Vibe Check: Murder in the Canfield Casino
The Saratoga History Museum's murder mystery dinner, the return of Single in Saratoga, the Spa City photo of the week and more!
The first mystery of Thursday night was who, if anyone, was going to take the two empty seats next to me at table 4 at the Saratoga History Museum’s Murder Mystery dinner at the Canfield Casino. As I learned at last year’s Fall Flavor Fusion dinner at SPAC (no, I will never stop talking about that glorious vegan feast), the people who sit next to you at a dinner party can make or break an evening. When Dave and Amy (I’ll refrain from using last names to protect the innocent) walked in just as the program was about to begin, evidently after having taken full advantage of every last minute of the cocktail hour—Dave was drinking “vodka soda splash of crans, like a man”—I knew my night was about to be made.
To their credit, Dave and Amy kept pretty quiet while Saratoga History Museum President Charlie Kuenzel and Executive Director Jamie Parillo welcomed the crowd. “Saratoga is special because of our history,” Charlie said. “We have a unique history, and the History Museum does the best job—we’ve been telling the story since 1883—of telling it better than anybody else.” That rich history was the focus of the evening’s activity: Murder in the Canfield Casino, an actual Clue-like board game now available for purchase at the History Museum shop, The Dark Horse, Impressions of Saratoga, G. Willikers and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. To add a theatrical element to the evening, a play had been written based on the game, and would be acted out throughout the evening as diners tried to solve the mystery of who killed Sara Toga, a fictional young woman who worked at the Canfield Casino sometime in Spa City history. The suspects? Ghosts of key players in Saratoga lore—John Morrissey, Richard Canfield, Lillian Russel, Ellen Hardin Walworth, George Crum and Eliza Jumel.
“You’ve got a lot of notes there,” Dave said, thinking my feverish note-taking was an overzealous attempt to solve the mystery, not write this very story. “We’re here to win.” Though our relationship began as rivals, we quickly realized we had a better chance of figuring out the whodunnit by working together. While my friend Molly and I searched the first floor of the Canfield for hidden Clue cards, Dave and Amy posted up at the table to talk to the ghosts, who were walking around revealing Clue cards they had on their person—er, um, spirit. After finding a card in a pot of flowers in the women’s bathroom, we hurried back to the table to tell Dave he had to go inspect the men’s bathroom. When he returned, we discovered the game-makers had hidden the same card in each bathroom (so all the players had the same clues). Enraged that he’d “looked like a creeper” walking around the men’s bathroom, Dave seemed to check himself out of the competition, instead moving on to topics such as his karaoke voice (“a cross between Jesus and Fergie”), how Amy’s contact in his phone is “Yes Please,” and various other NSFW topics that I will not divulge.
Meanwhile, dinner by The Adelphi was served, and the play continued, with the ghosts dropping hints about the mystery throughout and accusing one another of the crime. Our table suspected the murder was committed in the alcove, though only because we were joking about other illicit activities that might or might not have happened there. Impressions of Saratoga owner Maddy Zanetti’s table, on the other hand, paid much better attention (and probably consumed much less wine). “Our table was really into the game,” she says. “My sister did a lot of sleuthing and we narrowed it down to two options. I was involved in creating the game because I’m on the board, so I was really excited for the event.”
In the last scene, a large Saratoga trunk was dragged onto the stage, presumably containing the remains of Sara Toga herself. Only then was the nature of the murder revealed: It had been Richard Canfield, with the candlestick, in the High Stakes room. Ten people in the room got the right answer, including Maddy, so a winner—Erica Brown—was chosen at random to leave with a copy of the board game. I, on the other hand, left with literal tears of laughter streaming down my face and a new pair of friends.
—Natalie
Quote of the Week
“I love him, but we need a pool in my backyard.”
—Overheard at the Canfield Casino
Photo of the Week
Welcome, Wellness
Skidmore has announced plans for a new health, wellness, fitness, tennis and athletics center that will bring together all aspects of health and wellness support (including mental health and counseling) in one complex. The outdoor tennis courts are scheduled to be completed in 2023 with the rest of the project finishing up as early as 2024.
Sweater Together
This Wednesday, Saratoga Living hosted our second Single in Saratoga event, this one featuring ugly sweaters! More than 50 singles and wingpeople came out to Bailey’s for Deep Eddy Cocktails, games and to participate in the ugly sweater contest presented by the Micropolitan Matchmakers. See more photos of the festive, all-ages crowd here. And, yes, for those of you wondering: There were more men there this time.
Shooting for the Stars
This just in: According to a Lifehacker article published earlier this week, Saratoga blogger Arthur Gonick, known throughout the local gala circuit for his shiny, silver point-and-shoot camera, is actually a trend-setter. “The latest photography trend among Gen Z is the 2000s-era digital camera (or, as some lovingly refer to them, ‘sh**y’ cameras),” the article reads. “The trend is taking advantage of a now ‘vintage’ look, invoking nostalgia for a more disconnected photographic past some Gen Z’ers may or may not remember themselves.”
Toy Story
This week, 2,600 toys—$24,000 worth—were delivered to Franklin Community Center, CAPTAIN Community Human Services and the Mechanicville Area Community Services Center as part of the 10th annual Toys for Toga campaign. Spearheaded by local businesses including Death Wish Coffee, DeCrescente Distributing and Druthers Brewing Company, the campaign received funds from corporate donations, Toys for Toga’s GoFundMe page, through sales of Druthers’ signature Toys for Toga NEIPA beer, and other fundraisers held at local businesses. Want to pitch in? There’s still time to donate here.
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Monday, we took a break from our regular Game Time post to help one Saratogian shoot his shot.
Then, on Tuesday, we caught up with Steve Janaszak, the backup goalie for the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, at the Adirondack Thunder’s Miracle on Ice night.