Calling all 'Wicked' fans; new bus route
PLUS: Nature inspo and why YOU could be timed to the second tonight.
Welcome to the Daily Dispatch!
In this issue of the Daily Dispatch, the afternoon newsletter for Saratoga Springs and beyond, we have stories on how the mayor’s cracking down on timing issues, how to find inspo from nature by our revered Poet Laureate and a new bus route connecting Saratoga to Glens Falls.
First up: Calling all ‘Wicked’ fans — SPAC has an unmissable opportunity.
At the bottom: ICYMI from yesterday’s news!
SPAC seeks singers, ‘Wicked’ fans for upcoming Pop-Up Choir
No experience necessary for this special (and free!) singing opportunity and performance.
This exciting Positively Saratoga news is brought to you by our friends at the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.
By Lauren Halligan Behan, special to the Dispatch
SPAC’s School of the Arts is inviting folks of all ages and abilities to participate in its free, first-ever Pop-Up Choir event to sing “Defying Gravity” from the popular musical and film Wicked.
“No experience necessary,” touts the casting call, promising a welcoming, low-pressure environment. “Just bring your voice and your enthusiasm.”
This collaborative Pop-Up Choir event, imagined as an evening of joyful singing and community, is slated for 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at SPAC School of the Arts. The gathering will entail playful music-making, conversation and time to break into groups by part, culminating in a final performance.
There is no charge to attend, but advance registration is required. Sheet music and practice recordings will be provided ahead of time.
“SPAC’s launch of this one-day Pop-Up Choir is reflective of a larger phenomenon across the country to bring together different communities for improvisatory, low-commitment singing gatherings that prioritize connection and harmony,” SPAC President Christopher Shiley tells the Dispatch.
(Click on the below Instagram video to see how a similar event elsewhere in the U.S. turned out — and to get pumped for August 12.)
While the song was a strong connection to the Cynthia Erivo evening with the Philadelphia Orchestra (that has since been cancelled), it wasn’t chosen solely for that — after all, the highly-anticipated Wicked: For Good comes out in November and promises to carry Wicked fever forward.
“The song is beloved,” Shiley says. “People are really excited for it — and that finding joy in music is what this event is about.”
In addition to furthering SPAC’s mission to make art more inclusive and accessible, this new engaging and uplifting event aims to have a personal impact on participants.
“We're excited,” Shiley says. “The work going on in the education department has been unbelievable and is making the arts a lot more accessible to everyone.”
Visit spac.org for more details or to register.
Mayor to public speakers: Watch the time.
The mayor plans to limit the time people speak, but will it work?
By: Stephen Thurston
Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford told the Dispatch that starting with the Aug. 5 city council meeting, people will be cut off from speaking at five minutes during an official public hearing, and during public comment, at three minutes.
It’s an attempt to maintain order and discipline at public meetings.
“The fact that we allow people to speak is part of our charter, but it's also a privilege, and we can set rules for that,” the mayor said, adding later that he is confident of the legality of the situation.
“We can expect people to be civil and to agree with the rules so that everyone has an opportunity to speak,” Safford said. “That's the problem when you have people who take over the microphone — it stops other people from being able to express their opinion.
“It’s just not fair.”
Will there be disruption?
…
None of this sat well with Angela “Diogenes” Kaufman. She was arrested during one
Find nature inspo with Pitney Meadows, Poet Laureate
Five more (free!) chances to find inspiration at Pitney Meadows with Saratoga’s revered Joseph Bruchac.
By: Abby Tegnelia
This Friday, budding poets 12 years and up are invited to join Saratoga’s Poet Laureate, Joseph Bruchac, for an all-levels “Connection in Community” workshop at the stunning Pitney Meadows.
“The environment of the farm is a web of interaction and connection — broad lettuce leaves shading out weeds and sheltering bugs, those bugs eating and pollinating, being eaten,” Bruchac tells the Dispatch. “In this workshop, we will look closely at the interactions and communities created in nature, and through an artistic eye translate them into poetry, reflective of how we interact with the world around us.”
The workshop is the second in the “Writing the Land” series, held at 5 p.m. every other Friday through October 3.
…
Bruchac finishes his term at the end of the year, so this is one of the last chances to
New Spa City, Glens Falls bus connect
We have the Saratoga Springs-based routes and changes.
By: Stephen Thurston
New Saratoga-Glens Falls route
The Capital District Transportation Authority has added a route that connects the city of Saratoga Springs to Glens Falls along Route 9 and Interstate-87, the Adirondack Northway, a press release from the bus system says. With a terminus at the Saratoga railway station, the City of Glens Falls now has another bus route to the train. (The closest train station to Glens Falls is the Fort Edward station.)
The changes to routes will be made Sunday Aug. 24.
The route runs from the Saratoga Springs train station to the Lake Avenue at Broadway stop, then a Church Street at Broadway stop and then to U.S. Route 50, where the bus heads north on the Northway from Exit 15 to Exit 17, the South Glens Falls/Fort Edward exit.
The bus stops along Route 9/Saratoga Avenue at Fawn Road, Bluebird Road and the Midtown Shopping Plaza in South Glens Falls. Its next stop and the northern terminus is on Ridge Street in downtown Glens Falls. A spiffy infographic on the website shows the route, the stops and fares required.
Skidmore College route changes
The Route will no longer service High Rock Ave and will return to its pre-COVID route on Circular Street, which runs nearly parallel to High Rock Avenue, but one block away. The route runs between Skidmore College and the Wilton Mall, via downtown Saratoga Springs. See the full route here.
