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News Release from SaratogaArtsFest
Date: April 7, 2015
Release Immediately
Contact: Bob Kimmerle
518-580-5744
SaratogaArtsFest to launch new, year-round format—ArtsFestFridays
April 30 Prelude fundraiser will support the new effort
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—SaratogaArtsFest, which has presented a four-day citywide
festival of the arts in mid-June for the past eight years, will move to a new format beginning
this coming fall. The new approach, titled ArtsFestFridays, will offer a themed event each
month in recognition of the area’s vibrant arts scene.
“This monthly program will create a year-round celebration of the arts, with more frequent
gatherings than our previous model,” said Dee Sarno, chair of the SaratogaArtsFest board.
“We are excited about this new philosophy, which will help to promote the wide range of
extraordinary arts groups and venues in Saratoga Springs.”
The ArtsFestFridays, free and open to the public, will be supported by SaratogaArtsFest and
produced by the production team at Spring Street Gallery, an award-winning not-for-profit
organization and performance space in Saratoga Springs. The programs for the fall are
currently being developed, and the dates and locations for the initial four events have been
confirmed—Sept. 4 at the Beekman Street Arts District; Oct. 2 at Universal Preservation
Hall; Nov. 6 at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College; and Dec.
4 at Home Made Theater.
“Each ArtsFestFriday will be unique and exciting, occurring at a different venue,” said
Sarno. “Each event will have its own theme and feature an eclectic mix of art, entertainment,
and activities. The events will be multi-genre, multi-generational, and always have an
element of surprise.” Sarno added that a key goal of the gatherings is to announce and
promote local arts programming on a monthly basis.
“The production approach for ArtsFestFriday events is fun and collaborative,” said Maureen
Sager, executive director at Spring Street Gallery. “We’re bringing together producers of
disparate ages, backgrounds and experiences to ensure events will appeal to a broad range of
Saratogians.”
The two inaugural events, along with the producer-curator teams, are outlined below:
• “The Rich History of Beekman Street,” produced by Corey Aldrich (Electric City
Couture), Cecilia Fritelli-Lockwood (Textile Studio), and Belinda Colon (On Deck
Saratoga).
• “An Evening of Improvisation and Jazz at Universal Preservation Hall,” produced by Bob
Carlton (Jet Pack Productions, rock musician), Dee Sarno (arts educator and advocate), and
Carl Landa (composer, musician, and educator).
To help support ArtsFestFridays, SaratogaArtsFest will hold its annual fundraiser, Prelude,
on Thursday, April 30, 6 to 9 p.m., at the Saratoga National Golf Club. The event will offer
a signature ArtsFest cocktail, food stations, a live painting demonstration, and a silent
auction. In celebration of the city’s centennial, there will be entertainment representing the
various decades from 1915 to the present, featuring music by the Primrose Lane Quartet and
dance by the Saratoga Savoy dancers.
At the Prelude, SaratogaArtsFest will present its Saratoga Art Star Award to Yaddo, the
famed Saratoga Springs arts community founded in 1900 by financier Spencer Trask and his
wife Katrina, a poet.
Before moving to the new format in September, the ArtsFest will sponsor a series of events
June 13–14 titled SaratogaArtsFest Celebrates the Saratoga Springs Centennial. The lineup
for the weekend series will be announced in late April. This SaratogaArtsFest celebration
will be among other civic events designed to mark the signing of the city’s charter in 1915.
For more information visit www.SaratogaArtsFest.org.