Saratoga Reached for the Heavens
A life-changing group medium reading brought all the feels. PLUS: Bloodies for a cause, spring spritzes and a local podcast's hot takes.
Wednesday was a beautiful night for a cocktail party, and the crowd flooded the gorgeous patio at the Gideon Putnam, chatting in small groups in eager anticipation of the main event. As they sipped on wine and snacked on a stellar spread of food (crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, spicy vegan samosas…thank you, Gideon Putnam!), there was a bit of a nervous energy even as guests (96% female) relaxed in the balmy night. At 7pm sharp, the doors to the hotel’s beautiful atrium room swung open, marking the end of the “cocktails” portion of Saratoga Living’s third “Cocktails and Clairvoyance” event. In no time flat, every seat was taken, and Christine Seebold-Walrath took the stage. The local psychic medium (and owner of The Mind Body Spirit Shoppe on Broadway) was glamorous and quick-witted and got right to it—you could have heard a pin drop as she started her first reading.
If you’ve ever seen an episode of Long Island Medium, you know what we’re talking about. On the show, Theresa Caputo walks through the crowd during her public readings, delivering messages from loved ones who have crossed over. Christine’s methods were similar, but of course no professional is the same as the other, and we didn’t know what to expect. As someone who has attended quite a few of these events, I can report that Christine’s ability to read undeniable details is unparalleled.
Cue the chills—because most of us in that room had them head to toe, from the second Christine asked if anyone had lost a female family member too young. She landed at a table of female relatives, including a young woman who was a “lookalike” of the spirit Christine was seeing, who turned out to be the young woman’s mother. (Christine’s husband, Scott, trailed right behind her with a box of much-needed Kleenex.) After a few minutes of messages (“She wants to be make sure you got the rings,” and “She said to tell you she loves you and she’s sorry she’s missing so many things”), the details came.
“I see a tree. She’s showing me a tree. Why a tree?” “We planted a tree in her honor and that’s where we buried her ashes.”
“Someone’s trying to have a baby—it’s a boy, and she’ll spend time with him on the other side, before he comes. Don’t say she never got to meet him—that isn’t true.”
“Who has her car?” Someone else at the table raised her hand. “She’s with you when you’re in that car.”
“Hummingbird. I see a hummingbird.” Gasp. The daughter very recently got a hummingbird tattoo. And Mom knew about it.
And so it began. I’ve heard people call readings “entertainment,” but I’m here to tell you that while we turn our group readings into a bit of a night out, these readings can be crucial healing for those who are grieving. If you’ve lost someone dear to you and start to notice little signs or coincidences or seeing the same number over and over again—that’s the energy we’re talking about here, channeled through a professional.
The evening went on. One guest lost her teenage daughter in a horrible car accident. “Pink! Pink, pink, pink,” Christine said. “Did she have pink hair?” The mom said her daughter always wanted it but she wasn’t allowed—and her sister now has her hair pink in her honor. Christine also sang, “Happy Birthday,” and said the teenager was thanking Mom for all of the flowers. Mom said they still have big birthday parties for her, and she planted flowers all over her area at the cemetery. There were lighter moments, too: “She still plays tricks on her brother.”
A “pisser” of a grandfather came through for his grandson, who he raised. “Tell me about the railroad tracks and the family war,” Christine said. (The man had collected train sets, and when his grandson took one in remembrance, an uncle who wanted to auction off the whole set got mad.) Christine asked another guest why her mom didn’t have any shoes on—“did you bury her without shoes?” “I forgot,” the daughter answered meekly, as the crowd chuckled. “Save the bunnies!” one animal-loving spirit instructed her granddaughter about a rabbit infestation. “You’re going to have some money coming in from her trust or pension,” Christine told another. “She says to buy something nice! The message from heaven is clear—buy yourself something nice!”
One woman whose father had not been part of her life listened as Dad came through with stories from her childhood—including toys she remembered but never knew were from him. (It was theorized that post-divorce, Mom must not have told her that he was sending her those presents.) One of Saratoga’s few cold cases, that of Pam Devizzio, took center stage for quite some time, as her sister asked questions about what happened that terrible night after she left her sibling at a bar with her friends, not knowing it would be the last time she saw her alive. And one woman appeared closed off about talking about her late husband, in an exchange that an outsider would have taken to mean that Christine’s messages were inaccurate. But Christine assured her (and the crowd) that the woman simply didn’t want to show emotion in front of the group.
And she was right.
Afterwards, the woman stayed for a more private chat, and the tears came, saying Christine was absolutely right about everything. Her friends immediately got to work, putting together a more lengthy private reading for their grieving soul sister.
And off to Bocage they went, to decompress and have cake (Cocktails and Clairvoyance was part of their birthday celebrations for one of the women). From the grieving to the mildly curious—and everyone in between—it was a night to remember. “I came away,” says attendee Mark Behan, “with a greater appreciation of what clairvoyants and psychics do.”
—Abby
Drinking for a Cause
Today’s Bloody Mary Fest kicks off at 11am! Stop by the 11 participating venues (Harvey’s, Henry Street Taproom, Bocage, Morrisey’s, West Side Sports Bar and Grill, The Mercantile, Rhea, Bailey’s, Ice House, The Bourbon Room and Nashville of Saratoga) to taste the yummiest Bloody Marys for a low price—and $1 from every drink sold will be donated to the Jessica B Dorronsoro Memorial Fund. Vote for your faves on Discover Saratoga!
Spring Spritzes
Spring and Spritzes go together like…you tell us! Bocage’s refreshing spritzes are back with five brand-new concoctions—and the Champagne bar’s Apèro Hour has them priced at just $10 all day Mondays, and until 6pm Monday-Friday. Cheers!
Happy Birthday to…
The Saratoga Podcast celebrates its 50th birthday with a banger of an episode. A little taste of what’s covered: Saratoga’s garnering of the wrong kind of attention, the Tucker Carlson of the Capital Region, how Robin (allegedly) talks more than her male co-hosts, a viral video that could be dissected for days, how running for office is awful, and a middle school gym class workshop that’s angering parents. Tune in!
Happy early Mother’s Day to all of the fabulous moms out there!