Author: Aidan Clark

Golf fans may remember Dottie Pepper’s dominant outing at the 1999 Nabisco Dinah Shore tournament where she shot a record 19-under par to win her second major title. Followers of the sport may recognize Pepper from her extensive commentating career on the Golf Channel and CBS.

Some may not know that the Saratoga native was the first ever walking reporter allowed at the Masters in 2020. 

Now Pepper says she has received a tap on the shoulder. 

Through a culmination of efforts, Pepper, along with Peggy McQuade has organized two unique contemporary Christian concerts in her hometown of Saratoga. 

This calling, Pepper said, she really started listening to during the pandemic.

“I would not have considered myself much of an active Christian until probably more toward a decade ago. But this whole Christian music thing for me kind of blew up [my faith],” Pepper reflected. During “the Covid Summer we were the first major sport to go back on television. I essentially drove across the county, and I was by myself and this music kept me rooted and positive.”

Two years ago, Pepper hosted a concert in her backyard featuring Josh Baldwin, a Christian singer-songwriter. 

Since that informal gig, Pepper, Baldwin, and David Leonard, an artist in the same genre as Baldwin, have been trying to coordinate schedules to bring their music to the Spa City.

This year those efforts come to fruition; on September 19 Baldwin and David Leonard are coming to the Universal Preservation Hall for “Voices to God.” 

Additionally, on September 11, the inaugural “Worship in the Pines” is coming to Saratoga Performing Arts Center. This all-day festival of contemporary Christian artists is one Pepper hopes becomes an annual event like Jazz or Outlaw Fest. 

“I think there’s an element that music becomes a more powerful messenger than the spoken word,” Pepper said. “It’s more about getting the music and the message out of a particular building and out among the masses. That is what we’re trying to do here, especially to bring this music to Saratoga.”

For more information on the lineup for “Worship in the Pines” or to buy tickets go to, worshipinthepines.com. To purchase tickets to “Voices to God” go to, atuph.org.

On Wednesday, Aug 26, the Saratoga Regional YMCA celebrated its 160th anniversary with a community gathering and the dedication of a time capsule enclosed with memories from members set to be opened on its 200th anniversary. 

The capsule contains photographs, historical information, and reflections that capture the Saratoga Regional YMCA in 2026, documenting the programs, people, accomplishments, and values that define the organization today. The time capsule will be placed in one of the columns in the Saratoga Regional YMCA on 290 West Ave. 

One YMCA member, Dora Lee Stanley, said the YMCA saved her life.

Stanley took swimming lessons at the YMCA for the first time in her life at 70 years old. In her first lesson the instructor taught her a valuable lesson in the water: don’t panic.

She would be put to the test during a safari in South Africa. On the safari she was on a boat taking pictures of crocodiles and water buffalo when she fell overboard.

“Luckily the crocodiles weren’t very hungry,” Smith said in between laughter. “The people on the boat said that when I fell the heard of buffalo took off.”

But smith remembered what she learned at the YMCA: Don’t Panic!

Her swim lessons allowed her to float long enough for the boat to turn around to rescue her.

“These stories remind us that the YMCA is not simply a building or a collection of programs,” said Allison D’Antonio, Saratoga Regional YMCA CEO. “It’s a community. A place where a single decision, a single class, or a single conversation can shape the course of a person’s life in ways they never expected. That’s the true legacy of the Saratoga Regional YMCA.”

On Thursday, Aug 20, local brass musicians performed on Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s (SPAC) amphitheater stage with musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra as part of their annual PlayIn series. 

The PlayIn series is native to Philadelphia and was transplanted to Saratoga nine years ago after Dennis Moench, the vice president of education at SPAC caught wind of the event. 

“I approached them and said, ‘could you bring this to SPAC?’ So, we started doing it and it was such a nice success, we just kept doing it year after year. It’s kind of baked into their residency now,” Moench told Saratoga TODAY.

The Philadelphia Orchestra has a three-week residency at SPAC every year and is tied for the most tenured residency at SPAC with the New York City Ballet. 

It’s “just an opportunity you don’t see too often. Especially in an area near you where travel isn’t really an issue at all. The fact that they’re available and willing to do these types of opportunities for creative communities is awesome,” said Andrew Gorman, a local trombone player. 

A new community art project, MicroMoCa, has installed its first project at the Sobro Conservancy located at 209 South Broadway. 

70 years ago, the land of Sobro Conservancy was a gas station at the busy intersection of South Broadway, Ballston Avenue, Circular and West Circular streets. When the gas station closed a few decades ago, the lot was cleaned up by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The lot sat vacant for another couple of decades until 2022 when the land ownership was transferred to Sobro Conservancy. 

“The principal clientele is these little things that float around and buzz and pollinate, and the birds that like to eat their caterpillars,” said Tom Denny, president of Sobro Conservacy. “In other words, at some level, this is primarily an ecological habitat. But the other clientele is the citizens and visitors to Saratoga.”

Emily Tironi is a resident of the Stonequist Apartments near the Sobro Conservancy. She founded MicroMoCA to give artisan builders the chance to create “micro” art galleries. 

The inaugural art installation is titled “Once Upon a Time,” featuring works by Brenda Verardi. Her exhibit features six watercolor landscapes, demonstrating her love of Northeastern nature with bold shapes and intense, vibrant colors. Verardi is a retired anthropology teacher and long-term resident of Saratoga Springs, started painting and drawing as a child, encouraged and inspired by her mother, who also painted.

Chris Jacobs built the art display at Main Street Studio in Charlton.

“The idea is the light will be able to filter into the back when the sun is moving around,” said Jacobs. 

The exhibit will rotate collections from artists in the community inspired by nature and the environment. 

A second microMoCA gallery will be coming soon to Stonequist Apartments, followed by a third at another location later this fall.

On Saturday, September 5, lifetime Saratoga band, Skippy and the Pistons will perform their final show at a Tunnels to Towers fundraiser by Chris Wagner and Dillon Murphy. The fundraiser will be hosted at 2117 Barrett Road, Ballston Spa from 6 to 11 p.m.

Earlier this year, founding band member, Frank Scirocco, passed away. The band’s last performance will be a tribute to the band’s leader. 

Last year the band performed at the Tunnels to Towers fundraiser for their 50th anniversary and raised over 2,500 dollars for the foundation which provides homes for injured veterans and their families. 

Raffel tickets will be sold for $20 each and 3 for $50. Prizes include gift certificates and products from local businesses. All proceeds will be donated to Tunnels to Towers.

Anyone interested in donating but cannot attend can do so by going to dogood.t2t.org/saratogafundraiser26