Vibe Check: The Saratoga 25
Warning: Sappy post ahead. We relive our 25th anniversary party, preview the outdoor concert series coming to Saratoga and prep for Saratoga Bridges' annual gala.
I figured I’d be at least a little nervous to speak in front of the nearly 300-person crowd at Thursday evening’s Saratoga 25 party. I write stories that are seen by thousands of people every day, but have never really had to read my own writing out loud, much less in front of the people I’ve written about and their family and friends. But when I got up on the Putnam Place stage to introduce The Saratoga 25, I wasn’t nervous at all. [Abby here: “I was nervous!!”] I felt like I was reading to my family and friends. And in a way I was. Having worked at Saratoga Living for a pretty decent chunk of the magazine’s 25 year-history, I’ve made so many friends in the Saratoga community, many of whom were in the crowd—Teddy Foster, Arthur Gonick, Seana Moser, Kim McConchie, Dan De Federicis, Kennedy Taylor, the Saratoga 25 honorees themselves. And while it’s my job to celebrate their achievements in the magazine or this very newsletter, I feel just as celebrated by them. Saratoga cares about local journalism, and for that, Abby and I thank you. We love writing about this city and are so happy to hear that you love reading about it.
So let’s get to it.
The Saratoga 25, of course, were the men and women of the hour—every time I tried to check in with one of them, I had to pry them away from whomever had their ear at the moment. “If you’re Julie Bonacio,” honoree Heidi Owen West told me, “it’s going to take you one to two hours to get from this side of the room to the other.” (I found that out the hard way when attempting to corral both Julie and Sonny for a photo with the magazine cover.)
I was able to get face time with most of the honorees, including Dan Chessare, who arrived looking spiffy in a jacket, having closed Saratoga’s Broadway Deli early to get ready for the party. Marcella Hammer strode in armed with glitter, “in case anyone needs to be anointed,” and promptly ran into Teddy Foster, who was honored as part of our Saratoga 20 five years ago. “Congrats!” Teddy said. “You’re joining an elite club.” Maddy Zanetti made it known that if I was looking for her, she’d probably be posted up at the Sweet Mimi’s dessert table, and Taylor Rao immediately began scheming a future live Buttonista podcast at Putnam Place upon seeing the night club’s renovations.
Before the program, guests helped themselves to Saratoga Sparkling Rosé donated by DeCrescente, the wood-fired pizzas being churned out of West Ave Pizza’s “Van Halen” pizza oven on the patio, and the impressive spread by West Ave Chicken inside. “Hot take.” my friend told me after the event. “That was the best food you’ve ever had at a party.”
At around 7:30pm, Abby and I took the stage, introducing the honorees one by one. You could tell who had the biggest fan club in the room; I could barely get a word out about Heidi over the sound of her posse cheering. Most of the honorees chose to say a few words, with several speeches standing out. Palette’s Resident Unicorn, Marcella reiterated that she’d be happy to “anoint” anyone with glitter, and took the opportunity to thank…herself. Entertainer extraordinaire Garland Nelson expressed surprise that he was feeling speechless at the mic. Jill Johnson VanKuren made it clear that she was accepting the honor on behalf of all the hard-working employees of Saratoga Hospital. Carmine DeCrescente kept it short and sweet, telling everyone to “get home safe.” And Susan Dake stole the show, thanking everyone who has given her money for her fundraising efforts in the past before adding: “I will be asking again.”
But on a night of scattered showers and with a smoke cloud from the Canadian wildfires covering the city, Buttonista Taylor’s words, though probably meant as a punchy caption for an Instagram post, hit me the hardest in my grateful/emotional/proud state: “It’s always sunny in Saratoga.” That it is.
See more scenes from the evening here.
—Natalie
Save the Date
Be a part of Saratoga Living After Hours’ next Vibe Check story. Next Saturday, June 17, Saratoga Bridges will host The White Party Presents: Highballs and Horsepower, an evening featuring complimentary cocktails, food by Mazzone Hospitality, silent and live auctions and, yes, vintage cars, at the 1863 Club. Don’t worry about finding something white to wear: dress code is white, cocktail or best track attire. Get your tickets here—SLAH will see you there!
Revival of the Fittest
On Tuesday, the SLAH team joined Bethany Bowyer Khan and her family and friends at Pitney Meadows during a storm nearing biblical proportions, for the official launch of Arcadian Revival, the home and lifestyle brand Bethany has been building on social media since moving to the Spa City two years ago. (You may remember her from our spring issue story on her home, which will be featured in a coffee table book later next month.) Check out Arcadian Revival’s new website to learn more about Bethany’s story, passions and offerings here.
Prepare to Pod
Looking to tell a story by way of one of today’s most popular mediums? Palette Community’s downtown location now has a podcast studio that’s available for rent. But you won’t just be getting the space and equipment—you’ll also have access to the knowledge of a team of journalists, audio-video technicians and media coaches to ensure you get the highest quality audio and/or video. The studio costs $150 per hour to rent for audio-only podcasts and $200 per hour for audio and video setup, with discounted rates for Palette members.
PSA (Public Sushi Announcement)
If you find yourself up in Lake George in need of sushi this summer (I mean, it’s highly likely, at least for me), you’re in luck. This week, The Lagoon announced the opening of its sushi bar, making the lakeside hotspot the only place to get sushi on the lake.
Series of Fortunate Events
It’s officially outdoor concert season in Saratoga, as evidenced by this week’s announcement of not one but three local concert series:
Upbeat on the Roof: The Tang Teaching Museum’s annual Thursday night series that takes place on the lawn outside the museum and features craft kits for kids at every concert. Performances begin at 6pm; attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets and food and/or drink.
July 6: Blue Ranger
July 13: The Age
July 20: Hot Club of Saratoga
July 27: Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra
August 3: Zan & The Winter Folk
August 10: Veena Chandra
August 17: Nathan Meltz and The House of Tomorrow
Stewart’s Signature Series: Made possible by a grant from Stewart’s Shops and the Dake family, this series features performances, panels and readings at different locations throughout the summer. Click here for more info and to get tickets.
June 25: Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars
June 27: John and Gerald Clayton Quartet
July 5: Miguel Zenon Quartet
July 7: Poetry & Jazz: An Evening with Robert Pinsky, Todd Coolman & Bill Cunliffe
July 13: John McWhorter and Thomas Chatterton Williams Reading and Discussion
July 17: Francine Prose and Danzy Senna
July 18: Joyce Carol Oates and April Bernard
Concerts in the Park in Ballston Spa: More Thursday evening live music is going on just south of Saratoga in Ballston Spa’s Lions Music Park on Front Street. Each concert is from 6-8pm.
June 29: Ballston Spa Community Band
July 6: North & South Dakotas
July 13: The Protones
July 20: Kevin McKrell
July 27: SIRSY
August 3: Annual Ice Cream Social with The Union Fire Company Band
August 10: Downtown Horns
August 17: Lustre Kings
August 24: The Sea The Sea
This Week in Saratoga Living After Hours
On Sunday, we got readers hyped for summer at the lake with our story about the new Cobalt R4, available at Lake George’s Boats by George.
On Tuesday, we published our regular “On Deck” column featuring what’s coming up each week in Saratoga. Be sure to tune in every week to stay up on local happenings.
And on Wednesday, we recapped the spectacular inaugural Summer SPACtacular, anointing two honorees as the evening’s best dancers in the process.