From the editor
Happy summer weekend,
I woke up to the news that Journalism — a champion known for heart and never giving up — has retired.
At the risk of getting too corny, this special horse rose to fame during a difficult time for journalism (little j). And as I look back, I cheered on Journalism (big J) to his huge win at the Preakness — yelling and screaming my little heart out in a crowded NYC sports bar — just as I was deciding whether or not to launch the Dispatch.
A few short weeks later, I did.
I could have never imagined that a year later, we’d be 6,000-strong and I’d have a thriving Dinner Club.
Local news and neighbors meeting neighbors.
What a dream,
— Abby
In this issue:
✌️ hot summer pop-ups
🏇 Track highlights: Jayson Werth and Caroline Street Beat
🚨 Selling out: “junk journaling” night with the fab Ashley Salvadore
⚓ Buzzy lake read by Saratoga author stars … Lake George
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SUMMER POP-UP 1
Fri-YAY: Ted’s Fish Fry makes ‘Fry-day’ announcement
Photos: Ted’s Fish Fry’s Facebook
Ted’s Fish Fry got Facebook buzzing yesterday when it dropped some exciting news: a summer pop-up inside downtown’s Ice House.
A limited menu — including Fish Frys, clam rolls, wings, burgers and hot dogs — will be available all summer long, with weekly specials being announced.
Herbie’s Burgers was in the spot before moving to its permanent home in the new Pint Sized. If the set-up is similar, hours (Ted’s said to “check back” for exact times) could be daytime and nighttime (the bouncers were always super-nice if you told them you were just grabbing food).
🗓️ Events calendar for the week 💃🎤🌙
SUMMER POP-UP 2: Trunk show extended after overwhelming response
Spoken Boutique in Ballston Spa (89 Milton Ave.) has extended its Jude Connally Trunk Show (scheduled to end yesterday) through Tuesday.
The designer, known for her “bold” summer prints, has fast become a favorite of the Saratoga gala/social set.
The “dresses, tops, pants and separates” are all about fit, says Spoken owner Tina Powell — and good for “work, an upcoming vacation, a special event, or simply refreshing your wardrobe.”
The popular boutique moved to Ballston Spa from downtown Saratoga last year.
Special attention: “We’ll help you find pieces,” says Powell, “that fit your body, lifestyle and personal style through our 1:1 styling experience.”
Shop exclusive Jude Connally looks at Spoken Boutique through Tuesday.
📌 ICYMI…
🏇 TRACK HIGHLIGHTS
(VIDEO) Jayson Werth was “fired up” as he celebrated a win at the Race Course yesterday.
More on Journalism’s retirement plans in the Daily Racing Form.
(VIDEO) Never gets old: extra-long lineup on Union today, via DRF’s Barbara D. Livingston.
Caroline St. Beat — see my logo if perplexed by the personal bias — missed winning the Rick Violette yesterday by a neck. (Congrats to Chummers.) I wrote about Steve Bouchey’s downtown namesake last year.
🏇 For today’s track report, including race spotlights and top picks, see our friends at the Tracksider.
📰 IN BRIEF
Homelessness is down in NYC and the state but up in the Capital Region, reports the Times Union.
Student enrollment is down in Saratoga, and girls wrestling was approved, reports Saratoga Civic Pulse.
Saratoga County’s sales tax revenue increased “handily” for the first half of ‘26, writes Dispatch alum Mel Snyder in the Daily Gazette.
‘Junk journaling’ with the Hot Glue Girls: selling out
No screens ✅
Sustainability ✅
Socializing ✅
Leave it to Ashley Salvadore to land on the newest “hot” (in this case, Hot Glue Girls) creativity game, which is coming to the Art Club on August 6. (But don’t wait to sign up — the spots are already half sold out.)
“Junk Journal Night is a chance to unplug, slow down and create something with your own two hands,” she says. “Let your creativity take over and quiet the mental noise.”
To grab your ticket for the August 6 event at the Art Club, visit theartclubshop.com.
‘smART-y pants’: “Simply enjoy making something that’s uniquely yours,” Salvadore says, “no experience required.”
📚 #LAKELIFE READ REC
Buzzy crime fiction novel (see People mag and the NYT) stars Lake George
#LAKELIFE: Saratogian Nic DiDomizio landed in People magazine and the New York Times with his buzzy new crime fiction novel that takes place in Lake George. His next mystery novel also takes place Upstate and “is very Saratoga-coded.”
From noir to suburban mom detective tales, I read a lot of crime fiction. But rarely does it have a sliver of the personality of the book I read last week: A Murder Most Camp.
It’s as frothy as a beach read but funnier than a rom-com — plus there’s a mystery to keep the pages turning.
The setup: Mikey Hartford IV, a spoiled 29-year-old heir to a superstore fortune, gets exiled to run a struggling Adirondack summer camp — and stumbles into a real murder he feels he has no choice but to solve.
“The protagonist had to be gay and snarky, and it was my editor’s idea for the book to be set at a Lake George summer camp,” says the author, Nicolas DiDomizio.
“I really love the northern end of the lake — [my fiance] Greg and I have been going up there since 2014. We would rent a beautiful Airbnb, and it was always the best week ever. And then we would do a night or two in Saratoga — until we moved here during the pandemic.”
He’s hard at work on his next novel — while also holding down a high-level, remote marketing job at Apple — that is also an Upstate murder mystery and will be released next year.
“It's about a couple who moves Upstate from the city, which is obviously directly inspired by real events,” he says. “They move into a house that has a bit of a murder problem. It's a fictional Upstate town — but is very Saratoga coded.”
