Author: Saratoga TODAY
Summer Pickleball League
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs Recreation Department’s Pickleball League is moving outside for the summer.
All levels are welcome to participate, although there is limited space for Beginners. The league is 18+, and will play at East Side Rec on Wednesdays, 5:45–8:15 p.m., starting May 5 to June 23.
Early registration for city residents is open through Monday, April 26. Early registration for non-city residents is Monday, April 19 – Monday, April 26. Fees through April 26 are $45 for city residents and $65 for non-city residents. Fees after April 26 are $70 for city residents and $90 for non-city residents.
The Pickleball League will follow a ladder-style system where players participate in a round robin with others of similar skill in a recreational setting. Players will need a mask, paddle, water, and sneakers.
Register online at www.SaratogaRec.com or email questions to recreservations@saratoga-springs.org. Volunteer Coordinator is Larry Rose.
Sean Hudson: Athlete of the Week
Congrats to this week’s Athlete of the Week – Sean Hudson!
Sean is a senior at Saratoga Springs High School. He is currently a quarterback and free safety on the Saratoga Springs Varsity Football Team. He had an outstanding game against Bethlehem this season. He threw for 5 touchdowns, rushed for 193 yards, and ran in another touchdown. He kicked 5 extra points and finished the game 11/16 for 231 yards.
Sean also plays baseball for Saratoga Springs High School, and is primarily an outfielder. He also played summer ball on the Saratoga Lightning and Capital Renegades travel teams.
Academically, Sean has been on the High Honor Roll all semesters of high school. He has been accepted and will attend the University of Maryland in the Fall.
Berliner, Keeve, & Stout Named to Pan Am Judo Team
GLENVILLE — Ari Berliner (22), Nate Keeve (25), and Nicole Stout (23) from the Glenville, NY based Jason Morris Judo Center (JMJC) have earned spots on USA Judo’s Pan American Championship team that will compete in Guadalajara, Mexico, April 16-17, 2021. The Pan Ams is an Olympic qualifying event where the results are weighed equally to winning a tour event. Berliner, who will compete at 66kg, will be going to his first Pan Ams. Keeve, whose father Damon was a 1992 and 1996 Olympian, will be headed to his third Pan Ams. Stout will also be competing in her third Pan Am Championship. The JMJC has now put a total of 44 athletes on the Pan Am Judo team in a remarkable run over its 20 years of operation.
Saratoga Race Course To Open For Training on Saturday, April 17; Oklahoma to Re-open in May
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Race Course will open for spring training at 6 a.m. on Saturday, April 17. The barn area at the Oklahoma Training Track will open to horsemen on Thursday, April 15.
To accommodate the completion of a major renovation of the Oklahoma Training Track facility, training will begin on the main track at Saratoga Race Course, according to a statement issued by the New York Racing Association.
When training resumes at the Oklahoma in early May, horses and riders will be met with a completely reconstructed track featuring a limestone base, renovated surface layer and modernized drainage systems. In addition, the training track has been widened by 10-14 feet in most areas to address the increasing population of horses training over the Oklahoma annually from April-October.
Additionally, to enhance safety for exercise riders and jockeys, the inner rail at the Oklahoma has been replaced with a rider protection system designed by Horsemen’s Track and Equipment. The renovation of the Oklahoma Training Track was modeled after the work that was done to the Saratoga main track in 2020, which involved general improvements to the base and surface of the track, as well as a complete overhaul of the drainage system and installation of a new rider safety rail.
In consultation with the New York State Gaming Commission as well as state and local public health officials, NYRA will maintain a number of health and safety protocols implemented at all NYRA properties to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 and reduce risk for employees, horsemen, backstretch workers and the community. Facial coverings and social distancing are mandatory at all times at Saratoga Race Course.
Beginning on April 17, personnel working in support of training activities must provide a negative COVID-19 test or proof of full vaccination in order to access the property. This applies to both local personnel as well as those arriving from other regions. All personnel will be subject to a daily temperature check prior to entering the property.
The 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course will open on Thursday, July 15. New York State COVID-19 protocols do not currently allow for spectators at racetracks. NYRA says is is working closely with New York State to secure the requisite approvals to welcome fans back to Belmont Park this spring and to Saratoga Race Course this summer.
Photo: Work continues at Oklahoma Training Track earlier this month. Photo by SuperSource Media.
Lake George Area Attraction Prepares for More Adventure
Bolton Landing — Adirondack Extreme Adventure Course announced the addition of its “Low Rider Zip Tour,” an introductory zipline course designed for first-time, novice zipline adventurers as well as seasoned obstacle course veterans consisting of 12 ziplines and 9 walking bridges. “The difference between our zipline-only course and other traditional zip tours is its proximity to the ground,” said Adirondack Extreme Owner, Jamie Johnson. “It’s a low-level zipline tour multi-generational families can enjoy together.” Each of the ziplines in the “Low Rider Zip Tour” will be 75 to 550 feet in length and traverse over naturally occurring, picturesque landscape features such as Alder Brook. Adirondack Extreme’s 8 other adventure courses offer an additional 22 ziplines as part of an ensemble of obstacles and range in heights of 15 to 65 feet. Johnson said, ‘Low Rider Zip Tour’ guests will be zipping closer to the water and forest floor with maximum zipline heights of 10-30 ft.”
According to operations manager Jaime Delong, the “Low Rider Zip Tour” will be offered as a stand-alone tour for $48 as well as an add-on for as little as $10. Guests aged 9 and up who meet the reach requirement will have a chance to experience the “Low Rider Zip Tour” when it is debuted on April 17, 2021. “We always get a lot of people asking about our opening date each year,” Delong said, Adirondack Extreme officially opens for its 15th anniversary season on Saturday, April 10.
Pro tip: If you’re afraid of heights, the “Low Rider Zip Tour” will quench your thirst for adventure without the threat of being too far off the ground.
There will also be packages including parts of our adventure courses combined with the “Low Rider Zip Tour” available for general admission as well as groups: Adirondack Extreme hosts birthday parties, field trips, and corporate events — Johnson said, “after all, there’s nothing like the thrill of a treetop experience to re-connect and foster the togetherness we now hold so valuable.”
Note: if this has you wanting to spend every day here: Adirondack Extreme Adventure Course is hiring. The course is looking to fill seasonal positions. If you are interested, DeLong recommends you apply at www.adirondackextreme.com/employment
Where the Music Never Died
SARATOGA SPRINGS — It wasn’t prompted by a premonition of a global shutdown of live music due to a deadly pandemic, but the fact that the timely, existential refurb of the venerable Caffè Lena included a better-than-needed(?) audio upgrade and multi-camera video installation was, nonetheless, prophetic.
At this writing, fourteen months from the onset, we’re not out of the woods, but we have started to let small, pre-screened patrons into the rarified air, (literally), that has, even in the throes of COVID-19, continuously echoed with live music for more than 60 years. The streaming, the suddenly commonplace connection that allowed our gregarious nature to find digital refuge, will continue.
Purists may argue that the experience, the visceral, touchy/feely, sing-along, chocolate chip, in-person version is diminished by being teased out over the internet. I prefer to think that the two, very unique, experiences form a complimentary new hybrid.
Being physically present has layers of sensory stimuli that we are still unable to produce remotely; the natural sound, of course and the aromas and the lights, the clamor and the camaraderie, the exchange of energy between audience and performer, the afterglow and the merch… did I mention the cookies? But the music, the words, the melody and harmony, the pluck of a string and beat of a drum, the poetic truth that stirs our souls and imaginations and taps our toes cannot complete its journey from thought to pen to paper until its performance reaches some ears, and the more ears, the better.
From coast to coast, Canada to South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Caffè Lena’s concert streams are broadening the outreach of the venue’s dedication to the art while expanding the fan base of some of the world’s finest musicians. And…in a more perfect world…when it’s safe, perhaps some of those new, streamer fans in Brazil or Senegal or Kuala Lumpur will find their way to Phila St. We have cookies.
Joel Moss is a Grammy Award-winning record producer, Saratoga Springs resident and the Caffè Lena streaming producer and archivist.
Capital Repertory Theatre’s April Reading Series April 14-19
ALBANY — The second half of April features a quartet of Capital Repertory Theatre virtual play readings with several actors known to theREP audiences as well as works by young playwrights.
The series includes the dramatic short play, “Third Grade” by Dominique Morisseau airing April 14-17; the classic “Alice in Wonderland” in an adaptation co-created by theREP’s Producing Artistic Director Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill and Associate Artistic Director Margaret E. Hall; airing April 21-24; a sneak peek of a new play, “American Fast” by 2020 Next Act’s winning playwright Kareem Fahmy on April 28; and readings of theREP’s Young Playwrights Contest top 10 finalists’ short plays on April 29.
Each event will be livestreamed on the Collaborative Studios’ YouTube channel and through the Collaborative Studios app on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. And two – “Third Grade” and “Alice in Wonderland” – will be available on demand at openstagemedia.org/video-on-demand for several days after the premiere.
The readings are free, but there is a suggested donation of $15 to benefit the theatre’s new play development work.
UAlbany Theatre Program Premieres Digital Movie Musical
ALBANY — The Theatre Program of the University at Albany’s Department of Music and Theatre will premiere a digital movie musical titled Love & Other Destinations, which explores the triumphs and tragedies of love in all its forms.
Partnering with Broadway and New York talent and featuring theatre majors and musical theatre minors, Love & Other Destinations is written by composer Brad Ross and lyricist Michael Cooper. It can be viewed online on April 22 at 8 p.m., April 23 at 3 p.m., April 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and April 25 at 2 p.m. Admission is free but virtual seats must be reserved in advance at www.albany.edu/musicandtheatre/theatre-productions.
For further information, contact the Theatre Program office at 518-442-4200 or theatre@albany.edu.
