Happy back-to-school day (to those who celebrate)
From the editor
Happy September, Dispatchers.
If you’re local enough to be reading this, you know why the beginning of the month doesn’t really count — at least not in the context of “We made it!”
And for once, it’s not even hyperbole to say this summer was the busiest yet. Because not only do we always pack a bordering-on-inhumane amount of fun into a compact little season, but this year we went extra-long with track, too — Belmont to Labor Day, baby.
And here we are.
Congrats to the parents who got the kids off to school this morning. Thank you to the record-breaking Dispatch Dinner Club folks who came out last night.
And to everyone else, I appreciate you. I’m so close to being back on schedule…I promise.
— Abby
In this issue:
🀄 Taking over Saratoga
🍎 Supermom Kathleen suits up
🚨 Partying for the pets
🎟️ Dottie Pepper shows us how it’s done
😋 We put middle-schoolers to work
Today’s Dispatch is brought to you by the Dispatch Dinner Club’s fall sponsor, Helen Simpson of Keller Williams. Last night was fabulous — and record-breaking. Our next never-awkward, neighbors-meeting-neighbors event is Wednesday, October 14. Join us!
Helen Simpson: Top luxury agent and Fast Agent Award Winner!
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🀄 Tile me about it
Hey, mahjong students and players! Your devotion has been duly noted — 👀 watch this space for some HUGE announcements. And if you added yourself to the waitlist for the next beginner class (via this newsletter or Facebook), check your email. Your private invite is on its way! 📩
🍎 Champagne dreams, carpool reality for Saratoga’s working moms. By Kathleen Willcox
What am I going to do to celebrate my twin 8th-graders boarding the bus for their first day back at school? Well, maybe I’ll just pop a bottle of bubbly and hop in a nice, long bath.
Then I’ll “make” my favorite brand of frozen organic French fries (they’re not junk food if they’re organic), and fire up a Gen X banger like The Breakfast Club.
Or at least, that’s what I tell myself. The reality will probably be more like that of fellow working mom of young teens, Amy Ryan:
“My minutes and seconds are now under watch as if I work in a corrections facility,” she says. “I did daydream of a giant martini in the dentist chair last week though.”
The reality, she admits, will be less glam.
“My friends who are stay at home moms used to do a group coffee outing after dropping the kids off at school on the first day,” says another working mom of two. “These days, working moms are just glad to be back on a schedule and not juggling camps and fighting the screen time while trying to put in an honest day’s work.”
School’s back — drinks? (Photo by Zach Skowronek) In honor of the formal closure of Summer ’26, may I propose a smidge of self-care? — Kathleen
A no-frills, reasonably priced massage at Bodywork Professionals
Best facial you’ve ever had at Breathe Salon and Spa.
A glass of actual Champagne at Bocage Champagne Bar
Grab your besties, a bottle, and tap your inner artist at Clay Night Out at the Saratoga Clay Arts Center.
🍂 Strolling season
This year’s Autumn Sunday Stroll series takes off not too far from Dispatch headquarters with “Breezing Through Saratoga: R. Newton Brezee Homes.” The Preservation Foundation’s ED, Samantha Bosshart, will meet everyone this Sunday (register now; these often sell out) at 10:30 a.m. at the southwest corner of Regent and Caroline streets.
🚨 Saving lives: Party for the pets
Garden party alert! And there’s cake.
H.O.P.E. — Homes for Orphaned Pets Exist — invites you to party with other pet lovers next Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Inn at Saratoga. (Please help ‘em out by securing your ticket by EOD tomorrow!)
In 2025, the nonprofit saved more than 140 animals, so what’s not to celebrate? “This is our biggest fundraiser of the year — a chance to celebrate what we've built with the people who've supported us year-round, and to welcome new dog and cat lovers into that community,” says H.O.P.E. board member Amy Caplan.
And by attending Sip to Save Lives, you’ll not only get to dig into Nothing Bundt Cakes (there will also be cocktail party food, wine, and a Whitman Brewing beer bar), but you could also win big. “I keep telling people that you should come to support the animals, but you'll stay for the raffle,” laughs Caplan of what’s she’s calling “one of the best prize tables I’ve ever seen.” (Think 15 Church, Adirondack Trust, The Adelphi Hotel, Keuka Spring Vineyards, The Pink Paddock, Saratoga Olive Oil, Saratoga Wine and Spirits, SPAC, Salt & Char, and Tom Myott Art.)
Sip to Save Lives, 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 18 at the Garden Courtyard at The Inn at Saratoga.
🎟️ Hot ticket: Worship in the Pines
Tomorrow night, Saratoga gets its first taste of something that Live Nation hopes becomes an annual tradition: a SPAC Christian music festival. And they couldn’t be starting off any bigger. This year’s debut is headlined by Brandon Lake, one of the genre's biggest names right now.
Saratoga’s own Dottie Pepper planted the seed for the event last year, with her outreach eventually finding its way to Live Nation's Christian Music division (“which I didn’t know they had!” she says). Over the course of the year, the idea morphed from a concert to something in the spirit of JazzFest, but built around contemporary Christian music.
"You have got to be kidding me," Pepper remembers thinking after hearing that the event had landed Lake.
The music starts at 4 p.m. — under what’s being forecasted as a perfect, sunny sky. In addition to Lake, performers include Gabe von Oven, Lost & Found, Rend Collective, Hulvey, Elevation Rhythm and Crowder.
To grab your ticket (did I mention that perfect weather?!), visit spac.org.
📌 ICYMI…
😋 The Tang Dumplings everything guide
By Kathleen Willcox (and various middle-school food critics)
Stock image by Noam K Ina on Pexels.
Tang Dumplings — anchored in the space that used to house Smashburger at 46 Marion Avenue — is set to open next Wednesday. So in honor of BTS day, we conducted a casual survey of area middle-schoolers. Moms, we’re happy to report that it yielded extreme enthusiasm:
“Oh my god, finally. There are no decent dumplings in this town.”
“Yes! And it’s right near Maple Ave, so we can like, totally hit it after school.”
“Wait, is it soup dumplings? I hope it’s soup dumplings!”
Well, children, if the new Tang is anything like the Tang that was recently opened by the same founder, Harris Siu, in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, you’re in luck — with bonus rounds of bao, pan fried and deep fried dumplings, ramen and noodles galore.
To prep our taste buds, we also put on our reporting hats and waded into the Hummelstown Tang Yelp. There, top items include: Bang bang chicken, cucumber salad, crispy aromatic duck, pan fried scallions with beef, pan fried pork dumplings, pork soup dumplings — and mango crepe cake for desert.
Welcome to the dance floor, Tang! See you soon, middle-schoolers in tow.