NEWS bulletin from the spirit world: The specter of Edward Gorey, who died in 2000 at the age of 75, is haunting our collective unconscious.
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In a sense that’s as it should be; Gorey was born to be posthumous. His poisonously funny little picture books — deadpan accounts of murder, disaster and discreet depravity, narrated in a voice that affects the world-weary tone of British novelists like Ronald Firbank and Ivy Compton-Burnett — established him as the master of high-camp macabre.
Told in verse and illustrated in a style that crosses Surrealism with the Victorian true-crime gazette, Gorey stories are set in some unmistakably British place, in a time that is vaguely Victorian, Edwardian and Jazz Age all at once. Though Gorey was a 20th-century American, he conjured a world of gramophones and cars that start with cranks, of boater-hatted men in Eton collars knocking croquet balls across the lawn while sloe-eyed vamps in cloches look on, and sinister things sink, bubbling, into the reflecting pond. His titles are instructive: “The Fatal Lozenge,” “The Deadly Blotter,” “The Hapless Child,” “The Haunted Tea-Cosy.”
A wide audience has long known Gorey’s work from the 31-year-old animations used to introduce the PBS series “Mystery!” (now “Masterpiece Mystery”). The playfully perverse vignettes include a skulking villain in a cape and a swooning ingénue.
Before “Mystery!” Gorey’s set for the 1977 Broadway production of “Dracula” — large-scale versions of his black-and-white drawings, each melodramatically highlighted with a single, blood-red detail — spread his fame far beyond theatergoers.
But until the last few years true Gorey devotees were a secret society, wearing Gorey-philia like a Masonic ring. Now, however, their numbers have swelled. The writer Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony Snicket, said, “When I was first writing ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events,’ I was wandering around everywhere saying, ‘I am a complete rip-off of Edward Gorey,’ and everyone said, ‘Who’s that?’ Now, everyone says, ‘That’s right, you are a complete rip-off of Edward Gorey.’ ”
Tim Burton owes an obvious debt to Gorey, as do Rob Reger, creator of the goth gamine Emily the Strange, and Neil Gaiman, the author of the novella “Coraline.” Mr. Gaiman has an original Gorey drawing of “children gathered around a sickbed” hanging on his bedroom wall; he wanted Gorey to illustrate “Coraline,” he said, but he “died the day I finished it.”
Gorey illustrations are even becoming voguish as tattoos. Last year the ninth-season “American Idol” finalist Siobhan Magnus had a biceps tattoo of Death playing nanny to a flock of soon-to-be-doomed children, from “The Gashlycrumb Tinies,” Gorey’s grimly funny alphabet book.
The market for Gorey books and merchandise buoys indie publishers like Pomegranate, which brings some of Gorey’s books back into print each year, and Fantagraphics, which is releasing a third edition of “The Strange Case of Edward Gorey,” a portrait by the novelist and longtime Gorey friend Alexander Theroux. Attendance has been climbing steadily at the Edward Gorey House in Yarmouth Port, Mass., and curators of the first major traveling exhibition of Gorey’s original art, “Elegant Enigmas” — originally shown at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pa., and now on view at the Boston Athenaeum — have been stunned by the enthusiasm surrounding the show.
“I knew Gorey had a wide following, but I had no idea of the mania,” said David Dearinger, an Athenaeum curator, before the exhibition opened there in February. News media inquiries and calls from the public had been coming in for months, he said then, “and the show isn’t even here yet.” Since the opening, he said last month, “the response has been phenomenal.”
Opinions differ about why Gorey — whose name increasingly serves as shorthand for a postmodern twist on the gothic that crosses irony, high camp and black comedy — is casting a longer shadow these days. Mr. Handler attributes Gorey’s growing popularity partly to the sophisticated understatement of his hand-cranked world, a sensibility that stands out sharply against the exuberant vulgarity of our age of jeggings, “Bridalplasty” and “Jackass 3D.” “That worldview — that a well-timed scathing remark might shame an uncouth person into acting better — seems worthy to me,” Mr. Handler said.
Undoubtedly such romanticized visions of a more decorous, dapper past, which also inform the neo-Victorian and neo-Edwardian street styles of goths and steampunks, have as much to do with escapism as historical fact. But accurately or not, such subcultures see in Gorey’s work an invitation “to return to a time of gentility,” to quote the promoters of the annual Edwardian Ball, a celebration of Gorey.
In contrast, some fashion designers see Gorey’s anachronistic use of historical references as perfect for our age of mash-ups and remixes. The neo-Victorian couturier Kambriel, whose shows have featured Gorey-inspired sets and models reciting Gorey limericks, said that in her designs, as in Gorey’s tales, “the propriety of the past” is infused with the “playful mischief and irreverence” of the present.
Even a more established designer like Anna Sui has drawn inspiration from him. “My big attraction to Edward Gorey is that he picked up on all those cultures and was inspired by them but kind of spun them in his own brain and made his own world,” she said. Similarly, Martyn Jacques, the singer for the British “dark cabaret” act the Tiger Lillies — whose Grammy-nominated collaboration with the Kronos Quartet, “The Gorey End” (2003), set unpublished Gorey tales to the band’s seasick accordion and castrato vocals — celebrates Gorey’s refusal to bow to a boomer-dominated culture.
“When I was growing up you’d hear all these musicians, and they were all inspired by the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix,” said Mr. Jacques, 51. “I thought to myself: ‘Why only be inspired by the 1960s? Why can’t you be inspired by the 1860s?’ ”
Mr. Dearinger attributes Gorey’s appeal to what he sees as the rise of cynicism in America since the ’60s. “I don’t mean cynicism in a totally negative way,” he said. “It’s the same kind of attitude that would look back and enjoy Jane Austen but enjoy Trollope even more. There wouldn’t be a Gorey, if there hadn’t been this late-20th-century fascination with camp and irony and cynicism.”
Gorey was an early adopter of this sensibility. At Harvard from 1946 to ’50, where he roomed with the poet Frank O’Hara, Gorey borrowed a page from the bourgeois-mocking wit of writers like Firbank and Oscar Wilde to create a deadpan, ironic worldview, one that appears strikingly contemporary in retrospect.
Such historically minded analyses can lose sight of the straightforward delights of Gorey’s art — his astonishing draftsmanship and pitch-perfect composition, informed by a lifelong love of film, theater and ballet. Many of the images “look like theater sets, so there’s that dramatic appeal to it,” Mr. Dearinger said. “They’re very well composed, easy to read, yet there’s enough detail in them that every time you look at them you’ll see something you hadn’t seen before.” Dizzily crosshatched or stippled, Gorey’s exquisitely rendered images reveal an encyclopedic knowledge of period architecture, wallpaper, fashion and interior design. They rejoice in repeated patterns, which contribute to what Mr. Dearinger called their “wonderfully decorative quality.”
Gorey-philes who take in the Boston Athenaeum show may be amazed to learn that Gorey’s original illustrations were no larger than their reproductions in books, typically just a few inches on a side. “You can picture him with his nose right on the paper, practically, and the pen just making tiny, tiny little strokes, each one where it’s supposed to be,” Mr. Dearinger said. “The amazing thing is that the mind that’s creating this already knows what it’s going to look like when you step back from it.”
Intriguingly, explanations for the mounting popularity of Gorey’s art rarely touch on its air of hidden, maybe even unknowable meaning. Whatever Gorey’s work appears to be about, it’s forever insinuating, in its poker-faced way, that it’s really, truly about something else. The philosopher Jacques Derrida might have said it is this very elusiveness — the sense that meaning can never be pinned down by language — that is Gorey’s overarching point.
For his part, Gorey, who rolled his eyes at anyone looking for deep meaning in his work, would doubtless have groaned (theatrically) at any attempt to make intellectual sense of his posthumous popularity.
As he liked to say, “When people are finding meaning in things — beware.”
A version of this article appeared in print on March 6, 2011, on page AR20 of the New York edition.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A beatle comes to New York City Ballet,nytimes,2/23/11.
February 23, 2011, 2:17 pm
Paul McCartney Collaborates With City Ballet
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
In an unexpected intersection of celebrity pop music and ballet, that most refined of the performing arts, Paul McCartney has written a major orchestral work for New York City Ballet.
Richard Perry/The New York Times Paul McCartney, above at the Apollo Theater in December, has written an orchestral work for New York City Ballet.
It is a love story titled “Ocean’s Kingdom” and will be performed at the company’s fall gala on Sept. 22 and on other yet-to-be determined dates next season, Mr. McCartney and company officials said. Peter Martins, the company’s ballet master in chief, will create the choreography.
In its current state, the ballet lasts about 45 to 50 minutes, is divided into four acts and will feature a cast of about 40 to 45, including four or five main roles. A composer, John Wilson, is helping with the final orchestration, and the first act is to be played through at the David H. Koch Theater, the company’s home, on Thursday.
The other half of the gala program will consist of George Balanchine’s “Union Jack,” a sprawling work that Mr. Martins said would be a tribute to City Ballet’s latest Liverpudlian contributor.
Mr. McCartney first mentioned that he was working on a ballet score in an interview with the BBC in June, then set off speculative babble among balletomanes and pop music fans this month when he said at an awards ceremony in London that an announcement about the piece was coming soon.
In his first interview about the work, Mr. McCartney on Wednesday called it “basically a romantic story” involving two worlds — the ocean kingdom, representing purity, and the earth kingdom, “the sort of baddies.” The daughter of the ocean king falls in love with the brother of the earth king, and “you’ll have to see whether the couple make it,” Mr. McCartney said. “There’s all sort of troubles along the way.”
Mr. McCartney has long staked a claim in the world of classical music, and branching out into ballet music is just his latest foray into other realms. He has published books of poetry and children’s literature, and mounted shows of his paintings.
Mr. Martins said the idea of a collaboration popped into his head when he ran into Mr. McCartney at a fund-raiser for the School of American Ballet, the company’s training ground, a year ago.
“Of course, being a Beatles fan — because that’s my generation — I was very intrigued,” Mr. Martins said. “I knew of course about his foray into classical music and his interest in it. I said to him, ‘Maybe we could do something together.’ ”
The two men said that over the course of the year they consulted regularly.
“This is Paul’s baby,” Mr. Martins said, adding with tongue in cheek, “The only thing he has left to do is choreograph.” He said Mr. McCartney created the libretto on his own.
“He knows exactly what this is going to look like,” Mr. Martins said. “He even has choreographic suggestions. He did a nice little jump for me. I said, ‘To me, Paul, that needs work.’ ”
Mr. McCartney said he took up the suggestion because “I can’t refuse an offer,” especially one to do something fresh and challenging.
“I’ve come to love working with orchestras,” he said. “It’s a great palette.”
He wrote some “speculative” music and began reading about dance and attending ballet performances.
“For me, the sheer athleticism is the most astounding thing about what I’m seeing,” he said. “It’s like a meeting of the Olympic games and art, and I find that fascinating and challenging for me, to see what can be done.”
Paul McCartney Collaborates With City Ballet
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
In an unexpected intersection of celebrity pop music and ballet, that most refined of the performing arts, Paul McCartney has written a major orchestral work for New York City Ballet.
Richard Perry/The New York Times Paul McCartney, above at the Apollo Theater in December, has written an orchestral work for New York City Ballet.
It is a love story titled “Ocean’s Kingdom” and will be performed at the company’s fall gala on Sept. 22 and on other yet-to-be determined dates next season, Mr. McCartney and company officials said. Peter Martins, the company’s ballet master in chief, will create the choreography.
In its current state, the ballet lasts about 45 to 50 minutes, is divided into four acts and will feature a cast of about 40 to 45, including four or five main roles. A composer, John Wilson, is helping with the final orchestration, and the first act is to be played through at the David H. Koch Theater, the company’s home, on Thursday.
The other half of the gala program will consist of George Balanchine’s “Union Jack,” a sprawling work that Mr. Martins said would be a tribute to City Ballet’s latest Liverpudlian contributor.
Mr. McCartney first mentioned that he was working on a ballet score in an interview with the BBC in June, then set off speculative babble among balletomanes and pop music fans this month when he said at an awards ceremony in London that an announcement about the piece was coming soon.
In his first interview about the work, Mr. McCartney on Wednesday called it “basically a romantic story” involving two worlds — the ocean kingdom, representing purity, and the earth kingdom, “the sort of baddies.” The daughter of the ocean king falls in love with the brother of the earth king, and “you’ll have to see whether the couple make it,” Mr. McCartney said. “There’s all sort of troubles along the way.”
Mr. McCartney has long staked a claim in the world of classical music, and branching out into ballet music is just his latest foray into other realms. He has published books of poetry and children’s literature, and mounted shows of his paintings.
Mr. Martins said the idea of a collaboration popped into his head when he ran into Mr. McCartney at a fund-raiser for the School of American Ballet, the company’s training ground, a year ago.
“Of course, being a Beatles fan — because that’s my generation — I was very intrigued,” Mr. Martins said. “I knew of course about his foray into classical music and his interest in it. I said to him, ‘Maybe we could do something together.’ ”
The two men said that over the course of the year they consulted regularly.
“This is Paul’s baby,” Mr. Martins said, adding with tongue in cheek, “The only thing he has left to do is choreograph.” He said Mr. McCartney created the libretto on his own.
“He knows exactly what this is going to look like,” Mr. Martins said. “He even has choreographic suggestions. He did a nice little jump for me. I said, ‘To me, Paul, that needs work.’ ”
Mr. McCartney said he took up the suggestion because “I can’t refuse an offer,” especially one to do something fresh and challenging.
“I’ve come to love working with orchestras,” he said. “It’s a great palette.”
He wrote some “speculative” music and began reading about dance and attending ballet performances.
“For me, the sheer athleticism is the most astounding thing about what I’m seeing,” he said. “It’s like a meeting of the Olympic games and art, and I find that fascinating and challenging for me, to see what can be done.”
Monday, February 21, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Opera Saratoga announces 2011 schedule. Tra-la, can Spring be far behind?
Opera Saratoga reveals season
By Michael Janairo Arts And Entertainment Editor
Published: 12:00 a.m., Thursday, February 10, 2011
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Opera Saratoga, which was formerly known as Lake George Opera, will be celebrating its 50th season this summer with a special anniversary concert and two operas produced in its first year: Strauss' "Die Fledermaus" and Mozart's "Cosi Fan Tutte."
This season marks the company's 14th summer at the Spa Little Theater at the Saratoga Spa State Park. In addition to the performances, the company also offers pre-performance talks about the operas (free for ticketholders), a free concert outdoors, the annual ball and a family-friendly opera to be performed during SaratogaArtsFest.
Subscriptions range in price from $130 to $190 and are now available at 584-6018. Single tickets go on sale mid-February. Visit the Opera's website at http://www.operasaratoga.org for additional information.
Here are the main events of the season:
Main Stage Productions at Spa Little Theater
"Die Fledermaus": 7:30 p.m. June 29, July 2; 2 p.m. July 5, 10. Performed in English and featuring Kyle Pfortmiller ("The Barber of Seville," 2006; "Don Pasquale," 2009) as Eisenstein; Curt Olds ("The Pirate of Penzance," 2008) as Dr. Falke; Elizabeth Pojanowski, a 2010 apprentice artist, as Prince Orlofsky; and Metropolitan Opera soprano Emily Pulley as Rosalinda. Opera Artistic Director Curtis Tucker will conduct and Nelson Sheeley will direct.
"Cosi Fan Tutte": 7:30 p.m. June 30, July 9; 2 p.m. July 3, 6. In Italian with English titles features John Stephens ("Don Pasquale," 2009) as Don Alfonso; Adriana Zabala ("The Barber of Seville," 2006) as Dorabella; and Andrew Garland ("La Boheme," 2007) as Guglielmo. David Lefkowich, who directed the 2008 production of "La Traviata," returns to direct and Albany Symphony Orchestra's Music Director David Alan Miller will conduct.
50th Anniversary Concert: 7:30 p.m. July 8. Artistic Director Curtis Tucker and returning guest conductor Mark Flint will take the audience on a musical journey through the company's first 50 years, with returning guest artists accompanied by the Opera Saratoga Orchestra. Flint has conducted more performances for the company than any other conductor.
Free Opera Insights: There will be free pre-performance opera talks for ticket holders one hour before each performance in the Spa Little Theater. Patrons will hear the history and stories behind each opera, as well as information regarding the casts and director.
Other events
"The Trial of BB Wolf": June 10-12. Opera Artistic Director Curtis Tucker has composed a new family-friendly opera that will be performed during SaratogaArtsFest weekend. The opera features elements of favorite children's stories set to music composed by Curtis Tucker with libretto by Nelson Sheeley. Tickets are available through http://www.SaratogaArtsFest.org.
2011 50th Anniversary Opera Ball: 7 p.m. July 1. The Saratoga Hilton Hotel. Opera Saratoga's gala will feature Albany band Spare Parts and will take place for the first time at the Saratoga Hilton Hotel. Ted and Carol Newlin serve as the 50th anniversary chairpersons and Helen Mastrion and Courtney Smith are auction co-chairs. Proceeds will benefit Opera Saratoga's numerous educational programs.
Free Concert in Congress Park: 5 p.m. July 4. Opera Saratoga will perform a free concert as part of Saratoga's annual Independence Day celebration. Listen to arias prior to the city's firework display.
Reach Janairo at mjanairo@timesunion.com or 454-5629.
Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Opera-Saratoga-reveals-season-1005466.php#ixzz1DZ1Nx4qV
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Hoping for no pool/park closures this year! times union 2/9/11.
ALBANY -- Don't expect a repeat of last spring's budget-driven threats to close state parks, the acting head of the park system told a panel of state lawmakers Tuesday during a hearing on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 2010-11 budget.
But get ready for a different kind of drama around the beginning of June, when the state Department of Environmental Conservation is slated to release proposed rules to regulate the controversial natural gas drilling technique called hydrofracking.
Andy Beers, acting commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, credited layoffs during the waning days of the Paterson administration with giving the park system breathing room to absorb the additional spending cut of 6.2 percent, or $19 million, sought by Cuomo.
"We will not be repeating last year's scenario," Beers said during a hearing of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. The budget also contains no changes in park fees, with Beers saying fee hikes last year have brought the parks "up to market rates."
A park advocacy group that includes former parks commissioner Carol Ash, who went through the political firestorm that followed last year's closure threats, took Beers' announcement with a grain of salt.
"While it may be reassuring to hear that the agency has no plans to close parks at this time, it is difficult to see how they will be able to achieve required savings without serious service reductions and even closure of some park operations," said Erik Kulleseid, director of the Alliance for New York State Parks.
His group called for the state to impose a 1-cent fee on disposable plastic grocery store shopping bags that would yield $60 million a year help pay for the parks. The group released a poll of 1,000 registered state voters that found 73 percent supported the idea of the bag fee.
"The crisis facing New York's state parks goes far beyond this year's budget proposal. Although parks may be open, there are pools and campsites not open due to the continuing deterioration of the system," Kulleseid said.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Saratoga Spa State Park attendance up almost 500,000 in 2010. Victoria Pool attendance way up. Umbrella fundraiser being considered.
State parks see rise in attendance, but lose budget money
Story Discussion State parks see rise in attendance, but lose budget money
DREW KERR - dkerr@poststar.com The Post-Star | Posted: Thursday, February 3, 2011 11:45 am | (3) Comments
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Jason McKibben
Jason McKibben - jmckibben@poststar.com Moreau Lake State Park nature educator Rebecca Mullins, center, leads a snowshoe hike through the park's Red Oak Ridge trail Tuesday, January 25, 2011. The park maintains an active calendar with events targeting people of all ages. Attendance at state parks in the Saratoga-Capital region jumped significantly last year.
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Snowshoe through Moreau Lake State Park
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Parks attendance by the numbers
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2011-12 budget proposal calls for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to cut spending by more than 8 percent in the next budget cycle.
The total budget would fall from $228 million to $209 million. The proposed reduction comes as attendance at state parks reaches record highs.
In 2010, officials reported that attendance at state parks topped 56.9 million, up more than 1 million visitors from the year before.
Attendance is also growing locally.
A look at the numbers:
Saratoga Spa State Park
2010 - 1,948,587
2009 - 1,480,000
2008 - 1,449,000
2007 - 1,742,545
2006 - 1,483,000
2005 - 835,000
Moreau Lake State Park
2010 - 425,167
2009 - 396,000
2008 - 368,000
2007 - 357,000
2006 - 268,000
2005 - 338,000
Hard hit over the last several budget cycles, New York's state parks and historical sites are facing another austere year, even as the number of visitors coming to the venues grows.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2011-12 budget proposal, released Tuesday, calls for a more than 8 percent cut in spending at the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The department's budget would fall from $228 million to $209 million under the proposal.
Supporters say the parks have absorbed severe cuts each of the last two years and further reductions could compromise infrastructure and deter visitors.
"The integrity of the system that's been built up over generations, really the fabric of our state park system, is just going to be torn," said Robin Dropkin, executive director at Parks and Trails New York.
Dropkin said she has been told that no parks or historic sites are expected to close, but parks officials on Wednesday refused to say how they would absorb the funding cuts, if approved by state lawmakers.
Testimony from parks leaders is due Feb. 8, and more details should be revealed about the budget impact at that time, officials said.
Last year, asked to cut $11 million from their budget, state parks officials said they would need to close more than 50 state parks and historic sites, while cutting back at another 24 parks.
The John Brown Historical Site near Lake Placid, where the abolitionist lived and is buried, was among the sites threatened with closure. Officials also considered shuttering the Victoria Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park.
Fierce opposition led to the withdrawal of the closure plans, but supporters say the parks system is, nonetheless, suffering from a lack of state support.
Even if no parks are closed this year, Dropkin and others say they are concerned that infrastructure is not being maintained and that putting off repairs could lead to more costly work in the future.
"The bottom line is parks are still hurting, they're still operating on a shoestring budget and they're in trouble," Dropkin said.
The cuts are surprising, supporters say, because attendance at parks is at an all-time high and parks have been shown to generate tax revenue for the communities where they're located.
In 2010, officials reported that 56.9 million visitors visited the state's 213 parks and historic sites, up by more than 1 million visitors from 2009.
Locally, Saratoga Spa State Park and Moreau Lake State Park drew more than 2.37 million visitors last year - up
more than 27 percent from 2009.
Parks supporters say they might have to begin augmenting the state budget with outside dollars.
Corporate donors or foundation money should be sought, or a dedicated funding stream created to help offset losses in state aid, they say.
The funding stream could come from a voluntary surcharge on motor vehicle registrations or a penny tax on plastic bags, according to Erik Kulleseid, the director of a new parks advocacy group, the Alliance for New York State Parks.
"You can debate whether the state should or should not be paying for these things, but at the end of the day if you want things to change we have to start looking elsewhere," he said.
Louise Goldstien of Saratoga Springs, a leader of the Save the Victoria Pool Society, said group members are considering an money-raising effort to support a project unlikely to get state support.
Group members want to bring in as many as 40 new umbrellas they believe are needed at the pool but which could cost up to $15,000, and they are thinking about holding a fundraiser to support the effort.
"We always felt like we were paying for the parks already with our tax dollars," she said. "But this year I don't think we have a chance. These are different times."
Not everyone is on board with the idea of expanding public-private partnerships.
Martha Swan, director of John Brown Lives, which supports education efforts at the John Brown Historic Site, said she is uncomfortable with the idea of raising money for the site.
The site, which will be particularly important this year as the country celebrates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, should be supported by the state, she said.
"It's a very troubling scenario for me because I feel like parks and historic sites are a part of the public good, they're part of what makes people feel like part of this place," Swan said. "And it feels like the state is diminishing their commitment to the common good."
Copyright 2011 The Post-Star. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Posted in Local, Saratoga on Thursday, February 3, 2011 11:45 am Updated: 5:11 pm. | Tags: New York, Andrew Cuo
Sunday, January 30, 2011
come chowder-up on Saturday everybody.
Saratoga Springs set to welcome chowder heads again
Sunday, January 30, 2011
By Jeff Wilkin (Contact)
Gazette Reporter
Photographer: Bruce Squiers
Connie Crudo relaxes at Bailey’s in Saratoga Springs with chowders prepared to promote next month’s Chowderfest in the city.Text Size: A | A | A
As queen of Saratoga Springs’ summer society, Marylou Whitney knows all about haute cuisine.
Quail in puff pastry shells — served with foie gras and truffle sauce — is a natural for an August party.
As a queen of Saratoga Springs’ winter society, Connie Crudo is an expert on hot cuisine. Clam chowder, sausage chowder, corn chowder and shrimp chowder are naturals for the February party Crudo puts together every year.
The gathering is Saratoga’s 13th annual Chowderfest, part of the city’s Winterfest. This year’s pilgrimage for potatoes, clams and assorted vegetables will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. About 60 restaurants will serve chowder in 3-ounce cups for $1 a sample, and about 60 chefs hope their concoctions are convicted of culinary excellence — and win one of six “best of” categories.
“I think Chowderfest is an affordable, fun thing to do on a cold day,” said Crudo, membership and services coordinator for the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau and unofficial queen of the party. “I think we’ve got great restaurants and these restaurants have great reputations. There are diverse offerings, and there are a lot of bars that sell chowder, too.”
Saratoga Springs 13th annual Chowderfest
WHEN: Saturday
WHERE: Assorted restaurants in Saratoga Springs
HOW MUCH: $1 per 3-ounce sample of chowder
MORE INFO: www.discoversaratoga.org/chowderfest
The festival is a big deal for both restaurants and chowder lovers. “It’s a very family-oriented event,” Crudo said. “You see a lot of large groups, it’s great for the kids and it’s great for the older people. Everybody comes bundled up and prepared to stand in line.”
They pick up their ballots first, from any bar or restaurant on the chowder roster. They’ll taste the thick soups, and vote for favorites in categories that include “Best on Broadway,” “Best off Broadway,” “Best Newcomer” and “Best Non-Downtown.” Ballots will be dropped off at the Saratoga County Arts Council and the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center and tabulated later in the day.
Exploration and discovery
Exploration and discovery are two reasons people decide to try dozens of chowders, depending on their appetites. “There’s everything,” Crudo said. “There’s vegetable, there’s chicken chowders, clam chowders, shrimp chowders, Southwestern chowders. I can’t tell you who is serving what because that is top-secret, confidential information until the last minute.”
The event started small. “I have records that go back to 2002, and in that year there were 18 participants,” Crudo said. “In 2010, we had 56 participants.”
This year, Sperry’s, Lillian’s, the Parting Glass, Gaffney’s, Maestro’s and Stadium Cafe are in. So are Wheatfields, the Wishing Well, Cantina, the Grey Gelding, Hattie’s and the Seven Horse Pub. Even Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on Phila Street gets a piece of the action. Scoops of the store’s “Phish Food” ice cream were sold as dessert chowder in 2010. There are even chowders for dogs — pooch-friendly stores “Dawgdom,” “Impressions of Saratoga” and “Sloppy Kisses” will have bowls for the bark set.
Money raised by the convention bureau — each restaurant pays a $150 participation fee — is given to charity.
Joe Richardson, who owns both Bailey’s Cafe on Phila Street and the adjoining Peabody’s Sports Bar and Grille, said Chowderfest provides a boost for the community the same way Saratoga’s popular First Night does on New Year’s Eve. Other restaurant owners say the same thing — chowder attracts people to city kitchens during what is traditionally a slow time.
John Capelli, executive chef at the Olde Bryan Inn on Maple Avenue, said competitive spirit mixes with community spirit.
“It’s not necessarily about us winning,” Capelli said. “We all win. It’s a situation where Saratoga is known for a lot of things, horse racing, the spring waters and such, but we also have an excellent variety of restaurants. There are over 100 places to eat in this city. It’s an opportunity for people to maybe go to a restaurant they’ve never tried before.”
Sizing up the competition
Chefs can also check out what’s happening in other kitchens.
“You want to find out where they’ve got something better than you,” Capelli said. “So you can figure out what they did a little bit different. You’re sharing recipes. As competitive as it is, it’s a lot of fun. I’ve got chefs that come down and try ours after they wrap up and vice versa. One of the things I’m saying if I’m serving is, ‘Who’s the best so far? What do they have out there?’ We’re all curious about what each other is doing.”
Capelli said it’s also fun to watch people during the chowder Saturday. On snowy days, he’s seen people slide up to the Olde Bryan on cross-country skis. They park them next to the fireplace and sip the hot stuff. “It’s kind of like a live-action Norman Rockwell moment,” Capelli said.
Louis Maggiore, operating partner at Longfellows on Union Avenue, also appreciates the crush for chowder.
“If you walk down Broadway during the Chowderfest, there are people everywhere,” he said. “It’s great for the restaurants, people are talking to each other, everybody’s tasting a bowl of chowder, they’re having a good time. They make an all-day thing out of it, it’s almost like tailgating at a football game.
Richardson expects a lot of people and a lot of chowder at his two locations. “Last year, we did 1,911 cups at Bailey’s and 1,260 at Peabody’s — we ran out at 3:30 there,” Richardson said. He’s planning on between 60 and 70 gallons for the two restaurants this Saturday. And crackers — all Chowderfest participants get two cases of oyster crackers from the Westminster Cracker Co. in Rutland, Vt.
Crudo begins preparing for Chowderfest around the middle of December. Restaurants sign up, the party starts rolling and Connie is soon spending most of her time on chowder business. Office colleague Angela LaTerra takes care of advertising in newspapers, radio and magazines.
While chili contests still outnumber chowder parties, Crudo said soup shows are catching up. “They’re becoming more common,” she said. “Ballston Spa does a chowderfest now, Troy does a chowderfest now. I’ve got people calling me, ‘How do you do it? How can I have a chowderfest?’ I’ll share. Just don’t have it on the same day as ours.”
Because chowder heads are on the streets during the winter party, weather can be a concern. “A couple years ago, we had an ice storm the night before,” Crudo said. “By the time we got downtown, it was all cleaned up. The city has been very cooperative.”
Tabulating the votes
This year, Chowderfest has a new wrinkle. Instead of counting ballots over the weekend and announcing winners on Monday — the practice in past years — chowder fans are invited to a second party at the Saratoga City Center at 5:30 p.m. Ballots will be tabulated, and a cash bar and disc jockey will keep people occupied until results are announced.
“We’re trying to keep them downtown for a couple extra hours,” Crudo said.
And the event is becoming more ecologically friendly. A reusable mug with lid and spoon is available for $5, so people who make the purchase won’t be using and tossing bunches of disposable cups and spoons. The mugs are being sold at Celtic Treasures, Crafters Gallery, Crush and Cask Wine and Liquors, Impressions of Saratoga and Just Plain Good/Life Is Good.
Chowderfest is designed to warm interiors, but Crudo said some people want to warm exteriors, too. That’s why festival long-sleeve T-shirts have always been popular. The 2011 model costs $7.
“I once got an e-mail from a man in Florida who had always attended, but said he couldn’t make Chowderfest because of illness,” Crudo said. “He said, ‘I need my shirt. Can you mail me one?’ So I did. Can’t break up his collection.”
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Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saratoga Spa State Park. candlelight ski and snowshoe, friday, february 4,2011,6pm-8:30pm at the Warming Hut.
1.5 miles of candlelit trail
hot food and drinks!
ice skating!
snowshoes and skis available for rent.
call Alli at 518-584-2000 Ext. 116 for more information
New Parks Commissioner to be named, Rose Harvey.
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Harvey is new parks commissioner
Posted on January 27, 2011 at 2:11 pm by Rick Karlin, Capitol bureau in Environment
1 Share 6 share E-mail We heard the naming of a new Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation was in the works today and here she is: Rose Harvey. She comes from the Jonathan Rose Companies most recently, which describes itself as a green real estate firm that does a lot of municipal work, and she’s got a long resume of working on open space issues. It’s unclear what this means in terms of the speculation that Parks and Rec might be somehow merged with the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, although a merged outfit would presumably still need a parks chief. Here are the details:
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the nomination of Rose H. Harvey as commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
“Rose Harvey’s experience and knowledge as well as her expertise creating countless cost-effective parks, playgrounds and open spaces in underserved communities with efficiency makes her the person we need to lead this agency,” Governor Cuomo said. “I thank her for her public service and look forward to working with her.”
Currently, Ms. Harvey is a senior fellow at the Jonathan Rose Companies, where she acts as an advisor and researcher on parks and open space issues, and launched a non-profit organization to fund, design and develop safe, well-managed parks in urban neighborhoods. She was also recently a McCluskey Fellow and Lecturer at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
For 27 years, Ms. Harvey held multiple leadership positions with The Trust for Public Land, most recently as Senior Vice President and National Director of Urban Programs. There, she oversaw all real estate acquisitions, urban park design and developments, managed the finances of a $20 million annual operating budget, and closed between $50 and $75 million worth of land and parks transactions each year across 8 states – a total of nearly $1 billion and more than a thousand new and enhanced parks, gardens and playgrounds in underserved neighborhoods in New York City, Newark, N.J. and Baltimore. She has also established large landscape woodlands and natural areas throughout New York State and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Ms. Harvey began her tenure in the parks and open space arena as the Assistant Director for Conservation Easement at the Maryland Environmental Trust, where she negotiated protections of private lands holding environmental significance.
Ms. Harvey received her B.A. from Colorado College in 1977 and M.E.S. at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 1984. She currently serves on the Board of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Yale Leadership Advisory Council. In the past she has served on many conservation organizations, including the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Hudson River Institute and Walsh Park Low Income Housing. In addition to multiple state and national awards for her environmental stewardship and advocacy for open space and parks, Ms. Harvey has written multiple articles and op/eds in numerous national media outlets and industry trade journals.
Lucy Rockefeller Waletzky, M.D., Chair of the New York State Council of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said, “Ms. Harvey has been key to many of the great additions to state parks of the past 20 years. I look forward to working with her to foster strong private-public partnerships that protect and enhance New York’s parks, open spaces and heritage. I am also deeply committed to working with Governor Cuomo’s administration in preserving our state’s recreational landscapes and natural resources.”
Frances Beinecke, President of Natural Resource Defense Council, said, “Ms. Harvey’s decades of experience in creating hundreds of parks and thousands of acres of open space makes her the perfect choice to lead New York’s agency tasked with protecting and preserving public land. I applaud Governor Cuomo for selecting such a dedicated professional.
Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson, said, “Rose Harvey brings to this critical job sterling credentials and experience in land conservation and in creating and managing urban gardens and parks. Governor Cuomo has selected an outstanding candidate to help him implement his broad reform agenda and to meet the state’s responsibilities as steward of our unparalleled parkland.”
Kim Elliman, CEO of the Open Space Institute, said, “Rose brings an unparalleled passion for providing all New Yorkers with access to parks and open space. Throughout her 30 year career, she has built an incredible track record of creating and protecting parks, from vest-pocket parks in cities to landscape parks like Sterling Forest. She is singularly qualified for the job and I commend Governor Cuomo for his selection.”
Leslie Wright, New York State Director for The Trust for Public Land, said, “Governor Cuomo’s selection of Ms. Harvey as Commissioner for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation shows that he is serious about maintaining open space and making it accessible to as many New Yorkers as possible. Ms. Harvey’s storied career in establishing parks, playgrounds and gardens in urban areas, combined with her ongoing advocacy for open space makes her the ideal candidate to lead this agency.”
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Geyser restoration continuing, PostStar, Saratoga Blog.
Restoration plan sprouting up
StoryDiscussionImage (3)Restoration plan sprouting up
By DREW KERR dkerr@poststar.com The Post-Star | Posted: Friday, December 3, 2010 12:05 am | (1) Comments
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DEREK PRUITT
Derek Pruitt - dpruitt@poststar.com Lester Beninati and his grandson Scott Beninati sample mineral spring water near the island spouter spring at Saratoga Spa State Park on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010. Beninati brought his grandson along who was visiting from Alaska and hadn't been to the park in years. The geyser spring, at right, and the surrounding visitor area have been restored through a public-private partnership with donations near $150,000. .
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..SARATOGA SPRINGS — When state parks officials set out to restore the area around the mineral-water spouting geyser that served as the genesis of the city's tourism industry there was one project they didn't anticipate having to tackle - fixing the geyser itself.
But, in overhauling the area around the so-called island spouter this summer, officials at Saratoga Spa State Park discovered the 300-foot-deep well bore dug to reach the limestone layer where the mineral waters percolate had been compromised.
The geyser - the only such formation east of the Rockies - would sit dormant unless a new well casing was installed.
It was, and this week the geyser was shooting a 10-foot arch of mineral water fresh from the fault line on which it sits.
The repaired spout is among several efforts made over the last five months to beautify the area surrounding the geyser and other mineral springs that dot the 100-year-old state park.
Workers have also cleaned up an area near the geyser where visitors can fill glasses with mineral water, put in new sidewalks so the area is handicapped-accessible and rebuilt a pavilion next to the geyser.
Future plans call for adding signs that will explain the history of the park, its springs and their role in the city's tourism industry, and putting in an extended trail network and a new overlook area.
Those efforts will be taken up again in the spring, and officials said this week they hope to have most of the work done by this time next year.
"People have been very excited about the whole process," park manager Michael Greenslade said. "I think having this area cleaned up and dressed up will just make it that much more attractive to people."
Work to restore the area around the geyser began in May, when officials kicked off a fund-raising effort as part of the park's centennial celebration.
More than $150,000 in donations has since been collected, and officials are seeking another $100,000 to finish the renovations.
Heather Mabee, a volunteer parks commissioner who represents the Saratoga region, said the money that has been raised shows people are willing to step in and support parks when their tax money will not.
Public funding for state parks across New York has diminished in recent years because of budget shortfalls, and officials said they sought private money for the restoration because it was unlikely tax dollars would be spent on such a project.
"People are still contributing, whether it's $5 or $1,000," Mabee said. "We've really been overwhelmed by the public's realization of how important these springs are."
Mabee said restoring the springs is important because they played a critical role in the development of the park, and are such a part of the community's history.
The state bought the land around the springs in 1910 as industry moved to exploit natural gases beneath the surface, threatening the environment.
The area later became a mecca for tourists who sought the mineral water's restorative powers, and park visitors remain enthralled by the water today.
"This is the place in the park that attracts the most tourists, which is really why we picked this place to focus on," said Alane Ball Chinian, director of the Saratoga-Capital region for the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Another project in the park was undertaken this year through a public-private partnership.
Two dozen white pines were planted along the Avenue of the Pines last month through a program in which the drink company Odwalla distributes money for tree-plantings in parks.
And a group of resident volunteers, part of a "friends" group that supports the park, has restored a pair of pavilions this year.
Chinian said the efforts show that parks can find ways to make improvements despite limited resources.
"What I think this work really shows is that we're moving on, even in this very difficult economic time," she said.
Copyright 2011 The Post-Star. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
.Posted in Local, Saratoga on Friday, December 3, 2010 12:05 am Updated: 12:06 pm. | Tags: Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Spa State Park, Geyser, Mineral Water
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Friday, January 07, 2011
New York City Ballet to tour the world for third week of ballet lost to Saratoga and SPAC.
City Ballet Creates A Troupe For Touring
By DANIEL J. WAKIN
Published: January 6, 2011
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CloseLinkedinDiggMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink New York City Ballet is creating a small and nimble touring ensemble in the hopes of broadening its appeal around the country and the world.
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While the company’s stars often perform elsewhere on their own, establishing an official spinoff is a departure for the company. Performances by the new group, called New York City Ballet Moves, will also replace work days lost when the company shortened its summer season at the Saratoga Performing Arts Centerto two weeks from three weeks several years ago.
In an interview this week the ballet master in chief, Peter Martins, said the small works that Moves will perform can easily be accommodated by more modest sites, like university auditoriums. “There’s a whole market we haven’t been exposed to,” Mr. Martins said.
He said that he envisioned the possibility of more than one small company operating at the same time, and that he saw the European summer festival circuit as fertile ground.
Without solicitation Mr. Martins took pains to emphasize that the new company would not be an apprentice or grade-B group.
“This is not a diminished product in any way,” he said. “These are not students that I’m training to get in the company. These are top-notch dancers. You’re getting the real thing when you hire this group.”
A rotating group of dancers will make up Moves, and it will include members from every level of the company. The roster for the first season consists of the principal dancers Jared Angle, Joaquin De Luz, Robert Fairchild, Sterling Hyltin, Maria Kowroski, Tiler Peck, Amar Ramasar, Daniel Ulbricht and Wendy Whelan; the soloists Adrian Danchig-Waring, Erica Pereira and Rebecca Krohn; and the corps de ballet members Chase Finlay, Anthony Huxley, Lauren Lovette, Brittany Pollack and Taylor Stanley.
Musicians will be drawn from the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Moves will have its first performances this summer at the Vail International Dance Festival, on July 31 and Aug. 1 and 2, followed by four performances, Aug. 5 to 7 at the Center for the Arts in Jackson, Wyo., where a group of City Ballet dancers performed last summer in what the company called a trial run.
They will present two programs, consisting of George Balanchine’s “Duo Concertant,” Jerome Robbins’s “Dances at a Gathering,” Mr. Martins’s “Fool for You,” “Hallelujah Junction” and “Zakouski,” and Christopher Wheeldon’s “After the Rain” pas de deux and “Polyphonia.” The musical accompaniment includes one and two pianos, piano and violin and taped voice.
A natural connection links the Vail festival to City Ballet: the festival’s artistic director is a former City Ballet star, Damian Woetzel. “Knowing that they were starting to look at this as a way to present the company differently, I looked at it and thought this would be fantastic at Vail,” Mr. Woetzel said.
In Vail the dancers will present a program that Mr. Martins called a lecture-demonstration and the festival called a “rehearsal-style romp.” It will be devoted to solos for male dancers by Balanchine, who is perceived has having focused more on female dancers. (“Ballet is woman,” went his famous line.) “The irony is he choreographed great material for men,” Mr. Martins said.
The new program is a return to City Ballet’s history of touring, especially its frequent travels in the United States in the 1950s through the early ’80s. That helped build a following and expanded the pool of potential dancers, Mr. Martins said. But when a musicians’ contract after 1986 required the orchestra to perform with the dancers in any North American engagements, traveling with large-scale works became too expensive, he said.
Most of the recent touring has thus been abroad. City Ballet also appears regularly at the Kennedy Center in Washington. While visiting companies there are required to use the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, a deal was worked out in 2002 allowing the two orchestras to alternate.
Mr. Martins said the touring would not be a source of revenue, but was expected to break even.
A version of this article appeared in print on January 7, 2011, on page C3 of the New York edition.
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Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. A gift from Marylou to Saratoga.
The Marylou Whitney Rose unveiled (with video)
Published: Friday, December 24, 2010
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Longtime friend Marlene Okby greets Marylou Whitney at her birthday luncheon at the Saratoga Golf and Polo Club Thursday. The Saratoga Springs philanthropist has been honored with the commission of a rose in her name. The first crop of the Marylou Whitney rose is being grown now. (ERICA MILLER, The Saratogian)
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Marylou Whitney, at a birthday luncheon held in her honor Thursday, holds a bouquet of roses similar to the new rose in her name that was commissioned as a gift from her husband, John Hendrickson. Her friends have arranged with the city to donate a Marylou Whitney rose garden outside the Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs’ Congress Park. (ERICA MILLER, The Saratogian)
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A rose garden honoring Marylou Whitney will be created in Congress Park near the entrance where the local philanthropist and horse owner traditionally enters the Canfield Casino for her annual black-tie gala celebrating the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga Race Course.
The garden will feature a new specially bred, long-stem pink tea rose named in her honor, an 85th birthday gift from her husband, John Hendrickson, who commissioned it as "an endearing legacy."
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
A great opportunity to meet a Saratoga Icon, Minnie Bolster and buy her wonderful book and great Saratoga vintage photos, Sat.,12/18-10-1,Casino.
Bolster Collection Day and Meet the Authors
December 18, 10-1
'Have you ever been in a home, shop or business in Saratoga Springs that had old time photos of Saratoga Springs displayed and you wondered where they came from? Chances are they are copies of images from the George S. Bolster Collection of the Saratoga Springs History Museum.
On Saturday, December 18 from 10-1, the museum will hold Bolster Collection Day and a local author book signing in the History Museum. If you haven't heard of the Bolster Collection, now is your chance to get acquainted. The Bolster Collection is an archive of over 300,000 negatives of Saratoga Springs, 1855 to the 1980's. This major photographic collection is one of the largest of its type in the country and is filled with striking and important images from Saratoga Springs past.
In this fundraising event, the History Museum will have hundreds of different images copied from the collection on display and available for purchase at discounted rates. Visitors can also check to see if we have an historic image of their own home on the spot with a museum curator.
The Museum will also feature four local authors selling and signing their recent books in the Museum's Holiday Shop. Minnie Clark Bolster will sign her latest book: The Way We Were and What They Said About us 1822 - 1896. This book tells a fascinating story of early Saratoga Springs through the eyes of visitors and the media. Journalist Paul Post's Soldiers of Saratoga County: From Concord to Kabul looks deeply into contributions Saratoga County residents have made in defense of our country. Thomas Wood III's latest book Saratoga is a post card view of the Town of Saratoga. This book includes many rare and recently discovered images of Schuylerville, Victory, and Saratoga Lake. Hollis Palmer's most recent book, See and Be Seen Saratoga in the Victoria Era is a look at Saratoga Springs in the gilded age when grand hotels lined Broadway and visitors came to take the water .
These books and photographs of Saratoga Springs make perfect gifts.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
More money needed to complete main Geyser restoration in Saratoga Spa State Park.
Crosswalk to state park mulled
Thursday, December 9, 2010
By Tatiana Zarnowski (Contact)
Gazette Reporter
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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Try to walk across Route 50 near Saratoga Spa State Park now and you may risk your life.
But sometime in the future, you may be able to make that crossing from the Railroad Run Trail to the state park without fear.
The city, the Railroad Run Trail Committee and the state park system want to finish the trail connection and build a safe crosswalk after the Route 50 Southern Gateway Study recommended such a crossing just north of the intersection with West Avenue.
The parties plan to meet with the state Department of Transportation soon for guidance, said Alane Ball Chinian, regional director for the Saratoga/Capital District Region of the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
“I think we need to turn to DOT to say, ‘What do we do next?’ ” Chinian said after a meeting of the regional park commission Wednesday.
The city still has some grant money to extend the Railroad Run Trail to Route 50, which was always planned but not finished because crossing the state highway is too unsafe, said Barbara L. Glaser, chairwoman of the trail committee.
“We’ve been waiting and waiting to complete it,” Glaser said.
Officials hope to install a HAWK, or high-intensity activated crosswalk system, which Glaser said may be the first in the state.
Pedestrians press a button, which starts overhead lights flashing yellow and then red to motorists, at which point the pedestrians are given a walk signal. After pedestrians cross, the signal goes dark and motorists move again.
The HAWK systems are installed away from intersections on busy highways where pedestrians may need to cross.
The system is expected to cost about $100,000, Chinian said. While there’s currently no money budgeted for the crosswalk, she said she is hopeful that the parties involved could collectively come up with that much.
The state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has applied for a federal recreational trail grant to finish a trail on the park end, past the former railroad building known as the Restoration Building on the northwest end of the park. The new trail would link with sidewalks installed by Springwood Apartments on Ballston Avenue.
Chinian expects grant winners to be announced soon.
Also at the Wednesday meeting, commissioners noted that they don’t have enough money to construct a second pavilion near the spouting geyser at the state park as part of a reconstruction there.
Commission chairwoman Heather Mabee said it would cost somewhere between $25,000 and $35,000 to build a pavilion near the Orenda Spring overlooking Geyser Creek and the mineral deposits built up around the spring.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Part of World Trade Center coming to Saratoga for sculpture.
Officials at Saratoga Arts announced today that they plan to commission a large-scale public sculpture made of steel from the World Trade Center.
The piece, to be called Tempered By Memory, is described as a “progressive piece of contemporary art that is reflective of the past, the historical global events of September 11, 2001, yet forward looking.”
Officials said they would like to finish the project by September 2001 and donate the sculpture to the city, which they hope will put it outside the newly expanded Saratoga Springs City Center. Two local sculptors, John Van Alstine and Noah Savett, will put the piece together.
Steel for the project was given to Saratoga Arts by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It comes from both the World Trade Centers’ North and South towers.
The piece, to be called Tempered By Memory, is described as a “progressive piece of contemporary art that is reflective of the past, the historical global events of September 11, 2001, yet forward looking.”
Officials said they would like to finish the project by September 2001 and donate the sculpture to the city, which they hope will put it outside the newly expanded Saratoga Springs City Center. Two local sculptors, John Van Alstine and Noah Savett, will put the piece together.
Steel for the project was given to Saratoga Arts by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It comes from both the World Trade Centers’ North and South towers.
Monday, December 06, 2010
Wendy Whelan, New York City Ballet, reviews new Black Swan movie. Wendy has been very beloved at SPAC and Saratoga for the past 20 years.
The Ballerina's Curse
by Wendy Whelan Info
At the age of three, Wendy Whelan began taking dance classes in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She went on to train at the School of American Ballet, the official institute of the New York City Ballet and eventually worked her way up the ranks, from the corps de ballet to principal dancer. Whelan has been featured in many ballets, including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, and has toured extensively throughout the world. In 2007, she also received a Dance Magazine Award.
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print TwitterEmailShare A principal dancer at the New York City Ballet reviews Black Swan and Natalie Portman's stunning performance—and says the movie captures the head trips that every great dancer faces.
For the past 20 years, I have been a ballerina with the New York City Ballet, and I was asked to offer my thoughts on the new Darren Aronofsky film, Black Swan. I first heard about the idea for this new ballet film some years ago when Aronofsky contacted me for his research. Some time later, as I began to get wind that it would be based on Swan Lake (not my favorite ballet), my hopes weren't high, but I became enticed again when I heard it would be a psychological thriller. Since that first phone call, the presence of this film in the background of my life has continued to grow as a great many friends and colleagues became involved in the production.
Natalie Portman is fantastic as Nina, a corps dancer struggling to rise to the challenge of dancing the principal role of the Swan Queen. The actress poured herself into serious ballet training to be able to embody the look of a professional dancer and she did a magnificent job of it. No real dancer I can imagine could have portrayed the depth of emotion this role required, it needed a great actress. But without the degree of devotion and discipline that she applied to the dance, Black Swan would never have achieved the heights that it does.
In his film, Aronofsky layers Nina's challenge to break free from her childlike, sheltered world with a parallel story that exists within the ballet itself. Black Swan explores the grueling physical and mental anguish of an aspiring ballerina as she faces the challenges of dancing the most famous dual role in all of ballet, that of Odette/Odile (the swan queen and her evil black twin). While the White Swan comes easily to Nina, the dark mysteries of the Black Swan evade her. This is paralleled in her own life as she struggles to hold her own against a mother (Barbara Hershey) who would keep her a perpetual child, a sexually aggressive boss (Vincent Cassel), and a rival dancer (Mila Kunis) who embodies the sensuality/sexuality, abandonment/freedom, self-confidence and strength that Nina must grasp in order to fully portray Odile, the Black Swan. All of this points to the larger issue of the true self-possession that any artist needs in order to be great and fully realized.
As a ballerina, to embody the duality of the Swan Queen and the black swan can be a fiendishly difficult task. It's a role that requires the true balance of opposition in a dancer; both technical command and poetic lyricism need to be cultivated. It requires a full spectrum of artistry. I have played the dual roles and understand firsthand the intense physical drain and the nervous energy that gets stirred up in both body and mind while preparing for it. When the body gets exhausted the mind can become fragile. It requires a particular strength and confidence in one's emotional core unlike anything else in classical ballet. As Nina engages in these intense (and intensely linked) personal, professional, and artistic struggles, she begins to hallucinate and become obsessive and paranoid. At one level, one could look at this film as a portrayal of the beginnings of full-blown neurosis and mental illness. But this would, of course, miss the larger truth that dancers learn to take on these subtle head-trips every day. Going to those depths is a unique part of our job as performing artists. Sometimes these head-trips are empowering at other times, terrifying and debilitating, but there is no question that they are part of the game, part of our art, and those that cannot learn to live with them, and work with their power, will be weeded out weaker artists.
Dancers learn to take on these subtle head-trips every day. Going to those depths is a unique part of our job as performing artists.
by Wendy Whelan Info
At the age of three, Wendy Whelan began taking dance classes in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She went on to train at the School of American Ballet, the official institute of the New York City Ballet and eventually worked her way up the ranks, from the corps de ballet to principal dancer. Whelan has been featured in many ballets, including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, and has toured extensively throughout the world. In 2007, she also received a Dance Magazine Award.
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print TwitterEmailShare A principal dancer at the New York City Ballet reviews Black Swan and Natalie Portman's stunning performance—and says the movie captures the head trips that every great dancer faces.
For the past 20 years, I have been a ballerina with the New York City Ballet, and I was asked to offer my thoughts on the new Darren Aronofsky film, Black Swan. I first heard about the idea for this new ballet film some years ago when Aronofsky contacted me for his research. Some time later, as I began to get wind that it would be based on Swan Lake (not my favorite ballet), my hopes weren't high, but I became enticed again when I heard it would be a psychological thriller. Since that first phone call, the presence of this film in the background of my life has continued to grow as a great many friends and colleagues became involved in the production.
Natalie Portman is fantastic as Nina, a corps dancer struggling to rise to the challenge of dancing the principal role of the Swan Queen. The actress poured herself into serious ballet training to be able to embody the look of a professional dancer and she did a magnificent job of it. No real dancer I can imagine could have portrayed the depth of emotion this role required, it needed a great actress. But without the degree of devotion and discipline that she applied to the dance, Black Swan would never have achieved the heights that it does.
In his film, Aronofsky layers Nina's challenge to break free from her childlike, sheltered world with a parallel story that exists within the ballet itself. Black Swan explores the grueling physical and mental anguish of an aspiring ballerina as she faces the challenges of dancing the most famous dual role in all of ballet, that of Odette/Odile (the swan queen and her evil black twin). While the White Swan comes easily to Nina, the dark mysteries of the Black Swan evade her. This is paralleled in her own life as she struggles to hold her own against a mother (Barbara Hershey) who would keep her a perpetual child, a sexually aggressive boss (Vincent Cassel), and a rival dancer (Mila Kunis) who embodies the sensuality/sexuality, abandonment/freedom, self-confidence and strength that Nina must grasp in order to fully portray Odile, the Black Swan. All of this points to the larger issue of the true self-possession that any artist needs in order to be great and fully realized.
As a ballerina, to embody the duality of the Swan Queen and the black swan can be a fiendishly difficult task. It's a role that requires the true balance of opposition in a dancer; both technical command and poetic lyricism need to be cultivated. It requires a full spectrum of artistry. I have played the dual roles and understand firsthand the intense physical drain and the nervous energy that gets stirred up in both body and mind while preparing for it. When the body gets exhausted the mind can become fragile. It requires a particular strength and confidence in one's emotional core unlike anything else in classical ballet. As Nina engages in these intense (and intensely linked) personal, professional, and artistic struggles, she begins to hallucinate and become obsessive and paranoid. At one level, one could look at this film as a portrayal of the beginnings of full-blown neurosis and mental illness. But this would, of course, miss the larger truth that dancers learn to take on these subtle head-trips every day. Going to those depths is a unique part of our job as performing artists. Sometimes these head-trips are empowering at other times, terrifying and debilitating, but there is no question that they are part of the game, part of our art, and those that cannot learn to live with them, and work with their power, will be weeded out weaker artists.
Dancers learn to take on these subtle head-trips every day. Going to those depths is a unique part of our job as performing artists.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Friday, December 03, 2010
Ah, summer, SPAC announces dates for 2011.
Several program dates were announced for 2011, including a June 9 performance by Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and an Aug. 16 show featuring the Trish Brown Dance Company; the Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival on June 25 and 26; the New York City Ballet, July 5 -- 16; the Philadelphia Orchestra, July 27 -- Aug. 13; the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, July 26 -- August 9; and the first cabaret-style program in the Little Theatre from Aug. 18 -- Aug. 27.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Downtown Saratoga Victorian Stroll tonight, 12/2/10.
Celebrate the magic of an old-fashioned Victorian Streetwalk and Christmas in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, December 2, 2010!
Photo Credit: Stacy Lynn Baum
Downtown Saratoga closes to traffic and all of Broadway is blanketed in Victorian holiday magic each year the Thursday after Thanksgiving for the annual Saratoga Springs Victorian Streetwalk. Witness the fun this year as the Spa City is transformed into a Victorian winter wonderland on December 2nd, from 6-10 pm.
Photo Credit: Stacy Lynn Baum
Downtown Saratoga closes to traffic and all of Broadway is blanketed in Victorian holiday magic each year the Thursday after Thanksgiving for the annual Saratoga Springs Victorian Streetwalk. Witness the fun this year as the Spa City is transformed into a Victorian winter wonderland on December 2nd, from 6-10 pm.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tree Nursery next to Saratoga Spa State Park under the gun again!
The Saratoga Tree Nursery could find its staff cut nearly in half as lawmakers look to close a gaping budget gap by paring the state workforce.
The nursery, run by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, is a perennial punching bag when it comes time to cut the state budget; state officials have on more than one occasion suggested closing it outright.
Now, in the face of a gaping budget deficit, state leaders say they need to cut 900 workers, including 140 staff members at the DEC, to help control costs. A list of positions targeted for elimination, obtained by the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, includes four laborers from the Saratoga region due to be fired by Dec. 31.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Saratoga is hopping. Victorian Streetwalk on Thursday, 12/2/10. Restaurant Week starts Friday, 12/3-12/9.
Celebrate the magic of an old-fashioned Victorian Streetwalk and Christmas in Saratoga Springs on Thursday, December 2,2010.
Downtown Saratoga closes to traffic and all of Broadway is blanketed in Victorian holiday magic each year the Thursday after Thanksgiving for the annual Saratoga Springs Victorian Streetwalk. Witness the fun this year as the Spa City is transformed into a Victorian winter wonderland on December 2nd, from 6-10 pm.
There will be all types of entertainers working the crowds at the Victorian Streetwalk in downtown Saratoga Springs. Musicians, singers, magicians, and other performances will delight young and old alike. Santa will welcome visits from children at his very special cottage outside 435 Broadway, then kids can get up close and personal with his real-life team of reindeer right down the street! Free hot beverages and treats will be served at numerous locations around downtown.
Carolers will stroll the sidewalks dressed in elegant period costumes, gaily colored hats and scarves, delighting listeners with music and song.
Saratoga Restaurant Week
Saratoga Restaurant Week
3 Course Menus For Just $18.19!
Participating local restaurants offer 3-course dinner specials for just $18.19 during Saratoga County Restaurant Week
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — Enjoy the 6th Annual Saratoga Restaurant Week from December 3 - 9, 2010.
Get a 3-Course dinner for just $18.19 at participating Saratoga County restaurants during Saratoga Restaurant Week! Start off with your choice of an appetizer or salad, then choose from a menu of sumptuous entrees, and top it off with a decadent dessert! All for just $18.19!
Plus some participating restaurants are offering lunch specials for just $9.09. Saratoga Restaurant Week is the perfect time to get out and try new restaurants in the Spa City!
And we're giving away the chance to win gift a Saratoga Restaurant Week Prize Pack! Find out the details and enter to win here!
Reservations are strongly suggested during Saratoga Restaurant Week and can be made by calling the restaurant of your choice.
2010 Participating Restaurants:
Both Dinner & Lunch:
Circus Cafe :: (518) 583-1106
Menu
Gaffney's Restaurant :: (518) 587-7359
Grey Gelding :: (518) 584-0957
Jacob & Anthony's American Grille :: (518) 871-1600
Karavalli Regional Cuisine of India :: (518) 580-1144
Lillian's Restaurant :: (518) 587-7766
Local Pub & Teahouse :: (5180 587-7256
Maestro's Restaurant :: (518) 580-0312
Menu
Max London's Restaurant & Bar :: (518) 587-3535
Pacific Grill :: (518) 583-0008
Menu
Phila Fusion :: (518) 226-0400
Putnam's at the Gideon Putnam Resort :: (518) 584-3000
Ravenous :: (518) 581-0560
Scallions Restaurant :: (518) 584-0192
Sushi Thai Garden Restaurant :: (518) 580-0900
Wheatfields Bistro & Wine Bar Clifton Park :: (518) 383-4444
Wheatfields Restaurant & Bar :: (518) 587-0534
$18.19 Dinner Only:
Bookmaker's at Holiday Inn :: (518) 584-4550
Menu
Brindisi's Restaurant & Bar :: (518) 587-6262
Catina :: (518) 587-5577
Chianti II Ristorante :: (518) 580-0025
Dine :: (518) 587-9463
End Zone Sports Pub :: (518) 584-6460
Forno Bistro :: (518) 581-2401
Menu
Fortunes at Saratoga Gaming and Raceway :: (518) 584-2110
Menu
Hattie's Restaurant :: (518) 584-4790
Horseshoe Inn Bar & Gill :: (518) 587-4909
Irish Times Pub & Restaurant :: (518) 583-0003
Limoncello Ristorante :: (518) 580-8700
Longfellows Restaurant :: (518) 587-0108
Menu
Mexican Connection :: (518) 584-4466
Mouzon House :: (518) 226-0014
Olde Bryan Inn :: (518) 587-2990
Menu
One Caroline Street Bistro :: (518) 587-2026
Pasta Pane :: (518) 371-5762
Menu
Prime at Saratoga National Golf Club :: (518) 583-4653
Primo's at The Inn at Saratoga :: (518) 583-1890
Sabina's Wood Fired Restaurant :: (518) 583-3333
Menu
Sperry's Restaurant :: (518) 584-9618
Menu
Springwater Inn :: (518) 584-5051
Tiznow Restaurant :: (518) 226-0655
Menu
Wishing Well Restaurant :: (518) 584-7640
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Dr. Hoge pictured here was a very handsome lifeguard early on at Victoria Pool which opened 7/26/35.
Go to Saratogian.com to read about Dr. Hoge today at 95, a proud WWII veteran and Saratoga icon.At 95, World War II veteran thankful to be an American: D-Day survivor part of a group of multi-generational veterans with video
Published: Thursday, November 25, 2010
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Dr. Hoge holds a picture of his late wife, Sheila, which he keeps in his wallet. The two were married for 43 years. “Strong, stalwart, gentle. “She was a great gal, a real straight shooter.” Hoge recalled. “On June 1, 1946 we got married at my parents’ house on Church Street in Saratoga.” (ED BURKE, The Saratogian)
A multi-generational group of U.S. veterans meets regularly at Saratoga-Wilton Elks Club for camaraderie and storytelling. Seated, left to right, are World War II veterans Myron Bazar, Dr. Leo Hoge and Philip Myers. In back, left to right, are Ken Tubbs, Joe Lohman and Bill Pettigrew. (PAUL POST, The Saratogian)
By PAUL POST, The Saratogian
Click to enlarge
Dr. Leo Hoge talks about serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II at a luncheon at the Olde Bryan Inn honoring his 95th birthday. (ED BURKE, The Saratogian)
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Counting his blessings comes easy to Dr. Leo Hoge, who survived D-Day and extensive action in the Pacific during World War II.
Above all else, however, the U.S. Navy veteran is most thankful to be an American.
Hoge, who celebrated his 95th birthday on Tuesday, is part of small group of veterans that meets each Thursday morning at the Saratoga-Wilton Elks Club to swap stories and simply enjoy each others’ company. With amazing clarity, he recalls D-Day — June 6, 1944 — like it was yesterday.
"Five-thirty in the morning the sun was just coming up," he said. "We would take guys in to hit the beach, Omaha Beach. Then we came back to pick up casualties. When we got them stabilized we’d take them back to Engl
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
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