BALLSTON SPA — In the fall of 1972, a production crew took over Front Street to film some scenes for the movie “The Way We Were,” which was set in the 1930s. Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand–and some “extras” were played by local residents.

Learn about this event, the excitement it generated and how it impacted the community at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 10.

The gathering – free and open to the public – includes a talk by local historian David Fiske (author of Ballston Spa History Walkaround), and a walk up to Front St. to see and hear about the two locations that appeared on screen. 

Event begins at The Real McCoy at Ballston Spa, located at 28 Washington St. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Following a poetry reading by Richard Blanco to commemorate the launch of the SPAC School of the Arts (SOTA), children participated in dance, music and theatre classes led by the faculty. 

The multidisciplinary arts school was founded to further SPAC’s longstanding mission to ensure that students of all ages have the opportunity to experience the transformative power of the arts.

SOTA operates out of the Lewis A. Swyer Studios – a state-of-the-art facility located behind the National Museum of Dance on South Broadway. 

For more information about the fall semester, visit www.spacschool.org for details.

ALBANY — Music Director David Alan Miller and the musicians of the Albany Symphony return to the Palace Theatre stage on Saturday, Oct. 9 for the start of Miller’s 30th Anniversary Season. The program features Ludwig van Beethoven’s beloved Symphony No. 3, “Eroica,” as well as Jean Sibelius’ Lemminkäinen Suite, and Coincident Dances, an aural melting pot of city sounds by Jessie Montgomery.

Patrons are being welcomed back to the concert hall for the first time since Spring 2020, with extra health and safety precautions in place, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

The concert, along with all Albany Symphony subscription concerts this season, is also being streamed live online to increase access for patrons who cannot attend in person or live too far away to come to the concert hall. Tickets (including livestream access) start at $20 and are available at www.albanysymphony.com 

GLENS FALLS —Adirondacon Tabletop Gaming Convention returns to the Charles R. Wood Theater on Glen Street in downtown Glens Falls, after a long break due to the Coronavirus.

Adirondacon 4 will be a one-day, 12-hour event filled with modern board games, Role-Playing games, and more. This event is open to people of all ages and skill levels. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 

The event organizers, Adirondack Tabletop Gamers and Game Developers, along with local game design company First Stall Productions, invite tabletop gaming enthusiasts from around the area to gather and play games, have some fun, and raise some money for their chosen charity, Extra Life. 

Valid proof of completed vaccination is required to attend. Children under 12 will be admitted with a vaccinated family member but are required to wear masks while in the building. Although as of the writing of this press release, masks for vaccinated attendees are not required, they are strongly recommended, especially when participating in gaming that takes place within close proximity of other participants. Hand sanitizer will be on-hand throughout the facility for everyone’s safety.

Raffles will be held to help the Adirondack Tabletop Gamers team reach their 2021 fundraising goal of $700 for Extra Life to benefit the Bernard and Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center.

Passes: Adults: $25; Children under 12: Free of charge; Students & Veterans receive a $5 discount (call or in-person only). Each purchased ticket comes with a commemorative die and an entry into a door prize raffle.

For more information about passes or the event, go to: www.adirondacon.com 

BALLSTON SPA — A collection of essays and articles from local historians will be published in October by the Saratoga County History Center.

To accompany the book’s launch, the History Center will host two in-person events: Saturday, October 23, 2-5 p.m. at Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa; and Sunday, November 7, 2-4 p.m. at Historic Grooms Tavern in Clifton Park. The public will be able to meet contributing authors and the editorial team, purchase copies of the book, and have their editions signed by the historians. 

For more information, or to pre-order books, go to www.brooksidemuseum.org or email Jim Richmond of the Saratoga County History Roundtable: saratogacohistoryroundtable@gmail.com. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Figgs, founded in Saratoga Springs in 1987 and who have gone on to record 13 studio albums, multiple EPs, live albums, and singles, will be among this year’s inductees into the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame 

A ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at Universal Preservation Hall. 

Additional inductees include: the Big Band vocalists and brothers Bob Eberly and Ray Eberle; country musician Marty Wendell; radio disc jockey Jim Barrett, jazz band leader Skip Parsons, Cuban and African percussionist and educator Eddie Ade Knowles; Old Songs founders Kay (Andy) and Bill Spence. 

The ceremony will feature live musical performances and tributes to the inductees. Scheduled to perform are artists playing the inductees’ music: Dylan Perillo; Sean Wendell; Brown Liquor Social Club featuring Chris Dollard and J Yager; and Peter Pashoukos and Greg Greene (of the band Perennial). 

Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show.

The Eddies Music Hall of Fame was founded in 2019. Each recipient has a plaque and a short video about their career playing at the Eddies Music Hall of Fame Wall at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. The Hall of Fame is conducted in conjunction with the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Awards. The Eddies Music Awards, the Eddies Music Hall of Fame and Universal Preservation Hall are all part of the Proctors Collaborative. For more information, go to: www.theeddiesawards.com 

ALBANY — Drawing on the inspiration of her North Mississippi blues heroes and inventive iconoclasts like Prince, Samantha Fish this month releases “Faster,” on Rounder Records. The album, her sixth, was produced by Martin Kierszenbaum, who has worked with Lady Gaga and Sting. 

“I thought that after 2020 I’d end up with a dismal, bleak album, but instead, we came up with something fun and sexy and so empowering,” says Fish. She brings her brand of blues/rock-and-roll to Empire Live – located at N. Pearl St. in Albany, on Nov. 9. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Steve Forbert kicked off his recording career with his acclaimed 1978 debut album, “Alive On Arrival,” will perform at Caffe Lena on Oct. 14. 

Forbert has released 20 studio albums. His 1979 LP, “Jackrabbit Slim,” spawned the hit single  “Romeo’s Tune,” and his songs have been covered by a wide range of artists, from Keith Urban and Rosanne Cash to Marty Stuart and John Popper. Forbert also appeared opposite Cyndi Lauper in her 1983 iconic music video for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”

For more information about the Oct. 14 show, go to: www.caffelena.org 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local resident John Oliver has published a new book of words – 365 vignettes, creating a vibrant picture of an astonishing life, he says. 

Not to be confused with John Oliver of TV fame – “I spend hours explaining I’m not the HBO guy,” he created a decade ago the character of JPV Oliver, whom he explains as “an overweening snob who’s posh, eccentric, deeply ridiculous and who drinks too much…” 

The book – “I Know This Looks Bad: Errors and Graces in a Louche Life” – boasts a flair for internationalism and a proper-dripping cadence that melts 190 pages of verse into soothing tones that manifest in the inner ear, inscribed perhaps, from his graduate school days in Canterbury.    

Oliver was born in nearby Amsterdam, NY in 1953, seven months after his parents were wed. “Students of nuptial norms and human gestation will note a squiggle in the timeline,” he writes. “I was the giddy-up around their wedding.” 

His working life began as a beer truck driver in Albany during the 1970s, before catching a gig as a PR director for the NYS Nurses’ Association. “Soon after I signed on, 5,500 NYSNA union members walked out of New York City hospitals in a wildly illegal job action,” he explains.

For locals there are breakfasts on Broadway at posh Spa City hotels -“the bill was equal to the 2018 GDP of Belgium,” Church Street patios lined with the men wearing Brooks Brothers jackets and $190 jeans,    and upstate funerals “in a down-at-the-heels river town, where tiny houses smell of cigarettes and heartbreak.” There is something for just about everyone. “(And) if you don’t like the page you’re on, try another one,” he points out. “I mean, some of this stuff is good.”  Indeed. 

“I Know This Looks Bad: Errors and Graces in a Louche Life,” published by Epigraph Books is available directly from Oliver. For more information, and to purchase the book, drop him a line via email at: Oliverj859@aol.com. 

GRANVILLE — The Slate Valley Museum is welcoming back The Traveling Paints for the third session of its 2021 evening art series, Sip & Paint on Slate, Colors of the Seasons. 

For the fall Sip & Paint event, participants will create a colorful autumn scene with a covered bridge on a Slate Valley red roofing tile. Attendees will be led by an instructor from The Traveling Paints in creating their own version of the featured painting, all while sipping and enjoying the company of other painters. 

The event will be held on Friday, Oct. 1, from 7-9 p.m. at the Museum. Pre-registration is required. Tickets are $40 per person and include all art materials, one beverage ticket, and light snacks. Drinks will include wine and a selection of non-alcoholic options. Anyone planning to consume alcoholic beverages should come prepared to show valid ID. 

Space is limited. Those interested in registering can visit the Museum’s website at www.SlateValleyMuseum.org, locate the event on the calendar, and download a registration form. You can also call the Museum at 518-642-1417 or email Wendy at associate@slatevalleymuseum.org. The Slate Valley Museum is located at 17 Water St., in Granville.