The Style Your Sole TOMS Party is TONIGHT at Saratoga Paint and Sip! This event sold out fast, and we are already thinking about a second one. For those of you that snagged a spot, here is some inspiration for your TOMS masterpieces tonight!
With Saratoga 150 events well underway, the first Signature Event of the five-month-long celebration is scheduled for Saturday, June 1st on the grounds of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Gates open at 5:30pm for a myriad of fun and wholesome family entertainment and an old-fashioned picnic contest that awards $1,000 to the winner.
“We feel that it is appropriate to open our signature events with festivities for families – at SPAC, our community’s most famous entertainment venue,” said Saratoga 150 Committee Chairman Charles V. Wait. “The backbone of Saratoga historically has been the best in thoroughbred racing and strong family values engendering a spirit of pride and volunteerism, an appreciation of history and a love for the arts and entertainment. This special Saratoga set of diverse values is what prompted us to begin our five-month celebration in a family atmosphere, at the arts center,” he said.
Plenty of old-fashioned and present-day entertainment will abound, from four different ethnic bands – Irish, Italian, Polish and Latin – to small stage entertainment by various children’s performing groups such as Irish step dancing, singing, orchestral sounds, and ballet.
Shows by Brad Zapp, a memory expert, juggler and circus-act teacher; storytellers; and a wildlife act will be performed throughout the evening. The storytellers will feature Irish folklore, stories about life on a farm, and authentic Mohawk tribe tales by a Native American. The Saratoga YMCA will offer tons of children’s games and activities on the lawn, as well as a bounce house. Picture-taking will be featured by the event’s sponsor, National Grid, and children will take home a photo showing them “up in the air” in a repair bucket. The Music Studio Kids will play instruments on the lawn in demonstration sessions entitled “Orff Chestra”.
Groups of entertainers will stroll the grounds, including clowns and stilt walkers, and strolling Saratogians will provide the flavor of the 1860’s, along with barber shoppers who will provide sounds of the era. Culminating this Memorial Day weekend evening celebration is an official heralding of the fireworks by Charles Wait, from the Saratatoga 150 starting gate, at 9:15 pm. The starting gate, that has been re-designed as a parade and display attraction, is being debuted to the public at this event, how cool is that?!
Picnic contest entrants may register at either of the two entrance gates - Route 50 and the Hall of Springs gates and picnic entries must be signed in by 7:15 pm. A panel of décor, culinary and historical experts will judge, beginning at 7:30 pm. There are a limited number of picnic tables that may be used, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Besides food and beverages, picnic contest entrants are encouraged to bring personal picnic display surfaces, old-fashioned themed décor items, coolers and other fun picnic paraphernalia.
Awards will be announced at 8:45 pm, followed by the ceremonial cutting of a large birthday cake, created by Mazzone Hospitality. The crowd will be led in song by The Music Studio Kids with an enthusiastic rendition of “Happy Birthday Saratoga Racing”. The four bands that are performing at the Gazebo and at the concessions area stage are: The Good Times Band, the Grafton Street Band, Mike Camacho Latin Jazz Quintet, and The Rymanowski Brothers Orchestra. The youth groups performing on the small stage are from the Northeast Ballet Company, headed by founder and artistic director Darlene Myers, the Boland School of Irish Dance, and The Music Studio Kids, led by founder and director Noel Liberty. The barbershop singers are members of the Racing City Chorus. Victorian-clad Saratogians are members of the Victorian Social Club, and volunteer Saratoga 150 Ambassadors in 1860’s costumes are from Saratoga High School’s America Helping America Club.
Ample parking is available at the Route 50 entrance and The Hall of Springs entrance offers drop-off access. No alcoholic beverages or pets will be allowed on the SPAC grounds. Coolers will be checked to safeguard the no-alcohol rule. The resident concessionaire AraMark will offer a limited snack-food menu.
Don’t miss this once in a childhood classic family experience, I can’t wait!
Okay, favorite new app alert! As part of the Saratoga 150 celebration, Tour Through Time, a new iPhone walking tour application brings Saratoga Springs’ exciting history to life for visitors and residents alike. The application combines extraordinary in-depth historical information with archival images of the Spa City’s many unique buildings and landmarks. The application presents walking routes through Saratoga and GPS technology combined with the application’s content allows users to fully appreciate the significance of the specific sites they encounter while strolling through the streets of Saratoga.
The application is comprised of three tours: Broadway, Congress Park and the East Side. Each tour takes the user down a separate path with different sites and unique content.
The application was a joint effort of the 21st Century Academy lead by Mrs. Leanne Donelan at Saratoga Springs High School and Garnet River, a Saratoga Springs technology company, specializing in custom software and other enterprise services. The Saratoga Springs High School students conducted research, tracked down archival images and put together the language and visual elements of the application. Garnet River’s development center worked with the students to produce the application that would best present the students findings to the application’s users. Both the Saratoga Springs High School students and Garnet River are honored to be a part of the Saratoga 150 celebration.
Tour Through Time is available for free download in the iTunes store right here. How cool is it that we have our own app? I am loving it! Download it now, let me know what you guys think! xoxo
This past Saturday as part of an upcoming Mamatoga Magazine feature we got the chance to test drive one of Healthy Living Market’s Learning Center classes with the amazingly talented Shannon Beckwith. I won’t give too much of it away (I’m saving that for the magazine, check out our companion farm tour sneak peek here) but the kids just had a blast (and tried so many new things!). Did you know they do birthday parties at the Learning Center at Healthy Living Market too? Such a healthy, wholesome and educational (not to mention affordable) party while also being super fun for the kiddos, I love it! Want to check them our for yourselves? They’re offering a class this very Saturday right there at the store. Click here for info, and stay tuned for Mamatoga Magazine’s Summer Issue for the full story…xoxo
*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED* Thanks to everyone who entered!
Alright ladies (and gents who want to win something for your ladies) here is a fabulous giveaway courtesy of the BRAND NEW White Teeth Spa and Mamatoga Favorites Piper Boutique and The Strand Hair Studio.
IN ADDITION:
To enter, first go like White Teeth Spa on facebook here, and if you don’t already make sure you like Piper here and The Strand here. Next, simply comment below, and I will choose one lucky winner at random this Friday, May 24th. Good luck Mamatogians! xoxo
It’s no secret I’m slightly obsessed with monograms, so you can understand my delight when I picked up my new bag from Silverwood Gallery this afternoon, one of my absolute favorite shops in Saratoga. It’s a sturdy rustic burlap tote big enough for hauling stuff from the Saratoga Farmers’ Market and with a waxed lining so you can even bring it to the beach or the pool and toss wet towels in it. It’s basically useful for anything and everything, but it’s also really, really pretty with the addition of a hand painted (yes I said hand painted) monogram on it. There are a ton of styles to choose from, I chose the Liberty print-esque one for this tote (I of course have more planned). The bag also shows your city pride with Saratoga Springs written across in a gorgeous robin’s egg blue.
The bag comes in two sizes, this nice big size and a smaller, more purse sized one, and they are incredibly affordable (around $30 with the monogram for the big one, depending on which monogram you choose). They have all kinds of monograms to choose from, a classic diamond one, an equestrian themed one with a horseshoe, script ones, and more. Head to Silverwood to check them out, and below is a sneak peek at mine. I think it is fair to say this will be a hot little item this summer. Stay tuned for the Summer Issue of Mamatoga Magazine for the full rundown of the Must Haves for the summer in Saratoga… xoxo
Floral Fete photo from Saratoga150.com
I was lucky enough to be at the Saratoga 150 Press Conference yesterday and got to hear John Hendrickson and Marylou Whitney talk about the amazing events coming up for the Saratoga 150 Celebration. Besides the great Family Night at the Spa coming up at the end of May, there is a really unique and special family event coming in August, the Floral Fete and Ice Cream Social.
The Floral Fete is quite simply a floral parade, and this one will be a mini-replication of the old-fashioned event that took place in Saratoga in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. On Friday night, August 2nd, the Floral Fete Promenade will begin on the corner of North Broadway and Route 50 and continue down Broadway to Congress park. Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson will lead the promenade in the first carriage decorated in pink roses followed by 14 additional decorated carriages pulled by horses. There will be 14 vintage automobiles, floats, and 100 men, women, and children with floral decorated bicycles, wagons, baby carriages, and non-motorized contraptions on wheels. They are looking for 100 entrants (must be a Saratoga County resident) for the floral fete promenade that will consist of men, women, and children in the following catagories:
• Adult bicycles
• Kids bicycles (ages 7-13)
• Baby carriages (not strollers)
• Wagons or contraptions on wheels (non-motorized & non animal drawn)
All entries must be decorated by the participant (at their cost) with fresh flowers and greens. For ideas and the full rules and regulations click right here. All parade participants will be invited into the Canfield Casino for a private party after the parade. (Wristbands will be given out to all participants to show at the door for admission– bikes etc. can be dropped off in a roped in area for valet check).
Prizes and Awards will be given out by judges in the following catagories:
• Most overall creative entry
• Best kid’s bike
• Best adult bike
• Best wagon
• Best baby carriage
• best contraption on wheels
Once everyone arrives in Congress Park, the ice cream social festivities begin. The crowd will sing “Happy Birthday” to celebrate 150 years of the running of the Saratoga Race Course and everyone will celebrate with Skip Parson’s Riverboat Jazz Band, strolling entertainers, Victorian–clad Saratogians, life size cut-outs for picture taking, special Saratoga 150th tokens to ride the carousel, and ice cream donated by Stewart’s for everyone to enjoy! This is truly a community event, and everyone is invited to attend. Let’s all celebrate our great city’s history together!
We couldn’t have asked for a better day for our tour of Kilpatrick Family Farm today, it was just amazingly gorgeous out. The beauty of the day was matched by the beauty of the farm, the view with that perfect blue sky was breathtaking. Here are a few shots of my own that I snapped during the photo shoot with my phone. Sean had quite a lot of fun of his own playing with the two farm dogs who never tired of playing with that basketball…
and of course, we couldn’t end the farm tour without a roll down the hill. Stay tuned for this special feature from Kilpatrick Family Farm and Healthy Living Market and Cafe coming up in the Summer Issue of Mamatoga Magazine, Saratoga’s First Parenting Magazine. xoxo
SaratogaArtsFest, coming to our city the first week of June, truly has something for the whole family, and this Special Author Presentation and Book Signing is quite the treat for kids and parents alike. Presented by Northshire Bookstore and ABRAMS books on Wednesday, June 5th at 6:30pm at Skidmore College Jeff Kinney, author and cartoonist of the #1 bestselling DIARY OF A WIMPY KID SERIES will talk about his origins as a cartoonist, how the books first got published, and what is in store next for “Wimpy Kid” Greg Heffley and his family and friends. The latest Wimpy Kid book, #7 The Third Wheel, had the biggest first printing of any book in 2012. Book #8 is due out in November 2013. Books will be available on location for purchase at this family friendly event. Admission is free with an ARTSPASS or Festival Pass or Youth Pass. Single ticket sales are also available at the door.
Didn’t get your ARTSPASS yet? Today I am giving one away to a lucky reader! Giving you access and/or discounted admission to over 40 events during SaratogaArtsFest 2013 with a value of $40, the ARTSPASS includes:
All you have to do is comment below to win, and I will choose one lucky reader at random. To view all of the amazing offerings this year from SaratogaArtsFest click right here, and stay tuned to Mamatoga for more on this great festival happening right here in Saratoga! xoxo
With Saratoga 150 events well underway, the first Signature Event of the five-month-long celebration is scheduled for Friday, May 24th, on the grounds of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Gates open at 5:30pm for a myriad of fun and wholesome family entertainment and an old-fashioned picnic contest that awards $1,000 to the winner.
“We feel that it is appropriate to open our signature events with festivities for families – at SPAC, our community’s most famous entertainment venue,” said Saratoga 150 Committee Chairman Charles V. Wait. “The backbone of Saratoga historically has been the best in thoroughbred racing and strong family values engendering a spirit of pride and volunteerism, an appreciation of history and a love for the arts and entertainment. This special Saratoga set of diverse values is what prompted us to begin our five-month celebration in a family atmosphere, at the arts center,” he said.
Plenty of old-fashioned and present-day entertainment will abound, from four different ethnic bands – Irish, Italian, Polish and Latin – to small stage entertainment by various children’s performing groups such as Irish step dancing, singing, orchestral sounds, and ballet.
Shows by Brad Zapp, a memory expert, juggler and circus-act teacher; storytellers; and a wildlife act will be performed throughout the evening. The storytellers will feature Irish folklore, stories about life on a farm, and authentic Mohawk tribe tales by a Native American. The Saratoga YMCA will offer tons of children’s games and activities on the lawn, as well as a bounce house. Picture-taking will be featured by the event’s sponsor, National Grid, and children will take home a photo showing them “up in the air” in a repair bucket. The Music Studio Kids will play instruments on the lawn in demonstration sessions entitled “Orff Chestra”.
Groups of entertainers will stroll the grounds, including clowns and stilt walkers, and strolling Saratogians will provide the flavor of the 1860’s, along with barber shoppers who will provide sounds of the era. Culminating this Memorial Day weekend evening celebration is an official heralding of the fireworks by Charles Wait, from the Saratatoga 150 starting gate, at 9:15 pm. The starting gate, that has been re-designed as a parade and display attraction, is being debuted to the public at this event, how cool is that?!
Picnic contest entrants may register at either of the two entrance gates - Route 50 and the Hall of Springs gates and picnic entries must be signed in by 7:15 pm. A panel of décor, culinary and historical experts will judge, beginning at 7:30 pm. There are a limited number of picnic tables that may be used, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Besides food and beverages, picnic contest entrants are encouraged to bring personal picnic display surfaces, old-fashioned themed décor items, coolers and other fun picnic paraphernalia.
Awards will be announced at 8:45 pm, followed by the ceremonial cutting of a large birthday cake, created by Mazzone Hospitality. The crowd will be led in song by The Music Studio Kids with an enthusiastic rendition of “Happy Birthday Saratoga Racing”. The four bands that are performing at the Gazebo and at the concessions area stage are: The Good Times Band, the Grafton Street Band, Mike Camacho Latin Jazz Quintet, and The Rymanowski Brothers Orchestra. The youth groups performing on the small stage are from the Northeast Ballet Company, headed by founder and artistic director Darlene Myers, the Boland School of Irish Dance, and The Music Studio Kids, led by founder and director Noel Liberty. The barbershop singers are members of the Racing City Chorus. Victorian-clad Saratogians are members of the Victorian Social Club, and volunteer Saratoga 150 Ambassadors in 1860’s costumes are from Saratoga High School’s America Helping America Club.
Admission to Family Night at the Spa will be free for an adult and one child, with a Saratoga 150 medallion (click here to purchase one, I’ve got mine already!). Regular admission is $10 for an adult with one child. Additional children’s tickets are $5. Children’s tickets are for ages four through 12. Kids three and under are admitted free.
Ample parking is available at the Route 50 entrance and The Hall of Springs entrance offers drop-off access. No alcoholic beverages or pets will be allowed on the SPAC grounds. Coolers will be checked to safeguard the no-alcohol rule. The resident concessionaire AraMark will offer a limited snack-food menu.
Find more information about Family Night at the Spa here. Volunteers are needed to work two-and-one-half hour shifts at the entrance gates. Volunteer availabilities and questions about the picnic contest and other event topics may be directed to Events@Saratoga150.com.
Don’t miss this once in a childhood classic family experience, I can’t wait!
