Saratoga film 🎬 goes Hollywood

PLUS: 🩰 SPAC's 60th is off to a 'hot but fabulous' start.

Heading into SPAC last night was like walking through a cloud. And this ballet nerd from Florida was here for it.

Oh, what a night.

— Abby (with the big hair)

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🚨 Last call! Wednesday’s Dinner Club tickets must be purchased by EOD MONDAY. (Organizing dinner reservations at 7-9 venues take a minute!)

Please don’t be one of the people who calls me Tuesday begging to be let in — the system doesn’t allow late-comers. (Just sign up already LOL.) You’ll get text messages that lead you all the way, we’re a fun group, you meet new people, it’s a thrill — and there’s no awkward mingling!

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Local film goes Hollywood

Spencer Sherry is headed to the storied Chinese Theater — and you’re invited to the local premiere.

A 20-minute short shot entirely in a West Milton garage and a former Rock City Falls schoolhouse is headed to the most famous movie theater in the world.

Las Hadas de la Sombra, a Spanish-language drama written and directed by Ryan Jenkins, has been accepted to Dances With Films, a prestigious independent festival that will screen the short at Hollywood’s storied Chinese Theatre on June 25.

It’s the team’s first film to play Hollywood — and Spencer Sherry’s first trip to California.

“We’re a couple of dudes from middle-of-nowhere Central New York have made something that is bringing us to the most iconic place for movies,” says Sherry, who edited and produced the film.

Las Hadas is a dark fantasy with a Guillermo del Toro streak: a mother invents a folktale about a creature that comes in the night for leftovers to get her children to finish their dinner. “Our culture in America is very positive reinforcement — Santa will bring you presents if you’re good,” Sherry says. “In other cultures, their fairytales often are: If you don’t behave, you’ll be killed or taken by a witch in your sleep.”

Locals can see ‘Las Hadas de la Sombra’ July 10. (rIGHT) Writer/director Ryan Jenkins.

The production was aggressively local and DIY. The team turned Jenkins’ four-bay garage into a soundstage, built a bedroom set from scratch, and constructed a 60-foot alley behind the property. The cast of five includes a real mother and her children — Alma, a former Colombian soap actress returning to the screen alongside her own 8- and 11-year-olds, discovered when the filmmakers heard the kids reading lines in the background of her audition tape.

To buy your $20 ticket to the local premiere of Las Hadas de la Sombra (July 10 at 7 p.m. at Scene One Cinemas) — which includes a Q&A with cast and crew — visit Eventbrite.com.

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A ‘hot but fabulous’ start to SPAC’s 60^th

SPAC’s 60th classical season opened with tears; joyous reunions; red-faced, sweaty selfies…

…and an unbelievable performance by the great BalletX.

While the audience was sweating outside in the elements, the dancers were celebrating them: with four unique pieces representing the seasons. The night was so steamy that crews had to mop the stage between numbers so the dancers wouldn’t slip in their pointe shoes.

Backstage after the performance, BalletX AD/ED/co-founder Christine Cox was endearingly emotional. “She was sobbing,” said one backstage source. “She said, ‘You have no idea what this means to us, to be able to perform here.’” (Please come back!)

In the crowd: Jessica Schwartzman, Laura Tilton, Mary Solomons, Cat Zasdora, Brooke VanBuskirk, Heidi Owen West, and Garry and Joyce White — who declared the evening “hot but fabulous.”

Carolyn Juracka, 10, won her tickets, and brought Mom. “She felt so fancy sitting inside,” Diana said of her daughter. “In the summer, we sit on the lawn.”

Becca Beers, fashion show producer extraordinaire, made a dramatic exit after her romper’s zipper popped. Thankfully, she had a little Jude Connolly dress in her car. “They seriously never wrinkle,” she shrugged.

Elsewhere in the chatter:

• the Horse Racing Kings

• the male summer outfit situation (IYKYK)

• an inspired read on Vivaldi — “like a fruit salad,” one guest mused, “where you only taste the grape every now and then, but you know it’s there.”

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Could you do it?

Musician Benjamin Lerner, who takes after his great-grandfather Irving Berlin, who composed ‘White Christmas’. (Photo by Bryce Boyer, copyright Joshua Sherman Productions)

Benjamin Lerner is bringing back the telethon — 24 hours starting tomorrow at 3 p.m. to raise money for Wilson House and 1761 Arts. “Giving back to the Recovery and arts communities is a central tenant of my mission,” says the recovering fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine addict who is celebrating 10 years of continuous sobriety with his monumental CLEAN Jam.

Lerner is right over the border in Vermont, and his story has inspired me for a few years now. Tune in for “a mixture of music of all genres celebrating recovery, mental health awareness, resilience, growth and self betterment,” he says, “as well as lived experience testimony from world-renowned artists in recovery and viral recovery advocates, and conversations about music and recovery with Grammy-winning musicians, creatives in all sectors, politicians, and change-makers in the recovery field on all paths of recovery.”

CLEAN Jam begins at 3 p.m. tomorrow and goes — yup — until 3 p.m. Sunday. Tune in to WEQX if you can, or via Facebook Live. When it starts at 3 tomorrow, the link will appear on benjaminlerner.com.

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📰 IN BRIEF

New info has been released regarding Saratoga’s recent fatal plane crash, reports News10.

Improved attendance and more was reported in a recap of yesterday’s Board of Education meeting published by Saratoga Civic Pulse.

Bailey’s is going all in for the World Cup, says the Times Union.

Saratoga-born Cherie DeVaux makes Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in sports, reports News6.

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We inspired that

Has anyone else clocked the sassy new 12 oz. cans of flavored sparkling Saratoga Water? I’ve been meaning to post about this for weeks and feel like I’ve let you down … but the Saratoga Collection’s four flavors include Untitled Berry No. 3, Abstraction of Lime, Anatomy of a Peach and Mango Dragon Fruit Perspective. Perfect for the track?

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Barn good time

I can’t be a hyper-local newsletter without pushing garage sales (I’m such a sucker for a good one) when I see ‘em. And this is a “big barn/yard” sale. The Nextdoor post says June 13 and 14 at 19 York Avenue.

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Their Lucky day

Photo courtesy of Saratoga County Chamber

Lucky Puppy Rescue unveiled its brand-new rescue transport bus, donated by Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports and his famous pup Miss Peaches. For more info on the non-profit that specializes in the rehabilitation and rehoming of rescue dogs, visit theluckypuppy.org.

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TGIF!