Photo provided by Saratoga Springs City School District.
GREENFIELD — Three Greenfield Elementary teachers, as members of the school’s Home School Association (HSA), have joined together to bring the Dragonfire 5K run/walk back to the school.
The Dragonfire 5K Run/Walk will take place Saturday, Oct. 14 at Greenfield Elementary School beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration is open online at dragonfire5k.com.
More information can be found on the Saratoga Springs CSD website, saratogaschools.org.
GREENFIELD CENTER — The 2023 Ndakinna Harvest Celebration will take place this Saturday, Sept. 23 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Ndakinna Education Center, 23 Middle Grove Rd., Greenfield Center.
The celebration will feature a Traditional Haudenosaunee Opening Ceremony by Tom Porter, native vendors, performances by the Haudenosaunee Singers and Dancers. The event will also feature storytelling by Kay Ionataiewas Olan, along with Ndakinna’s own James, Jesse, and Joseph Bruchac. Tom Porter will finish the afternoon off with a Traditional Haudenosaunee Closing Ceremony.
Fun for all ages, space will be limited, and reservations are recommended. The event has a suggested donation of $10 per adult or $15 per family.
Funded in part by the MDOCS Co-Creation Initiative and the Mellon Foundation.
Saratoga Arts made this program possible through the Community Arts Regrant Program, funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Leslie Hewitt, Riffs on Real Time (1 of 10), 2006-2009, chromogenic print, 30 x 24 inches, Tang Teaching Museum collection, gift of Ann and Mel Schaffer Family Collection, 2017.22.7.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A screening of short experimental films in conjunction with the new exhibition “Unset Texts” will take place 6:30 pm Tuesday, Sept. 26 at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College.
The event – Whole Grain: Moving Words – explores the relationship between text and image. Paul Benzon, who co-curated the exhibition, will introduce the screening and lead a discussion afterward.
Unset Texts, an exhibition that explores books as objects, opened earlier this month and is on view through Dec. 30.
Unset Texts presents sculpture, photographs, collage, painting, prints, and artist’s books from the Tang collection and Scribner Library’s Special Collections that explore printed material in creative and critical ways.
Books are often thought of as containers for language, narrative, and thought. But what happens when we view them as aesthetic objects as well? Books can take on new and expanded meanings in the hands of artists such as Nayland Blake, Julie Chen, Robert Gober, Guerrilla Girls, Martine Gutierrez, Leslie Hewitt, David Hammons, Yoko Ono, Tim Rollins and K.O.S., and Kara Walker.
All events are free and open to the public. More information is available at the Tang Visitors Services Desk by phone at 518-580-8080 or email at tang@skidmore.edu, or visit tang.skidmore.edu.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Three-time National Book Award finalist & Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin will be joined by debut illustrator Kōdo Kimura to celebrate the release of two new books.
Yukie’s Island: My Family’s World War II Story is a moving picture book autobiography about a family’s resilience and path to healing after the devastation of war.
Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe is a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust—one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape.
Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories, including Fallout, Undefeated, Born to Fly, The Port Chicago 50, and Bomb. He lives in Saratoga Springs, with his wife and two children.
Kimura is a painter whose work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in the U.S. and internationally. Born in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, he studied art in Tokyo and now lives in New York. Yukie’s Island is his debut picture book.
The event takes place 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29 at Northshire Saratoga, 424 Broadway.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Original Blues Project member Roy Blumenfeld (drums/vocals), will be staging a concert at Caffe Lena Oct. 8 with new lineup members Jesse Williams (bass), Mark Newman (guitar/vocals), Chris Bergson (guitar/vocals), and Ken Clark (keys/vocals).
The band is celebrating its first new album in 42 years, entitled Evolution.
One of the first album-oriented, “underground” groups in the United States, the Blues Project offered an eclectic brew of rock, blues, folk, pop, and even some jazz, classical, and psychedelia during their heyday in the mid-’60s.
The Blues Project was formed in Greenwich Village in the mid-’60s by guitarist Danny Kalb (who had played sessions for various Elektra folk and folk-rock albums), Steve Katz (a guitarist with Elektra’s Even Dozen Jug Band), flutist/bassist Andy Kulberg, drummer Roy Blumenfeld, and singer Tommy Flanders. Al Kooper, in his early twenties a seasoned vet of rock sessions, joined after sitting in on the band’s Columbia Records audition.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Comedian, actor and author Paul Reiser brings his stand-up tour to Universal Preservation Hall at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. Reiser was voted one of Comedy Central’s “Top 100 Comedians of All Time” and has starred in popular shows “Mad About You,” “Stranger Things,” “The Kominsky Method” and most recently “Reboot.”
The following night, Sunday, Oct. 8, Grammy-winning trumpeter Chris Botti will perform in the Great Hall at UPH. Botti has collaborated with Sting, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Aretha Franklin, among many others.
The iconic Judy Collins will be in the Great Hall to celebrate the holiday season with a show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16.
Tickets are available through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at 518-346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or online at universalpreservationhall.org. Groups of 10 or more can get their tickets by calling 518-382-3884 ext. 139.
Vienna Tang, musical artist and climate action activist will be performing and speaking in the Spa City Sept. 28-Oct. 1. Photo by Samantha Hines.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Singer-songwriter and climate action advocate Vienna Teng will be paying an unusual, multi-faceted visit to Saratoga Springs that features three nights of musical performances at Caffe Lena, a Climate Action Workshop, and an appearance at Skidmore College.
Caffe Lena will host Teng’s musical performances Sept. 29, 30 and Oct. 1. Concert-goers can expect an intimate experience, in-between song stories, setlists built from audience requests, and a blend of folk, pop, and classical influences that has earned Teng a global following.
Drawing on over a decade of professional experience in climate and environmental sustainability, Teng will also host a workshop on Sunday, Oct. 1 to help Saratoga community members discover what enjoyable, meaningful climate action looks like to them, tailored to their particular interests and context. This workshop is free and open to the public with advance registration at: www.eventbrite.com/e/101-climate-action-workshop-with-vienna-teng-caffe-lena-tickets-570023755397?aff=odcleoeventsincollection.
Teng’s visit to the Spa City, which is slated to include meetings with community leaders to help advance Saratoga Springs’ climate-related initiatives, kicks off with a visit to Skidmore College Sept. 28 when she will engage with students, faculty, and staff to explore the intersection of art, music, and climate action.
For tickets and information regarding the Caffe Lena shows, go to: caffelena.org. For more information about the artist and climate-action activist, go to: viennateng.com.
A conversation with author of The Women Who Made New York and former New York Times journalist, Julie Scelfo, takes place Oct. 18.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s Action Council fundraising event, “SPAC in Conversation,” will return with Julie Scelfo, author of The Women Who Made New York and a former New York Times journalist.
Moderated by SPAC President & CEO Elizabeth Sobol, the discussion will explore the inclusive, intersectional collection of biographies in her book, which reveal how it was women—and not just men—who built one of the world’s greatest cities.
The event takes place Wednesday, Oct. 18 at the Spa Little Theater and the Hall of Springs, and will be highlighted by a plated lunch and boutique shopping.
Scelfo’s book, The Women Who Made New York, reveals the untold stories of the phenomenal women who made New York City the cultural epicenter of the world. Many were revolutionaries and activists, like Zora Neale Hurston and Audre Lorde. Others were icons and iconoclasts, like Fran Lebowitz and Grace Jones. There were also women who led quieter private lives but were just as influential, such as Emily Warren Roebling, who completed the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge when her engineer husband became too ill to work.
The schedule of events kicks off at 10 a.m. with a Conversation with Julie Scelfo, Spa Little Theater, to be followed by Boutique shopping, Hall of Springs; Luncheon at 12:30 p.m., and Book signing and raffle drawing at 1:30.
Cost to attend the fundraiser is $100 and includes admission to the discussion, Hall of Springs luncheon and boutique shopping. Tickets may be purchased at spac.org or by calling at 518.584.9330, ext. 142.
Photos provided by Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce will present the 2023 Saratoga Giant Pumpkinfest on Saturday, September 23 in downtown Saratoga Springs. This free and fun-for-all-ages event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Saratoga Springs City Center parking garage.
Growers from all over the state and the Northeast bring the biggest pumpkins from their harvest and compete for the coveted title of “Heaviest Pumpkin of the Year.”
Attendees can view giant pumpkins, some over 1,000 pounds, and watch the official weigh-off, which begins at 11 a.m. The festival will include fall activities as well as food and beverage vendors, and is located near the Saratoga Farmers’ Market at High Rock Park.
“We’re excited to host this family-friendly event as a kick-off to Saratoga County’s fall season of promotions for local farms and our agricultural sector,” said Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce president Todd Shimkus in the release. “It’s hard to explain how large and heavy these giant pumpkins are until you see them, so our hope is that we will have many returning guests as well as first-time event attendees curious to see what the fuss is all about.”
For more information visit saratoga.org/tourism/giant-pumpkin-fest and follow the event on Facebook.
Photo provided by Ballston Spa Central School District.
BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa CSD Community Education Program is offering two adult sports opportunities in the evenings this fall. They will include Co-Ed Indoor Soccer on Mondays and Men’s Basketball on Wednesdays.
Each includes a 10-week session beginning the week of Sept. 25. There is a $35 registration fee for district residents.
The Adult Walk About Fitness Program is a low-impact fitness activity providing a safe, indoor walking course for our community. This program is offered Monday through Thursday, beginning on Oct. 10 and ending March 28, 2024, when school is in session. There is a $20 registration fee for district residents. Walkers may join the program at any time throughout the session.
Pre-registration is required for all programs and fees are due at the beginning of each course. Those interested may register for courses by mail or in-person at the District Office, 70 Malta Ave.
Additional information regarding any of the courses offered is available online at www.bscsd.org or by calling 884-7195 ext. 1329.
