Author: Jonathon Norcross

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Gideon Putnam will host North Country Wild Care’s 2026 Fundraising Gala on Sunday, May 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The 25th anniversary event, which is being held in support of local volunteers and wildlife rehabilitators, will include rehabilitator presentations, a silent auction, luncheon, a wildlife rehabilitator roundtable, a video presentation, cash bar, and live music performed by Tootie & The Mother Plucker. 100% of proceeds from the lunch and auction will be spent on food and medication for sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife.

Tickets are available at www.ticketstripe.com/ncwc-gala-2026.

The entrance and inner vault of the Silver Cannabis Company’s Saratoga Springs location. Photos by Jonathon Norcross.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — ‘Twas the week before 4/20, when all through the dispensary,

budtenders were stirring, conducting an audit.

Although popular culture often depicts cannabis enthusiasts as lackadaisical, at the Silver Cannabis dispensary in Saratoga Springs, products are meticulously tagged, tested, and tracked. The business is subject to multiple, random state inspections each year and must always be prepared.

Silver—which has nine locations scattered across New York, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont—has its regional managers conduct internal audits, which can serve as practice runs for state inspections. Individual stores also have their staffers perform daily categorical audits. On April 15, one Saratoga budtender was auditing the store’s supply of edibles to ensure that the physical inventory matches the information that’s in both the store’s system and the state’s tracking system.

“Compliance and regulations can be a good thing,” Jacob LeLievre, general manager of the Spa City pot shop, told Saratoga TODAY. “Everything that we have in there is tested for pesticides. It’s tested for potency. It’s tested for residual chemicals that could come in contact with it during the process. Everything is completely clean and safe to be sold, versus something that you may choose to purchase elsewhere. You wouldn’t necessarily know where it came from or if it was completely safe to consume. I can stand by knowing that our products are safe, and that we can make the best suggestion to anyone who comes in.”

In July 2024, Silver became the first recreational dispensary to open its doors in Saratoga Springs. Since then, it’s had to redesign its space to accommodate a steady flow of customers. It also recently expanded its vault to accommodate more inventory. The physical changes are evidence of what might be obvious to anyone who drives past Silver in Saratoga or Sashies in Ballston Spa: the local cannabis business is booming.

“We never knew what to expect when we first opened, and we ended up opening up to a ton of people welcoming us into the community,” LeLievre said. “I think we exceeded expectations.”

According to New York State Cannabis Control Board data published earlier this month, dispensaries that have been open for a year are averaging about $4 million in annual sales. Top retailers can yield closer to $6 million annually, with the less profitable shops bringing in about $1.2 million. “New York’s cannabis market demonstrates resilience; most respondents are operational, adapting, and confident in their own business outlook amid broader market challenges,” states the control board’s report.

In 2025, the legal cannabis market in New York surpassed $2.5 billion in sales, according to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management. Also that year, the number of shops statewide increased from 261 to 556.

One thing that seems to be driving business, at Silver’s Saratoga location at least, is the desire for a good night’s sleep.

“A lot of people are looking for sleep options,” LeLievre said. “I’d say my favorite thing to help someone with is sleep. When someone comes in and they’re struggling to go to bed at night; that’s a fundamental part of being who you are, being able to get a good rest and get out the next day. Many people come back to get the same product again, just because they find that it works so well.” (LeLievre has a mantra for those seeking sleep aids: start low and go slow. In other words, start with a small dosage and test out various options, trial-and-error style.)

Of course, this time of year is decidedly not a sleepy one for dispensaries. April 20 (or, 4/20), considered a “high holiday” for cannabis users, is one of Silver’s busiest days of the year, up there with more traditional holidays like Christmas and local happenings like the Belmont Stakes.

“I would say the preparation for 4/20 usually starts in May because it takes a ton of time to get ready for,” LeLievre said.

Silver’s 4/20 celebrations this year include various educational opportunities where customers can learn more about products directly from vendors, and a lobster food truck from noon to 6 p.m. Those who are already fans of cannabis products are obviously welcome, but so too are those who might be skeptical of the recent legalization and proliferation of the industry across Upstate New York.

“Just come in and see us,” LeLievre said. “We can reassure you with our smiling faces and with our guidance that we’re here to help you with whatever it is that you may need help with when it comes to the cannabis realm, even if you’re nervous to step in.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Drenched for hours in the pouring rain. Splitting fallen trees with chainsaws. Traipsing through the snow. Building a bridge over a bog.

Saratoga PLAN’s stewards might be the most dedicated, and perhaps underappreciated, volunteer group in the Spa City.

“They’re so sociable and they work together so easily; they’re just great people,” Magnolia Roosa, Saratoga PLAN’s stewardship coordinator, told Saratoga TODAY. “They come from all different backgrounds and areas of expertise, so bringing everyone together into a common goal, and seeing how everyone interacts and problem solves together, it’s a really nice way to start the week, and they’re a great group to work with.”

The stewards meet on Monday mornings, and last month they gathered for a volunteer appreciation breakfast at Saratoga PLAN’s headquarters on Spring Street. It was easy to notice their camaraderie, despite a foreboding weather forecast that threatened to derail their planned trail maintenance expedition later that day. But these stewards didn’t need sunny weather to maintain a sunny disposition.

“After having worked all my life, I’ve discovered that the best thing to do at the beginning of the week is go outside and do trail work,” said volunteer steward Lorraine Skibo. “It’s just phenomenal.”

Another steward, Bruce Klion, agreed. “Setting an alarm, getting up, and being somewhere outdoors throughout all four seasons at nine o’clock in the morning, it just feels great,” he said.

The precise number of people who participate in PLAN’s volunteer steward program fluctuates, but Roosa estimates that the nonprofit land conservation group has about 75 active volunteers, with new applications arriving every week. 

The stewards are primarily responsible for maintaining hiking trails, which can involve tasks as straightforward as sweeping debris or replacing signs, to jobs more complex and labor intensive, such as building bog bridges and kiosks. As more people have joined the team, bringing their own skillsets with them, the stewards have been able to monitor property boundaries, collect data, write reports, perform mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) work, fight the spread of invasive species, and lead educational walks.

“We have one volunteer, he helped build the Finger Lakes trail. He’s been doing trail work all his life,” Klion said. “There’s a high level of expertise among a lot of these people.”

The work brings together those with common interests, such as hiking and the outdoors. But there’s also a social component to the volunteer program, which is comprised of many retirees and transplants.

“Most of the time, it’s people moving into the area that have come from backgrounds of either working with an outdoor organization or they had a career in the environmental field, and they wanted to get more involved,” Roosa said. “Sometimes, people that are new to the area just want to join a group of friends.”

A number of volunteers have joined Saratoga PLAN through the steward program, and then expanded their involvement to other volunteer opportunities or even board appointments. Klion joined the board of directors in September of 2024, and currently serves as co-chair of the development committee. Skibo is also a board member, and once served as its chair for two years. But regardless of their titles or the extent of their involvement, PLAN’s volunteers seem passionate about what they do.

“I have to be careful about how much detail I put in my emails because sometimes they’ll want to start working before I even get there, so I have to make sure that I show up early to get there before all the other volunteers,” Roosa said. “They’re such outdoorsy people that just love being outside, the fact that the program is getting them outside to these different preserves and being in a very social group, they’re happy to do those types of tasks. They’re really happy to do whatever task is at hand.”

Those interested in becoming a Saratoga PLAN Monday stewards volunteer can do so by submitting an application form here: saratogaplan.org/volunteer-application-form.