Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), was honored at Northeast Ballet Company’s annual Nutcracker Gala at Proctors Theatre Friday, November 30. The invitation-only gala came just a day before the Ballet’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet The Nutcracker Saturday (also at Proctors). The gala was held on the main stage amidst the setting of Act 1 of the ballet, giving gala patrons a rare glimpse into what the performance looks like from the dancers’ perspective.
SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol was this year’s honoree at the Nutcracker Gala. (Dori Fitzpatrick)
Northeast Ballet has been the resident ballet company of Proctors since 1990 and comprises the Myers Ballet School, which features classes in classical ballet, pointe, jazz, modern and more. Each year the company hosts a gala that honors an influential member from the Capital Region community, and this year the honoree was the President and artistic mastermind behind SPAC, Elizabeth Sobol. “Sobol is a very rare bird, I feel, and I’ve been in this business a long time,” says Darlene Myers, founder and Artistic Director of the Northeast Ballet. “She’s a unique mix of a very talented artist, a visionary, a businesswoman, an individual, an entrepreneur and someone who can really see the big picture and also see different paths within the picture, and that’s very rare to have all of those things in one person.”
The Northeast Ballet Company and SPAC have enjoyed a unique history and synergy in collaborating on educational programs and special fundraising events over the years. These include the Festival of Young Artists, which kicks off SPAC’s summer season, and SPAC’s annual Nutcracker Tea, which the Northeast Ballet has performed at for nearly two decades now (it gave another sold-out performance this year). “I feel privileged to be honored at Northeast Ballet Company’s Gala as we all celebrate ballet, the arts and the achievements of young artists in the region,” says Sobol. “From current Northeast Ballet students who perform at our signature events, to alumni such as New York City Ballet’s Lauren Lovette who perform on our stage, we are privileged to have this immense talent and resource in our backyard.”
Northeast Ballet Alumnus Lauren Lovette was actually present at the Nutcracker Gala, as was Taylor Stanley, both as guest artists from the NYC Ballet. “Every Gala and every Nutcracker I do, I hire NYC Ballet dancers,” says Myers, who danced professionally with the Pennsylvania Ballet in Philadelphia for years. And even though it’s a gala, Myers says, the environment is still very fun and informal. “It’s like a Victorian party, only in 2018,” she laughs. And the guest of honor was Elizabeth Sobol.
Last weekend (November 23-25), the Audi FIS Ski World Cup returned to Killington Ski Resort in Killington, VT for the third consecutive year. The World Cup is the top international alpine skiing circuit, in which the world’s best skiers compete, and Killington is just one of many stops on the 2018-2019 calendar, which includes Lake Louise, Canada; Zagreb, Croatia; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; and Beaver Creek, Co. This year, only the female athletes in the circuit competed at “The Killington Cup,” with fan-favorite two-time Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin taking home her 34th win in the slalom—just one shy of the all-time record. (Shiffrin is a graduate of Burke Mountain Academy, a ski school in Northeastern Vermont.)
“The crowd carried me down the hill,” Shiffrin told reporters. “It’s amazing to race here.” The crowd was indeed noteworthy—a record-breaking 40,000 spectators showed up over the course of the weekend, making Killington the most attended stop on the circuit.
saratoga living‘s photographer, Eric Huss, was on the ground at The Killington Cup, and got up close and personal with a few of the weekend’s stars, including Shiffrin. Be sure to check out his images in the gallery above.
If you’re like my family, now that Thanksgiving is over, you’re on the hunt for a Christmas tree. Whether you opt for a real tree (who doesn’t love that fresh pine scent) or a fake one (fewer pine needles to sweep up), we can all agree that nothing beats the cozy feeling of curling up by the fireplace next to a lit Christmas tree. Now, imagine that feeling multiplied by 250. That’s what’s in store for the weekend, as the annual Saratoga Festival of Trees takes over the Saratoga City Center with a weekend of wonderful holiday fun and hundreds of beautiful Christmas trees.
The Saratoga Festival of Trees kicked off Wednesday, November 28 with an evening preview reception where guests were able to get a sneak peek at the twinkling trees, wreaths, center pieces and other holiday items available for purchase this year. Price for admission is normally $8, but for those participating in the 32nd Annual Victorian Streetwalk through Downtown Saratoga from 6-10pm Thursday night (the Streetwalk is the official kickoff to the Christmas season here in Saratoga), admission to the Festival of Trees is only $3. And Saturday, December 1 is Family Day at The Festival of Trees, with multiple seatings for Breakfast with Santa in addition to a festive lunch seating of Sundaes with Santa. Guests who arrive between 8am-2pm Saturday will also be able to visit Santa’s Workshop for a full array of kid-fun activities such as cookie decorating, face painting, nail polishing, Christmas craft making and much more!
Now in its 23rd year, the Saratoga Festival of Trees runs from November 28 to December 2 (Wednesday through Sunday) and serves as the main fundraiser for Catholic Charities of Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties, which provides programs and services to poor communities in the tri-county area. “One of our board members had seen a festival of trees in the Midwest somewhere,” says Sister Charla Commins, Executive Director of Catholic Charities. “Nonprofits are always looking for ways of raising discretionary funding, so she suggested that we give a tree festival a try. We budgeted for a $10,000 profit the first year, and we made $21,000.” Currently, with its many sponsors and hundreds of volunteers, the five-day festival pulls in around $100,000. Be sure to check it out this weekend, along with these other great events in the Saratoga area.
Holiday Hockey Classic – Watch Saratoga Springs Firefighters play against Saratoga Springs Police in this charity game from 7:30-9:30pm at Saratoga Springs Ice Rinks. Northeast Ballet’s The Nutcracker – Saturday (7pm) and Sunday (2pm) at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady. Big Fez Christmas Show – 7pm-12am at The Parting Glass Pub and Restaurant in Saratoga.
Shug McGaughey is not totally satisfied with how Code of Honor is training, and he will keep the talented 2-year-old out of Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct, the trainer said Tuesday.
Under regular rider John Velazquez, Code of Honor worked five furlongs in 1:01.48 Monday morning over Belmont Park’s main track, and though McGaughey said the work was fine, neither he nor Velazquez feels the horse is training as well as he was before the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Code of Honor was forced to miss the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs after spiking a temperature the night before the race.
“He said it doesn’t feel like his energy level was where it was before we went to Louisville,” McGaughey said. “I don’t want to take him over there and run him a mile and an eighth over that deep track.”
McGaughey said Code of Honor would leave New York Monday morning for Payson Park, a training center in South Florida. McGaughey said he would look to run Code of Honor in Florida early in 2019.
Code of Honor, a son of Noble Mission owned by Will Farish, won his maiden at first asking at Saratoga and finished second in the Grade 1 Champagne after stumbling at the start.
Code of Honor’s defection leaves Maximus Mischief, unbeaten in two starts at Parx, as the probable favorite for the Remsen, entries for which will be taken on Wednesday.
Network Effect, runner-up in the Nashua Stakes, and Bourbon War, a debut winner at Aqueduct on Nov. 14 are considered definite.
Kentucky shippers in Demoiselle
Kentucky-based runners Positive Spirit and Molto Bella are expected to be in what looks like a short field of six for Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle for 2-year-old fillies at Aqueduct.
Positive Spirit, a three-quarter sister to 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, is coming off a maiden win on Nov. 8 at Churchill. She was flown to New York on Monday, one day after breezing a half-mile in 48 seconds Sunday at Keeneland.
“Her breeze yesterday was absolutely beautiful,” trainer Rodolphe Brisset said. “It’s maybe out of the ordinary to run her back in three weeks, but with all the good signs she’s showing I’m not shy to do it.”
Manny Franco will ride.
Trainer Ian Wilkes has three in the juvenile fillies stakes category. He opted to run Champagne Anyone and Princess Causeway in last Saturday’s Golden Rod at Churchill and send Molto Bella here. Molto Bella shares ownership with Champagne Anyone, who finished fourth in the Golden Rod to longshot winner Liora.
Molto Bella finished second to Mother Nature in the Rags to Riches Stakes at Churchill Downs.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – The sibling battle for an Eclipse Award will play out coast to coast this coming weekend.
Irad Ortiz Jr. is hoping to dethrone his brother José as the Eclipse Award-winning jockey for 2018 and is hoping one more big weekend can seal the deal.
Entering the final five weeks of the year, Irad Ortiz Jr. leads the nation in wins (314) and purse money won ($26,143,923). José ranks third in wins (252) – Tim Thornton has 253 – and second in purse money won ($25,663,559).
The brothers have each won 62 stakes races. José has won 34 graded stakes including nine Grade 1’s, while Irad has won 30 graded stakes and six Grade 1’s. Irad won two Breeders’ Cup races – the Juvenile Fillies Turf and Filly and Mare Sprint – while José did not win a Breeders’ Cup race. José Ortiz’s biggest wins this year include the Haskell with Good Magic and the Alabama with Eskimo Kisses. Irad’s biggest wins include the Whitney with Diversify and the Arlington Million with Robert Bruce.
Irad Ortiz also won the major meet riding titles in New York, including Saratoga and both the Belmont spring and fall meets.
“I got the chance to win the Eclipse. … I think this is the year and I’m going to work harder than ever to try and get it,” Irad, 26, said. “I always wanted to get one, it’s just how the year goes and I had a great year and hopefully I can keep going the last month.”
Irad Ortiz rides Sunny Ridge in Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct and Rymska in Sunday’s Grade 1, $300,000 Matriarch at Del Mar.
José Ortiz, who won his first Eclipse Award last year, is hoping to make up some ground on his brother this weekend when he rides Patternrecognition in the Cigar and Quidura in the Matriarch.
“It’s really very tight,” Jose, 25, said. “He’s had a great year, but it’s not like I had a bad year. Right now he’s got a couple of hundred thousand dollars more than me, but I think I won more [graded] stakes.
After this weekend, the Ortiz brothers will move their tack to South Florida’s Gulfstream Park for that track’s winter meet.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown will have runners in three of the four graded stakes scheduled at Aqueduct on Saturday. They will be led by Patternrecognition and Timeline in the $750,000 Cigar Mile, the last Grade 1 stakes on the New York Racing Association circuit in 2018.
Patternrecognition and Timeline are two of what could be 11 horses in the Cigar field, which is expected to include the globetrotting 3-year-old Mendelssohn.
Patternrecognition will enter the Cigar off a victory in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at Belmont on Sept. 22. Brown felt Patternrecognition would benefit from more time between races, which is why Brown didn’t run him in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill on Nov. 3.
“He’s a horse that runs well fresh, with proper rest,” Brown said. “The horse seems to be coming into the Cigar in good shape.”
On Sunday at Belmont, Park, Patternrecognition worked a half-mile in 50.11 seconds, going in quarter splits of 25.22 seconds and 24.89.
Jose Ortiz will ride Patternrecognition.
Timeline, third in the Kelso and winner of the Grade 3 Peter Pan as a 3-year-old, worked a half-mile in 49.93 seconds, going his final quarter in 24.93 seconds. John Velazquez will ride Timeline for the first time. Javier Castellano, Timeline’s regular rider, is committed to Copper Town for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Brown is also planning to run Network Effect in the Grade 2 Remsen and Your Love and Pacific Wind in the Grade 3 Go for Wand.
Mendelssohn will make his sixth transatlantic trip from Ireland for the Cigar. In his previous trips, he finished last in the Kentucky Derby, third in the Dwyer, second in the Travers and third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Most recently, he finished fifth, four lengths behind winner Accelerate, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.
Others expected in the Cigar include Name Changer, No Dozing, Pat on the Back, Stan the Man, Sunny Ridge, and True Timber. Promises Fulfilled is possible.
Nicole Russo presents the DRF Breeding Report on the first pool of the official Kentucky Derby future wager, which opened over the holiday weekend and runs concurrently with the derby sire future wager.
The New York City-based Orchestra of St. Luke’s will be returning to Saratoga Springs on December 15 to perform J. S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. The concert is presented by the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) and will take place at the Bethesda Episcopal Church on Washington Street in Downtown Saratoga. The special program, which includes all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos (quite a feat on the part of the musicians), honors the late Charles Hamlen, a Schenectady native who founded IMG Artists, a leading international performing arts management corporation. A passionate arts champion, Hamlen was an artistic advisor to the Orchestra of St. Luke’s as well as a close friend of SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol. “Charlie Hamlen was one of the most beloved leaders in classical music—and my greatest mentor and friend,” Sobol says. Sobol’s career began in a basement apartment building in Manhattan that also housed the nascent Hamlen Management, which later transformed into IMG Artists. “Charlie was instrumental in bringing Orchestra of St. Luke’s to Saratoga last year with the goal of making the Bethesda Brandenburg Concertos an annual tradition in the region.”
IMG Artists Founder Charlie Hamlen and Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol. (SPAC)
Formed in 1974 when the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble expanded to perform orchestral works too, the Orchestra of St. Lukes is one of the nation’s finest orchestras and has a reputation for collaborating with a wide range of popular artists from classical music stars Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell, to rockers Metallica and Bono. The orchestra performs around 70 concerts a year, many of them at major New York concert venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. “I’m looking forward to playing the Brandenburg Concertos at Bethesda Church for a second year in a row,” says violinist Krista Bennion Feeney, who joined the orchestra when she was just 22 years old in 1983. “Last year, I got to spend the night in Saratoga Springs and drink the fabulous water and bring several bottles home with me. My husband, John, is principal bassist of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and will be playing all six of the Brandenburg concerti that night.”
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are a unique set of concerti grossi, each of which showcases a different combination of solo instruments. The result is an incredibly clever and sophisticated sonic palette that changes from movement to movement, concerto to concerto, and embraces the versatility and range of voices found in each instrument. Incredibly, the six concertos (which drew from earlier works by Bach) were compiled as a sort of résumé for a new post at the court of the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1721. The Brandenburg Concertos, as they came to be known, may be considered classics now (and some of Bach’s most popular works), but the Margrave of Brandenburg mustn’t have been very impressed, because he didn’t offer Bach anything for the six remarkable concertos.
The performance at Bethesda Church is part of SPAC’s vision to offer meaningful programming year-round (it was so popular last year that it sold out). Get your tickets here before it’s too late!
First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! We here at saratoga living hope you are surrounded by good friends and family and good eats. Secondly, have you finished (or even started) your holiday shopping yet? If not, then there are two fantastic opportunities in Saratoga and throughout the Capital Region to get the best bang for you holiday buck.
As everyone who is awake in America knows, the day after Thanksgiving, November 23, is Black Friday, which kicks off the busiest shopping weekend of the year (ending with Cyber Monday on November 26). But did you know that there’s a Black Friday Saratoga? This special annual shopping event is centered around a dozen shops and boutiques in Downtown Saratoga opening their doors super early to offer hourly savings on merchandise. Those hitting up the early morning sales will also receive a Black Friday Saratoga shopping bag filled with information about the event’s sponsors.
On the day after Black Friday is a newer but equally important Holiday shopping tradition: Small Business Saturday! Created by American Express in 2010 to encourage more costumers to buy local, Small Business Saturday highlights local businesses opening early and offering great deals just like on Black Friday (for more about this event, click here). Several of Saratoga Springs’ favorite stores, including Druthers Brewing Company, Nurture Green Salon and Spa as well as several stores on Beekman Street, will be participating in the Saturday sales bonanza alongside other small businesses in the Capital District. And even if they’re not opening early on Saturday, many local businesses and storefronts throughout Downtown Saratoga and the surrounding area will still be taking part in Small Business Saturday with discounts all weekend. And if you got your shopping done early, take the weekend off and enjoy one (or several) of these other cool events going on this weekend.
As I’m out running around and shopping for the big Thanksgiving feast on Thursday, I’m reminded, in the midst of all this hustle and bustle, that this is a holiday of sharing, and that there will be many this Thanksgiving without much or any food on their table. Saratoga Springs may be known for its luxuries, but it’s also become well known for its giving. One organization that’s been helping kids stay fed not just on Thanksgiving but year round is SNACpack (Saratoga Nutrition Assistance for Children).
Every week, around 20 volunteers from SNACpack meet at St. Clements Parish in Saratoga where they pack around 1000 pounds of food into the backpacks of more than 150 students throughout the Saratoga Springs City School District. Each backpack requires about $13 to fill, and it’s all provided free of charge to children, K-12, who are recommended to the program by teachers in the school district. SNACpack provides them with fresh fruit, canned vegetables, juice boxes and snacks; three entrées (mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and SpaghettiOs); bread and breakfast items as well as, when available, a milk card good for a gallon of milk. The bags are then picked up by teachers and personnel from each of the eight schools in the district (six elementary, one middle and one high school) where they are then given to the students on Friday afternoon (or, if there’s a holiday, the final day of the school week).
Most food assistance programs require recipients to physically visit pantries and kitchens in order to pick up their food; for many families without a car or access to public transit, receiving this kind of food assistance simply isn’t feasible. SNACpack is unique in that it makes a point to hand its food out not to the parents, but instead directly to the children while they’re at school. “The interaction with these children on Friday is much more than just handing over a bag,” says Karey Hall Trimmings, Co-founder and Coordinator of SNACpack, as well as a teacher at Dorothy Nolan Elementary. “It’s a time to touch base and see how the kids are doing, check in and see if other services are needed: toiletries, a winter coat, mittens, boots.”
Trimmings found inspiration for the nonprofit in a student named Richard from the Saratoga Springs school system. Richard was 14 at the time Trimmings met him, and he was struggling through middle school with what teachers thought was a learning disability. Really, Richard was suffering from chronic hunger. “Living with food insecurity is a very different thing than going to the cabinet and saying there’s nothing to eat when really there is, or you can go out and buy more,” says Trimmings. “I grew up in Saratoga, and I never knew there were so many kids here who needed help with this.” When Trimmings discovered that Richard was homeless, she and her husband, John, took him in, got him on a regular diet and soon became his legal guardians. The idea to actually stuff children’s bags with food started with Kristin Passaretti, a 5th grade teacher at Lake Avenue Elementary who’d had Richard as a student. “Kristin was very aware that something was going on, but didn’t quite know what,” Trimmings says. “So she started putting food in [Richard’s] backpack. And when I found this out, I thought, ‘So there’s one hungry kid in Saratoga, I wonder if there’s more.'”
SNACpack fills hundreds of at-risk students’ backpacks with free food, such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, every week for the entire year. (SNACpack)
So in January 2015, Karey and John Trimmings, who serves as the nonprofit’s Treasurer, started SNACpack to help out other kids in need like Richard. Since then, more than four years in, the program has, on average, delivered food to around 150 students (currently, 178) almost every week out of the year. During the summer, the program actually makes home deliveries to all of the students in need. There are only four weeks out of the whole year that SNACpack doesn’t provide food to children: two weeks for Christmas break and then the first and last week of the summer. On top of this, the nonprofit receives zero funding from the Saratoga Springs School District. “We’re literally a mom and pop charity,” Karey Trimmings says. “We serve the kids in the school district.”
SNACpack has had a major influence on not only the students in the district, but also the district itself. When the program launched in 2015, Saratoga Springs School District had only one social worker for every 6000-plus students. Now, largely thanks to SNACpack’s food assistance program, there are social workers in every school building. SNACpack has had such a positive impact on these children’s lives that it recently teamed up with Saratoga County Children’s Committee (SCCC) and The Chocolate Spoon to provide birthday cakes and presents for students’ birthdays as well. Trimmings says she added this service to the program because growing up Richard rarely had his birthday celebrated. “I’m a mom, and that’s just something that’s beyond my comprehension,” she says. “I guess because of having this personal connection with one of these kids of poverty, I’ve tried so hard to make sure we’re really respecting of their dignity and privacy.”
As for how Richard is doing now, he graduated from high school in May 2017, and is currently living and working in Saratoga. It’s not been an easy road for Richard, but he’s made it this far, in large part, thanks to the support and food security that SNACpack provided him.
SNACpack is a life-saver for many students in need—but by no means is it a cheap one for the nonprofit to run: The program costs about $3200 a month. So this Thanksgiving, yes, I’ll be thankful, but I won’t forget to be giving as well. SNACpack takes both monetary and food donations; a few canned or nonperishable goods may not seem like much, but to those in need it makes all the difference.
