Author: Saratoga TODAY

GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls Collaborative return of its summer food festival, Take a Bite, starts Wednesday, July 7 and will run every Wednesday through Aug. 25, from 5-7 p.m. in Downtown Glens Falls. 

Take A Bite is a popular, family-friendly event that showcases the area’s restaurants. Restaurants take to the sidewalks to offer affordably priced “small plate” menu items. There are currently close to 20 vendors. 

In addition to food, there will be live entertainment by local musicians on Ridge and Glen Streets and at the Queensbury Hotel, and members of the Adirondack Theatre Festival will perform in the alleyway next to the Wood Theater. Costumed characters from Happy Face FX will also roam Downtown. The Crandall Public Library will also hold a ‘Story Walk’ for children and families. The schedule of musicians performing on Ridge and Glen Streets kicks off with Brian Fitzgerald (Ridge St.) and Tame Pacific (Glen St.). 

For more information go to: www.glensfallscollaborative.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The David Cassidy Memorial Legacy Group hosts its 4th annual celebration of the life of David Cassidy on Aug. 16. 

The event will be staged at Putnam Place and kicks off with an hour-long “mix & mingle” at 3 p.m., followed by a Celebration of Life event from 4-8 p.m., and the evening with a live performance by Joe’s Boys, performing a variety of Cassidy’s solo work, music from the Partridge Family and “good time rock n’ pop” songs from the 60’s, 70’s 80’s and beyond.

The Celebration of Life event will feature the David Cassidy Remember Me Awards ceremony, honor 70’s Long Island, New York-based band Danny Calvagna – who lost his life to COVID-19, and a silent auction to raise money for various charities, including: The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, Friends of Saratoga County Animal Shelter and Columbia Greene Humane Society. Tickets are $25. For more information, go to the events page at putnamplace.com or email the David Cassidy Memorial Legacy Group at: DavidCassidyIts4ever@gmail.com 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery presents Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards, a comprehensive survey of postcard collages by American artist Ellsworth Kelly, on view from July 10 through Nov. 28.

The exhibition marks the first time Kelly’s lifelong practice of collaged postcards will be the focus of a major museum exhibition. 

Widely regarded as one of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Kelly (1923–2015) is known for his abstract paintings, sculptures, and prints that are masterworks in the exploration of line, form, and color. Over the course of more than 50 years, the artist made approximately 400 postcard collages, some of which served as exploratory musings and others as studies for larger works in other media. They range from his first monochrome in 1949 through his last collages of crashing ocean waves, made in 2005. Together, these works show an unbounded space of creative freedom and provide an important insight into the way Kelly saw, experienced and translated the world in his art. 

An extensive catalogue will be published in conjunction with the exhibition, featuring 1:1 scale reproductions of 250 works.

Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards is curated by Ian Berry in collaboration with the Ellsworth Kelly Studio with Jessica Eisenthal, independent curator. The exhibition is part of All Together Now, a regional collections-sharing project funded by the Henry Luce Foundation to celebrate the Tang Teaching Museum’s twentieth anniversary. The project brings together rarely-seen works from The Tang Teaching Museum collection to the public in collaboration with the Shaker Museum, Ellsworth Kelly Studio, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hyde Collection, and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, among others.   

The Tang Museum also announced that the next artist in its influential Opener series will be Sarah Cain. The exhibition Opener 33: Sarah Cain—Enter the Center opens July 10 and will be on view through Jan. 2, 2022.

Los Angeles–based artist Cain explores and expands upon traditional ideas of painting, often modifying canvases by cutting and braiding, painting on all sides, and installing the canvas with the back facing the viewer. Cain describes herself as a feminist painter, using elements traditionally seen as feminine as an act of non-conformity and an alternative to the traditional hierarchies of painting.

Opener 33: Sarah Cain — Enter the Center features more than a dozen major paintings from 2012 through 2020 and an expansive site-specific installation in the Tang that includes a wall-to-wall floor painting and painted furniture. 

The opening of the exhibition marks the Tang’s official reopening to the public since closing in March 2020. The Museum’s Summer hours will be Noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday through August 29.  Fall hours will be announced at a later time. For more information, please call the Visitor Services Desk at 518-580-8080 or visit online at tang.skidmore.edu.

ALBANY — Robyn Hitchcock, singer/songwriter, surrealist poet and guitarist performs on Oct. 24, and George Winston – featuring selections from his seasonal favorites, will appear in a solo piano concert Nov. 21, in two newly announced shows at The Egg. 

Additional newly announced concerts include Peter Bernstein – Larry Goldings – Bill Stewart Trio on Sept. 17; Five For Fighting With String Quartet on Sept. 25; Songs of John Prine: Billy Prine & The Prine Time Band on Dec. 9, and Gaelic Storm on Feb. 11, 2022. 

Among previously announced upcoming shows are Ann Wilson (Aug. 17), Melissa Etheridge (Sept. 2), and Joan Osborne (Sept. 9). 

Tickets and additional information may be obtained by contacting The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza, by telephone at 518-473-1845 and online at www.theegg.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A festive summer feast featuring herb-infused spirits, a multi-course gourmet dinner and appearances by New York City Ballet dancers will take place at Saratoga Performing Arts Center July 12-13. 

Billed as “A Midsummer Night’s Supper,” the SPAC fundraiser was inspired by George Balanchine’s ballet A Midsummer Night’s Dream and ballerina Tanaquil Le Clercq’s The Ballet Cook Book. 

SPAC began 55 years ago with a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The magical dining experience  – conceived by Meryl Rosofsky as an homage to Balanchine’s love of cooking and New York City Ballet’s storied history at the venue – is slated for Monday, July 12 and Tuesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. in SPAC’s new, outdoor Julie Bonacio Family Pavilion. The suppers will serve as the kick-off to New York City Ballet’s appearance at SPAC, scheduled for Wednesday, July 14 through Saturday, July 17.

The fundraiser will include appearances by New York City Ballet dancers Tyler Angle, Gonzalo Garcia, Maria Kowroski, Amar Ramasar, Teresa Reichlen and legendary retired NYCB dancer Edward Villella. Between courses, Meryl Rosofsky, creator of the “Breaking Bread with Balanchine” project; Paul Kolnik, renowned NYCB photographer and Saratoga devotee; and Jeanne Fuchs, author and longtime friend of Tanaquil Le Clercq who worked with her on The Ballet Cook Book, will share stories about food, ballet, and Saratoga. 

The exclusive menu will feature recipes by Balanchine, Le Clercq, and dance luminaries who originated roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, including d’Amboise, Hayden, Patricia McBride, Arthur Mitchell, and Violette Verdy. The multi-course feast will be prepared by Chef Kim Klopstock of The Lily and the Rose and will be accompanied by superb wines and inventive cocktails like “Puck’s Potion” and “Bottom’s Up” created for the occasion.

“We all know that George Balanchine was a choreographic genius,” says Rosofsky, who serves as Vice-Chair of the George Balanchine Foundation. “But what many ballet lovers don’t know is that he was also a gifted cook. During summers in Saratoga, he’d even make his own ice cream and jams. His muse and wife Tanaquil Le Clercq wrote the wonderful The Ballet Cook Book, thanks to which we have personal stories and recipes from many of the great dancers of her day, including longtime Saratoga denizen Melissa Hayden (whose son happens to be my husband!) and the beloved, recently departed Jacques d’Amboise, who made a mean Sauce Béarnaise.”

“A Midsummer Night’s Supper” is part of the Center’s CulinaryArts@SPAC initiative, which launched in the fall of 2020 and features educational classes, workshops, gourmet experiences and more to support local chefs, farmers, and the regional culinary community. 

Tickets to attend are $350 or $250 for a Junior Ticket (35 years old and under) and will be available for purchase on Monday, June 28. Tables are available in reservations of six ($5,000); eight ($7,500) or ten ($10,000). Guests who purchase a table of ten will have the opportunity to dine with a dancer from New York City Ballet. Edward Villella will participate in the July 13 event only. Visit spac.org for more details or contact Heather Varney at hvarney@spac.org.