SARATOGA SPRINGS —The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has announced that this year’s strolls will start on June 13. The historic walking tours will be offered at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday through Sept. 5 in various neighborhoods throughout the city.

The first of 13 tours of historic Saratoga Springs kicks off with “Wealth & Wellness: Franklin Square Summer Strolls” led by NYS Assemblywoman and former SSPF Executive Director, Carrie Woerner. This Summer Stroll highlights historic Franklin Square, and home to some of the oldest private residences in Saratoga Springs.  This tour meets at the northwest corner of Division Street and Broadway.

On Sunday, June 20, the tour “Down in the Valley: Exploring the Gut” returns after five years. New tours highlight the mineral springs of downtown and mail-order houses on the east side, as well as popular tours of North Broadway, the Saratoga Spa State Park, the historic West Side, among many others. 

All Sunday morning tours last approximately 90 minutes and require walking and standing on varied terrain. Tours will be limited to thirty and tickets must be purchased in advance.  The cost per tour is $15 for SSPF members and $20 for non-members.  Members who have received complimentary Stroll passes will have those honored for their value of $10 and will be required to pay the difference of $5.

Founded in 1977, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes preservation and enhancement of the architectural, cultural, and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.

For details about the strolls and more information, go to: www.saratogapreservation.org. 

Capital Region — Nine-year-old Aedan Conway of Delmar is the Heart Hero of the 2021 Capital Region Heart Walk and Run on Sunday, June 6. Aedan was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, and has had three open heart surgeries. He skis, plays baseball, and is working on his golf game. The 2021 Capital Region Heart Walk and Run is a digital experience, which simply means that people can register at CapitalRegionHeartWalk.org, form a team, fundraise, then walk or run wherever they are on June 6. The Capital Region Heart Walk and Run helps the American Heart Association fund research and education to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers. 

2021 Capital Region Heart Walk and Run: Sunday, June 6

BALLSTON SPA — In recognition of Memorial Day, the Village of Ballston Spa unveiled banners honoring local veterans. Hung throughout the shopping district, these large format banners display pictures of the men and women from Ballston Spa who served our country.

“As the son of two veterans this was a very personally rewarding project for me,” says Mark Blech the organizer of the program, “I love this community and wanted to share my admiration for those who served this country. My father always said he was the most proud of two accomplishments in his life: his family and his services to this country during the Korean War.”

66 Veterans are honored on the banners. But the banners are dedicated to all the men and women who served in the military. Working with the VFW and American Legion and soliciting pictures from the community Blech created the banners with guidance from Mayor Larry Woolbright who supervised the program.

The Veteran Banners have become a sensation in the community, family members can be seen walking through the village looking for their relatives. Veterans are excited to see their pictures honored on the banners.

One Veteran, 90-year-old, former Ballston Spa Mayor Bert Grandin, can be seen in the picture standing next to his younger self in the Navy in the early 50’s. “He’s still as handsome and full of life as he was as a young Navy man” says Renee Grandin, his daughter- in-law.

The Veteran banners will be up indefinitely.

MALTA — A local veteran known to many residents for his decades-long service to Veterans Affairs throughout the state of New York, as well as his local contribution as a board member to the NYS Military Museum and Malta Veterans Appreciation  Program (MVAP), is being recognized with a town park in Malta. 

Capt. David T. Wallingford, Sr., who served in Vietnam and has been a Saratoga Lake resident for much of his life, will be recognized on Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 1 p.m. during a dedication of the new Capt. David T. Wallingford Veterans Park. The new park will be situated outside the Malta Town Hall on Route 9 in Malta. 

Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and Congressman Paul Tonko will be in attendance as well as other local leaders. 

WILTON — Kristopher Williams, coordinator of the Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), leads an educational walk through the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Saratoga County through the woods! Along the way participants will look out for and learn about forest pests that are commonly found in the local area. This program is scheduled for Wednesday, June 9 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

Dress appropriately for weather and insects.  Please note, although this is an outdoor program face masks are expected to be worn throughout the duration of the program. 

Registration is required. Space is limited. For more information or to register for the program, contact the Preserve & Park office at 518-450-0321 or via email at info@wiltonpreserve.org.  Provide your name, phone number, email address and the number of people within your party.

The Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park is a non-profit organization that conserves ecological systems and natural settings while providing opportunities for environmental education and outdoor recreation.

MOREAU — The Friends of Moreau Lake State Park (FOMLSP), an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) charity, is the recipient of a grant from Parks and Trails New York. 

The mission of The Friends of Moreau Lake State Park is to partner with Moreau Lake State Park to enrich the experience for every park visitor through education, events, and stewardship. The grant will help FOMLSP enhance its ability to carry out its mission, in part by improving its efforts to engage our members and recruit new members. 

The first step in achieving the aims of the grant, with support from the New York Council of Nonprofits, is to conduct a survey to learn what members and non-members alike can tell us about the park and their connection to it. 

The survey is available online at www.surveymonkey.com/r/FoMLSP_StakeholderSurvey2021 until the end of June. It should take about 10 minutes to complete. Members who take the survey can enter a raffle to win a Stewart’s gift card, and non-members can enter a raffle to win free membership. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga-based nonprofit, Beyond My Battle, is calling all artists living with or caring for someone living with a chronic illness, rare disease, or disability to share their art and be part of a great cause. 

Beyond My Battle (BMB) a Saratoga-based nonprofit helping people reduce the stress of serious illness, rare disease, and disability, is holding its third annual “Art with Heart & Hope” showcasing and sharing the ways art can help manage the many stressors of living with, or caring for someone living with, illness or disability.

The deadline to submit artwork is June 30. All art must be ready and able to hang on a wall or easel. Artists must either live with or care(d) for someone living with a chronic illness, disease, or disability. Artists must be at least 18 years old and have the option to price their artwork for sale. To submit, artists should visit JotForm.com/BeyondMyBattle/Art2021

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Youth2 – Youth Helping Youth has teamed up with Stewart’s Shops, Dehn’s Flowers & Gifts, Sunnyside Gardens, and Ballston Spa Agway to give away 100 potted cherry tomato plants to people in our community.   The event “Tomato, Tomoto, Tomorrow!” is Youth2’s fourth Pop-UP. 

Free cherry tomato plants will be given away to all interested people on Wednesday, June 2 from 4-6 p.m. at the Jefferson Terrace Housing Maintenance Parking Lot.  A second giveaway time will be on Saturday, June 5 from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. outside the Soup Kitchen on 24 Circular Street.  These events will take place rain or shine and follow COVID-safe protocols.

This is a fun way to provide a bit of food to families, providing people with fresh cherry tomatoes all summer long.

Youth2 is a Saratoga-based organization made up of both youth and adults working together to improve the lives of people around the world. Youth2 provides financial support to youth and helps them turn their volunteering ideas into an impactful reality, both locally and globally. To find out more information or to volunteer in your community visit www.youthsquared.org.

GLENS FALLS — Glens Falls Farmers’ Market announced they have been awarded $20,000 in Double Up Food Bucks from Field & Fork Network’s Double Up NY for the 2021 Market Season from July 1 to Oct. 31. This program doubles the value of federal nutrition assistance dollars spent at the market, helping people bring home more locally grown fruits and vegetables. 

The wins are three-fold: low-income consumers eat more healthy foods, local farmers gain new customers and make more money, and more food dollars stay in the local economy.

Steps for using Double Up Food Bucks: Go to the Market before or after you shop to sign up for the program. Staff is trained to help; Swipe your EBT/SNAP benefits card to pay for your purchases; Match your EBT dollars $1 for $1 with your Double Up Food Bucks Loyalty Card. (Qualifying items may vary); Shop for fresh produce with your Double Up Food Bucks. 

To learn more visit: www.glensfallsfarmersmarket.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Over 100 volunteers teamed up for Sustainable Saratoga’s first ever Team Up to Clean Up community litter pick-up event on April 24-25. An estimated 200 bags filled with trash were removed from neighborhoods, roadsides, parks, ravines and commercial areas.  Several large teams participated in the event, including the Saratoga Lions Club, Ballston Spa Mentoring and the Saratoga Interlaken Garden Club. There was even an international team that joined the effort from Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

“The enthusiasm for this first clean up event has been overwhelming,” explained Sustainable Saratoga’s Executive Director, Wendy Mahaney. “Our local communities, including teams from Saratoga Springs, Ballston Spa, Wilton and Greenfield, have a strong sense of stewardship and pride towards the environment. This event gave people an opportunity to take meaningful action to help keep litter, specifically microplastics, out of our waterways, soil, air and wildlife.” 

Among the items collected during the event were tires, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, plastic utensils and cigarette butts. 

Stewart’s Shops donated ice cream coupons, which were distributed to the first 100 participants. Municipalities including Saratoga Springs and Greenfield provided supplies and helped pick up filled trash bags. Sustainable Saratoga hopes to hold additional litter clean-up events throughout the year.

To learn more about Sustainable Saratoga, visit: www.sustainablesaratoga.org