The Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s 2018 season was marked by new collaborations with the local business community, an expanded strategy focused on promoting cultural tourism in conjunction with the city of Saratoga Springs, and continued emphasis on presenting immersive experiences during and beyond the traditional classical season.

“This past season, we furthered many of our goals to increase accessibility to the arts and to build a bridge between the community, other cultural partners, and our campus,” said Elizabeth Sobol, SPAC’s President and CEO, at the October meeting of the board of directors. 

“Looking ahead to 2019, we will continue to present world-class performances and experiences, forging even deeper ties with business and cultural partners, increasing community engagement, expanding outreach through our education programs, as well as making major developments in the improvement of our infrastructure,” 

Sobol cited the SPAC partnership with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and the downtown business community to present the first-ever Freihofer’s Jazz Fest Friday, which celebrated Saratoga as a world-class jazz city and promoted the region’s vibrant downtown. 

In other collaborations, SPAC and the Saratoga Automobile Museum partnered with the city, the Chamber and the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau to present the “Bugatti Parade,” as part of the Saratoga Wine and Food Festival. “We wanted to ensure that the community at-large—and not just ticket holders—had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the majesty of 80 Bugattis as they processed from the Spa State Park to Broadway. The parade brought thousands of viewers to downtown Saratoga Springs and created a palpable energy throughout the city,” said Sobol.

The 32nd annual Victorian Streetwalk will be held Thursday night, Nov. 29. in downtown Saratoga Springs.

Sponsored by the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association, it will run from 6-10 p.m. Broadway will be closed to vehicle traffic starting at p.m. to from the ea past the Saratoga City Center to the north to the Spring Street intersection to the south.

CDTA, a festival gold sponsor, will run free shuttle buses to the downtown area every 20 minutes—4:30-10 p.m.—from four parking lots: the Empire State College lot at 111 West Ave. on the city’s west side; silver sponsor NYRA’s Oklahoma training track at East Avenue and Union Avenue;  the National Museum of Dance on South Broadway; and the Weibel Avenue skating rink parking lots on the east side of Saratoga Springs.

Shops will be open and there will be holiday-themed entertainment along Broadway during the event.

The  Small Business Association’s Syracuse District announced that Adirondack Trust Co., Saratoga National Bank and TD Bank were among the top performers in the Capital Region.

SBA Regional Director Bernard J. Paprocki released the fiscal year 2018 lending report, with 670 7(a) and 504 loan approvals valued at $177 million across the 34-county Syracuse district.

“Small businesses in Upstate New York are accessing the affordable capital they need to start and expand with SBA-backed loans,” he said.

Paprocki said Adirondack Trust and Saratoga National Bank had the highest number of 7(a) approvals in their respective categories based on asset size.

TD Bank was the top Capital Region large commercial lender, with 29 loans at a value of $7.5 million.

The eighth annual Saratoga Comic Con, a convention about all things comic book super heroes and pop culture, will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 17-18, at Saratoga Springs City Center, 522 Broadway.

The event will run Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. VIPs get early access at 9:30 a.m. each day. An after-party is scheduled 6-10 p.m. Saturday at City Center, catered by Distinctive Catering.

The show floor will include: vendor and artist dealers from all over the world, guest artists, celebrities, gaming, Super Smash Bros. tournaments, Magic: The Gathering Table Top Gaming, cosplay contests, panels, events, tattooing, live podcasts, the 1966 Batmobile, a bouncey house, and other pop culture fun.

By Maureen Werther

Nickolas Goupil, an engineer employed by Jeffords Steel and Engineering, sits in his private office with two large computer screens lit up in front of him, displaying engineering drawings and designs he is working on for his Plattsburgh-based company.  

He works remotely from his office in Saratoga CoWorks at 462 Broadway, part of an expansive 3,300-square-foot space above BurgerFi restaurant. 

Goupil and his wife moved from Plattsburgh to Saratoga Springs in August and they’ve been working out of Saratoga CoWorks ever since. 

“With technology the way it is, this makes working remotely very easy for me,” said Goupil, whose wife, Sarah Merkel, occupies another one of the seven private office spaces rented by her company, ETS Staffing, on a yearly basis.

The CoWorks location on Broadway is the second space of its kind. The first Saratoga CoWorks at 153 Regent St., in an historic building owned by drb Business Interiors, is currently bustling with activity from entrepreneurs and professionals in industries ranging from creative to accounting, to thoroughbred racing and “green” technology firms, and software developers to nonprofit organizations.

A product made by Legacy Juice Works, a Saratoga Springs-based wellness brand specializing in cold pressed juice and functional beverages, has been named a finalist in the 2018 World Beverage Innovation Awards for Best Juice.

The awards are sponsored by UK-based FoodBev Media and BrauBeviale in Germany.

Since 2000, FoodBev Media has specialized in reporting and analyzing change, trends and innovation in the international food and beverage industry. It is a multi-media business, delivering content through magazines, a website and across the world’s most relevant social media channels.

“We are so excited that the judges selected our Organic Tart Cherry juice as a finalist for the Best Juice category in this important global competition,” said co-founder, Christel MacLean.