Arts Fest Friday Nov. 6 at the Tang
Arts Fest Fridays—a monthly series of free, multiple-genre entertainment events in fall 2015—continue on Friday, Nov. 6, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with “A Vaudeville Circus at the Tang Museum.” The free, family-friendly entertainment includes two major art exhibitions, dancing by Saratoga Jazz Tap, performances by the Skidmore Circus Club and Waldorf School Circus Club, violin by Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Mike Campese, and the headline musical act, a traveling one-man-band performer known as the Suitcase Junket. The Circus Café restaurant in Saratoga, the event sponsor, will provide food.
“Each Arts Fest Friday spotlights one of Saratoga’s rich cultural assets,” said Maureen Sager, executive producer of the series. “We’re thrilled that November brings us to the Tang Teaching Museum, one of the region’s most exciting, artistically significant and innovative institutions.” Visitors to “A Vaudeville Circus at the Tang Museum” are encouraged to tour the two exhibitions on view at the Tang, located on the campus of Skidmore College.
One exhibition, a celebration of the Tang’s 15th anniversary and its mission to explore ideas across disciplines, provided inspiration for the event. Entitled Affinity Atlas, it features artwork by internationally renowned artists including Nancy Grossman, Nick Cave and Michael Oatman, alongside images and objects from across cultures and time periods. It is influenced by “cabinets of curiosities”—the encyclopedic, private collections of objects amassed by individuals in Renaissance Europe that served as precursors to modern-day museums. In Affinity Atlas, event producers Megan Hyde, the Tang’s museum educator for college and public programs, Dianne Winter, assistant director of Saratoga’s venerable music institution Caffe Lena, and Paul Calhoun, Skidmore’s dean of special programs, have assembled their own “cabinet of curiosities,” featuring an eclectic mix of entertainment with the flavor of a bygone era.
Previous Arts Fest Fridays—the “Vintage Beekman Street Fest” in September and “UPH Goes Avant-Garde” in October—attracted hundreds of people to sample entertainment as diverse as modern dance, vintage cars, electronic music, ethnic foods, wine tastings, and much more. “It’s been so rewarding to see arts organizations and local artists working together and adding businesses and community members to the mix. Arts Fest Fridays are truly a unique and collaborative artistic events that bring the community together in a very exciting and powerful way,” said Dee Sarno, chair of the board of Saratoga Arts Fest, which is presenting Arts Fest Fridays in partnership with another not-for-profit, Spring Street Gallery.
December’s Arts Fest Friday will be “Holiday at Home-Made Theater: Behind the Scenes of Miracle on 34th Street,” on Dec. 4 from 5 to 7:30 p.m., featuring family activities, a big-band lounge, and a visit from Santa Claus.
