History is being made—or really, remade in Saratoga County. saratoga living has learned that the History Channel will feature Grant Cottage State Historic Site in Wilton in a new, three-part documentary miniseries about the life of Civil War General and US President Ulysses S. Grant. Nestled on the slopes of Mount McGregor, just 20 minutes north of Saratoga, Grant Cottage is where the nation’s 18th president spent the last weeks of his life and finished his personal memoirs (it’s also where Grant’s funeral was held).
Slated to air this fall on the History Channel, the miniseries, which has a working title of Grant, will consist of three, two-hour episodes based on the 2017 biography of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Chernow. “The story of Grant coming up to the cottage will definitely be featured in the documentary,” says Ben Kemp, Operations Manager at Grant Cottage, who’s been working with the documentary’s production crew.
Shortly after it was released, the rights to Chernow’s biography about Grant were purchased by Appian Way, the production company of megastar and Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio in cooperation with Steven Spielberg’s Lionsgate. Last May, it was announced that Appian Way and Lionsgate would also do a companion docu-series in association with the New York-based production studio RadicalMedia, whose previous documentary projects include Concert for George (a tribute to late Beatle George Harrison) and Ron Howard’s Made in America about the music festival of the same name created by Grammy-winning hip-hop artist Jay-Z.
Ulysses S. Grant, center, with his family at the cottage in 1885. (Courtesy of Grant Cottage)
At the time that the film rights were bought, rumors swirled that Spielberg was in talks to direct with DiCaprio playing Grant. However, since last spring, there’s been no official deal, and production on the film is currently on hold. Kemp notes that even when the biopic does start production, it’s unlikely to do much filming at the actual Grant Cottage. “The State Park system’s not too keen on letting film crews on the site, as far as protecting the artifacts,” says Kemp. “It’s possible they could do some exterior scenes, maybe some scenes on the porch, because it does look great from the outside.”
While the Grant biopic is waiting in the wings, the docu-series is moving swiftly ahead. Grant Cottage has already provided production crews with a bevy of photographic and video materials from the site’s collection. In addition to this, Kemp went to RadicalMedia’s headquarters in New York City last November to do an interview for the documentary. “That was about a three-hour interview,” he says. “So I’d imagine there’ll be a few clips of that as well in the documentary.” As for whether the big motion picture about Grant will also highlight Grant Cottage, Kemp says: “It’s such a dramatic closing chapter to Grant’s life [that] I’d be shocked if it didn’t make it into the feature film.”
US Grant Cottage State Historic Site in Wilton, where Grant spent the last weeks of his life. (Grant Cottage)
It’s amazing that it’s taken this long for Hollywood to adapt the story of Grant’s time at Mount McGregor. Dying of throat cancer and broke from a number of financially disastrous decisions, the former president and general arrived at the peaceful Adirondack cottage that would later bear his name on June 16, 1885. Not wanting to leave his family destitute, Grant had made the journey up to Mount McGregor, which at the time was part of a luxury mountain resort, hoping the fresh mountain air would improve his health long enough to complete his memoir and collect on the book deal. That was to the tune of 70 percent of the book’s net profits, a deal offered to him by his good friend, the great humorist and author Mark Twain. Incredibly, Grant finished the final proofreading just days before he passed away on July 23. The memoirs went on to become a national bestseller, thus ensuring the Grant family’s financial security.
This won’t be Grant Cottage’s first cameo on national television. The historical site was featured on CSPAN’s popular Cities Tour of the Saratoga area in 2017,as well as on the Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum series, which also aired that year and focused on a peculiar artifact on display at the cottage (one of Grant’s treatments for his throat cancer was a large jar of cocaine-steeped water).
Interest in Grant Cottage has grown considerably in recent years, especially since the closure of Mount McGregor Correctional Facility in 2014, which lies just across from Grant Cottage and, like the two-story, historic cottage, was first developed as a getaway destination (the Hotel Balmoral) by Duncan McGregor in the late-19th century. “We’re excited to have exposure like the films and new biographies,” says Kemp. “They all help us put the site on the map.” (He’s currently working to have Grant Cottage designated a National Historic Landmark.) The site has grown so popular that it even gained the attention of US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who visited the site on June 17 to push for the national designation. “It’s great because Grant Cottage is the final chapter to a fascinating life,” says Kemp. “And the last chapter is the thing that people usually remember.”
If you’re a Saratogian, you’ll know that on any day there’s a jam band in town—whether it be Dave Matthews Band, Phish or Dead & Company (the latter was in town on June 18)—driving past or anywhere near the Saratoga Performing Arts Center should be done at one’s own risk. Translation: The traffic is literally impossible.
Thankfully, if you’re a fan of any of these bands—especially, The Grateful Dead (and its many post-Jerry Garcia offshoots)—traffic is inconsequential. It’s the music that matters. And, say, you don’t have a ticket to get in? There’s always “a miracle.”
Last night’s performance didn’t disappoint. Dead & Company—which is comprised of former Dead members Bob Weir on guitar and dual drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, along with Grammy-winning guitarist/pop songwriter John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge on bass/drums and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards—played a pair of sets, peppered with numbers by The Dead (“Hell in a Bucket,” “Cumberland Blues”); and a selection of covers, including Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” and The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence.” The band played a two-song encore of Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour” and “Playing in the Band” (reprise).
Contributing photographer Francesco D’Amico was on hand for the show. Take a look at his photographs in the above gallery.
You may have read a story I published in last year’s “Best Of Everything” Issue about one of my favorite bands, The Weepies, who were set to swing through town for a show at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. To jog your memory, the folk-pop duo consists of married couple Deb Talan and Steve Tannen, who write some of the happiest sad songs you’ll ever hear. It wasn’t the first time I’d written about the band; in December 2012, I’d published a story on them for a long-shuttered Food Network blog (sadly, no hyperlink), in which Talan had admitted to me that she could be a great cook at times but often resorted to her fictional autobiography, Cooking with Shame: How to Work Through Your Past By Burning Entrees and Bursting Into Tears. In other words, the tone of the piece had been lighthearted, and I’d had a blast working on it.
Then, the following December, things took a turn for the scary. The band, which has always had an active presence on social media, posted to their Facebook page that Talan had been diagnosed with breast cancer and would be undergoing chemotherapy. The grueling treatment would cause her hair to fall out, and she ultimately underwent a double mastectomy. But by June 2014, she was cancer free, and the band’s Facebook page lit up with notes from well-wishers and fans. I, of course, had been following all of this news intently, hoping that I’d get a chance to talk to the band again (but keeping my distance, knowing that it must’ve been a hellish time for the couple, who also had young children). Eventually, that second interview did happen—though, this time, Talan was a cancer survivor and spoke of openly of her struggles with her treatment. Also, in the interview came more heartbreaking news: After asking her, in passing, about one of the band’s more haunting songs, “Orbiting,” Talan confessed that she was not only a survivor of cancer, but also one of sexual abuse. The song had been a letter-in-song to her mother, whom she hadn’t spoken to since the abuse came to light. I remember thinking throughout that interview, as I listened to her two very personal tales of survival, how lucky my wife and I were not to have ever had to deal with anything like that in our own lives.
Ironically, when I jumped on the phone with Talan and Tannen for my interview for the saratoga living feature, the tables had turned drastically: My wife had just been diagnosed with breast cancer, and in a matter of weeks, our lives had been turned upside down. She was doing her best to cope with her new normal—multiple doctors visits, tests, results, biopsies, surgeries, hospitals, healing—and I, pardon my language, was just trying to keep my shit together. It was intense. Our family and friends provided us with a strong support system, but in many ways, we—I—felt very much alone. It was a daily struggle to stay positive. It’s particularly difficult for a creative type—me—someone with such an active imagination. One of the biggest takeaways from that third interview with The Weepies was that cancer—or sexual abuse, for that matter—shouldn’t be a game-ender. And Talan was living proof. In fact, throughout her treatment, she continued writing and recording music. Just listening to the band’s fifth album, Sirens, always gives me goosebumps, because I know it was finished under such incredibly trying circumstances.
Like Talan, instead of letting the gravity of her situation own her, my wife immediately embraced being a cancer survivor and the survivor community at large. She first joined some survivor groups on Facebook and then met them in person. Soon enough, she informed me that she was going to be repelling down steep rock faces with a group called First Descents, that hosted groups of survivors on adventures across the country, putting them up in mansions with personal chefs, all free of charge. (I wasn’t so sure about sending my wife out belaying so soon after her diagnosis, but as I’ve learned, it’s not super smart arguing with her.) And more recently, she went surfing for the first time ever with fellow survivors in Outer Banks, NC, and has been hooked on the sport ever since (she already has a second surf trip planned). Needless to say, she’s such an inspiration to me, and I couldn’t be more proud of her.
And that’s how we get to the subject of this story, which begins at 5:50am on a Tuesday morning at anatomie, the gym I frequent in Troy. My yoga instructor’s boyfriend, Alton “Albee” Daley, who attends the majority of her classes (and is now my trainer every Thursday morning), happened to be on the yoga mat next to me that morning, and since we were both a few minutes early, we got to talking. It turned out that he was headed off to medical school in the fall and had been volunteering his time at the American Cancer Society’s HopeClub in Latham. He’d also been working on events with a Saratoga Springs-based nonprofit called the Joy US Foundation, which offered cancer patients and survivors the ability to enjoy outdoor/athletic events as a way of healing—in the same vein as First Descents (my wife had been on that surf trip the week Daley and I had had this conversation). But unlike the organizations that had taken my wife on her adventure trips, Joy US invited friends and family members along for the ride. As a former college athlete and now trainer, Daley told me that he’d been so drawn to Joy US’ mission that he’d put together a “Workout for a Cause” event for the foundation at Uncle Sam Athletics in Troy, ultimately raising nearly $3000 for it. And he was planning on following it up with a second event, hosting Joy US survivors and their families and friends at his family’s home on Crystal Lake in Averill Park, NY, where there would be kayaking and yoga classes (courtesy of his girlfriend, Teslie), as well as a bunch of food and drinks. He invited me and my wife to the event, and we had an open weekend, so we signed on.
A group of the survivors, including Joy US Foundation vp Greg Relyea (second from right) and survivor Casey (far right), who were at the Joy US event at the Daley’s house in Averill Park, NY, earlier in June. (Joy US Foundation)
Joy Us and all involved got the perfect June day for the event, and when my wife and I arrived, we were met by Joy US’ Founder and Executive Director Janet Abrahamson and her vice president, Greg Relyea, as if we were arriving dignitaries. Daley’s mother escorted us down to the family’s dock, where we met a few survivors and their families. Soon after, Casey, a brain cancer survivor, came down to join us and immediately began a side-conversation with my wife about a surf trip he’d recently been on in Maui. (Like I said, she’s obsessed.) After that, the day was pretty much a blur of friendly conversations, barbecue, yoga—we did two of three 25-minute sessions with Teslie on the Daley’s front lawn—and kayaking (you can find a photo I took of my wife on the lake on my Instagram page). A local organization had donated the kayaks; Whole Foods, the majority of the food; anatomie, the yoga mats (and Teslie, her yogi skills); and of course, the Daleys, their home, front yard, dock and wonderful lake front vistas.
Maybe the greatest part of the day for me was getting to spend it with my wife, who was totally laid back and all smiles. I got to see her in action, owning being a survivor like the boss that she is. I left the event in this state of immense chill and happiness. I, too, had survived.
***
If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ll know that it’s been a rough few years for America’s big pharmaceutical brands. Comic book-style villains such as the Pharma Bro have emerged from the woodwork, making the industry the focus of viral outrage on social media and leading to a feeding frenzy of negative coverage. Joy US Founder Janet Abrahamson has spent nearly her entire career in the pharma industry, and is aware of the public’s perception of it—but counts herself among those in the industry that “put patients first.” (She currently works for Exelixis, a national cancer drug producer.) “I’ve always viewed my job as what I do to pay the bills, and my volunteer work, as what I do to make a difference in the world,” she says. Throughout her decades-long career, she’s helped establish key programs at breast cancer advocacy group To Life! and spent five years coordinating its Pink Ball. She’s done turns as the president and vice president of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS’) board of directors, and it was there that she met the future inspiration for her foundation, fellow board member Glenn Spielman. She describes him as “inspiring” and “generous”—the type of guy that just lit up any room he walked into. “You would never know that he had Stage 4 prostate cancer,” she explains. Shortly before Spielman died, Abrahamson filed the paperwork for a garden in his memory at the HopeClub. And at his bedside in the hospital, she also had the opportunity to tell him how much he’d impacted her life and promised him, when she launched her own foundation, she would name a building after him on its property. “There are a handful of people that come around in this lifetime that really change the way you think,” she says. “He was one of them.”
Joy US Foundation Founder and Executive Director Janet Abrahamson (at right) with her daughter at the snow-tubing event. (Janet Abrahamson)
So Abrahamson took that promise and founded Joy US Foundation, which has been up and running since February 2018. (Last year, Joy US put on 20 events.) The foundation’s mission was very much a function of Abrahamson’s initial vision, which she tells me came to her all at once: “restoring joy and serenity in the lives of cancer survivors and their families by providing access to outdoor experiences,” as is noted on the foundation’s website. “I’ve always restored joy in my own life by getting outdoors,” she says. “My husband and I will get to the top of a mountain, and that’s my spiritual moment, my reawakening.” Sharing that with people and their families who were dealing with the unpredictability of a cancer diagnosis felt like a particularly powerful way to help them communally heal. Besides hiking and kayaking, Joy US has offered snow-tubing adventures, weekend getaways in the Adirondacks and even one indoor event, a bowling day (Abrahamson says she’s not averse to trying whatever survivors might want to do to have a good time—just as long as it gets the pulse up a bit). And as mentioned above, what helps set Joy US’ events apart from many other organization’s adventures is the fact that family and friends are invited to heal along with the survivors themselves. (At that bowling event, someone brought along 11 family members!) “There’s tons of programs for just the cancer patients,” says Abrahamson. “[But] most of the families go through the hard times, and then they miss out on [the rest of the healing process].”
In founding Joy US, Abrahamson was aware that it would involve a fair amount of fundraising, something she admits she’s not that big a fan of. But she understands that it’s a necessary evil; it’s what allows Joy US to be able to offer all the activities and food for free to the survivor community, as well as their family and friends. (In the case of the event that my wife and I went to, Joy US paid to have the kayaks delivered and for some of the food, says Abrahamson.) Speaking of which, Joy US has its latest fundraiser coming up on June 26. Its “Just Add Water Kayaking Fundraiser” takes place from 4pm – 9pm at Fish Creek marina in Saratoga and will feature food courtesy of Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady, live entertainment from Matt Cosgrove and will be emceed by local personality Jason Gough, a former meteorologist and now web entrepreneur.
In terms of the bigger picture, Abrahamson has been on the lookout for a permanent outdoor space, possibly in the Adirondacks, that the foundation can take over and set up shop at. It would not only serve as Joy US’ functional headquarters, but also be a sort of sleep-away camp where it could host survivor events aplenty. Abrahamson says she’s had her eye on a 4383-acre abandoned Boy Scouts camp in the Adirondacks, which has two lakes and three mountains. “It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been,” she says. But the foundation is a long way off from raising the type of funds to purchase the property outright. Until that day, Joy US is hoping to hash out an agreement with Adirondack Woodcraft Camps, where it already hosts its weekend getaways. The idea would be to trade a set schedule of weekends at the camp for a Joy US-led fundraising project that would go towards beautifying the existing property.
But being the driven person that she is, Abrahamson sees the potential partnership with Adirondack Woodcraft as a stop gap measure; it’s that Boy Scouts camp that has her name on it, that will ultimately fulfill her dream. And she likes to dream big. So much so that she carries around a dog-eared (but fake) check, made out to the Joy US Foundation, to the tune of $10 million. “I carry it because I know that there’s an angel donor out there somewhere that would like a property named after them and want to be known for doing something like this for cancer patients in New York State,” says Abrahamson. I can’t help but think that maybe there’s someone like that in our community. Hell, I know that there’s someone like that out there. Maybe he or she will join me and my wife on the 26th?
Saratoga Springs’ resident artists’ retreat Yaddo just completed a massive renovation project, and Saratogians are about to get their first glimpse. One of the locations that make Saratoga so unique—and a National Historic Landmark—the iconic, Victorian-style Yaddo Mansion, which dominates the retreat’s 400-acre estate just south of Saratoga Race Course, will reopen this week, just in time for the Yaddo Summer Benefit on Thursday, June 20.
This year’s benefit will offer ticketed guests a chance to tour the mansion for the first time since it closed for repair in 2017. The renovation cost an unprecedented $10 million, and has brought the historic, 1893 mansion back to its original splendor. “This is a triumphant moment for Yaddo as we unveil what we, our board and other generous donors have done to reinvigorate Yaddo and ensure that all it’s meant to individual artists and to American culture is honored,” says Yaddo President Elaina Richardson.
The massive, multistage renovation actually began back in 2014, with the goal of preserving and updating Yaddo’s facilities, especially its sprawling, 55-room mansion. The first phase of the renewal project involved the construction of five, new live-work studios by Saratoga’s own Phinney Design Group, which were completed in 2016 and earned Phinney The American Institute of Architects Eastern New York (AIAENY) Honor Award. The second phase required the closing of the entire Yaddo Mansion for an 18-month restoration that focused on a long to-do list of issues that had beset the mansion for years. The project entailed structural stabilization, masonry repointing, upgraded electrical systems plus the replacement or repair of all the mansion’s 338 windows. Project architect Stephen Reilly of Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation in Albany even installed a glimmering, new copper-and-slate roof and had local artisans painstakingly restore the mansion’s intricate and irreplaceable 19th-century stone and metalwork.
The Yaddo Corporation was founded by Katrina and Spencer Trask in 1900; however, the retreat didn’t open its doors to the first batch of artists until 1926. Since then, Yaddo has hosted a staggering number of talented individuals (particularly writers), including 76 Pulitzer Prize winners, 68 National Book Award winners and one Nobel Laureate (Saul Bellow won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1976). Other talented Yaddo residents have included composer Leonard Bernstein, poets Sylvia Plath and Langston Hughes and even The Godfather author Mario Puzo, who wrote a large chunk of the novel at Yaddo. “We’re looking forward to throwing open our doors and celebrating Yaddo 2.0—a place that is burnished, expanded and fully prepared for a second century of world renown,” says Richardson.
Speaking of that Summer Benefit, this year’s event will feature an auction, lots of specialty cocktails and delicious hors d’oeuvres on tap, plus a live performance by songwriter, author and Yaddo alum Mike Doughty, who co-founded the popular 1990s band Soul Coughing. Single patron tickets cost $175 and can still be purchased online.
In the world of surnames, it doesn’t get much more iconic than “Vanderbilt.” Or, if you’re from this neck of the woods, “Vanderbilt Whitney” or simply, “Whitney,” for that matter. Today (June 17), the American royal lineage mourns the passing of another one of its famous names, Gloria Vanderbilt, an artist, author, fashion designer, heiress and socialite. She was 95.
Contemporary audiences will best remember Gloria Vanderbilt as the mother of CNN journalist and TV personality Anderson Cooper, who first announced his mother’s passing live on the air. But people of a certain age will remember her as the central character in a child custody battle—dubbed the “Trial of the Century”—between her mother, also named Gloria (née Morgan), and aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, following the death of her husband Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt. The scandalous trial snaked throughout the Great Depression, making the family (and young Gloria) headline fodder for years. Gloria’s custody was eventually granted to her aunt Gertrude. (The story was turned into an Emmy-nominated TV miniseries in the early ’80s.) Or you might remember her for her line of designer jeans. Or even the song Sir Paul McCartney reportedly wrote about her.
For locals trying to place how Gloria Vanderbilt fits into Saratoga Springs’ historical Vanderbilt-Whitney line, Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt’s sister, Gertrude (the same one embroiled in the child custody battle over Gloria), married Harry Payne Whitney in 1896. The couple would have three children, including Cornelius Vanderbilt “Sonny” Whitney, who would later make Marylou Whitney his fourth wife. And every Saratogian knows how that conscious coupling worked out for the city at large.
With the exception of the upcoming Saratoga Race Course season, Proctors nabbing the national tour of forever-red-hot Broadway musical Hamilton has been the most talked-out about subject in the Capital Region for the last year, having been announced that it would be touching down at the Schenectady venue in February 2018.
Now it feels a whole lot more real, with performances coming up August 13-25, and while Proctors’ members have already secured a number of Hamilton tickets, the Schenectady venue and national show’s producer have remained silent about when the rest of the tickets will be available to the general public. That is, until now.
Today (June 17) it was announced by Hamilton‘s Producer Jeffrey Seller and Proctors that they would be putting the rest of the show’s tickets on sale on Monday, June 24 at 10am, simultaneously online, via phone (518.346.6204) and in person at the Proctors’ box office, if, for some reason, you have a friend who’s fun-employed and/or willing to brave the long lines to get one or more of the golden tickets. “It’s tempting to get tickets any way you can,” warns Seller. “There are many sites and people who are selling overpriced, and in some cases, fraudulent tickets.” To avoid any heartbreak on the day of the show, fans should stick to buying tickets through Proctors, he continues.
According to Proctors, Hamilton fanatics can purchase a maximum of four tickets apiece, with prices ranging from $95 to $165 (and a select number of $265 premium seats available for all performances). Additionally, there will be a lottery for 40 seats that cost just $10 each for all performances (it’s unclear where these seats will be in the house; more details will be revealed closer to showtime).
For the few people left on the planet unaware of what the big deal is about Hamilton, it’s a three-year-old hit Broadway musical, whose tickets have been next-to-impossible to land for the last four years (it began as an Off-Broadway production). It follows the basic history of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies, who went on to become one of George Washington’s righthand men and Treasury Secretary (yes, he’s the fellow on the ten dollar bill). The musical’s book, music and lyrics were written by New Yorker Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights), and are delivered/acted in an amalgam of hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap and R&B.
At the 2016 Tony Awards, the musical won 11 awards, having been nominated for 16, garnering Tonys for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actor and Best Book of a Musical.
What happens when you cross hot air balloons and the smell of barbecue on the grill? If you answered “flying hot dogs and hamburgers,” you’d only be slightly off base. This coming weekend spells 3, 2, 1…liftoff! for the Saratoga Balloon & BBQ Festival. Now in its sixth year, the festival kicks off on Friday, June 21, at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds in Ballston Spa and runs through Sunday, June 23. For balloonatics in attendance, every day of the festival will feature new balloon-related events, including lots of beautiful launches, balloon rides and even a “balloon glow” at dusk on Friday. In all, the festival will feature 30 hot air balloons to admire, and event-goers will also be able to take seven-minute helicopter rides over Ballston Spa and Saratoga Springs for just $50 a person. Not a bad in-air add-on.
Aside from watching the sky fill up with balloons, there’ll be six chefs onsite grilling up delicious barbecue, with New Belgium craft beers on draft, as well as more than 75 marketplace exhibitors and vendors selling everything from handmade art, crafts, jewelry and other specialty items such as massage equipment. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Capital Region event without some great live entertainment, and this year’s festival doesn’t disappoint. Look forward to the Real McCoy Stunt Comedy Show on Friday and Saturday, with lots of livemusic from groups such as Rocky and the Moose Knuckles and local jazz/funk favorites Oobleck (plus performances every day by Sean the Prankster Magician). Tickets can be purchased online, and for a full schedule of events, click here.
For the rest of the week and weekend’s events, take a look at saratoga living‘s hand-curated calendar below. This week, we’re including events outside of Saratoga and the Capital Region—as far south as New York City. Hey, nothing beats a train ride along the Hudson for a fun weekend in the Big Apple, right?
The inimitable Dead & Company are coming to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) at 7pm. Also, don’t miss the afterparty with Steal Your Peach Band at Putnam Place (June 18)
As part of the Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival, Saratoga Chabad is screening Refusenik, a documentary that chronicles the struggles of Soviet Jews trying to immigrate to Israel (June 18)
Wednesday
SPAC on Stage series is bringing Spanish singer Buika and her all-female group to the Spa City (June 19)
Running every Wednesday, all summer long, is Take a Bite, a family-friendly food event offering small plates ($1 to $5) in Downtown Glens Falls (every Wednesday until August 14)
Thursday
Celebrate LGBTQ Pride at Caffè Lena with multi-instrumentalist and singer Erin Mckeown and opener Crystal Rose (June 20)
After a $10 million renovation, Yaddo Mansion in Saratoga reopens with a special performance by indie artist (and one-time Yaddo veteran) Mike Doughty for its Yaddo Summer Benefit (June 20)
Catch Elizabeth Streb and Anne Bogart’s work in progress,FALLING & LOVING, at Skidmore College’s Tang Teaching Museum—performed by Streb Extreme Dance Company and SITI Company (June 20)
Attend a masterclass at The College of St. Rose with Ricky Ian Gordon, composer of Ellen West, which is having its world premiere at Opera Saratoga later this month (June 20)
Catch Espæce, a charming, new piece of physical theater involving a giant movable wall and five performance artists, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (June 20-22)
The Albany Police and Fire Foundation Community is throwing a free Community Block Party (VIP reception available for purchase) at Albany’s Times Union Center (June 20)
Tennesee Williams’ classic play Cat on a Hot Tin Roofis running all weekend at Proctors in Schenectady (June 20-June 23)
Friday
Celebrate the ’60s at the Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Annual Summer Gala (June 21)
Presented by Nine Pin Cidery, catch a Summer Solstice Sunset Cruise at Dutch Apple Cruises & Tours in Albany (June 21)
Celebrate the world’s finest sakes (Japan’s deliciously smooth rice wine) with The Joy of Sake at Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan (June 21)
Hailed as the “greatest guitarist in the world” by Eric Clapton, guitar legend Albert Lee is coming to The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls (June 21)
Come out to Shepard Park in Lake George Village to check out (and buy!) plenty of crafts and unique handmade items at the Lake George Fire Department Craft Show (June 21-23)
Saturday
Join the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame for a tour of Old Tavern Farm by Saratoga Lake (June 22)
Double H Ranch is celebrating its Annual Gala at the Great Escape—Six Flags in Queensbury (June 22)
Legendary Motown singer Diana Ross is performing at the Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan (June 22)
Make room for the Summer Fancy Food Show, the largest single specialty food industry event in North America, at the Javits Center in Manhattan (June 23)
Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is fast approaching, and it’s letting some fresh new faces kick off this year’s star-studded event. For the first time in its 42-year history, Saratoga Jazz Fest 2019, which will be headlined by Grammy winners Norah Jones and George Benson, will open with two performances by local student jazz ensembles from Saratoga Springs High School and Shaker High School. Designed as a unique way to launch the festival while showcasing some serious Capital Region talent, the two high school jazz ensembles will take to the amphitheater stage of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) to open the festival with Saratoga High performing at 12:45pm on Saturday, June 29 and Shaker High at 11:45am on Sunday, June 30.
“Saratoga is an incredible jazz city, known for nurturing local talent through its many institutions, anchored by SPAC and the Skidmore Jazz Institute,” SPAC’s President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol tells saratoga living. “For the local high school students who will perform on our stage before Grammy Award winners and legends like Norah Jones and George Benson, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The Saratoga Springs High School jazz ensemble, which comprises 21 musicians, will also get to participate in a private meet-and-greet with three-time Grammy-winning bassist and composer John Patitucci before his performance on June 29 with the Mercy Project. Shaker High’s jazz ensemble, which consists of 18 instrumentalists and three vocalists, will get their own dedicated meet-and-greet the following day with wildly creative, award-winning saxophonist and singer-songwriter Grace Kelly (who will perform later that same day with Django Festival All-Stars). Additionally, both student groups will have the opportunity to learn about the ins and outs of the music industry from festival producer and president of Absolutely Live Entertainment, Danny Melnick.
“Many students performing at the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival are seniors in our program,” says Milton Lee, the Jazz Ensemble Department Head at Saratoga Springs High School. “To have the opportunity to perform on SPAC’s stage before iconic jazz artists makes for an outstanding last concert for these students. After learning about this performance, the students’ motivation and energy have soared to an all-time high.”
Both Saratoga Springs High and Shaker High have produced some impressively talented performers over the years. Two recent singing sensations and veterans of the reality TV circuit, American Idol finalist Madison VanDenburg and Latham-based rocker Moriah Formica are Shaker alums (and both are also teaming up for a Times Union Center concert later this month). As for Saratoga High, versatile jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Giacomo Smith, one of the leaders of the London, England-based internationally acclaimed Kansas Smitty’s House Band, will be performing on the Charles R. Wood Jazz “Discovery” Stage on June 30. Smith has performed onstage at NYC’s Jazz at Lincoln Center and even played for the Queen of England.
Just a few months after legendary New York Yankees manager Joe Torre ventured to Saratoga Springs to give one of Skidmore College’s commencement speeches, another Yankee legend is headed to the Spa City, this time to Saratoga Race Course. Mariano Rivera, who served as the Yanks’ closer for 17 seasons, winning a staggering five World Series champions with the team, will be honored at the track on opening weekend, just a week prior to his induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He was the first player in the Hall’s history to be unanimously voted in.
On Friday, July 12, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) will honor Rivera with a ceremony in the Winner’s Circle at Saratoga Race Course. “We’re thrilled to welcome Mariano Rivera to Saratoga Race Course for what is sure to be an exciting and memorable day for sports fans,” NYRA CEO and President David O’Rourke said in a statement. “Mariano is truly one of the most beloved and respected players of all time and his visit will only further enhance the festivities surrounding Opening Weekend.”
One hundred fans will have an opportunity to meet the 13-time All-Star closer during a luncheon in the paddock tent from 12pm-1:30pm, which will include a question-and-answer session; an auction, featuring authentic Rivera memorabilia; and photo opportunities. Luncheon tickets are $250 and are limited to the first 100 fans. (Purchase tickets here.)
Rivera, who retired in 2013, recorded a Major League Baseball record-setting 652 saves, leading the league in saves on three separate occasions. With his July induction into the Hall of Fame, Rivera will join Yankees greats such as Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth—as well as his longtime manager, Torre.
If there’s one thing New Yorkers take seriously, it’s their craft beer. With close to 450 craft breweries dotting the state, New York ranks fourth in the country in terms of craft breweries. And that number isn’t just good for bragging rights: Those 450 breweries annually bring a total economic impact of $5.4 billion to the state.
Given that us New Yorkers are cray cray for our craft beer, of course someone decided to bank on that concept. Hence, Brewed in New York, a 13-episode, Emmy-winning series that premiered on PBS stations across the state on July 5, 2018, which documents the burgeoning New York craft brew scene. To produce the show, which is now periodically releasing episodes on YouTube, the Albany-based MagicWig Productions film crew traveled to a different region of the state for every episode to highlight the unique geography, agriculture and character of that targeted area. (And to sample some suds, of course.) While at home in the Capital Region, film crews stopped by Albany’s C.H. Evans Brewing Company, Troy’s Brown’s Brewing Co. and Saratoga Springs’ Druthers Brewing.
Brown’s Brewing Brand and Marketing Manager Sarah Hoffman was around for the filming at the Troy-based brewery (see above). “We had behind-the-scenes seats allowing us to experience all of the equipment, planning and precision it takes to generate a final product that appears seamless,” Hoffman says. “We’re proud to have been a small part of an award-winning series.”
While at C.H. Evans, Brewed in New York hosts Matt Archambault and Maya Contreras learned how owner Neil Evans breathed life into his families centuries-old brewery (it dates back to 1786!). At Brown’s, Archambault learned how to draw cask beer—unfiltered beer that’s transferred into casks, carbonated, sealed and re-fermented. And at Druthers, they learned about the history of the brewery started by three brothers. In the Capital-Saratoga region, the pair also learned that Albany has been brewing beer since the 19th century and was once the second largest brewing town in the world, behind London.
Obviously, craft beer is “in” right now, especially in New York State. Hoffman ventures a guess as to why that’s the case: “The simple, civilized act of drinking and appreciating a delicious pint with another human being provides an escape from a chaotic world and a glimpse toward a kinder and more respectful future.” If one beer is all it takes, count us in.
