What caught our eye - 8/3/19

August 3, 2019

Saratoga Springs abounds with great venues for weddings and other celebrations. New to the list: DeMaranville Farm Gardens for beautiful moments in a bucolic setting. (Skip Dickstein)

WENT TO A GARDEN PARTY: In this season of horse racing and summer celebrations, Saratoga Springs welcomes its newest wedding and special event venue, created, appropriately, around beautiful barns at the former gift and garden shop Schuyler Pond. It’s a setting so sublimely bucolic you want to stop the car, spread a blanket in the shade and while away a summer afternoon.  DeMaranville Farm Gardens is the brainchild of a Saratoga County native and her partner, and they’re teaming up with Saratoga Springs catering veteran Stephen “Sully” Sullivan, president of the Olde Bryan Inn and Longfellows Hotel. Now, how about a crisp Savignon Blanc in the garden? http://bit.ly/DeMaranvilleGardenParty

STARRY, STARRY NIGHTS: Since 1966, the Philadelphia Orchestra has made its summer home at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Its three-week residency, now under way, will feature superstar talent. Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who holds dual roles as Music Director of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Music Director-Designate of The Metropolitan Opera, will be the conductor in residence for two weeks. The Financial Times says he’s the “greatest generator of energy on the international podium.” The season also will feature dynamic young violinist Jennifer Koh in her SPAC debut and superstar Joshua Bell.  http://bit.ly/SPACsuperstars

CATCHING THE WAVE: More than $100 million has been pumped into Lake George hotel and motel real estate in recent years, as the resort community moves to year-round activity. Now, the investment wave is moving to the water. Marinas are changing hands at a rapid pace.  http://bit.ly/LakeGeorgeMarinas

MARYLOU, PATRON SAINT OF THE BACKSTRETCH: Saratoga Race Course today will host the 91st running of the stakes race named for her family.  The National Museum of Racing is inducting her into its Hall of Fame and the New York Racing Association is renaming Saratoga's main gateway in her honor. There was a lot more to Marylou Whitney than many knew. Some of her most meaningful work was done when the spotlight was dark. http://bit.ly/MarylousQuietSide

IN THE ARENA: The Saratoga Racecourse, the Times Union Center, The Joe, RPI’s Houston Field House, Doubleday Field at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Olympic Sports Center in Lake Placid are voted among the top places to watch sports in Upstate New York. http://bit.ly/UpstatesBestStadiums

GOLD FOR LAKE PLACID: New York State is pumping $100 million into improvements that will define the Lake Placid Olympic experience for the next generation. http://bit.ly/OlympicVenue100MillionOverhaul

Adirondack native Johnny Podres played for Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, where he met an eccentric fan, Jack Nicholson.

TOP OF THEIR GAME: What does the rest of world know of the Adirondacks? Natural beauty, of course.  Natural resources, sure.  And sports. The 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid may be the best-known part of the region’s sports tradition, but there’s more … from boxing’s Gene Tunney to golf’s Craig Wood and Alistair Mackenzie to baseball’s Johnny Podres, who in 1955 pitched a shutout in the World Series Game 7 to beat the favored New York Yankees. Pat Gormley has the score in this week’s The Adirondacks You Don’t Know.

CAPE QUIET: Massachusetts jacked up the taxes on Cape Codders who rent their homes for two weeks or longer. The result: Lots of unrented cabins and a quieter Cape. A cautionary tale. http://bit.ly/QuietCapeRentals

FAREWELL, BROTHER ED: We lost Francis Edward Coughlin this week, Brother Ed, president of Siena College. In the words of the late theologian and Irishman John O’Donohue: “You dwell in that safe place in our hearts, where no storm or night or pain can reach you.” http://bit.ly/FarewellBrotherEd

PRIDE OF COLONIE: The 12-year-olds of North Colonie’s Bison Blue are competing in the Cal Ripken World Series, sent off in style by another Colonie champ, Madison VanDenburgh.  Though they lost their first game in a heartbreaker, they’re still in it.

ROLLIN ON THE RIVER: A raft of North Country rafting and kayaking outfitters has been voted among the top 25 in Upstate New York’s, including Ausable Chasm, North Creek Rafting Co., Beaver Brook Outfitters, Adirondac Rafting Co., Adirondack Adventure Center, Whitewater Challengers, Square Eddy Expeditions, Wildwaters Outdoor Center, and Sacandaga Outdoor Center.   http://bit.ly/UpstatesBestRaftingCos

FOOD SCENE

LABOR OF LOVE: Farming, says Diane Allen of Lavenlair Farm in Whitehall, is a labor of love in equal measures.  "Much as with labor and delivery when having a baby, it is often painful and exhausting, but when I look out at our field of thousands of blooming lavender plants and our visitors enjoying their visit to the ‘Provence’ of upstate New York, it makes it all worthwhile.” Lavenlair is among more than 3,400 farms in the eight counties comprising the Capital Region of New York, and 40 percent of the region’s farmers – 2,400 ­­– are women. They run places like Lavenlair and Pitney Meadows Community Farm in Saratoga Springs. Washington County has the fourth greatest number of female farmers of the state’s 62 counties, according to the Center for Economic Growth.   http://bit.ly/CapitalWomenFarmers

DELIVERY DISGUSTING: If you ordered takeout last night, skip this item. Your driver just called: Next time, he wants to try the spicy wings. http://bit.ly/DeliveryDriverDiners

WHAT HOPPINS IN VEGAS: Ok, culinary grasshoppers. Las Vegas is under a grasshopper invasion this summer. So, what are adventurous locavores to do? Roast the little critters with lime and garlic, serve with goat cheese, chorizo, caramelized onions and arugula. http://bit.ly/VegasGrasshopperPizza

WHERE’S THE BEEFLESS: Those meatless burgers that are the talk of Wall Street and a new menu item?  They are beyond difficult to find.

LOVE YOUR BUGS: In praise of the lowly, annoying insect. They are the thread in our hammock of life and some are disappearing. "We can still rest in this hammock with a few loose threads and a few holes, but if too many threads will loosen, the whole fabric will unravel, and that will have a really serious effect for us humans as well." http://bit.ly/ForTheLoveofBugs

NEXT ACTS AND SIDE HUSTLES

30 ROCKERS: NBC’s Brian Williams, Lester Holt and their Peacock Network colleagues made it big in the hip-hop community a few years ago performing Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice.” Now, Lester Holt’s got a brand new band of NBC colleagues, and they’re rockin’ the house.  http://bit.ly/LesterHoltRocker

CAR DOCTOR: He was an expert diagnostician who could find the cause of your car’s whine. Now he’s fixing the wrecks that arrive in the Emergency Room. http://bit.ly/MechanicBecomesDoctor

104, AND STARTING THE OPTIMIST CLUB: Virginia Leitner turned 100 and thought nothing of it. Now, she’s a few years older, with some more experience and some more time on her hands, and is starting a club – if only she can get the damn iPhone to work. http://bit.ly/104YrOldOptimist

DEAR ABBY DADS: Kids, spouses, relationships, jobs — so many things to worry about. Looking for unbiased advice, a sympathetic ear, a voice of experience? These old coots might have the answer. http://bit.ly/OldCootAdvisors

COLLAR COMEBACK: A Capital Region city has added more than 1,0000 downtown residential units and, with $30 million in public funding, a new seawall, a new boat launch, public walking and bicycle trails, plus restaurants and new entertainment venues. Name that city.  http://bit.ly/CollarCitySurge

LEADERSHIP

THE HIGHEST STAKES: Former Defense Secretary Ash Carter, with a new book out, shares some advice on the importance of a steady hand and early communication during a crisis. http://bit.ly/PentagonCommsLessons

SIGNOFF

PUT IT ON MY TABBY: A police department is collecting parking fines. In Meow Mix. http://bit.ly/CatFoodInsteadOfFines

NEARLY FINAL WORDS

For all of our friends in the hospitality business…

“The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”

– Yogi Berra

PLEASE SHARE: Feel free to pass this along to your friends and colleagues.

THANK YOU to our content contributors John Brodt, Bill Callen, Bill Richmond, Tina Suhocki, Lisa Fenwick, Colleen Potter, Nolan Murphy and Pat Gormley.

FACING OUT: FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media.  www.behancommunications.com

Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. 

Let’s make it a conversation: mark.behan@behancom.com