MALTA — Local author and ADK 46er, Ken Marcinowski, invites readers to embark on a journey through the Adirondack Mountains with his latest book, “May The Mountain Speak To You.”
Filled with snapshots accompanied by heartfelt poetry and insightful quotations to inspire readers to connect with nature and embrace the wonders of the outdoors.
“May The Mountain Speak To You” (The Troy Book Makers) is currently available on various platforms including Northshire Books in Saratoga Springs.
Vixen will perform at The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls next week. Photo provided.
HUDSON FALLS — Vixen will perform at The Strand Theatre.
Vixen – in its initial lineup, was formed in Minneapolis in the 1980s and featured six number one videos on MTV and four songs in Billboard’s Top 100. The all-female rock band opened for Ozzy Osbourne, KISS and Scorpions, among others.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Opening acts are Lucid Street and musician Margo Macero. Tickets are: $50 balcony, $65 lower level (not including front row).
On Thursday, Jan. 18, the Strand Theatre welcomes indie band Areli and Company for a 7:30 p.m. show. Areli & Company features Areli Mendoza-Pannone, a versatile singer-songwriter and classical soprano from Albany, plus performers from the School of Music at SUNY Schenectady.
The Strand Theatre is located at 210 Main St, Hudson Falls.
For more information, go to www.mystrandtheatre.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s CulinaryArts@SPAC series will return with the flavor-packed cuisine from Win Son, Brooklyn’s destination Taiwanese-American restaurant and bakery on the Michelin list.
Called “one of NYC’s most thrilling meals” by Eater, the restaurant and its chefs will curate exclu-sive samplings from their menu and new cookbook for event attendees.
Slated for Jan. 26 from 6- 9 p.m. at The Pines at SPAC, Win Son: A Taste of Taiwan will feature con-versation hosted by WAMC’s Joe Donahue with Win Son cofounders and authors Josh Ku and Chef Trigg Brown.
A “cook the book” styled-event, Win Son: A Taste of Taiwan features culinary samplings of the vi-brant flavors of Taiwan, while inviting guests to learn how an ever-simmering pot of creative influ-ences has evolved Taiwanese cooking in the U.S. Attendees will have the opportunity to sample dishes such as Five-Spice Buttered Peanuts and Pan-Griddled Pork Buns upon arrival, followed by tastes of dishes such as Fried Eggplant with Black Vinegar, Sticky Rice with Sausage and Shrimp, and Mochi Donuts, all served family-style at communal tables. Taiwan beer, wine and soft drinks will also be served.
Accompanying the tastings will be a conversation hosted by WAMC’s Joe Donahue with Win Son’s Josh Ku and Chef Trigg Brown, who recently published Win Son Presents: A Taiwanese American Cookbook.
Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book for the special event price of $35 and have it signed by the authors.
The CulinaryArts@SPAC initiative, founded in 2020, combines culinary excellence and education with exquisite food that emphasizes socially conscious cultivation and consumption, local procure-ment, and fair wages. Most recently, CulinaryArts@SPAC hosted The Joy of Oysters with author Nils Bernstein and The Mushroom Experience in partnership with Collar City Mushrooms.
Tickets cost $90 per person. Visit spac.org for details.
Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman, a duet first formed in 2017, stage a show at Caffe Lena’s on Jan. 7.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — First brought together by Brooklyn’s tight-knit old-time music community in 2017, Nora Brown and Stephanie Coleman share the creations of their musical partnership with Saratoga Springs in a show to be staged 7 p.m. on Jan. 7 at Caffe Lena.
Brown plays banjo and guitar and has released three albums on Brooklyn-based Jalopy Records. She has performed across the US, Europe, and Japan including NPR’s Tiny Desk and TED EDU.
Over the past two decades, Coleman has established herself as a highly respected and sought-after practitioner of traditional Appalachian and Midwestern style old-time fiddle. She holds the record for most ribbons won in the renowned fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Music Festival in Clifftop, WV, and has recorded and toured internationally.
Together, Brown and Coleman have performed at such venues as the Kennedy Center, Symphony Space, Philadelphia Folk Festival, and the Trans-Pecos Festival in Marfa, Texas. Their long-awaited EP is the culmination of six years spent playing tunes and honing their sound as a duo.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The new year at Universal Preservation Hall is kicking off with a one-of-a-kind night theatrical experience Thursday, Jan. 18 – Sunday, Jan. 21.
“Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding,” at the Great Hall for six performances, welcomes guests to the wedding ceremony and reception; There’s real food, real dance, and real mingling with a cast of lovable characters of an Off-Broadway comedy.
The event is staged as a festive celebration in which the audience doesn’t just watch the show but participates directly in the fun as members of the family or friends of the bride and groom. The show’s history spans back to its first performance in 1985.
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 518-82-3884 ext. 139.
ALBANY — Artist William Wegman, best known for his portraits of his Weimaraner dogs, will be the next guest in The Creative Life conversation series at UAlbany.
The event takes place 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown University at Albany campus located at 1400 Washington Ave. The event is free and open to the public.
William Wegman is a beloved American artist known throughout the world for photographs, videos and calendars that feature his Weimaraner dogs in a variety of costumes and poses. His work is held in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and Smithsonian American Art Museum. The author of numerous books for children, Wegman is also the creator of short segments featuring his dogs for Sesame Street. His new book is William Wegman: Writing by Artist (2022), his first collection to focus on his multifaceted and deeply funny relationship to language, spanning the early 1970s to the present.
The Creative Life series is a major arts initiative of the University Art Museum, New York State Writers Institute and UAlbany Performing Arts Center in conjunction with WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Previous guests in The Creative Life series have included, among others, fiction writer Joyce Carol Oates, Broadway star Patti LuPone, Warhol film star Bibbe Hansen, high-wire artist Philippe Petit, art critic Lucy Sante, actress/comedian Jane Curtin and singer/guitarist Susanna Hoffs. Additional guests in the series will be announced for the spring of 2024.
More information can be obtained by contacting the UAlbany Performing Arts Center at 518-442-3995 or pac@albany.edu.
Michael Grant, has published his debut novel, The Limited Edition Bicentennial Cadillac Convertible Joy Ride. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRNGS — Local residents may remember Michael Grant from his time in the community as co-operator of Saratoga Coffee Traders, as a photographer, as the co-curator of the Empire Film Festival, or in any of the other innumerable things the “accidental serial entrepreneur” entertained in and around Saratoga Springs.
Now, add NOVELIST to the list.
“Eve stormed across The Deerwood parking lot to fetch her paycheck, the magenta stripe in her dark hair twisting with the pounding fury of every step…”
So begins Grant’s 472-page debut novel “The Limited Edition Bicentennial Cadillac Convertible Joy Ride,” newly published by Wordbinders Publishing, an imprint of Journey Institute Press.
“It’s a strong story that’s getting high praise from early readers, and I’m hoping that Saratogians and beyond will discover it,” says Grant, who these days lives in Connecticut with his husband, artist Jon Galt.
“Our 20 years in Saratoga were indelible, of course,” says Grant, “and part of my new novel takes place there.”
The story takes place over the course of a week when a 16-year-old learns a dark family secret and then absconds with an elderly resident desperate to escape her managed care facility. The unlikely pair hit the road in search of the truth in a rare and pristine 1976 convertible Cadillac.
In a unique twist, the car itself serves as the omniscient narrator for the story.
The car as narrator?
Early versions of the story were told in first-person using two narrators, Grant explains. “My husband asked if there was a way to simplify it with a singular narrator, and I jokingly said the only one who knows everything is the car. He said, ‘so what if it’s the car telling the story?’
“I immediately rejected the idea, fearing correlations to My Mother the Car and Herbie, but then I set my ego aside and considered it. It couldn’t be a talking, haunted or magical car,” Grant says. “I’ve owned 19 cars in my short life, and every time I sold or traded one, I felt like I was saying goodbye to a friend who seemed to know me. I channeled that feeling, solidified the device, and then proceeded to completely rewrite the entire novel from this new perspective.”
The novel is available at a variety of bookstores, including via Northshire Bookstore Saratoga, and through the author’s website at: michaeljaigrant.com.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater will hold open auditions for their April production of The Humans, written by Stephaen Karam and directed by Erin Nicole Harrington.
The auditions will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 3 and Thursday, Jan. 4, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Home Made Theater’s headquarters at the Wilton Mall (near the Saratoga Hospital annex, across the hall from Home Goods).
Rehearsals will begin on March 4 and will generally be held Monday through Thursday evenings. Rehearsals will be held at Home Made Theater’s headquarters in the Wilton Mall. Performances will be April 19 – 21 and 25 – 28. All performances will be held at the Dee Sarno Theater in Saratoga Arts.
For the audition please bring a current photo (cannot be returned) and a resume. Be prepared to list all potential conflicts from the first rehearsal (with the exception of tech week and performances, conflicts can be worked around if known about in advance).
For a detailed flyer with character descriptions and other audition information visit www.homemadetheater.org.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — An annual celebration of the music of classical guitar prodigy, rock band leader, poet, playwright and theater director Josh Chambers will be staged at Caffe Lena Friday, Jan. 5. Show time is 7 p.m.
Performers include: Dave Bengle, Radio Junkies, and Michael Eck.
Chambers, a Washington County native and Saratoga Springs resident died in 2021 at the age of 45.
All proceeds from the event will benefit Caffe Lena, where Chambers often performed with his rock band, Throwdown Bouquet and developed his theater company, Fovea Floods, which later moved to New York City.
