Happy Monday, Dispatchers!

I have an exciting announcement. Let’s goooo!!

So let’s all go have dinner — same time, different places! And with our neighbors.

💃 April 8 is the official launch of the city-wide Dispatch Dinner Club, a local dining experience about connection. You’ll be matched with a table of people based on your vibe — and fill tables of 6 (community style!) at restaurants all across town.

My friends in cities such as the Catskills, San Diego, Lancaster, Boise, Wichita, Orlando — Waterloo, Canada — have rallied the troops and brought 75 diners or more to the table.

Saratogians and lovers of Saratoga restaurants…

💪 Can we do it?

📧 As always, respond to this email to reach me with any questions. Hope to meet you April 8!

🙏 Much thanks to the event’s sponsor, Allison Bradley of Four Seasons by Sotheby’s — and the Coat Room for hosting the after-party!

🫶 Love the Dispatch? Help spread the word by forwarding to a friend.

📰 IN BRIEF

Longtime Maple Avenue Middle School principal Scott Singer’s arrest was the talk of a parental group chat or two last fall. Now the school is on the cusp of its fresh start: Michael Lopez, who previously served as an assistant principal at Watervliet Jr.-Sr. High School, will step into the role of new principal April 13, reports News10.

📣 HEADS UP

Fresh off his appearance at last night’s Oscars, Josh Groban leads the Philadelphia Orchestra lineup (SPAC residency Aug. 5-22). Other standouts include the great Brian Stokes Mitchell, indie-folk star Gregory Alan Isakov, and Harry Potter and Star Wars family movie nights. The classical programs are an embarrassment of riches this 60th SPAC season; visit spac.org to browse.

Tickets will be available beginning today at 10 a.m. for members (tiered by level) and on March 25 at 10 a.m. for the general public; visit spac.org.

Keuka Spring Vinyards announced today that its first live music event will be this Saturday — and will be an ode to the legendary E. O’Dwyer’s, which stood in the very spot that the new tasting room occupies today. For the uninitiated, the three-story bar and music hall was the go-to watering hole from 1990 to 2005. “Locals still talk about it to this day, so we love that we were able to make it a bar again,” says Keuka Spring’s Autumn Manning. E. O’Dwyers’s “family members” Maggie Doherty and Rick Bolton will play Saturday 8 to 10 p.m.

Keuka Springs also now has happy hour! Visit Mon.-Thurs. 3-6 p.m. for $10 glasses.

Grand opening alert. HEAL, Infrared Sauna + Cold Plunge (433 Broadway) is officially open for business. The facility offers private treatment rooms equipped with premium Sunlighten infrared saunas and Plunge cold immersion tubs, to support recovery, stress relief and long-term health. For more info, visit its Facebook page.

Saratoga Civic Pulse has added Board of Education meetings to its coverage lineup. To get a taste for the AI-powered summaries, founder Lawrence Toole has uploaded the Feb. 26 and March 12 reports.

Scoop up a lucky 99¢ single scoop ice cream cone at Stewart’s Shops | Or head to The Farmer’s Daughters, which opens for the season at 11 a.m. | Corned beef and cabbage is available (all week) at The Parting Glass; doors open tomorrow at 11 a.m. (go early; reservations aren’t allowed) and the music starts at 1 p.m. (Full lineup) | Across the street, Henry Street Taproom — where Guinness is always available — is opening an hour early and serving $1 oysters all night.

6 p.m., Northshire Bookstore

Christopher Gonzales will read from his new memoir, Return of the Lost Son: Memories of a Wayward Father, and discuss it with Saratoga Springs poet laureate Jay Rogoff. A book signing will follow.

7 p.m., Canfield Casino

This hour-long show features soprano Eileen Egan Mack and pianist Michael Clement, who will present a program highlighting Yaddo co-founder Katrina Trask’s musical work as a composer and lyricist. Interwoven throughout the performance will be biographical reflections on the visionary’s oft-tragic life and impressive artistic circle. Tickets are $10 (free for museum members).

7:30 p.m., UPH

These guys are the real deal. (I lived in Vegas for too long not to get that out there; these are some very familiar faces.) Eek! Led by Upstate’s own Mike Mills (a known and raved-about performer in the area), these headliners have been on all the shows (America’s Got Talent and Penn & Teller, Fool Us...for starters). “It’s an amazing show,” confirms UPH’s Teddy Foster, who warns that you have to be 18 to attend. “It’s an 18-plus kind of show — really, really fun.”

For tickets, visit uph.org.

📌 ICYMI…

📣 Have a business to advertise or event to promote? Find our media kit here.

And it’s my absolute honor.

But if you’re feeling generous this week, what with St. Patrick’s Day and my birthday and the first day of spring…even the smallest contribution can help keep us running.

Your Dispatch is independently owned and operated, from right here on Caroline Street. Never corporate. Always local.

— Abby