SaratogaArtsFest announces new format

SaratogaArtsFest, a collaboration of community partners including Skidmore College, will change from an annual four-day celebration of the arts to a new approach titled ArtsFestFridays. The new format will offer a themed event each month in recognition of the area’s vibrant arts scene.       

“This monthly program will create a year-round celebration of the arts, with more frequent gatherings than our previous model,” said Dee Sarno, chair of the SaratogaArtsFest board. “We are excited about this new philosophy, which will help to promote the wide range of extraordinary arts groups and venues in Saratoga Springs.”

The ArtsFestFridays, free and open to the public, will be supported by SaratogaArtsFest and produced by the production team at Spring Street Gallery, an award-winning nonprofit organization and performance space in Saratoga Springs. The programs for the fall are currently being developed, and the dates and locations for the initial four events have been confirmed—Sept. 4 at the Beekman Street Arts District; Oct. 2 at Universal Preservation Hall; Nov. 6 at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College; and Dec. 4 at Home Made Theater.

“Each ArtsFestFriday will be unique and exciting, occurring at a different venue,” said Sarno. “Each event will have its own theme and feature an eclectic mix of art, entertainment, and activities. The events will be multi-genre, multi-generational, and always have an element of surprise.” Sarno added that a key goal of the gatherings is to announce and promote local arts programming on a monthly basis.

“The production approach for ArtsFestFriday events is fun and collaborative,” said Maureen Sager, executive director at Spring Street Gallery. “We’re bringing together producers of disparate ages, backgrounds and experiences to ensure events will appeal to a broad range of Saratogians.”

The two inaugural events, along with the producer-curator teams, are outlined below:

•  “The Rich History of Beekman Street,” produced by Corey Aldrich (Electric City Couture), Cecilia Fritelli-Lockwood (Textile Studio), and Belinda Colon (On Deck Saratoga).

•  “An Evening of Improvisation and Jazz at Universal Preservation Hall,” produced by Bob Carlton (Jet Pack Productions, rock musician), Dee Sarno (arts educator and advocate), and Carl Landa (composer, musician, and educator).   

 To help support ArtsFestFridays, SaratogaArtsFest will hold its annual fundraiser, Prelude, on Thursday, April 30, 6 to 9 p.m., at the Saratoga National Golf Club. The event will offer a signature ArtsFest cocktail, food stations, a live painting demonstration, and a silent auction. In celebration of the city’s centennial, there will be entertainment representing the various decades from 1915 to the present, featuring music by the Primrose Lane Quartet and dance by the Saratoga Savoy dancers.

At the Prelude, SaratogaArtsFest will present its Saratoga Art Star Award to Yaddo, the famed Saratoga Springs arts community founded in 1900 by financier Spencer Trask and his wife Katrina, a poet.

Before moving to the new format in September, the ArtsFest will sponsor a series of events June 13–14 titled SaratogaArtsFest Celebrates the Saratoga Springs Centennial. The lineup for the weekend series will be announced in late April. This SaratogaArtsFest celebration will be among other civic events designed to mark the signing of the city’s charter in 1915.

For more information visit the SaratogaArtsFest website here.