SARANAC LAKE, NY—The Abortion Access Committee of Adirondack Voters for Change is proud to present a second screening of the prize-winning feature film “Happening” at BluSeed Studios, located at 24 Cedar Street in Saranac Lake on November 19 at 7 p.m. “Happening” is a hard-hitting French film that opened in the United States last Spring and earned the Golden Lion award for Best Picture at the prestigious Venice Film Festival last year. It is based on a true story and takes place in the early 1960s when both abortion and contraception were illegal in France and anyone who got an abortion (or helped anyone obtain an abortion) faced imprisonment.
A year into this pandemic, and many small businesses are struggling with how to safely stay in business. Our area artists and galleries are no exception. Fortunately, we have the largest “canvas” in the world available to us – the internet!
Several of our galleries have opted to hold virtual exhibits in addition to in-gallery shows. NorthWind Fine Arts Gallery (https://northwindfineartsgallery.com) is now sharing a space in the back of the former Sears Store (62 Main St., Saranac Lake) with ADK ArtRise (https://www.adkartrise.com) – a school offering art classes.
One of the things I like the most about the holidays, besides the fact that I get to decorate my house with Victorian gaudiness, is that people don’t question other people’s need for food and gifts.
I was recently reminded that I am not a runner when I was passed by a corgi and a chain smoker while participating in the recent Bitters and Bones Turkey Trot. It didn’t even matter that the race was no longer being timed when I finally made the finish line.
The atmosphere was incredible as people gathered together with the singular focus of raising funds for local food pantries. Now, Saranac Lake’s BluSeed Studios is once again breaking out the ugly sweaters to raise funds to feed the creative spirit of area children. » Continue Reading.
Even thoughtful gifts don’t always exactly fit your taste. Give that ugly sweater a chance to redeem itself (and the sweater giver) by wearing it an Adirondack ugly sweater events. Just like that bridesmaid dress we are always told can be repurposed, that festive holiday sweater can now raise funds for children’s art classes, food pantries, or even a pint of beer. Good luck.
On December 8, BluSeed Studios will host an Ugly Sweater 5K Run/Walk to help fund their annual free spring break and after school art classes for area children. Each participant will receive a raffle ticket for artisan items. Registration and the race begins at their Cedar Street location in Saranac Lake, and continues around Moody Pond to end back at BluSeed Studio for hot beverages and muffins. Admission is $20 for adults (which includes a commemorative artisan tile/trivet), $5 for students and leashed dogs, while children in strollers are free. You can register the morning of the event beginning at 8:30 am for a 9 am start. Prizes are awarded for top three male and female as well as the ugliest sweater. » Continue Reading.
The public is invited to a special presentation by acclaimed cartoonist Sabrina Jones brought to you by John Brown Lives! and BluSeed Studios: “Race to Incarcerate: Creating Comics for Social Justice” on Thursday, July 31st at 7:30 pm at BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake.
Jones will discuss her recent book, Race To Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling and using comics to confront social issues. Jones’ 2013 book is a graphic adaptation of Marc Mauer’s 1999 Race to Incarcerate, a classic examination of the cultural and political history of prisons in the United States. (Mauer is Executive Director of The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice reform organization in Washington.) This presentation is part of The Correction, a John Brown Lives! program to inform the public about prison issues in the North Country. » Continue Reading.
There’s nothing quite like music in the mountains. This weekend the ever-ecclectic BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake offers up two bands with very different pedigrees that each swing to their own beat. First, on Saturday, October 22nd, local septet Crackin’ Foxy serves up three-part harmonies over a ukulele background for a vaudeville show dating back to the 20s and 40s. And on Sunday things take a jazzy turn with gifted pianist Larry Ham leading the Larry Ham trio.
Ham has been performing since the late 1980s, having started his musical journey with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and the Illinois Jacquet Big Band. Throughout his 3 decade career, Ham has played with jazz legends such as Junior Cook and Dakota Staton, and most frequently, as the leader of the trio. He was quite literally Jazz Ambassador for the State Department, bringing jazz to undeveloped countries in the early 2000s, after which he toured the US, Russia, Greece and Italy as pianist and director of the U.S. Tapdance Festival. Ham has performed his music around the world, touring frequently, and has made appearances on NPR and the Today Show, and even performed at the White House for President Ronald Reagan. And on Sunday, October 23, 2011, Larry Ham returns to BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake, with Bill Moring on bass and Graham Hawthorne on drums, for a special concert to benefit Keene Valley Flood Relief. As he has done at several venues this past year, Ham is donating 50% of the proceeds.
An accomplished composer, in 2007, Ham released his first jazz CD with his trio, Carousel, featuring seven original compositions in addition to five standards. His first solo effort, Just Me, Just You, followed in 2008. Despite a clever swing approach, jazz purists will still enjoy Ham’s easy style and his obvious reverence for traditional jazz lines.
You can look forward to hearing the distinctive renditions of the Larry Ham trio live at BluSeed Studios Sunday at 7pm for $15 admission. Tickets for the Saturday Crackin’ Foxy show (7:30pm) are $14.
Well, I’m back from my trip and I’m sorry to say the music scene I’d hoped to encounter didn’t emerge; even guitar strings were hard to come by. It is truly eye-opening to see how fortunate we are to have such an art-oriented community. I think it’s easy to forget , not in the least because we live in the same state as cultural mecca NYC, how many places in the world have only the radio and recordings to stimulate the ears. So, get out there and support our huge pool of talent, starting tonight with Open Minded Mic Night at BluSeed Studios. I’ll be there at 7 pm. My other recommendation is to carol if the opportunity presents itself. You could create that opportunity by gathering up a posse of your own. I was encouraged last year for the first time in many to join a group and it was so much fun I’m doing it again without question. Yes, it’s cold and doesn’t always sound great but the camaraderie is warming and sometimes, if you sing really loud, you get invited in for treats.
Thursday, December 17th:
In Saranac Lake, at BluSeed Studios, Open Minded Mic starts at 7:30 pm. Sign up is at 7 pm and there is a $3 cover.
In Glens Falls at the Charles R. Wood Theater, The Glens Falls Community Band is holding a Holiday Concert starting at 8 pm.
Saturday, December 19th:
In Upper Jay at The Recovery Lounge John Scarpulla will be passing a hat. This singer songwriter plays some lovely guitar to go with a sweet voice from what I’ve heard on line – the show starts at 8 pm.
In Lake Placid at LPCAthey are having their 9th annual Adirondack Christmas. The concert features Peggy Lynn, Dan Duggan , Roy Hurd and Frank Orsini. It starts at 7 pm, tickets are $12.
In Saranac Lake, Sven Curth is at the Waterhole. You can check out a video for his fun new song called “Jesus Loves Tractors” It’s a free show!
Sunday, December 20th:
In Saranac Lake at Will Rogers, the Madrigal Singers will being giving their Christmas Concert from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. Call 891 -7117 with questions. It’s free!
Monday, December 21st:
In Saranac Lake at the High School Auditorium the Winter Concert will begin at 7 pm. This night features the Jazz Ensemble, Festival Chorus, Vocal Ensembles, Concert Choir and Concert Band. Phone 897 – 1473 with questions, it too is free!
This weekend I have two “won’t miss” shows. First, is Kris Delmhorst at BluSeed, she has a gorgeous voice and just glows on stage. Second, is the 2nd anniversary of the Ten Dollar Radio Show, which has introduced me to many new artists and reminded me about some of the greatest songs in music history.
Friday and Saturday at the Twin Ponds Campground, 208 Fuller Road in Peru, the Backwoods Pondfest is happening. It begins Friday at 3 pm continues beyond 1 am. On Saturday it starts at noon and continues well past 1 am again. So many good bands—South Catherine Street Jug Band, Ryan Montbleau Band and Lucid among them—its a rock fest with lots of freestyle dancing to be had. They have a very very good website which I encourage you to check out. $60 will get you into both days of the festival, $40 just for Saturday. Saturday at BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake Kris Delmhorst is giving a concert. She is out supporting her most recent CD, Shotgun Singer. My first listen to her beautiful voice was on the Red Bird CD ( incidentally I first heard it on The Ten Dollar Radio Show) and then live at BluSeed. The show starts at 7:30 pm. $14/12 for members.
Saturday and Sunday in Athol at the Veterans Memorial Field the 13th Annual Fiddlers Jamboree is going on. It’s a rain or shine even—bring your lawn chairs, shades or galoshes depending. On Saturday there’s a $7 cover but Sunday is free. Here are some of the great musicians you’ll be treated to on Saturday: The Silver Family at 12 noon, Don’t Quit Your Day Job at 1 pm, Sara Milonovich and Greg Anderson at 6 pm and Cedar Ridge at 8 pm. Sunday is Jamboree Gospel Day—starts at 1 pm with Tom Vissler, The Hartley Family at 3 pm and ends with the Jim Davis Band at 7 pm.
Here is a great way to cap off your weekend: Sunday is the second anniversary of the Ten Dollar Radio Show and I will be tuned in to Rock 105 at 6 pm while I’m making dinner. I have to admit it’s been awhile since I’ve caught it at the designated time—not because I don’t love the music. It’s just that I, like most people in the Adirondacks, don’t like being inside when the weather is beautiful. Later in the week, I’ll post an article based on an interview done with one of the founders of the show, Ned P. Rauch. Until then I’d like to remind everyone that we can always tune into the podcast to keep up with all of the great music Pete Crowley and friends like Kelly Hofschneider and Brandy Hobson keep playing each week.
The Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW) will end its annual Summer Program Series with the one-woman performance of Irish writer and actor Eithne McGuinnes as Typhoid Mary. The event, which will be held at Bluseed Studios in Saranac Lake tonight, August 31 at 7pm is free and open to the public. About Typhoid Mary (from an AWC Press Release) – In 1907, Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant, who had, ‘worked her way up from nothing’, to cook for New York’s finest, was seized from her place of work by the NY Board of Health. Accused of being the carrier of typhoid fever, Mary was imprisoned without a trial on an island in the middle of the East River. Totally isolated, a mere ten minute ferry ride from her former home in the Bronx, Mary became a scapegoat; sacrificed to quell the rising public fear that a typhoid epidemic could spread beyond the poor. She became a pawn in the larger ambitions of George Soper; health official who was desperate to identify the first human typhoid carrier in North America. Was Mary maligned? Could she, as the authorities insisted, have carried typhoid, if she herself had never been ill with the disease? Here is the captivating story of a brave Irish peasant who fought tooth and nail for her freedom and took on the very powerful state of New York.
Eithne McGuinnes is an Irish writer and actor. Her plays include: Miss Delicious, workshopped at Abbey Theatre, Dublin 2007; Tin Cans, commissioned by Dublin City Council, 2006; Limbo, Dublin Fringe Festival, 2000 and 2001; A Glorious Day, public reading, Abbey Theatre, 2000; and Typhoid Mary, Dublin Fringe Festival, 1997, broadcast on RTE Radio, 1998 and revived in 2004. Published short stories: Feather Bed (Scéalta), Anthology of Irish Women Writers, Telegram Books, 2006. The Boat Train, Something Sensational to Read on the Train, Lemon Soap Press, 2005. Her favorite acting roles include: Mary Mallon, Typhoid Mary, 2004 and 1997; Sr.Clementine, The Magdalene Sisters (Golden Lion 2002), Gracie Tracy, Glenroe (RTE Television). Recent theatre: Meg, The Hostage, Wonderland, Dublin, 2009; Olive, Dirty Dusting, Tivoli Theatre, Dublin; and Earth Mother, Menopause the Musical, 2008. Recent TV: The Roaring Twenties, No Laughing Matter, 2008. Other theatre includes: The House of Bernarda Alba, 2002 and The Marriage of Figaro, 1997, at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Cell, best production, Dublin Theatre Festival 1999 and Dublin Trilogy, Passion Machine – best new play, DTF 1998.
Tonight in Lake George: Rich Ortiz is at Christie’s On The Lake. I heard a bit online and he sounds like he’s a very good guitarist whose lyrics come from the heart. He’s popular in southern Warren County.
On Friday at Maxfields, 15 Market St, Potsdam, (315) 265-3796, the band Thanks but No Thanks is starting between 9 and 10 pm. A four-piece rock and roll band, they perform a collection of material from the 70s until present day. I’m a huge fan of the bass player Colin DeHond – his other gig is as a Long Hare in the Dust Bunnies. If you miss Thanks but NoThanks Friday you can catch them Saturday at La Casbah, also in Potsdam starting, at 9 pm. Both venues offer dinner menus.
It’s a jam-packed Saturday with a bunch of very good things to choose from in one night: In Edwards at The Edwards Opera House, the duo Paul And Storm perform their original comedy songs starting at 7 pm.
In Saranac Lake at BluSeed there is going to be a songwriter’s concert starting at 7:30 pm. Mother Banjo is the headliner with a minimalist style and haunting voice she’s bound to please. Sharing the stage with her are local musicians The Dust Bunnies, TeresaHartford and Sarah Curtis. It’s looking to be a round-robin concert where all the musicians take turns sharing songs and probably includes some discussion about what was going on at the time they were written.
In Upper Jay at the Recovery LoungeBig Slyde (Formally Slyde) will be playing from 8 to 10 pm. Hannah is back for the summer along with her beautiful voice and bouzuki – you know they are going to sound fabulous. Big Slyde gets into such good grooves it’s easy to move when listening to them. I’d be there if I wasn’t otherwise engaged!
Late night, Saranac Lake at the Waterhole. The Pulse Prophets will rock and reggae you in to the night starting at 9 pm.
On Sunday in Tupper Lake at P2’s, they are continuing their Super Sunday Music Series with Steve Signall from 7- 9 pm. Steve is an excellent mandolin player and singer, and he often brings talented friends along with him.
First off: don’t forget the open minded mic tonight at BluSeed in Saranac Lake. The show starts at 7:30 pm admission is $3.
Too Human and Karen Glass are at the Amos and Julia Ward Theater in Jay at 7 p.m. Friday. Too Human gets raves where ever they play and from what I’ve heard online they deserve it. Jazz and R&B make up the majority of their high energy repertoire. Karen Glass is a storyteller with two CDs to her credit. This is a JEMS production. » Continue Reading.
The Tony Jenkins Jazz Trip plays tonight from 8 to 10 pm, at barVino. Tony Jenkins is a Fort Edward native and plays everything from Thelonius Monk to Jimi Hendrix. barVino offers eclectic food, beer and wine menus and is located on 272 Main Street in North Creek, (518) 251 -0199.
Tomorrow night at 7:30 is the last open-minded mic night of the season. Come to BluSeed in Saranac Lake and vote for your favorite performer, giving that person a chance to perform in the All-Star open mic happening Saturday, June 6. The Starlights are hosting tonight, and sign-up is at 7 pm. Admission is $3. Come on out and support your local musicians and poets — coffee, tea and cookies are available.
Check in tomorrow at 3 pm for the weekend line-up.
A musical battle in Indian Lake , three Bunnies and two Long Hares in Saranac Lake, jazz in North Creek and late night dancing at The Waterhole.
Not quite a feast . . . more of a nice spread.
On Friday May 8th at 8 pm The Battle of The Bands sponsored by ALCA will be held at the Indian Lake Theater. There is $20 registration fee and the winner takes it all home. Tupper Lake’s Fat River Kings will be one of the competing groups. A show I shamelessly recommend is: The Dust Bunnies and Long Hares at BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake. It starts at 7:30 pm, Saturday night. Yours truly is one of the troupe so I’m biased, but honestly we write great songs. Love, loss and laundry contemplated in three part harmony AND backed up by a fabulous rhythm section — it promises to be a fun evening. Call for reservations: (518) 891- 9402 or take your chances and just show up at 24 Cedar Street. We’d love to see you!
Also on Saturday at The Waterhole, 48 Main Street in Saranac Lake, Tim Herron Corporation (THC) starts at 10 pm for a $5 admission — late enough so you can go dancing after the Dust Bunnies!
Even more on Saturday at 7:30 pm, the Tony Jenkins Jazz Trip will be playing at Tannery Pond Community Center, 222 Main Street, in North Creek. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Call (518) 251-2505 for more information.
A correction: The open mic at Station Street I posted about last week is not a weekly event yet. They are still working out which night is most appropriate and how many times a month. As soon as I learn when the next open mic is scheduled, it will be posted.
Photo: Two Hares (Colin Dehond and Kyle Murray) and Two Buns (Tracy Poszditch and Mary Lou Reid) on way to record their upcoming CD
Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar Merenda, who live in the Catskills, toured seven years with indie string band the Mammals before striking out on their own last year. “With a repertoire of old-timey twang, topical folk, and just plain love songs, their heartfelt vocal duets intertwine with lively fiddle & banjo,” the Bluseed Web site says. Tickets are $14. Also Friday, at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, violinist Mark O’Connor headlines a Hudson River Quadricentennial concert. O’Connor, who is classically trained but inspired by American folk, is joined by clarinetist Don Byron — who fuses jazz, classical and soul — and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, who’s into classical and hip hop. The three composer/musicians “have created new music inspired by the past, present and future of the Hudson River Valley.” Tickets are $15. The show starts at 8 p.m.
OK, not music, but Academy Award–nominated writer and director Courtney Hunt will introduce a showing of her movie Frozen River, filmed in Plattsburgh. 8 p.m. Saturday at Willsboro Central School. Tickets $5 for adults, $2 under 18.
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A year into this pandemic, and many small businesses are struggling with how to safely stay in business. Our area artists and galleries are no exception. Fortunately, we have the largest “canvas” in the world available to us – the internet!
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