Saratoga Home Show drops admission fee, draws a crowd

PHOTOGRAPHER: Erica Miller

Investigator Glen Vidnansky conducts the Operations Safe Child, part of the NYS Sheriff Association, to Briley Madison Hale, 6-years-old of South Glens Falls, (put into the DCJS) at the Saratoga City Center for the Home and Lifestyle Show on Sunday mo...

Share on Facebook

Save

There was plenty to see at the Saratoga Home and Lifestyle Show this weekend, and plenty of ways to spend your money. For those just looking, however, the experience was free.

“Admission cost $6 last year, but we’re really trying to draw people in, and we want people to come in off the street,” said Marlo Merrithew, co-chair of the event held Friday through Sunday at the Saratoga Springs City Center. “The free admission is a great idea and the entire weekend has been real good. We have a lot of things for people to see.”

Put together by the Saratoga Rotary, this year’s event was the 43rd annual, and the free admission was courtesy of Adirondack Trust Company, a longtime major sponsor. Venders were selling windows, gutters, blinds, carpets and numerous other household furnishings, and members of the Saratoga Springs Police Department were making free child ID cards on the spot. And, for the second straight year, an art component was added: the Rotary Home and Lifestyle Art Show. Painters, photographers, sculptors and artists of just about every kind were on the second floor of City Center, selling their wares.

“Last year we did something small, off in a side room downstairs,” said Brian Carroll, committee chair for the art show. “It did fairly well so we decided to expand it this year. We have one artist who decided to come back, but everyone else is new. But I think it’s been very successful. I’ve seen a lot of sales being generated right from the start on Friday night.”

According to Merrithew, keeping the art component as a big part of the show was a no-brainer.

“We have a huge arts community here in Saratoga, and the Rotary is all about giving back to the community,” said Merrithew. “We rented the whole Center City this year and the extra space really helps. We were able to do more with our art component, and hopefully we’re going to continue to draw more and more artists to our show.”

Jill Kovachick of Saratoga Clay Arts was one of the first-time vendors taking advantage of the show.

“I’m here to publicize the center and be a part of this community event,” said Kovachick, a Harrison native and Skidmore College graduate who now lives in Saratoga Springs. “Marlo told us we should be a part of this and she was right. Our goal this weekend was to show people what we do at the Clay Center, and hopefully they’ll come in and takes some classes or buy some of the work we sell by artists from all over the country.”

While Kovachick’s store is on Hayes Road between Saratoga Springs and Schuylerville, Vicki Rehberg, owner of Saratoga Rocks, doesn’t have a storefront, unless of course it’s during the thoroughbred racing season.

“We don’t have a store, but we have a boutique at the track during the season,” said Rehberg, a Guilderland native. “We take original art and sort of design something around jockey silks. It could be creative jewelry, limited-edition prints and things like that.”

On Friday night, Rehberg’s work caught the eye of Delphino, an indie-rock, garage band based in Saratoga Springs.

“We had a group of teenage boys in here looking at our stuff, and I’m a mom so I’m always interested in what teenagers are doing,” said Rehberg. “They want to use a print of our jockey silks on their next vinyl cover. I love seeing that entrepreneurial spirit in young people, so this has been a great weekend for me. I already told the organizers I want to come back next year.”

Glen Vidnansky, an investigator with the Saratoga Springs Police, said he expects he’ll also return next year and continue handing out free ID cards to anyone under 18.

“It’s been run by the New York State Sheriff’s Association for about 12 years now,” said Vidnansky. “We make a card with fingerprints and a picture and store it in a data bank. If we have a lost child or there’s some kind of abduction issue, we use the card for an amber alert. When the child turns 18 it gets purged from the system. It’s a great idea. It saves the parents and us a lot of time getting the word out.”

Reach Gazette reporter Bill Buell at 395-3190 or [email protected]