The rain came on so fast yesterday, that a woman walking on Broadway screamed and jumped under the Saratoga Tea & Honey awning where I was standing — she thought someone had poured water on her from an upstairs window.

My friend and I marveled over the enormous splashes on her shirt. These rain drops were otherworldly.

I ran home, waving hello to Matt and Zach at Bocage as I zipped by under the smallest umbrella ever.

It’s supposed to be sunny again on Friday. See you then?

— Abby

The Hospital Gala — which spent most of the Dispatch’s first year as the most-read story, thanks to last year’s thrilling “$100k in 60 seconds” live auction — will kick off these evening, rain or shine. “It’s dry under the tent,” I was assured. “Just don’t wear good shoes.”

Horse racing, however, took a raincheck. “Saratoga Race Course received more than four inches of rain overnight with two or more inches expected on Wednesday,” NYRA announced this morning, adding that the National Weather Service had placed the Capital Region under a flood watch until 9 p.m. Today’s Curlin Stakes was moved to Sunday.

And then there’s travel … all of that rain was not kind on the airports last night, with Albany (and Boston) getting flights rerouted from storm-plagued Newark. One unlucky arrival: a Europe-to-NYC flight — all business class, on La Compagnie — that found itself grounded on our runway instead.

(🥂 Currently manifesting a trip someday on an all-business class flight between NYC and a fabulous European hotspot. 🥂)

Readings from 250 years of American poetry will celebrate the Declaration of Independence at the Saratoga Monument next Thursday, August 6.

"[Thomas] Jefferson and his colleagues wrote the Declaration mostly in abstract, eighteenth-century prose," said Jay Rogoff, Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate. "But its aspirations are the stuff of poetry."

(He said this in a statement, which I rarely run as-is — but how do you not run that?)

The event is one that Saratoga Town Historian Sean Kelleher says he’s been dreaming of for 20 years. To ensure it sticks around for the next 20, they’ve planned quite a program:

Singer and actor Cliff Thomas will read from William L. Stone's anthology of Revolutionary War ballads. Garrett Cloer, the park's Program Manager for Interpretation and Visitor Services, will read colonial-era poems, including work by Phillis Wheatley. And Rogoff will introduce five regional poets who wrote original pieces inspired by the Declaration: Joseph Bruchac, Lâle Davidson, Susan Kress, Kathleen McCoy, and performance poet emily xyz.

The Monument, at 1 Burgoyne Street in Schuylerville, marks the site of the British surrender to Continental forces under Major General Horatio Gates. Parking is on site; attendees should bring lawn chairs for the free event, which begins at 12 p.m. on August 6.