Driving from AZ for 🏇 Belmont? More on the Mob.
PLUS: Victoria Pool opens in an hour!
Did you know that Kathleen and I met in the wine world?
Tomorrow, she’s going to take you to one of her favorite local getaways right here in New York’s Finger Lakes.
Then we’re both taking a few days off for the holiday weekend.
Not that we’re leaving you hanging … events below, both for this wet weekend (call ahead in case of rain), and over the next few weeks.
And remember your favorite bars and restaurants!!
See you next week here if I don’t see you out there.
— Abby
Keep reading!
👉 Memorial Day Weekend 🗓️ events calendar — 23 things to do this weekend
Victoria Pool opens in an hour
So it’s not the best pool day…
(Seriously, if anyone makes it out there today, please send me photos.)
But it’s exciting nonetheless. The pool is open weekends and holidays only until June 26. Peerless Pool Complex opens June 27.
For more info, visit Saratoga State Park.
Bridles and Bootleggers: How Saratoga Springs became America’s wickedest summer resort
The mob did not simply descend on Saratoga Springs during Prohibition.
According to historians Charlie Kuenzel and Greg Veitch, the city had been laying the cultural and economic groundwork for decades — cultivating a reputation as America’s glamorous “summer playground,” where gambling, nightlife, racing, and selective law enforcement became deeply woven into civic life.
Want to hear more? Not only did a lucky group of locals get to dive deep into Saratoga’s mob lore during Thursday night’s “Bridles and Bootleggers Trifecta Tour” (co-hosted by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and the Saratoga Springs History Museum), put the evening served as the unofficial launch for something exciting arriving this summer.
Peter Finley’s Fight for the Rule of Law — an AI-assisted historical storytelling project exploring Saratoga at the height of mob influence in the summer of 1926 — is looking at a late-July debut.
Maybe it’s the Vegas in me (I lived and wrote there for years), but I can’t wait…
For more on this project, visit Smartacus.
📸 IN PICTURES
Congrats to SPAC School of the Arts, which celebrates the opening of its new Sensory Room — made possible by a $15,000 grant from the Dake Foundation for Children. The room is designed to support regulation, reflection and inclusive participation in the arts. For more info, visit spac.org.
Gaffney’s (16 Caroline Street) is back, baby! The legendary hotspot celebrates its grand reopening in time for patio season, perfect for its upcoming live music lineup. For more info, visit gaffneyssaratoga.com.
🎟️ HEADS UP
Benny Benak III: The Magic of Manhattan
Emmy-nominated and following in the hallowed footsteps of his father and grandfather, Pittsburgh’s Benny Benack III is “fabulous,” says UPH’s director, Teddy Foster. The 31-year-old showman has been called the “rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the post-bop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold.”
For tickets, visit atuph.org.
Tom Denny with the Torch Club
Local celeb Tom Denny joins the Torch Club Tuesday to present “Got Fireflies? Thoughts on Partnering with Nature to Strengthen the Web of Life.” Presentation begins at 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Saratoga Springs. Read more!
🏇 Belmont countdown…
Loved this … click on the embed to watch the excitement build. One super-fan says he’s driving in from Arizona. YOLO!
🗓️ Classical/Jazz
May 27: Portrait Concerts at Saratoga Arts — Four Opera Saratoga artists sing their hearts out in an intimate setting. $23 tickets
May 28: Happy End — It sold out Glimmerglass and the Clark; now Saratogians have their chance to catch Opera Saratoga’s buzzy, laugh-out-loud 75-minute musical comedy at UPH. Opening night.
May 28: Peak Jazz Series: The Levin Brothers — Nostalgic cool jazz, soulful originals, and reimagined covers of stars such as Steely Dan and Paul Simon. caffelena.org
May 29: SPACtacular — Celebrate SPAC’s historic 60th anniversary season at its annual kickoff fundraiser.
May 30: Happy End — It sold out Glimmerglass and the Clark; now Saratogians have their chance to catch Opera Saratoga’s buzzy, laugh-out-loud 75-minute musical comedy at UPH. Last chance.
May 30: Scott Hopkins Roots Trio with Special Guest Luke Franco — This “rich, genre-crossing” trio is “rooted in bluegrass and Americana while drawing freely from blues, jazz, country, and Latin influences.” caffelena.org
May 31: (FREE!) Adirondack Trust Festival of Young Artists — SPAC’s afternoon festival celebrating the Capital Region’s brightest young talent. Registration required.
May 31: Something Wonderful at the Mansion: A Rodgers & Hammerstein showstopper. The 12 p.m. show is sold out — except a few VIP tickets. 5 p.m. has a handful left. Ticket prices include lunch or dinner.
May 31: SUPER 400 — Local superstars (the popular band formed in Troy in 1996) SUPER 400 bring their latest release, Spirit in the Sound to Caffè Lena.
June 3: Portrait Concerts at Saratoga Arts: Four Opera Saratoga artists sing their hearts out in an intimate setting. $23 tickets
June 4: Mostly Modern Festival Kick-Off Show — An all-star cast returns for its much-anticipated seventh time. Sold out the last three years; secure your 2026 ticket at caffelena.org.
June 5: Momentum Series: Duke Robillard Band — Guitar master of master of blues, jump R&B, swing, and early rock ’n’ roll, caffelena.org
June 7: Jon Pousette-Dart.— “Few artists carry the long arc of American rock and roots music quite like Jon Pousette-Dart.” — caffelena.org
June 9: JAZZ at Caffe Lena : The Chuck Lamb Trio with Special Guest Terell Stafford — Beloved monthly series, guest starring acclaimed trumpeter Terell Stafford. caffelenga.org
June 10: Portrait Concerts at Saratoga Arts: Four Opera Saratoga artists sing their hearts out in an intimate setting. $23 tickets
June 11: BalletX: The Four Seasons Reimagined — Ballet’s coolest company will take the SPAC stage with a commissioned electronic score and four “seasons,” each by a different choreographer. 7:30 p.m. show
June 11: The Black Feathers — “English husband-wife duo Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler weave the spirit of traditional UK folk with acoustic indie rock.”— caffelena.org
📌 ICYMI…
A debate with legs. 📸 Flower & Fruit pics.
Foodie rumor mill. How to see SPAC’s new art.
Victory, at last! A 2-year treasure hunt
Short-term rental 411. ✌️ 2 new local TV shows.
🍷 Uncork a taste of Napa Wine Country without boarding a plane
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Always local and always real, and never corporate.
— Abby
