GLENS FALLS — After a year of uncertainty and performance limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Park Theater has announced its inaugural summer concert series at the Crandall Park Bandshell each Friday evening in July 2021. Concerts take place 7-8:30 p.m. This is a free concert series that will serve to enhance the accessibility of the arts within the local community.

The Crandall Park Bandshell is located on Fire Rd, Glens Falls. The Park Theater will be following all NYS and CDC guidance to maintain utmost safety.

 For more information, visit: parktheatergf.com, or phone The Park Theater Box Office at 518-792-1150. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Two new exhibitions – Sprit Rappings, and Brighten the Corners – will run concurrently at Saratoga Arts from July 1 to Aug. 14. 

Spirit Rappings features collaborations and work by artists Judy Glantzman and Jeffrey Hargrave, Ben Gocker and Helen Macro, telling and retelling familiar stories and history by repurposing imagery and/or objects.

Spirit Rappings is borrowed from a song with the same title published in 1853 describing the Victorian practice of spirit rapping to communicate with spirits, which began in western New York State in the 1840s with the rise of spiritualism. Messages received through a series of knocks or taps were interpreted by a medium and shared as truths. This exhibition asks us to reexamine commonly held truths and reconsider what we hold as valuable.

Brighten the Corners: Art of the 1990s from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, is part of All Together Now, a regional collections sharing project organized by the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, with support of the Henry Luce Foundation.

This exhibition features more than 15 works of contemporary art including painting, sculpture and photography from the Tang collection with a focus on identity, race, gender and storytelling by artists such as Nayland Blake, Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler, Wendy Ewald, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Frank Moore, Lorna Simpson and Tim Rollins and K.O.S.

An opening reception will be held at Saratoga Arts noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 3, and an Artist Talk takes place on July 10 at 2 p.m. 

Saratoga Arts is located at 320 Broadway. For more information, go to: www.saratoga-arts.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — At its annual meeting on June 17, Saratoga Performing Arts Center reflected upon the challenges and opportunities presented by 2020 and looked ahead to its reopening in 2021. 

“On Monday, May 18 of 2020, SPAC did the unthinkable. In the middle of glorious high spring weather, after 53 continuous years of presenting on our beloved and legendary stage, we cancelled an entire season and left the doors to the amphitheater locked — a profound and solemn acknowledgement during some of the darkest, early days of the pandemic,” said Elizabeth Sobol, president & CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center at the Annual Meeting. “And yet, here we are. After what now seems an eternity, the amphitheater is open, the lawn is thick and green.”

SPAC’s season kicked off on June 5 with its signature education event, The Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists, celebrating the artistic achievements of more than 200 local student dancers, singers, musicians, poets and visual artists. Trey Anastasio kicked off the pop music season with a trio of shows June 18-20. 

Following a year of a shuttered amphitheater stage due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SPAC will welcome back all three resident companies – New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center — in addition to hosting its iconic Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, a popular concert lineup presented by Live Nation, the return of Caffè Lena @ SPAC, and a special evening dedicated to Health Care Workers. 

During 2020, SPAC completed its major new capital project, The Pines@SPAC. The project restored park-like aesthetics to the grounds and opened up original site lines from the Route 50 Gate to the Victoria Pool, provided new and vastly expanded restrooms and concessions areas – and new measures for safety and security. Funding was provided by Live Nation, Empire State Development, and NYS Parks Recreation & Historic Preservation. 

SPAC’s total operating income for 2020 was $4.37 million, total operating expenses were $3.95 million, resulting in an operating surplus for the year at just over $400,000. That surplus will be used to navigate the 2021 season. 

“Nowhere is SPAC’s transformation more dramatically evident than in the presence of our new Pines@SPAC facility,” Sobol said. The project will have its official ribbon cutting later this season.

Carl DeBrule, Sean Leonard, Chris Mackey and Dr. Oliver Robinson were welcomed as new members of the SPAC Board of Directors. 

DeBrule has over 22 years of experience in business, operations and technical leadership experience driving high performance teams and operational innovations. His current role is with Johnson and Johnson Corporation as Vice President Global Applications Development Engineering Processes and Testing. 

Leonard is currently Chief Investment Officer and Partner with Graypoint LLC with 13 years in finance. He is a pragmatic, growth oriented and execution focused leader. 

Mackey has 34 years of diversified wholesale and retail automotive experience and success in the management and development of all aspects of franchised retail automobile dealership operations. He is 95% owner of Saratoga Ford and Saratoga Subaru. 

Dr. L. Oliver Robinson is currently the Superintendent of Schools for the Shenendehowa Central School District in Clifton Park.

2021 Season Dates

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center: June 13 -August 29 at Pitney Meadows Community Farm
New York City Ballet: On and Off Stage, July 14 – 17
Opera Saratoga: Man of La Mancha, July 8-10
The Philadelphia Orchestra: Aug. 11 – 14

For tickets and more information, visit SPAC.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival, in collaboration with Temple Sinai, presents “Jews, God, and History,” a one-man virtual show courtesy of Zoom, at 7 p.m. on June 27. 

“Jews, God, and History” is written and performed by Michael Takiff and directed by Tony nominee Brian Lane Green.

“Geared to mature audiences, Jews, God and History is introspective, and provides us the opportunity to laugh while stimulating our brains to reexamine core beliefs, not to change, but perhaps to reaffirm. You be the judge,” said Saratoga Jewish Cultural Festival Coordinator Phyllis Wang, in a statement. 

The show provokes people to think and to laugh, employing a breadth of comedic forms: stand-up, sketch, character, impressions, and just plain jokes. Dialogue, rant, and insight fill out the show’s rich dramatic material.

Takiff will take questions after the performance.  Registration is required:  sjca.sjcf@gmail.com  Further information on program can be found  at www.saratogajewishculturalfestival.org  Donations are welcome to Temple Sinai, 509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, or at saratogasinai.org.     

BALLSTON SPA — Free concerts will be staged Thursday evenings from 6-8 p.m. in Lions Music Park at the historic Iron Spring Park on Front Street in the village of Ballston Spa from July 1 through Aug. 26.

The concerts are presented by the Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association (BSBPA).

2021 Concerts in the Park Schedule

July 1: Ballston Spa Community Band
July 8: Erin Harkes
July 15: The North & South Dakotas
July 22: The Lustre Kings
July 29: The Rogues
August 5: Annual Ice Cream Social with Union Fire Co. Band
August 12: SIRSY
August 19: Geo Beat
August 26: Ballston Spa Community Jazz Band

Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets to sit on. Concerts follow any continuing New York State guidelines for safe public gatherings that may be in effect at the time of the event. These may include social distancing measures, face masks and limited capacity in the park. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ramblin’ Jack Elliot returns to Caffe Lena on July 25 when he is scheduled to perform one week prior to his 90th birthday. For ticket information,
 go to: caffelena.org. 

ALBANY — Commemorating the events of Juneteenth, Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York (BTTUNY) will present a virtual reading of Celeste Bedford Walker’s searing historical drama, CAMP LOGAN. 

The play chronicles the story of six Black U.S. soldiers and the incidents leading to the tragic 1917 racially charged riot in Houston, Texas that left dozens dead or wounded in the streets. In the aftermath of what was deemed a mutiny by the military courts martial, 19 Black soldiers were executed by hanging and 47 were sentenced to life in prison without parole. The reading will air beginning 5 p.m. June 19 and remain available for streaming through June 22. 

CAMP LOGAN playwright, Celeste Bedford Walker, has written more than 40 plays and has been recognized by the U.S. Congress for her historical contribution as a producer and author of works that bring to light lost stories of African American history. 

The reading will air on all of  theREP’s Streaming Platforms – Proctors Collaborative YouTube channel, on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku – search and download the Collaborative Studios app or through the Open Stage Media On-Demand Channel. The reading is free, but there is a suggested donation of $15.  All proceeds go directly to the work of Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York, a not-for-profit organization.

For more information, contact the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY by calling 518-833-2621 or emailing BTTUNY518@gmail.com. 

BOLTON LANDING — The Sembrich is launching its 2021 Free Film Festival with a lakeside screening of Crescendo (2019), on June 21. 

“We are excited to resume our Free Film Festival in 2021,” says Suzanna M. Bernd, The Sembrich’s Executive Director, in a statement. “We welcome all community members – including residents and visitors – to join us for these free lakeside screenings.”

The Sembrich’s 2021 Free Film Festival will take place outdoors on the lakeshore under its performance tent. Guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs and enjoy the park-like atmosphere of The Sembrich’s historic lakeside grounds. 

Loosely inspired by Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Crescendo tells the story of a conductor striving to form an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra amid political tensions. Many brilliant scenes feature classical music, including performances of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Dvorak’s Serenade for Winds, and Ravel’s Bolero. The film premiered at the Munich International Film Festival in 2019, where it received a ten-minute standing ovation.

2021 Free Film Festival Calendar: All screenings at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays: June 21 – Crescendo (2019); July 5 – Brasslands (2013); July 19 – The Cunning Little Vixen (2003); Aug. 2 – The Maestro (2018); Aug. 16 – Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (2019), and Aug. 30 – Blinded by the Light (2019).

Reservations can be made online but are not required. For more information on this film or the 2021 Nature & Music Summer Festival, visit TheSembrich.org/festival or call The Sembrich’s office at 518-644-2431. The Sembrich is located at 4800 Lake Shore Drive, Bolton Landing. For more information, visit www.TheSembrich.org or contact us at 518-644-2431 or Office@TheSembrich.org

SARATOGA SPRINGS — New Bluebird Hotels property, Spa City Motor Lodge in downtown Saratoga Springs, will toast the start of the summer season with a celebration of the best shopping, dining, drinks, art, and music the city has to offer. 

The Best of Saratoga Springs Festival, organized in partnership with media sponsor Discover Saratoga, will bring together local businesses and mark the beginning of the 2021 tourism season. 

Locals and visitors alike are invited to experience the new downtown Saratoga property, Spa City Motor Lodge, which debuted at 413 Broadway this season from the team behind Bluebird Hotels by Lark. 

Following an extensive renovation, the hotel and venue will host a free concert and food event that will include: Live performances by G. Love and local musician, Jeff Brisbin, a chance to explore Saratoga Springs’ newest hotel and venue, Spa City Motor Lodge; Food offerings from Tatu Tacos & Tequila, Whole Harvest, Pura Vida Kettle Corn and more; Beer garden and tastings from Walt & Whitman Brewing Company; Wine tastings at the ‘Barrel Bar’ from Old Tavern Farm Winery; Coffee bar from Death Wish Coffee; Flea market finds and shopping from Hatsational and The Vintage Shop; Art gallery with works for sale from Collective 131; Kids art station and take-home kits from the Children’s Museum of Saratoga; Porsche Taycan sweepstakes from the Saratoga Automobile Museum, and more. 

The Best of Saratoga Springs Festival will take place 3-8 p.m. on Friday, June 25. 

Jeff Brisbin performs at 3 p.m., and G. Love’s performance begins at 6:30 p.m.

Attendance is free, but guests are encouraged to register online at bestofsaratogasprings.eventbrite.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opera Saratoga announced this week that AMERICA SINGS, the company’s free concert series created to amplify the voices of artists from racial groups historically underrepresented on the concert stage, will return to Caffè Lena June 19 for a Juneteenth Celebration, celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. 

The program was curated by bass-baritone Carl DuPont, a distinguished alumnus of Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program who is now on faculty at Peabody Conservatory where he teaches voice and a survey course on Art Song by African American Composers. 

Juneteenth, which is celebrated annually on June 19, commemorates the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. The arrival of troops came two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Confederate General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox Court House two months earlier in Virginia, but slavery had remained relatively unaffected in Texas—until U.S. General Gordon Granger stood on Texas soil and read General Orders No. 3: “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” Juneteenth honors that day – the end of slavery in the United States.

“In America we have de jure and de facto legal and government systems,” says concert curator Carl Dupont. “Juneteenth is the crystallization of that for me. Although The Emancipation Proclamation was issued two years prior to Juneteenth (de jure) the actual emancipation of those citizens in Texas (de facto) didn’t happen until two years later. This holiday is a reminder of how stubborn structural racism can be, and how indomitable the persistence of the human spirit remains.”

In putting together the concert program, DuPont has included prose and poetry – along with an extraordinary selection of music by African American composers – to create a comprehensive texture of celebrating Juneteenth. 

Musical selections include songs by H. Leslie Adams, Tim Amukele, Margaret Bonds, Uzee Brown, Moses Hogan, Betty Jackson King, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, and Hale Smith. Spoken word selections include excerpts from The Declaration of Independence, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The General Orders which actually notified the enslaved people that they were free. The program will also include first-hand diary accounts and poetry from formerly enslaved people, as well as newspaper copy of the observation of the first Juneteenth celebrations. 

The program will be performed by Festival Artists from Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program, who include notable emerging Black singers alongside artists who come from a wide range of other racial backgrounds, many of whom are learning more about Juneteenth through the experience of putting together this program. 

“America Sings: A Juneteenth Celebration” is presented in partnership with Caffè Lena. The free concert will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 19. To access the concert, and for additional information, visit: www.operasaratoga.org/juneteenth