The Chevalier Ballet Company is a professional ballet touring company that will be performing at The Strand Theater on November 18th and 19th.
On Friday, November 18th at 7:30 PM, the company will present Sara Knight’s original “Beatles Ballet”: this ballet performance will feature Beatles tribute band “Across The Pond”, who will play all your Beatles favorites including A Day in the Life, Eleanor Rigby, Strawberry Fields Forever, I Am a Walrus, Girls, Black Bird, and Something.
The ballet initially premiered in New York City in October of 2018, at Hunter College’s Danny Kaye Theater; The Chevalier Ballet Company first premiered their take on the ballet at The Strand on December 1, 2018.
Next, on Saturday, November 19th at 1:30 PM, the company will present another of Sara Knight’s originals: “Ballet Meets Joplin”. This performance will feature Jonathan Newell playing the music of Scott Joplin; the original “King of Ragtime” who wrote over 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas that took the world by storm in the early 1900s. The ballet features an on-stage piano as its central piece, which the dancers revolve around.
Additionally, the Chevalier Ballet Company was recently granted non-profit status; they perform not only in traditional theatrical settings, but also in outreach settings such as retirement homes, schools, and hospitals.
Tickets for these two performances are $15.00 each, and can be purchased at The Strand Box Office by calling (518) 832-3438, or on location at 210 Main Street, in Hudson Falls, New York. For more information about the show, visit Chevalier!
On Friday November 11th, The Queensbury Hotel hosted the 16th annual Wine & Chocolate Tasting to benefit The Chapman Museum. “Dry! Robust! Pairs wells with oysters!” Could be heard from the wine vendor tables. Museum supporters wandered the ballroom sipping wine and spirits and enjoying savory chocolates and cheeses.
Photo Credit Kate Haggerty
Friday night’s festivities were not dampened by the rainy weather. Guests varied from couples out for a date night, to groups of friends, to active community supporters. Tickets for the event were $45.00 online or $50.00 at the door. This event featured 28 tables filled with samples of wine and spirits, chocolates/desserts and locally sourced cheese. There were raffles, a door prize, and an online auction. Volunteers at the event were very happy with the turn out. Annie Deppe was asked by a neighbor to volunteer the day before the event. She was happy to do it, “It’s a worthwhile cause and always nice to be involved in community events.” Deppe said as she rearranged wine glasses which were given to each guest as they arrived. The guests casually mingled around the event space, glass in hand, eager to sample the offerings from each table.
Chapman Museum Volunteers: Beth Roach, Sue Merrill,& Annie Deppe
The Chapman Museum is a local gem. It has a long and storied history that dates back to 1867. At that time hardware merchant, Zopher Delong owned the house. He remodeled what had been a modest wood framed house. He turned it into the structure visitors see today. It is a two story brick building with a Mansard roof. This type of roof maximizes the interior space of the attic.
In the late 1960’s Juliet Chapman donated the house to the community. The museum received a permanent charter from the New York State Board of Regents in 1968. Goals of the Chapman Museum include, to increase knowledge of local history and to inspire a greater sense of community. Since the time of its original charter the museum has added exhibition galleries, climate controlled collections storage, a research room, a multi purpose classroom and a museum shop.
The museum has public hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-4pm & Sunday hours from 12pm-4pm. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 for Adults, $4 Seniors & Students. The Chapman Museum is located at 348 Glen Street in Glens Falls N.Y. (518) 793-2831. The exhibits change seasonally and highlight subjects that contribute to the heritage of the region. More information can be found on their website at Chapman museum.org
Eric Hofmanis found a niche in the music scene by asking one important question, “Who doesn’t love Johnny Cash?” Hofmanis started A Man Named Cash- A Tribute to the Man in Black that has been growing in popularity since the covid pandemic restrictions have eased. As society has shifted to a post pandemic world. Hofmanis saw a niche in the music world that included nostalgic remembrances of the past.
Since Hofmanis started paying tribute to Johnny Cash his gigs have gone from being the opening act to being featured acts. Hofmanis will be performing at “Kickin’ it off Country 2023” At the Cohoes Music Hall on Friday January 6, 2023. His skill is touted in the promotional material “Eric Hofmanis has a unique Vocal resemblance to Johnny Cash.”
Johnny Cash often played with his wife June Carter Cash. To mirror this relationship Hofmanis is joined on stage by his partner, Megan Houde. Megan sings the June Carter Cash parts which are important to both Hofmanis and the show.
“The June Carter aspect of the show is huge. Our interactions on stage are genuine. When Megan is on stage with me it brightens everything up. It makes it more fun.” Hoffmanis also credits his counterpart with doing an amazing amount of work to help make the show great.
Hofmanis and Houde started to realize that there was a market for the nostalgia of Johnny Cash when they were at a casual gathering with friends. Someone began playing Johnny Cash on the guitar and the people at the gathering were instantly engaged. “People went nuts,” Hofmanis said with surprise in his voice during a recent phone interview.
Hofmanis has seen the demand for his music increase. “Demand is high. Demand for entertainment has skyrocketed.” He said.
Hofmanis also finds that he needs to improvise. “Johnny Cash was informal as a performer. If there were mistakes or missed verses the music just went on.” Hofmanis said.
As his tribute to Johnny Cash gains more popularity Hofmanis has become more familiar with his audience. “The audience is filled with people who are very familiar with Johnny Cash, people who enjoy Rockabilly, and often college kids. It’s a cross cultural experience.”
Both Hofmanis and Houde can be found on Stage at “Kickin’ it Off Country 2023” Friday January 6, 2023 at The Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes NY. For more information follow Hoffmanis and Houde on their facebook page A Man Named Cash- A tribute to the Man in Black.
LAKE GEORGE — Fort William Henry will begin renovations on the historic Carriage House in November, converting the building into a new venue for wedding receptions, business meetings, and performing arts programs.
The Carriage House will have a capacity of 460 people in theater-style seating, and 300 people for banquets upon the expected completion in May 2023, according to a press release. The Carriage House will continue to host the Lake George Music Festival, stage productions, and more, along with receptions and meetings.
The renovations are part of a reinvestment into Fort William Henry. $5 million has gone to create premium rooms and renovating rooms and public areas of the Grand Hotel, including the kitchen and bar, the release says. $1 million went into renovating the Fort’s Conference Center, while the Carriage House renovations will cost $3 million according to the release.
“What we are really investing in is the extraordinary beauty of Lake George,” Fort William Henry chairwoman and CEO Kathryn Flacke Muncil said in the release. “There is no place on Earth like Lake George. We are so fortunate to be stewards of this lake and this historic property.”
The Carriage House will be part of over 16,000 square feet of rentable space at the Fort, the release says. Other spaces include the Conference Center (400 capacity theater-style, 250 banquet-style), the White Lion Room (200 capacity theater-style, 150 banquet-style), the Village Blacksmith Restaurant, and Tankard Taverne.
HBT Architects of Rochester created the design for the Carriage House renovations, the release says. BBL Construction Services Inc. of Albany will handle the renovations.
“For both weddings and business meetings, the Carriage House and the surrounding Fort property offer guests nice options to socialize both inside and outside,” said Fort William Henry Corp. president Sam Luciano in the release, mentioning that customer demand for meetings and conferences has rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first Fort William Henry hotel opened in 1855, the release says. Its Carriage House sheltered horses and carriages of visitors reaching the resort by primitive roads and by rail. It was later used as an early car rental business for visitors arriving via train, and has also housed Fort employees and equipment. Since the 1970s, it has hosted musicals, plays, and concerts under the name Towers Hall.
GLENS FALLS — Singer Billy Gilman will be performing at the Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls on Jan. 28, 2023, part of Kevin Richards’ Country Concerts ‘Close Up’.
Gilman’s debut album, ‘One Voice’, was released in 2000 and was certified double-platinum in the United States behind a Billboard Top 40 single of the same name. Gilman, who was 11 years old at the time of the album’s release, was included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer to reach #1 on the Billboard Top Country Album charts.
Gilman has sold over 10 million records worldwide, and has received awards and nods from the Grammys, the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, the American Music Association, and more, according to a press release.
The singer is “eager to share his new music, and his new sound, with his fans,” after finishing as the runner-up in the 11th season of NBC’s ‘The Voice’ in 2016.
Kevin Richards, a seven-time Country Music Awards nominee & winner, began the Country Concerts ‘Close Up’ series in September with two shows by Randy Travis.
“Richards’ mission is to put talented throwback singers and songwriters back in the spotlight, up close and personal, in a charming hometown atmosphere, where you can see and hear every note,” the press release says.
See below for a list of scheduled ‘Country Concert Close Up’ performances. For more information, visit www.woodtheater.org.
Saturday, Nov. 26: ‘Christmas with Liberace and Elvis”
Featuring David Maiocco as Liberace and Drew Polsun as Elvis, the performance is “a fun Christmas show for your friends and family to kick off the holiday season,” the release says. Polsun is a popular Northeast Elvis performer who originated in Glens Falls, while Maiocco has been honored with multiple awards for musical direction.
Sunday, Nov. 27: ‘Ty Herndon: Grammy-Nominated and Dove Award Winning Artists with 17 Billboard Hits’
Herndon is a Grammy-nominated and Dove Award winning artist, and will perform hits such as ‘Living in a Moment,’ ‘A Man Holdin’ On (To a Woman Letting Go),’ ‘Loved Too Much,’ and more, including new hit ‘’Till You Get There.’ Mike-Bear, a “regional favorite,” will be the show’s opening act.
Saturday, Jan. 28: ‘Billy Gilman: Grammy Nominee, American Music Award Winner, and Runner-Up of NBC’s ‘The Voice’’
Gilman’s hits include ‘One Voice,’ ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘There’s a Hero’, ‘When We Were Young,’ and more. The show will be opened by Glens Falls family trio Bravely.
Sunday, March 12: TBA
Saturday, April 22: ‘Suzy Bogguss: Grammy, CMA, & ACM Winner’
Bogguss will perform songs such as ‘Hey Cinderella,’ ‘Aces,’ ‘Drive South,’ ‘Letting Go’, and more. Bogguss will be supported by North Country favorite Ryan Clark as an opening act.
Sunday, May 14: ‘Conway Twitty Tribute, featuring son Michael Twitty’
A tribute to legendary CMA winner, and member of the Country Music and Rockabilly Hall of Fames. Including hits such as ‘Hello Darlin’’, ‘Tight Fittin’ Jeans,’ ‘It’s Only Make Believe,’ ‘Slow Hand,’ and more. Marty Wendell, a Thomas Edison Hall of Fame inductee, will open the show.
Photo provided by World Awareness Children’s Museum.
GLENS FALLS — The World Awareness Children’s Museum will host their fall fundraiser, ‘Night at the Speakeasy’, Friday, Oct. 14 at the Park Theater in Glens Falls.
The fundraiser will feature live music by the Hot Club of Saratoga, in addition to art displays from the museum collection, a full cash bar with “signature cocktails,” and a raffle with items donated by local businesses. Guests will also be served “elegant hors d’oeuvres and decadent dessert,” according to a press release.
Tickets range from $80 to $90, the release says. The Museum is encouraging guests to dress in era-appropriate clothing, with a prize to be given out to the person with the best 1920s-themed outfit. Tickets are available at wacm.ticketleap.com.
The Museum is also hosting several other events throughout the month, including a ‘Free Day’ this Sunday, Oct. 9, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free Day provides guests “a chance to explore everything WACM has to offer, thanks to a generous sponsorship from Stewart’s Holiday Match,” the release says.
A ‘Mini Masterpiece’ program will also be held Sunday, Oct. 9, at 1 p.m. The program will be led by local artists Patrice Jarvis-Weber. Recommended for children age 10 and up, the class allows participants to paint “their own masterpiece” on a 4×4 canvas. The Mini Masterpiece program costs $8 per person (with a 10% discount for members), and is limited to nine people.
The following day, Monday, Oct. 10, the Museum will host ‘Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day’ from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The program will celebrate Indigenous culture, teach guests about beaded wampum belts, and allow participants to make their own beaded bracelets. This program is free with museum admission.
The World Awareness Children’s Museum contains pieces from 140 countries, and over 8,000 artifacts including instruments, dolls, toys, and fashion, as well as over 7,000 pieces of international children’s art. It has been a designated charter museum of New York State since 1995.
To purchase tickets to any of the above events, visit wacm.ticketleap.com.
GLENS FALLS — The Adirondacon Tabletop Gaming Convention returns to Glens Falls this weekend for a fifth year. The event will be held at Charles R. Wood Theater from Oct. 1 to Oct. 2.
“The community has really embraced us,” said co-organizer Veronica Hamilton, noting it is “nice to hold an event and see all the familiar faces come back year after year, and to see new faces come trickling in as well.”
The Convention deals primarily with tabletop games, including role-playing games, board games, and more. Hamilton said they will be introducing Warhammer 40K to this year’s convention.
“Besides Warhammer, we have traditional role-playing games like ‘Dungeons and Dragons’, ‘Call of Cthulhu’, and ‘Pathfinder’,” Hamilton said. “There’s all sorts of stuff. There’s deck-builders, there’s dexterity games.”
Hamilton said that several people are bringing in their own Kickstarter-funded games, naming ‘Flamecraft’ as an example. She also mentioned games such as ‘Dune: Imperium’, ‘Lost Ruins of Arnak’, ‘Wonderland’s War’, and ‘Dungeon Drop’ as others that will be available.
Convention co-organizer John LeMaire will be running a game based on an RPG supplement book he authored, Hamilton said.
Sunday will also host a dedicated block for children’s games from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“We’re having just kind of a block (where) kids can come over and try different games, and we’ll have GMs available to teach them,” said Hamilton. “Another one of our local game designers has an RPG for kids and families called ‘Adventure Maximus’, so he’s going to run that on Sunday as well.”
Hamilton stressed that experience is not necessary, saying that “the first thing that the GM will do is teach the game.”
“If you sign up for a game, the GM will teach the game and walk you through how to play the game,” Hamilton said. “A lot of people are coming to try games they’ve never played before.”
The convention will also host a ‘Lending Library’, where help will be on hand for “people who want to take on a game at their own pace.” Attendees can also participate in ‘play-to-win’ games.
“How those work is, we will have a table and a signout sheet. Anyone who plays the game will (have) the chance to win the game they played,” said Hamilton. “We reached out to several different gaming companies, and we were lucky enough to have them send us support for the Con. We have, I believe, 13 play-to-win games this year.”
She emphasized that many of the games are “nice and quick.”
“A lot of them can be played in an hour or less, so you’re not spending your whole Con playing one game, and it gives everybody an opportunity to try the games as well,” Hamilton said.
Adirondacon will feature door prize tickets, as well as commemorative dice, for attendees as they enter, while supplies last, Hamilton noted.
People looking to sell or trade old games can also approach the convention’s bargain table. Hamilton said the table began in the event’s first year.
“It’s just a table that we put aside every year for people to help get rid of their gently-used games,” said Hamilton. “They put the price, their phone number on, and people can just come up and purchase the used games. Sometimes, they can strike a deal.”
The convention also features a ‘vendor alley’, with five vendors selling a variety of items. Hamilton named Two Ravens Games, Cooper’s Cave Games, Night Legion Comics, Gamer Gifts by FSP, and The Creative Chameleon as vendors that will be in attendance, selling a variety of items such as games, accessories, comic books, jewelry, and more.
There will also be cats on hand, as the convention will support North Shore Animal League America – Adirondack Region Cat Adoption Center. Hamilton said “it seemed like a good fit,” noting that she and several other organizers have cats of their own.
“North Shore will be with us at the event until 4 p.m. on Saturday. They have a wishlist, and basically anyone who brings an item in off their wishlist, or a donation to the charity, we have a special drawing of a copy of a game called ‘The Isle of Cats’,” Hamilton said, mentioning the game was donated by First Stall Productions.
Now in its fifth year, Hamilton said she hopes Adirondacon sees “a record number of people” at this weekend’s event.
“We’re renting out the entire theater,” said Hamilton. “We’re hoping to raise a good chunk of money for North Shore, and we’re hoping everybody has a good time.”
GLENS FALLS — The Glens Falls Symphony will return to the Glens Falls High School Auditorium for the 2022-23 season, kicking off with Brahms Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 9 by Dimitri Shostakovich on Oct. 9.
“To return to our home, to be together onstage, to be one with our audience? That is the best,” said Symphony music director Charles Peltz in a press release.
The Glens Falls Symphony will also perform a piece co-commissioned with the New Music for America Consortium, ‘Cold Mountain Suite.’ It is based on an opera and novel of the same name by Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, who will be in residency during the performances, according to the release.
Three local students will perform solos with the orchestra on Dec. 18, during the ‘Shining Lights’ Holiday Pops concert. Paige Eaton of Warrensburg High School, Carter Sano of Queensbury High School, and Madison Gaiser of Queensbury High will all perform solos during the Dec. 18 performance.
The Symphony will perform with local students again on March 19, with students from Saratoga Springs, Guilderland, Hudson Falls, Queensbury, and Glens Falls High Schools joining the Symphony in playing Gustav Mahler’s string orchestra transcription of Franz Schubert’s String Quarter 14 ‘Death and Maiden’.
The final performance of the season will take place on May 7, ‘An Evening of Classic Broadway.’ It will include music by Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, and more, according to the release. Lindsay Roberts, currently performing in the Broadway company production of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, will join the Symphony for this performance.
“Our season is designed for everyone in our community: the lover of classics will be thrilled with the Brahms concerto, the new music aficionados will thrill with the Higdon premiere, those inspired by our youth will delight in the young voices at holiday time and our side by side in March, and everyone loves Broadway – America’s music loved around the world,” Peltz said in the release.
“Let’s all get out of the house and rekindle the special experience that makes a Glens Falls Symphony concert a ‘must-do’ event.”
Visit theglensfallssymphony.org or call the Symphony office at (518) 793-1348 for information on ticket prices and seating.
Nov. 13: Claudio Monteverdi – L’Orfeo – Toccata and Intermezzi / Jennifer Higden – Cold Mountain Suite / Georges Bizet Suite from L’Arlesienne / Benjamin Britten – Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
CAMBRIDGE — The Ahimsa Yoga and Music Festival is set to make its return on Oct. 1, offering a welcoming environment and good vibes for local community members.
The festival will be held at Lakota Farms in Cambridge. It is the first edition of the festival since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the first under new ownership.
Kristen Zorda, Grace Bishop, and Sonia Shultis became co-owners and co-producers of the festival in 2019, but it was unable to be held in each of the last two years. Zorda said the team is “excited” to host this year.
“We’re off to a great start with our first official year of planning things together,” said Zorda, the owner of Yoga Mandali in downtown Saratoga Springs. “We’re really excited to be able to offer this to the community again.”
Zorda said the goal of the festival is to help people connect.
“We want to bring people together through yoga, and the music, and the sound and the feeling,” said Zorda. “We want to just provide a space for everybody to get together and feel good.”
That space will be at Lakota Farms, with Zorda saying the site is “a really good fit.”
“Our property lends itself to such an unbelievable location for something like this,” said Lakota Farms co-owner Kimberly Finney. “Me and my team love what we do, we’re super excited about the yoga festival. We’re ecstatic they chose our farm this year to do it at.”
The farm is over 200 years old, and consists of 36 acres, Finney said.
“We have outdoor facilities available, indoor facilities available. It’s a gorgeous setting, very quiet and serene,” said Finney. “The main facility is just under 11,000 square feet. They’re going to have classes throughout the building itself.”
The festival will offer many types of yoga, with Zorda mentioning “all levels” of vinyasa yoga, as well as yin, aerial, and bhakti yoga. However, she also said, “Yoga is one part of it, but another huge draw for us is the music.”
“Many of the presenters will have classic Indian instruments that they’re playing and chanting to. It’s called kirtan,” said Zorda. The musical performances will be highlighted by Wah!, a kirtan singer.
The music will be separate from the yoga, Zorda said.
“There are people that will come and they don’t care about the music part at all, they just want to the yoga,” said Zorda. “And then there’s people that don’t care at all about the yoga, and they want the music.”
The festival will also feature a silent disco with a DJ, and host a vendor village with 30-40 vendors offering food, crafts, and more. Zorda also made note of a bonfire ceremony, and a “zen den,” which she described as “a place where you hang out and just chill.”
The festival, which had lasted three days in previous years, will be held solely on Oct. 1 this year. Zorda said the group is “easing back into it with a one-day festival,” with plans of returning to the three-day format in 2023.
“Our goal is just to bring people together in good energy,” said Zorda. “We want to bring people together so that they feel good, and that collective vibe ripples out. People can feel rejuvenated, they can fill their well back up.”
The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council was founded in 1972, and is fondly known as LARAC. LARAC is a non profit arts organization, which operates on a volunteer basis. It is located in a charming yellow house in the shadow of city hall at 7 Lapham Place in Glens Falls N.Y. The location had originally been a carriage house for the Lapham estate. It sits across from Downtown City Park, and is one of the city’s many historic buildings. LARAC bought the carriage house 25 years ago. The historical building’s previous incarnation was as a women’s specialty shop named Honigsbaum’s.
In this location LARAC’s Lapham gallery hosts 7 gallery shows a year, and is open to the public with art activities all year round. The gallery space is painted white to accentuate the art. The open floor plan means that the art can be seen from several different vantage points and in several different ways.
Phil Casabona, the executive director of LARAC explained, “The space is set up so that the art on the right hand side in the back corner is the focal point. When people come in they are often drawn to that point.” He explained the work and care that goes into laying out a show. Casabona’s love of the space and his work is evident. He started as a volunteer at LARAC and has risen to the position of executive director.He hopes that he is a steward of the art and of LARAC. His participation with LARAC has expanded since he started volunteering. “I started one day a week, and then three days a week, part time then full time and now I’m the executive director.” He seems, both pleased and astonished about how his role evolved.
Casabona’s relaxed demeanor is welcoming and his attention to detail apparent. Every inch of the gallery is as important as every other. The gift shop with original handmade works, to the smaller gallery room which allows the viewer a more personal experience with the art.
The gallery is open to the public 6 days a week all year round, and has provided $83,000 in grants to artists. Casabona works closely with Alyssa Shiel who is in charge of community outreach for LARAC. He has worked with the organization since July of 2014.
