Our Towne Saratoga West

Congressman Chris Gibson will be the honorary chairman of the
“Lyme Next Forum” – A Forum on Tick Borne Diseases: What’s Next? The forum is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, May 21 at the Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College.

Upstate New York has one of the highest incidences of Lyme Disease in the country. The forum will focus on bringing various viewpoints together to improve awareness, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

In addition to national experts on the disease, Gibson will be joined by Congressman Paul Tonko, Senator Roy McDonald and Assemblymen Tony Jordan and Steven McLaughlin.

More than 500 have already registered for the free event; pre-registration is recommended by visiting www.lymenext.org. The event will be livestreamed at www.livestream.com\skidmorevideo.

On Saturday, May 19, the Friends of the Kayaderosseras and local 4-H and Girl Scout members invite the public to help them plant 500 trees and 500 shrubs along the Kayaderosseras Creek.

The tree planting will concentrate on Driscoll Road (contact Forman and Zlata Phillips, fphillips6@nycap.rr.com) and the Rock City Falls Park and Boyhaven (contact Blue Neils (brn5@cornell.edu). Volunteers are asked to bring a shovel. Meeting time is 9 a.m.

In cooperation with 4-H and the Girl Scouts, Friends of the Kayaderosseras applied to New York State and received l000 native trees and 1000 native shrubs that need to be planted in May.

On May 12 500 trees and 500 shrubs were planted in Kelley Park and the Burl Trail, Grey’s Crossing area.

Friends of the Kayaderosseras Vice President Blue Neils said the planting program is part of FoK’s long term goal to establish a vegetative buffer all along the Creek. He noted that natural vegetation (trees and shrubs) provide many advantages, including shade to lower water temperatures, roots that prevent bank erosion, habitat for wildlife and energy input into the aquatic food web.

A local band of runners is taking on the challenge of the 200 mile Ragnar Adirondack Run to honor the recently deployed Echo Company of the New York Army National Guard and to support them and other members of the military serving overseas through Operation Adopt A Soldier. The course begins in the Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs and passes through Saratoga, Washington, Warren and Essex Counties, ending in Lake Placid.

Team captain Kaitlin Sicke, a customer service representative at Saratoga National Bank in Saratoga Springs, first approached colleagues at the bank and friends to take up the challenge. The first person to accept Kait’s invitation was Lori Munn. She is a lender at the bank and her husband, Staff Sergeant Ben Munn, is among the soldiers who recently arrived in Afghanistan.

Labeled Saratoga Dirty Dozen, after the 1967 World War II based film starring Lee Marvin, the team looked for a motivating force to carry them day and night as they run this challenging course. The team is dedicating its efforts to Ben Munn and the other men and women of Echo Company. As a practical show of support, the team will be raising money and supplies for Operation Adopt A Soldier and collecting donations as they make their way from Saratoga Springs to Lake Placid.

“For all of our races we work with local community leaders to create programs to help causes that are important to the community,” noted Courtney Mitchell, Ragnar Adirondacks race director. “The partnership with Operation Adopt A Soldier is a natural fit for this patriotic community.”

Several locations the runners will pass along the 200 mile race route will be collecting donations and supplies for Operation Adopt A Soldier, including branches of Saratoga National Bank and Glens Falls National Bank. The team is officially kicking off its training as well as its fundraising and supply collection efforts on Armed Forces Day, May 19.

In addition to corporate support already pledged from Saratoga National Bank, Glens Falls National Bank and Stewarts Shops, a number of other early sponsors include local noteworthy military veterans representing the various branches of the armed forces such as Congressman Chris Gibson (Army), Senator Roy McDonald (Army), Queensbury Supervisor Dan Stec (Navy) and Captain Christopher Homicz (Marine Corps).

Members of the Saratoga Dirty Dozen team are Captain Kait Sicke, Lori Munn, Manny Cirenza, Laura Perez, Todd Bishop, Lea Becker, Tim Lussier, Aaron Wey, Jodi Novak, Heather Hughes, Erin Lloyd and Ray O’Conor.

Anyone interested in participating in this effort to support and honor the men and women of our armed forces serving abroad should contact Kait Sicke, Lori Munn or Ray O’Conor at Saratoga National Bank.

On Wednesday, May 30 at 6 p.m. the National Museum of Dance will hold an opening reception for artist Christopher Duggan’s photography exhibition “Christopher Duggan at Inside/Out: In Celebration of Jacob’s Pillow’s 80th Season.” The show was selected under the Museum’s annual Art in the Foyer program, which welcomes dance-inspired fine art. It is slated to run through May 2013.

The reception is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are appreciated by calling 584-2225 x3009 or emailing sue@dancemuseum.org. Wine and light hors d’oeuvres will be served, and guests will have a chance to speak with the photographer throughout the evening.

Duggan has been the Festival Photographer at the world-renowned Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival since 2006 and is the founder and principal photographer of Christopher Duggan Photography, a New York City-based wedding and dance photography studio. He has worked with celebrated choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

Duggan’s photographs appear in The New York Times, Photo District News, Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Art Forum and Dance Magazine, among other esteemed dance and wedding publications. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s photography collection in 2010. For more information about his work visit www.christopherduggan.com.

Each summer Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival welcomes top dance companies from around the globe. This year marks the Pillow’s 80th anniversary season, and Duggan’s exhibition draws from one of the festival’s most celebrated series.

Inside/Out offers free outdoor dance performances four nights a week during the festival season, each set in the lush scenery of the Berkshire Hills. Duggan’s specially curated exhibit is comprised of 15 large fine art prints that reflect the grandeur of the Inside/Out experience—watching dance atop a mountain, under the open sky—and feature an array of dance styles and companies including Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Collage Dance Collective, and Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre.

Outdoor dance scenes have been iconic of Jacob’s Pillow since its founding by modern dancer and choreographer Ted Shawn, a C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame member. Duggan’s work at Inside/Out pays homage to this tradition while lending a fresh and intelligent eye to the world of movement art.

The National Museum of Dance is located at 99 South Broadway in Saratoga Springs. The Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday,10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through November 18.

To support future exhibitions and events such as these, consider becoming a museum member. Various membership levels are offered including special memberships for seniors, students and children under 12. Join today by visiting www.dancemuseum.org or calling 584-2225 x3001.

School at Jacob's Pillow - 2011 Contemporary Program, photo by Christopher Duggan

Saratoga Arts is seeking artists for its two outdoor art exhibitions.

On Saturday, July 7 the first Saratoga Arts Art in the Park exhibition and sale will take place in Saratoga Springs’ historic Congress Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Art in the Park exhibitions feature original fine art work. Artists should register for Art in the Park by Friday, June 4.

The second Art in the Park exhibition will be Saturday, September 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Space is limited for each exhibition, and advanced registration is required. For fees and registration form, please go to www.saratoga-arts.org/exhibitions or contact Saratoga Arts at (518) 584-4132 or snatale@saratoga-arts.org.

The 8th Annual Saratoga Lions Duathlon, an event run by The Saratoga Springs Lions Club, will be held at Saratoga Casino and Raceway on Sunday, May 27. Saratoga Casino and Raceway is the Premier Sponsor of the event.

The Saratoga Springs Lions Club Foundation, Inc. actively works to promote awareness of and provide support for the areas of sight and hearing conservation, diabetes and youth programs.

Race participants will tackle a 5k run, followed by a 30k bike ride, and end with another 5k run. Race start time is scheduled for 8 a.m. Participants can be individual, two-person teams or three-person teams. Area businesses can also participate with a three-person team in the Corporate Challenge category.

Pre-registration fees from May 10 through May 24 are $60 per individual, $90 per two-person team, and $115 per three-person team. On the day of the race, entry fees are $65 per individual, $100 per two-person team and $130 per three-person team. Free shirts will be provided to the first 300 entrants. Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers in each age category and results will be computerized. Proceeds will further the Foundation’s work in sight and hearing conservation, diabetes, community and youth programs.

For more information or to register, visit www.saratogalions.com or call 527-8787.

Compass Entertainment, a Saratoga Springs based film production company, was named a two-time bronze winner in the 33rd Annual Telly Awards for its piece, One Fall. One Fall won Best Feature Film and Best Trailer. The film was chosen from among nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries.

“The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video,” said Linda Day, Executive Director of the Telly Awards. “One Fall’s accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill, and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production.”

One Fall is Marcus Dean Fuller’s first feature film, which he wrote, directed and starred in. It premiered in August 2011 and received theatrical releases domestically and internationally. It is available on Netflix, DVD, and all Internet platforms.

A modern fable, One Fall is about a man who is both blessed and cursed with a strange super power. The film tells the story of James, a local janitor who miraculously survived a fall from a 200-foot-high precipice. After recovering, he abruptly abandons friends and family, disappearing without explanation. The secret James couldn’t share with them was that, while recovering, he suddenly developed the power to heal others.

Tired of running away, James returns home after a long absence and decides to use his gift – but not altruistically. If people pay him, he will cure them. Though he appears to be doing the right thing, he is doing it for all the wrong reasons, and risks driving away anyone who ever loved or trusted him. Aided by his neighbor and only friend Tab, a 16-year-old who is convinced James is a superhero, James must accept responsibility for the gift he has been given, figure out why he survived his fall, and what he is really meant to do with his life.

The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 and is the premier award honoring outstanding video and film productions. Winners represent the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, and corporate video departments in the world.

“It is such a great honor to have something so personal recognized on an international level,” said Fuller. He has worked extensively in TV and film over the last 15 years as an actor, writer and director. In 2008 he formed Compass Entertainment with his wife and producing partner, Julie S. Fuller, to focus on independent, character driven films, made for TV projects, and larger budget studio films.

Fuller is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and is a long time member of the Yale University Alumni Board and the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey Artistic Board. He lives in Saratoga Springs with his wife and kids.

Please contact Marcus Dean Fuller, Compass Entertainment, for inquiries: mdf@compass-entertainment.com or call 917-684-7240.

We’ve freshened our look. We’ve expanded our reach. Welcoming YOU to the ALL NEW issue of Our Towne Saratoga West now serving the neighborhoods of Greenfield Center, too! C’mon inside and take a look:

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train hits the rails again in November, visiting over 140 communities across our network. Since the program’s inception back in 1999, more than $5.6 million and over 2.45 million pounds of food has been collected in Canada and the United States.

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