby’s, Mahmoud Being Saddled for the Derby was commissioned by horse breeder Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, to commemorate his horse Mahmoud’s big win in the Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs in England in 1936 (the horse was also victorious in the Champagne Stakes and Richmond Stakes, both run in England the previous year). In 1940, an American consortium of race horse owners purchased Mahmoud from Aga Khan, led by Marylou’s second husband Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney. Mahmoud went on to become a star stallion at the Whitney’s Kentucky barn.
The freak respite of warm weather that hit the Capital Region last weekend feels like it was months ago at this point, as new freezing temperatures and snow have settled in. Lucky for us here in Upstate New York, though, we love our cold weather—and this weekend will bring a bevy of winter-weather fun, including ice bars and winter festivals to help embrace the new deep freeze.
Right here in Saratoga Springs, there are two big events this weekend where the frozen masses can pop in and grab a warm cure for their latest bout of cabin fever. On Saturday, January 25, the Great Nor’easter Winter Beer Fest will be hitting the Saratoga Springs City Center from 2-6pm. In addition to a souvenir tasting glass, this wintry beer celebration includes more than 50 craft beers to sample from, plus a chance to meet and greet brewers and owners from at least 20 different breweries. Just a few blocks away on the same day, starting at 6:30pm (perfect timing to make it a twofer), the Adelphi Hotel is throwing its Dead of Winter Spirit Experience with hors d’oeuvres, live food stations, cash bar and spooky presentations by Ray and Kira Feurstein of Other Worlds Energies Lab, a paranormal scientific research group.
Head about 45 minutes north of Saratoga and enjoy the kickoff to The Sagamore Resort’s rollout of its 2020 Glacier Ice Bar & Lounge. Running this Friday and Saturday,January 24-25 and next weekend, January 31-February 1, this annual affair of exquisite ice sculptures and ice bars will feature a Roaring Twenties theme for the new decade. Also running this weekend and next weekend will be the Adirondack Brewery’s popular Funky Ice Fest in Lake George Village, which will show off its new “Frozen Forest” for patrons to explore. Or, to get your blood pumping, enjoy some skiing, food and drink specials, snow wagon rides and live music during West Mountain’s Snow Fest 2020 in Queensbury on January 25.
And that’s not even the complete list of sub-zero happenings this weekend. Take a look at saratoga living‘s hand-curated calendar below.
Take part in some LEGOs-themed fun during the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s annual Kids Day
Tuesday, January 21
The Rochmon Record Club will meet at Caffè Lena to listen to and discuss Janis Joplin’s iconic 1971 album Pearl
Wednesday, January 22
Comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham will bring his new international tour “Jeff Dunham: Seriously!?” to Albany’s Times Union Center
Thursday, January 23
Irish-American roots musicians We Banjo 3 will be playing two shows at Caffè Lena
Visit Skidmore’s Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery for the launch of Roommate: Living with Tang Art, the museum’s new art loan program for students
Learn the ins and outs of publishing as acclaimed author Courtney Maum discusses her new book Before and After the Book Dealat Rhinebeck’s Oblong Books & Music
Friday, January 24
This weekend and next weekend, enjoy specialty cocktails and warm bites to eat during the Forest Ice Bar at the Holiday Inn Resort Lake George
‘The Pieces I Am’ pays tribute to late literary icon Toni Morrison, who taught at UAlbany. (Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
The New York State Writers Institute presents a Tribute to Toni Morrison, a film screening and remembrance at Page Hall in UAlbany’s downtown campus
Don’t miss Afrobeats Live with Teni and The G4 Boyz at the Palace Theatre in Albany
Enjoy some Comedy After Dark at the Park Theater in Glens Falls with headliner and “Mystery Science Theater 3000” host Jonah Ray
Join Mystery Science Theater 3000 host Jonah Ray at Proctors in Schenectady for a live discussion and a screening of Weird Al Yankovic’s cult classic comedy UHF!
Hip hop artist Fetty Wap is coming to the Upstate Concert Hall in Clifton Park with special guest Untouched
Beethoven would probably be humming “Ode to Joy” right now if he could see what the Capital Region (and the rest of the globe) has in store for him this year. In honor of the composer’s 250th birthday, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, which last week announced its full classical season, will perform this summer all nine of Beethoven’s timeless symphonies. And this week, the Albany Symphony announced its own impressive season inspired by Beethoven’s heroism and innovation. The symphony’s new slate of programming will kick off in fall 2020 and feature everything from the North American premiere of a Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra by legendary film composer John Williams to a very ambitious Beethoven “Mega-Concert” in mid-December.
“In 2020, Beethoven is going to be ubiquitous across the globe,” David Alan Miller, the Albany Symphony’s Grammy-winning conductor, tells saratoga living. “Being the Albany Symphony, we wanted to not just do the typical thing, but also really glean lessons from Beethoven and his work.”
To that end, December 12 – 13, the symphony will perform a recreation of Beethoven’s colossal 1808 “Mega-Concert.” More than two centuries ago, this mind-blowing exposition provided a stage for world premieres of some of Beethoven’s most enduring works, including the famed Symphony No. 5 and the virtuosic Piano Concerto No. 4 (with Beethoven as soloist). By all accounts, the original concert was a bit of a disaster, as it was under-rehearsed and performed in a very cold hall in late-December. Plus, the final piece of the show, the Choral Fantasy, had to be restarted because it fell apart. “We’re not trying to replicate those aspects of the concert,” says Miller, with a laugh. “We’re going to give [the audience] an incredible performance of this unbelievable cornucopia of masterworks.”
Although the Albany Symphony has only one enormous Beethoven bash planned, Miller says that Beethoven’s spirit suffuses the whole season, which will feature popular opuses by other innovative and inspiring composers such as Rachmaninoff, Mozart, Debussy and at least four world premieres.
Take a look at the full schedule below:
Saturday, October 24 Opening Night: Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto
David Alan Miller, conductor
Inon Barnaton, piano Coincident Dances (Montgomery) Piano Concerto No. 3 (Rachmaninoff) Concerto for Orchestra (Bartók)
Saturday, November 14
The Planets!
David Alan Miller, conductor
Albany Pro Musica Women’s Chorus Concerto for Orchestra—world premiere (Cuong) Unnamed world premiere (Myers) The Planets (Holst)
Sunday, December 6 Magic of Christmas
David Alan Miller, conductor
This Holiday concert will feature a host of carols and holiday favorites highlighting the talent of local performers, schools and ensembles.
Saturday, December 12 Part I: Beethoven 250th—A Recreation of Beethoven’s 1808 “Mega-Concert”
David Alan Miller, conductor Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” Ah! Perfido, concert aria Gloria, from Mass in C major Piano Concerto No. 4
Sunday, December 13 Part II: Beethoven 250th—A Recreation of Beethoven’s 1808 “Mega-Concert”
Symphony No. 5 Sanctus, from the Mass in C major
Extemporized fantasia for piano Choral Fantasy
Saturday, January 9, 2021 Scheherazade at Proctors!
Erina Yashima, guest conductor
Maya Buchanan, violin Violin Concerto (Glazunov) Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov) A Child’s Dream of Toys (Fung)
Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14, 2021 Valentine Romance
David Alan Miller, conductor
Peter Kolkay, bassoon Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 2 (Falla) Don Juan (R. Strauss) Bassoon Concerto (Rouse) Symphony No. 3 “Rhenish” (Schumann)
Sunday, March 21 and Monday, March 22, 2021 Sunday Symphony & Monday Music These engaging, hourlong concerts will feature Maestro David Alan Miller dressing up in costume to portray figures from music history and his own imagination.
Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14, 2021 Mozart, Haydn & Vivaldi
David Alan Miller, conductor
The Bard College Chambers Singers and The Bard Festival Chorale
Dr. Karen Hosmer, oboe Symphony No. 46 (Haydn) Requiem—world premiere (Tsontakis) Symphony No. 39 (Mozart) Oboe Concerto (Vivaldi)
Saturday, April 24, 2021 Fountains of Rome
David Alan Miller, conductor
Richard O’Neill, viola La Mer (Debussy) Apu: Tone Poem for Orchestra (Frank) Fountains of Rome (Respighi) Viola Concerto (Walton)
Saturday, May 1, 2021 A Salute to John Williams—Stars Wars & More, The Sequel!
David Alan Miller, conductor
Albany Symphony celebrates the music of American film composer John Williams by playing highlights from his most popular scores including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Superman,Raiders of the Lost Ark and more.
Friday, June 11, 2021 Dogs of Desire at the American Music Festival The Albany Symphony’s acclaimed and innovative ensemble, Dogs of Desire, will return to perform newly written works by captivating contemporary composers.
Saturday, June 12, 2021 American Music Festival—Drums Along the Hudson
David Alan Miller, conductor
Soloists: Evelyn Glennie, percussion; Gloria Cheng, piano; and Molly Joyce, vocalist
Unnamed world premiere (Shekhar) Cikirikcilar Hill – Percussion Concerto (Ince) Songs—world premiere (Joyce/Theofanidis) Scherzo for Piano and Orchestra—North American premiere (Williams)
What do craft beers and classic cars have in common? It turns out, quite a bit, if you’re talking about Craft on Wheels, a new on-the-go craft beer and bartending service in a—1957 Ford truck. That’s right, the yellow Craft on Wheels truck is customized to serve up to six beverage options from a unique built-in tap system. The Glens Falls-based bartending service officially opened for business on December 30 and since then, reservations have been, er, pouring in.
“We started advertising on social media just over a week ago, and already we’ve booked two weddings, a festival and more,” says Jim Murphy, who co-owns Craft on Wheels with his daughter Erin and area bartender Connor Neal. (During normal hours, Murphy’s the director of marketing and corporate relations at Proctors in Schenectady.) The mobile bar, which serves most of the Greater Capital Region from Lake George down to Albany, was customized by Neal to serve up to six different craft beers, hard ciders or even wines (or a combination of the three). Full bar service can also be added for clients looking for mixed drinks and cocktails.
Murphy says that the inspiration for the bar-on-wheels came from one of his partners who’d attended an event serviced by a mobile bar company based in Boston. “We did some research, and it’s pretty popular in some bigger markets,” says Murphy. “It just hasn’t reached out here yet.”
As for why the vintage F-100 truck? “We really wanted to do a vintage vehicle—they’re fun,” Murphy says. “And when we saw this truck, we fell in love with it.” Craft on Wheels’ co-owner adds that the truck’s new light yellow color has also made it especially attractive as a backdrop for weddings, private parties and other elegant events. “We like to say that we serve memories,” he says. “There’s nothing ordinary about a wedding, but we’re about making it a little bit more extraordinary.”
Murphy and his partners are bullish about the mobile bar’s future. If Craft on Wheels can continue gaining speed, says Murphy, he and the other co-owners might add a second vehicle by the end of the year. The local mobile bar has even been pushing its delivery range, recently bartending at a site more than 100 miles away in the Berkshires. What about expanding into other markets? Murphy laughs and says, “Maybe, but one step at a time.”
The ants came marching in droves—and the Hall just stamped them all out. Despite garnering more than 1 million votes in the 2020 Rock and Rock Hall of Fame fan vote, perennial Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) favorite and jam band powerhouse, the Dave Matthews Band, didn’t receive this year’s call to the Hall.
Almost immediately, fans of the band took to Twitter to tweet their dismay—although there was a sizable group that felt their snub was justified. The other major snub, at least as far as social media was concerned, was ’70s/’80s rocker Pat Benatar, who’s played SPAC three times since 1981.
Even though Dave and company (and Benatar) didn’t make this year’s cut, a number of other notable names that have appeared at SPAC throughout the years did. These include the late Whitney Houston, who played the arts center a number of times, even supporting a No.1 record one of the nights she was there; the Doobie Brothers, who rocked SPAC just last summer in support of now-fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Santana; the Nine Inch Nails, who first appeared at SPAC on the 1991 Lollapalooza tour as relative unknowns, only to headline the venue later in their career; and electronic rockers Depeche Mode, who appeared at the venue a single time in 1990.
The list of inductees was rounded out by ’70s glam rockers T. Rex and hip-hop heavyweight the Notorious B.I.G. (which we were all listening to, nonstop, at Saratoga Springs High School, circa 1998—and who daily makes the playlists at my Troy gym, anatomie).
This year’s recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award include Jon Landau, one-time Rolling Stone journalist and longtime Bruce Springsteen manager; and entertainment executive Irving Azoff, who made last year’s Billboard Power 100.
The 35th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will this year take place on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, OH. For the first time ever, the event will be broadcast live on HBO at 8pm ET.
When it comes to phenomenal classical music, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has its patrons covered this summer. Saratoga’s premier performing arts venue has announced its full 2020 classical season, which, like in previous years, will feature a number of SPAC premieres and performance-packed residencies, featuring the New York City Ballet (NYCB), the Philadelphia Orchestra and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS).
“SPAC is celebrating the new decade with a 2020 season chock full of innovative and contemporary works that have never been performed at SPAC as well as beloved classics by our resident companies,” Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC’s president and CEO, tells saratoga living.
That slate of innovative, new programming that Sobol mentions will include 13 SPAC premieres for the Philadelphia Orchestra’s season (including an evening of highlights from George Gershwin’s classic opera, Porgy and Bess), plus a single night of three different premieres performed by the NYCB. The 2020 summer season will also include a truly unprecedented feat: the performance of all nine Beethoven symphonies across just four consecutive nights to celebrate the composer’s 250th birthday, all under the baton of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
“2020 also marks the global celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary and the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in America,” Sobol tells saratoga living. “That means Beethoven concerti, chamber music and all nine symphonies, and a record number of works by female composers.” In that spirit, CMS will close out the 2020 classical season with six programs all dedicated to Beethoven’s influence on music and all curated specifically for the chamber orchestra’s SPAC residency.
Tickets will first become available to SPAC members online, starting on Wednesday, January 15, and to the general public two weeks later on Wednesday, January 29. Check out the complete classical schedule below.
New York City Ballet: July 14-18
Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky/Martins after Petipa, Ivanov, Balanchine)
Tuesday, July 14, Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18 The NYCB will open its annual Saratoga residency with a full-length production of Swan Lake, which hasn’t appeared on SPAC’s stage since 2006.
20th Century Masters Wednesday, July 15 and Thursday, July 16 Summerspace (Feldman/Cunningham) Piano Pieces (Tchaikovsky/Robbins) Rubies (Stravinsky/Balanchine)
SPAC Premieres Thursday, July 16 Haieff Divertimento (Haieff/Balanchine) The Shaded Line (Tan Dun/Lovette)
New Unnamed Work (Muhly/Peck)
SPAC’s NYC Ballet Gala Saturday, July 18 This year’s NYC Ballet Gala will feature a program of exclusively jazz-inspired pieces. In G Major (Ravel, Robbins) The Man I Love Pas de Deux (from Who Cares?) (Gershwin/Balanchine) Rubies (from Jewels) (Stravinsky/Balanchine)
The Philadelphia Orchestra: August 5-22
Festive Fireworks Wednesday, August 5 The Philadelphia Orchestra will continue the tradition of kicking off its summer residency with a cannon-and-fireworks-rich version of the 1812 Overture.
Stéphane Denève, conductor Icarus for Orchestra (Auerbach) The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Dukas)
Suite from The Firebird, 1919 version (Stravinsky) 1812 Overture (Tchaikovsky)
The score from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ will be performed in full by the Philadelphia Orchestra, along with a screening of the movie, at SPAC this summer.
Time for Three/Triple Concerto Thursday, August 6
Stéphane Denève, conductor
Overture to Candide (Bernstein)
Triple Concerto – East Coast Premiere (Puts)
Symphony No. 4 (Brahms)
Beethoven 2020 | Joshua Bell Returns Friday, August 7
Stéphane Denève, conductor
Soloists: Joshua Bell, violin, Steven Isserlis, cello, and Jeremy Denk, piano
Triple Concerto (Beethoven)
Ein Heldenleben (Strauss)
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert Saturday, August 8
Lucas Richman, conductor Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, complete with film (Williams)
Beethoven 2020—The Seventh Symphony Wednesday, August 12
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor Fate Now Conquers – NY State Premiere (Simon)
Symphony No. 8 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 4 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 7 (Beethoven)
Beethoven 2020—Eroica Thursday, August 13
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor Climb – NY State Premiere (Hunt)
Symphony No. 2 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 3, “Eroica” (Beethoven)
Beethoven 2020—The Fifth Friday, August 14
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor Jeder Baum spricht – NY State Premiere (Habibi)
Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)
Beethoven Symphony No. 6, “Pastoral” (Beethoven)
Beethoven 2020—Ode to Joy Saturday, August 15
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor
with the Albany Pro Musica and the Pro Musica International Festival Chorus Pachamama Meets an Ode – NY State Premiere (Frank)
Symphony No. 1 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 9, “Choral” (Beethoven) Bugs Bunny at the Symphony 30th Anniversary Edition Wednesday, August 19
George Daugherty, conductor
Created by George Daugherty and David Ka Lik Wong Bugs Bunny at the Symphony 30th Anniversary Edition
Beethoven 2020—The Emperor Thursday, August 20
Louis Langrée, conductor
Jonathan Biss, piano
Piano Concerto No. 5, “Emperor” (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 5 (Tchaikovsky)
Porgy and Bess Friday, August 21
Marin Alsop, conductor
with the Morgan State University Choir Escaramuza (Frank) Coincident Dances (Montgomery)
Highlights from Porgy and Bess (Gerswhin)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban In Concert Saturday, August 22
Justin Freer, conductor
with the Morgan State University Choir Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, complete with film (Williams)
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: August 9-25
Vienna-Budapest-Prague Sunday, August 9 CMS will open its season with a concert dedicated to the cities that helped cement the careers of three of Europe’s greatest composers.
Quartet in C minor for Strings, Op. 18, No. 4 (Beethoven)
Quintet No. 2 in E-flat minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 26 (Dohnányi)
Quintet in G major for Two Violins, Viola, Cello, and Bass, Op. 77 (Dvořák )
Viennese Trinity Tuesday, August 11
Quartet in B-flat major for Strings, Hob. III:1, Op. 1, No. 1, “La chasse” (Haydn)
Quintet in E-flat major for Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Piano, Op. 16 (Beethoven)
Quartet in D minor for Strings, D. 810, “Death and the Maiden” (Schubert )
Beethoven’s Heirs Sunday, August 16 Sonata in A major for Cello and Piano, Op. 69 (Beethoven)
Trio in E minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 90, “Dumky” (Dvořák)
Quintet in E major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 15 (Korngold)
Speed Demons Tuesday, August 18 Trio in D major for Violin, Viola, and Cello, Op. 9, No. 2 (Beethoven)
Märchenbilder for Viola and Piano, Op. 113 (Schumann) And…They’re Off for Piano, Violin, and Cello (Tower)
Quintet in F minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello (Franck)
Through Beethoven Sunday, August 23 Petite Suite for Piano, Four Hands (Debussy)
Sonata in A major for Violin and Piano, Op. 47, “Kreutzer” (Beethoven)
Quintet in F-sharp minor for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, Op. 67 (Beach)
Inheritance Tuesday, August 25
Quartet in G minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 478 (Mozart)
Concerto No. 14 in E-flat major for Piano and String Quintet, K. 449 (Mozart)
Trio in B-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 97, “Archduke” (Beethoven)
Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Day will be a day off from work for most Saratogians and for many, it’ll be a day of reflection on the life of one of America’s most iconic Civil Rights figures. Saratogians are lucky, in that we have countless ways to celebrate the life of Dr. King. In fact, MLK Saratoga, a Spa City-based community organization, has planned an MLK 2020 Celebration Weekend of events throughout the city in the days leading up to MLK Day on Monday, January 20.
The weekend’s events officially kick off on Friday, January 17 at The Holiday Inn on Broadway with the 5th Annual Dr. King Challenge, which will include an opening reception, as well as artistic performances and live music by the Azzaam Hameed R&B Ensemble. Saturday, January 18 will feature four events, the first of which begins at 9:30am with a workshop presented by the Sunrise Movement, a national, youth-led organization that addresses climate change; and concluding with a discussion at 6:30pm presented by Yaddo on writing across racial/religious boundaries with award-winning author Uwem Akpan. Both Sunday, January 19 and Monday, January 20 will be equally packed with fun, educational events, including a A Joyful Noise! performance, featuring Soul Session frontman Garland Nelson at the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church on Sunday; and a Dr. King CommUNITY Commemoration Program at Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church on Monday.
Take a look at the rest of the week/weekend’s events below.
Monday, January 13
Local favorite DJ Dingz will be playing on the fourth floor of the Saratoga City Tavern January 13-14
New exhibitions featuring works by African-American artist Dox Thrash and etchings by famous Spanish painter Francisco Goya, will open at the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls
Proctors in Schenectady will present We Shall Overcome, a celebration of Dr. King through African-American music that includes spirituals, gospels, jazz, Broadway tunes and more
If you’re like saratoga living, you grew up on (and sorely miss) meteorologist Jason Gough’s weather forecasts. (To jog your memory, Gough, who spent 18 years on the air, was the meteorologist on NewsChannel 13 for 13 years.) As it happens, Gough is still offering up daily weather forecasts—but from his website, jasonsweather.com. We’re proud to announce that saratogaliving.com will be partnering with Jason on a number of weather-related stories, including his spot-on forecasts.
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Good morning! Yes, you can say we crushed records this weekend, not only by volume, but by margin. Yesterday became the warmest January 11th on record (since 1874), but that’s only part of the whole story.
Here are all the numbers from Albany:
Record high of 67° (57/1975); record high low of 46° (38/1933); record average temperature of 56.5° (47/1975)
Third-highest temperature ever recorded in January (71° in 2007 and 1932)
Since 1874, there have been 147 Januarys. Through yesterday, that’s a total of 4537 days. Yesterday was the 5th warmest of all of those.
As of today (January 12), well, we’ve already broken the record of 63° set 2 years ago. But, that’ll be the only one to fall today, as temperatures will start to come back to reality as we get into this afternoon.
It’s important to note that not everyone is basking in the early fall-like temperatures. Some cold air has bled down into the upper Hudson Valley, where it’s in the mid 30s from Schuylerville and Glens Falls to Whitehall. To put that into perspective, here are three separate area temperatures: Schuylerville (35) to Ballston Spa (42) to Schaghticoke (61). These 3 stations are 14-15 miles apart from each other! That’s amazing.
Rain and showers will continue this morning, with freezing rain and sleet well to our north and a line of heavy rain with a bunch of gusty winds to our south. Everything will continue to push to the east and northeast this morning, including the passage of a cold front. As that front moves through, it’ll sweep the rain out with a gusty northwest wind; some gusts will exceed 50mph. The wind will also usher colder air in through the afternoon with temperatures falling into the 40s and 30s before dinner.
Today’s Forecast: Expect a high today of 64, but by noontime, that’ll be down to 56 and by 5pm, 40. Skies will be clearing out through the evening as the wind continues; it’ll ease up overnight with lows overnight falling into the teens and 20s. Tomorrow will be much cooler, but still above average for this time of year with highs in the low 30s to 40° under a mix of sun and clouds.
Just as Marylou put it: Unquestionably, Saratoga Springs is “the summer place to be.” And now there’s actual data to back her up. According to a new study from financial services research firm GOBankingRates, Saratoga Springs is one of top 50 locations in the United States where it’s best to invest in a vacation home.
To determine Saratoga’s summer-slanted standing, GOBankingRates first singled out the top vacation destinations in all 50 states using data from TripAdvisor, then cross-listed them with the median home value via Zillow and median rent for each location (the latter was calculated using data from Zillow, Trulia and RentJungle). For those of you keeping track, Saratoga’s median home value is currently $329,700. The firm then calculated how many years it would take, earning that median rent as income, to pay off the value of the property by dividing the median home value by its annual rental income.
The firm also calculated the rental yield (i.e. how much cash the vacation house would produce each year as a percentage of the house’s overall value) by doing the inverse, dividing annual rental income by median home value, with the highest percentages being the best. In Saratoga’s case, the rental yield turned out to be a favorable 8.11 percent.
Now, if you’re champing at the bit for a quick return-on-investment, it might be worth taking a few steps back: Per GOBankingRates, it’ll take an average of about 12 years for rental income to pay off a home purchase in the Saratoga area. But, hey, as they say: If you’ve got it, you might as well spend it.
The list of 50 destinations include a diverse range of locations across the US. Nearby spots include Stowe, VT (3 hours from Saratoga) and Mystic, CT (3.5 hours from Saratoga). Saratoga also shared the list with big-time resort towns such as Hilton Head, SC; Honolulu, HI; Nashville; and Las Vegas.
If you were at the last saratoga living party—our first-ever “Saratoga Gives Back” extravaganza at Putnam Place on December 12, 2019, in which we honored our “10 Under 40” honorees and where attendees donated 50 percent of their ticket cost to 1 of the 10 charitable organizations represented by them—you would’ve been privy to the very best of what Saratoga Springs has to offer. In short, the city’s generosity knows no bounds (see: Marylou Whitney), and at last December’s party, it was on full display.
For Saratoga Gives Back, we flipped the script a bit, having our honorees act as the party-planning committee. That way, the more people they brought in, the more charitable donations would potentially be made to the organizations they were representing. And of course, some friendly competition broke out to see which organization could raise the most money.
Last year’s top Saratoga Gives Back fundraisers? Carmine DeCrescente and Matt DeCrescente, vice president and IT manager of DeCrescente Distributing, respectively, who were representing the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York.
In the end, though, all of the charitable organizations were winners.
And now, in a follow-up act of incredible generosity, saratoga living Chair Anthony Ianniello has announced that he will personally match the funds raised and donated to each charitable organization represented at the Saratoga Gives Back party. What a way to kick off the new year!
