📩 Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Subscribe — and join the more than 6,000 of your neighbors who never miss a thing.

🀄 Mahjong corner

Eight sold-out beginner classes have taught us something: Two hours is enough to fall for mahjong, but it’s not always enough to feel ready to jump into a game.

“I loved it… but I still don’t feel ready to play on my own.”
“Mahjong is for me, but I can’t come back for Guided Play for weeks, and by then I’ll forget it all!”

So we built a full day that takes you from learning the basics to playing a game while it’s all still fresh. You’ll start with the rules and strategy from some of the area’s top instructors, then get two hours of guided play with teachers there to help as you go.

Brand-new to mahjong? You’re welcome. Taken a class but need a refresher? This is for you, too.

Sunday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m.
McGregor Links Country Club
Lunch available during the break

👉 Already taken one of our beginner classes? Join us (and other beginner/new players just like you) for Guided Play on Tuesday, Oct. 20 @ 5 p.m. for real games with an instructor nearby. [Save my Guided Play seat]

All classes now at McGregor Links Country Club!

🏈 SPORTSBALL

The New York Giants celebrated the 40th anniversary of its big ‘86 Super Bowl win during Sunday night’s game at MetLife Stadium, but one important person was missing — the Big Tuna himself. “Unfortunately, Bill Parcells could not make it from Saratoga,” writer Gary Myers posted on X (formerly Twitter). “He's not feeling well. He will be missed when the '86 team is introduced at halftime.” The post’s comments section was immediately flooded with well wishes:

“He will always be the greatest Giant for me.”
“I was wondering about him. Sending prayers.”
“Lousy news. Nothing but good thoughts for the legend!”

Then came a dispatch, seemingly from here on the home front:
“I saw Bill at a deli last week,” it read. “He looked good.”

🏆 SWEET TOOTH

Everyone has a favorite Stewart’s ice cream flavor (or two), but could you predict which one would win a big award? The local legend walked away with nine nods at the World Dairy Expo, including two first place finishes.

They were: Chocolate Dairy Shake (flavored milk category) and Mango Dragon Fruit (sherbet).

Second place awards included French Vanilla (French vanilla ice cream), Chocolate (regular chocolate ice cream), and Raspberry Fudge Torte (frozen yogurt).

Third place ice creams included Bark in the Dark (dark chocolate ice cream), Mint Cookie Crumble (mint ice cream), Adirondack Bear Paw (open class, with nuts), and Mouse Trail (open class).

Better luck next year, Happy Camper — you’re the big winner in my eyes.

🇺🇸 LIVING HISTORY

Revolutionary history comes alive in Schuylerville this weekend. Victory Season at Saratoga: Siege Living History Weekend runs Saturday, Oct. 10 (10 a.m.–4 p.m.) and Sunday, Oct. 11 (10 a.m.–2 p.m.) at Fort Hardy Park and the Saratoga Revolutionary Experience Center.

Expect military encampments, musket and artillery demonstrations, blacksmithing, horse-drawn wagon rides and period music. Other programs include a walking tour of the siege lines, "Dogs in the Revolution?" and an outdoor showing of Hamilton (!).

The weekend marks the tense days after the Oct. 7 battle at Bemus Heights, when Gen. John Burgoyne's surrounded army held out before surrendering near Fort Hardy on Oct. 17, 1777.

Pick up a free Siege Weekend Passport for a shot at four priority grandstand seats to the 2027 Battles of Saratoga reenactment. The full schedule is at Saratoga250.

📌 ICYMI…

📚 VIBE CHECK

🗣️ BOOK FESTIVAL

By Jonathon Norcross

At the Saratoga Book Festival this past weekend, all roads led to Skidmore.

The Netflix show that had to feel like Skidmore
Julia May Jonas, a former Skidmore professor, set her novel Vladimir at a fictionalized version of the college. So when Netflix adapted it into a series starring Rachel Weisz and John Slattery, she pushed hard for a filming location — the producers chose the University of Toronto Scarborough — that captured the campus's vibe:

"Skidmore is so beautiful but it's not a classic, Oxfordian kind of campus. I love that about it. All the big windows and the reflections and the brutalist architecture, the rolling hills… I was very set, to the dismay of my Netflix producers, on finding a campus that was brutalist and had a relationship to nature."

A Skidmore student is illustrating Paul Tremblay's next book
During a horror panel, Paul Tremblay — whose novel The Cabin at the End of the World became the M. Night Shyamalan movie Knock at the Cabin — revealed that his next book has a Skidmore connection: his daughter:

"The book I'm working on, I put my daughter to work, who's a studio art major at Skidmore. She's drawing 26 different illustrations. 24 of them come in the form of zines because one of the main characters is in the ‘90s, publishing zines."

📸 BOOK FESTIVAL

Photos by Seen in Saratoga

When we found out Universal Preservation Hall was free the hour before our Crime Fiction "Happy Hour" chat — I moderated the great authors Nicolas DiDomizio and Ashley Winstead — at the Book Festival, we tacked on an actual happy (half) hour. It was such a thrill to share the room with so many readers. The venue had to bring in extra chairs!

📰 IN BRIEF

First recs are in for horse barn safety after this summer’s devastating fire at the harness track, reports the Times Union.

From the Capital Region’s history with it to all the top places to go, the Daily Gazette reports on everything cider.

Have the Taste of Italy owners fled town? Steve Barnes reports on their whereabouts — and who’s moved into their former restaurant space.

The Dispatch is free to read — and only possible because of our paid subscribers. Upgrade today for as little as $8/month.