Fire Feast ignites the senses. Renée Fleming hosts intimate talk.
PLUS: BOCES news and Saratoga Report's Dan calls it likes he sees it.
Welcome to the “Lunch Break” email from the editors of Saratoga Dispatch.
Three stories in today’s lunch break:
Top: Thursday’s al fresco Fire Feast promises flaming good time
Mid: Renée Fleming leads free talk on healing through art
Bottom: BOCES Driver Ed. program offered in Saratoga
Dish Saratoga
Thursday’s al fresco Fire Feast promises flaming good time
From pre-dinner artisanal bread to dessert’s carrot-ginger bread, Pitney Meadows’ outdoor fire-cooked feast ignites culinary magic.
By: Abby Tegnelia
A sunset al fresco feast close enough to the open fire pits it was cooked on to smell the lingering earthy aromas? Thursday’s Fire Feast promises to ignite the senses before guests even sit down to eat.
The late-summer tradition is pure Pitney Meadows glory: eating local, spending time outdoors, and meeting like-minded folks while wandering the gardens and breaking bread at community tables.
"This year, Fire Feast is an even deeper expression of place,” Pitney’s Executive Director, Brooke McConnell, tells the Dispatch. “Every ingredient — every vegetable, every drizzle of honey, every cut of meat — comes directly from the fields of Pitney Meadows and our partners at Echo Farm, ensuring the meal is as fresh, seasonal and rooted in our region as possible.”
Thursday’s drool-worthy menu — there are still a limited number of tickets available for the 6 to 9 p.m. event — promises a unique experience unlike anything currently on the menu in Saratoga. After a spread of bread, farm-made cheeses and local honeycomb, expect griddled eggplant topped with shaved cured egg yolks for a silky and savory richness. Then dig into a course of wood-fired heirloom vegetable flatbreads on beef tallow naan. The smoky bites promise a touch of cultured yogurt and picturesque edible blooms.
Be sure to save enough appetite for the main course. Think grass-fed beef from the hearth, topped with flavorful Argentinian chimichurri, and blackened veggies with an herby chermoula sauce. Or rip into fall-off-the-bone pork, cooked asado-style.
The unique dessert course promises to be a crowd-pleaser: grilled carrot-ginger bread with flavored whipped cream, creamy corn pudding and fresh fruit. The pairing? A popcorn and fennel digestif.
"The menu reflects the very peak of summer’s bounty, with dishes designed to highlight the vibrant flavors, colors and textures that define this moment in the growing season,” McConnell says. “It’s a true farm-to-fire-to-plate experience, crafted entirely within a few miles of where it’s served, making every bite a genuine taste of New York in August."
All that food requires an army of local talent, including Farmstead Catering with Echo Farm, The Shepherd's Hearth, Chef Kevin Sprouse, Grounded NY, and The Baker's Bench.
There will also be live music — and an open bar. In addition to craft beers from Druthers Brewing Company and wine from Old Tavern Farm, there will be cocktails (often with locally grown fruits and herbs) from Bars without Boundaries, One With Life tequila, Hamlet & Ghost, Albany Distilling Company, and First Fill Spirits.
Thursday’s Fire Feast is 6 to 9 p.m. at Pitney Meadows. For tickets and more information, visit 2025 Fire Feast.
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Positively Saratoga
Renée Fleming leads free talk on healing through art
Thursday’s event explores how music and the arts can ease pain, boost mental health, and aid Alzheimer’s care.
By: Abby Tegnelia
The day before the great Renée Fleming’s much-anticipated SPAC performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, she’ll be hosting a much more intimate experience at the Spa Little Theater.
The 4 p.m. event — which is free to the public, see registration below — is a book festival keynote-esque discussion about the connection between art and mental health. The world-famous soprano is the author of Music and Mind with Renée Fleming: Harnessing the Arts to Heal and Connect and will serve as the event’s host.
“She will lead a panel discussion on the topics of her book Music in Mind, which looks at the exploration and connection between music and wellness,” SPAC President Christopher Shiley tells the Dispatch. “It’s going to be a really interesting exploration. The panel of experts will talk about different ways that art is being utilized to heal and rebuild and connect people.”
On stage with Fleming will be psychology and neuroscience researcher Dr. Psyche Loui, creative arts therapist Bree Beaudette, and SPAC’s VP of Education Dennis Moench. The event— during which Fleming will share personal stories and insights about these issues from her own career — will include an audience Q&A and is scheduled to wrap up by 5:15 with a book signing with Fleming.
“We want people to come out and really dig deeper into the art and the power of art and why we do what we do,” Shiley says. “And it dovetails nicely into her full performance [the next day].”
Topics are expected to include how the arts support healing from pain, treating anxiety and depression, regaining speech after stroke or brain injury, and improving mobility for individuals with conditions like Parkinson’s disease and MS — plus, the panel will discuss evolution, brain function, childhood development, and the role of technology in arts and health.
The experts will also share groundbreaking new art therapies and music-based interventions for individuals with cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s.
For details or to register, visit spac.org.
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BOCES Driver Ed. program offered in Saratoga
Employment Training for Adults is offering a 48-hour, non-credit driver education program in September. The course covers appropriate driving skills, habits and responsibilities of safe driving. The course includes 24 hours of classroom time and 24 hours of in-car instruction. Successful completion of this course will satisfy the state’s 5-hour pre-licensing course requirement. Classes: BOCES F. Donald Myers Education Center, 15 Henning Road, Saratoga Springs. An additional 44 hours behind-the-wheel practice is required by DMV (totaling 50 hours) before students take the road test. Sign up or get information here.
Column as I See ‘Em – Saratoga Report Publisher Dan De Federicis shares his Saratoga gripes, thoughts, gripes, experiences, gripes, and gripes.
That’s his headline above. There’s actually a lot of nice stuff, too. Click here to read Dan’s column.