SARATOGA SPRINGS — Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco will become the first visiting artist at the SPAC School of the Arts (SOTA), Saratoga Performing Arts Center announced Thursday. 

SPAC SOTA is a new, multidisciplinary school dedicated to dance, music, and theatre, with additional offerings in literary arts, visual arts, and media arts, as well as serving as a mentor for the 2022 Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists. 

Driven by a desire to examine the essence of place and belonging, Blanco explores through his work his cultural identity as a Cuban-American and how we are shaped by experiences, memories, and our complex stories. As inaugural poet for President Obama and the first-ever Education Ambassador for the Academy of American poets, Richard Blanco will bring his passion for inspiring students through the close reading, writing and performing of poems. In collaboration with faculty, he will infuse poetry into the School’s multi-genre arts curriculum, which aims to provide further access to under-represented art forms, as well as to deepen the students’ connections to each other and to the world around them. 

“Richard Blanco is one of the most deeply affecting, insightful poets today and we are delighted to bring him to Saratoga as our first visiting artist. Guiding an exploration of the larger questions of ‘where do I belong’ and ‘what is home,’ he will help us examine deeper issues that spark conversation and understanding on cultural identity and diversity — teaching our aspiring poets how to connect to the heart of human experience,” SPAC President and CEO Elizabeth Sobol said, in a statement. “Over the past several years we have expanded SPAC’s mission to incorporate literary arts into our programming. Richard will bring poetry to our school curriculum, naturally infusing elements of music, dance and theatre into its teaching.” 

As the literary arts mentor for the 2022 Festival of Young Artists, which will follow the same theme, Blanco will select the poetry submissions to be featured in the festival. He will also mentor and help develop the crafts of three poetry finalists who will be chosen to recite their work on SPAC’s amphitheater stage alongside the inaugural poet. 

“As an immigrant child from a working-class family, I had very little access to the arts while I was growing up. As such, I am a champion of arts education and have found a perfect fit with SPAC’s School of the Arts.  They believe—as I do—that the arts should not be a luxury, but rather, a necessary part of learning,” said Richard Blanco, Presidential Inaugural Poet and Visiting Artist at the SPAC School of the Arts. “I’m honored and thrilled to be part of the school’s programming, helping students to explore their creativity as they learn new and vital ways of thinking and feeling about themselves, their communities, and the world at large. The School of the Arts serves as the proverbial campfire around which students can gather to explore their stories, assert their humanity, and understand our interdependence through art.” 

In celebration of his new role and to commemorate the opening of the School at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18, Blanco will recite his poems “Declaration of Inter-dependence” and “Looking for the Gulf Motel.” Following his poetry readings, families with children ages 4-18 are invited to participate in classes in music (ages 4-6), dance (ages 7-12), and theatre (ages 13-18) in addition to meeting the faculty and enjoying refreshments. The event will be held outside in the School courtyard or inside the Lewis A. Swyer Studios in the case of inclement weather. The community is encouraged and invited to attend. Advance registration is required as space is limited; visit www.spacschool.org.

CAMBRIDGE — Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education and Caffè Lena have announced a new partnership to bring after school music programs to students in Washington County. 

“Our goal is to give kids a new way to connect with each other, and to put an instrument in their hands that will be like a friend for life. Hubbard Hall is a community arts center with deep roots and I can’t imagine a better partner for this style of teaching,” said Sarah Craig, Executive Director of Caffè Lena, in a statement.

Hubbard Hall hosts the Caffè Lena School of Music After School Program for the fall semester in Cambridge. 

Beginner Guitar & Ukulele Ensemble take place 3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. on Mondays, starting Sept. 13, $160 for the nine weeks.  Introduces students to their instruments, tuning, rhythm, and how to listen and hear musically. 

Intermediate Guitar & Ukulele Ensemble are 4:35 p.m. – 5:20 p.m. Mondays, Sept 13 – Nov. 15,  $160 for the nine weeks. This class welcomes students who have experience on guitar & ukulele. Must know G, C, D chords.

The classes will be taught by Dan Costello, a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor, storyteller and educator, who is also the co-founder and Creative Director of Yo Re Mi, a music and yoga program for children and families. 

The classes are available for registration now via Caffè Lena and will take place on the Hubbard Hall campus: www.eventbrite.com/e/168865929541.

Financial assistance is available via the generous support of the Matt McCabe Scholarship Fund, including loaner instruments. Information at www.caffelena.org/scholarship/CaffèLena.org/scholarship. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Children’s Museum at Saratoga (CMAS) and The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) announced they have entered into a formal management agreement, with the intent to merge in the future. 

The two organizations will initially continue under their own brand identities as they work toward a combined entity, joint programming and a new shared location at the Lincoln Bathhouse in Saratoga State Park. 

Under the new agreement, CMAS will manage all aspects of operations, programming, and administration for CMOST, reducing overhead and redundant costs.

“We have an opportunity ahead to expand our programming and reach more students and families as a truly regional organization,” Sarah Smith, Executive Director for the Children’s Museum at Saratoga (CMAS) said, in a statement. 

“We can deliver our programming in a variety of settings–at our museum in Saratoga, in classrooms throughout the Capital Region, with community partners, and online.”

Together, the two museums serve 100,000 people annually from approximately thirteen counties in upstate New York. There are no changes planned to staffing or programming at this time.

CMOST is in the process of refurbishing and relocating exhibits and will not reopen their location in the Rensselaer Technology Park, which has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

LAKE GEORGE — The Lake George Arts Project’s Courthouse Gallery presents “Blind Visionaries: work by The Seeing with Photography Collective.” The exhibition will be installed in the gallery Sept. 8 – 19 and is a collaboration with the Seeing with Photography Collective, a pioneering group of visually impaired photographers. 

The visually impaired or blind photographer works with a photographer assistant and shares what they want to create based on a vision in their mind’s eye. What results are riveting, surreal images that have helped these seemingly disabled artists to heal through their work. The Collective’s work has been exhibited worldwide and can be seen in the book Shooting Blind, published by Aperture.

In conjunction with this exhibition the Lake George Arts Project will present a live performance during our Lake George Jazz Weekend, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17 in Shepard Park. 

The Performance in Shepard Park, and the Courthouse Gallery exhibition are free. This exhibition is funded in part by the Town and Village of Lake George; The Gruskin Group, The New York State Council on the Arts and LGAP members.

The Courthouse Gallery is located at the side entrance of the Old County Courthouse, corner of Canada and Lower Amherst Streets in Lake George. For more information, call 518-668-2616, 518-323-5499, or email laura@lakegeorgarts.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Automobile Museum, located in the Spa State Park, announced this week the Saratoga Motorcar Auctions, now in its fifth year, will take place on Friday, Sept. 24 and Saturday, Sept. 25, starting at 10 a.m.  The Fall Auto Show will be held 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sept. 26.  On Sunday, Oct. 3, the museum will host a Corvette Car Show, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. For more information, go to: www.saratogaautomuseum.org. 

SCHENECTADY — Classic hard rockers Great White, Slaughter, and Kip Winger, the funk rock hits of Sly & The Family Stone with The Family Stone, and a night of progressive pop-rock classics with The Orchestra – starring former members of the Electric Light Orchestra – will be staged at the Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady Event Center this fall.

Great White, Slaughter, and Kip Winger will hit the Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady Event center stage, the night before Halloween – Saturday, Oct. 30.  Doors open at 7 p.m., the concert starts at 8 p.m. and tickets start at $32 plus taxes and fees.

On Friday, Nov. 5, Sly & The Family Stone founding member Jerry Martini and Phunne Stone – daughter of Sylvester “Sly Stone” Stewart and Cynthia Robinson, front The Family Stone, who will perform a slew of Sly & The Family Stone classics from “I Want to Take You Higher,” and “Everyday People,” to “Dance To The Music. ” Doors open at 7 p.m. and the fun starts at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $20 plus taxes and fees.

The next night, Saturday, Nov. 6: Symphonic rock fans will be treated to an evening when The Orchestra takes the stage to perform The Electric Light Orchestra’s deep catalog of classic rock hits. The Orchestra features former members of ELO. Memorable songs will include “Strange Magic,” “Do Ya,” “Don’t Bring Me Down,” “Evil Woman,” and more. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $35 plus taxes and fees. 

Tickets are on sale at www.riverscasino.com/schenectady. 

ALBANY — The UAlbany Performing Arts Center has announce its guest artists for the 2021-22 season. The Prime Performances schedule features unique pairings of dance, music, theatre, literature, film and visual art by regional, national and international touring artists.

The schedule of Prime Performances delves into the genres of visual art and music, film, dance, science, theater and literature. 

Tickets and subscriptions for these Prime Performances will be available starting Sept. 7 by phone (518-442-3997); email (tickets@albany.edu); mail (UAlbany Performing Arts Center, PAC 266, Albany, NY 12222) or in person at the box office located in the main lobby of the UAlbany Performing Arts Center. Further details on all performances can be found on the UAlbany Performing Arts Center web site (www.albany.edu/pac) under Prime Performances.     

MALTA — Performances and workshops celebrating the cultural diversity of Malta and surrounding communities will take place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Malta Community Center, One Bayberry Drive. 

Events include: Golfstrom- Music and Dances from Old Russia and Europe; 3Smart Studio- Paintings of Indian Classical Dancing; Jordan Taylor Hill- Intro to West African Drumming and Dance; World Awareness Children’s Museum – Clothing from Around the World;  Nathanalaya School of the Arts –Dances from India; Jesse Bowman Bruchac –Native American Storytelling with music; Reggie Harris -Music and stories of the Underground Railroad. 

For more information, go to: www.maltaparksrec.com, or call 518-899-4411. 

BALLSTON SPA — Boho Chic Boutique will host a Meet & Greet featuring a silent auction and live music to benefit the short film “LAURINA” on Sept 13 from 4-9 p.m. 

The film is based on the true story of Laurina Ecobelli, a beloved Ballston Spa resident and longtime owner of Ecobelli’s Tam O’Shanter Inn. As a teen in the 1920’s, she was involved in a sensational trial after she was abused by her stepfather and left traumatized and pregnant. 

Her courageous testimony helped to convict her abuser and resulted in a landmark judgment. She used her experience and strength to subsequently help generations of silent victims. 

“Laurina” is based on the journals of Laurina (Laura) Ecobelli. 

The Meet & Greet with members of the film team and silent auction on Sept. 13 will raise funds to go directly to support the film. 

Boho Chic Boutique is located at 90 Front St., Ballston Spa. Guests are encouraged to wear a mask and take proper precautions relative to Covid-19. 

The film will be produced by Laurina Film Partners and DolGer Films with executive producers Chris Gaunt and Michalina Scorzelli. Screenplay by Ballston Spa natives and grandchildren of Laurina, Lora Lee and Tom Ecobelli. The director is Emmy award winner Sylvia Caminer, who has just completed the feature length psychological thriller “Follow Her,” and Adriana Camposano  – a regular on the hit Netflix Television show Orange Is The New Black – will portray the young Laurina. 

For more information on LAURINA, go to: www.aquabelll.wixsite.com/website. 

BALLSTON SPA — Michael Charles and His Band will perform at Nanola Sept. 10, in a concert billed as a guitar-driven journey through 37 years and 37 releases of original music.

Charles’ musical pilgrimage started over five decades ago in his Melbourne, Australia birthplace. While enjoying a successful musical crusade of touring, recording, and numerous television and radio appearances in his homeland, he received an invitation from Buddy Guy’s management to appear at the infamous Legends in Chicago. After making that long initial trek and taking the stage with Buddy Guy, subsequent trips and eventual relocation to his new American home , Charles worked the entire Chicago blues circuit, performing with the likes of Phil Guy, James Cotton, Eddy Clearwater, Junior Wells, George Baze, as well as touring with blues legend, Jimmy Dawkins.

A nine-time Grammy elected artist, Charles will perform at free local concert 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10 at Nanola, located at 2639 Route 9, Ballston Spa.