I was honored this month to meet up with Chet Opalka to talk about his philosophy and strategy on investing in the Capital Region community. Make sure to give it a read, we go behind the curtain on this one a bit and really get to know the spirit of the man responsible for helping support so many businesses and organizations in our region.
As part of our ongoing
Center for Economic Growth sponsored family friendly creative destinations series for
CapNY, freelance writer
Nellie Ackerman explores that nostalgic place many of us remember - the drive in movie theater. There are some great ones in the Capital Region. Make sure to give it a read then pack up the family for a fun night out!
Event-wise, things are really starting to pick up here and as promised, we have a few coming up that you will want to put on your calendar. For July we are excited to be working to
AMPLIFY! the upcoming
WMHT event celebrating the '
Great American Recipe' challenge. Pitched as a neighborhood block party, this multicultural event is a true tour de force of creative economy components including artisan food, film making, mural art , education and our favorite, lots of collaborative partners! See the placeholder in the block below for more info.
For August and September we have a robust line up as well including our first panel discussion event of the year. This will be in Glens Falls (GF) at the
Park Theater and will also include an outdoor festival featuring members of the recently formed
GF Arts District and the
GF Collaborative. The panel discussion will include a selection of luminaries from around the region who will be exploring organizational synergies including FOR PROFIT and NOT FOR PROFIT businesses and institutions that allow for placemaking innovation that builds community and sustainability. Shout out to the Park Theater's
Chris Ristau for his organizational efforts, the
GF Collaborative team for helping sponsor and
Mayor Bill Collins for helping us pull together some logistics in addition to his enthusiastic support.
Our September event will be another doozy. We are partnering up for the second year in a row with the
Opalka Gallery on the
Russell Sage College campus in Albany for the opening event of their annual
Pop Up! Beer Garden Series. A highlight will include the gallery opening for the
2022 Screen Print Biennial, food vendors, live music and lawn games. Thanks again to
Executive Director Judie Gilmore for asking us to join in again this year.
SAVE THE DATE EVENTS
Glens Falls Arts / Business District Street Festival and Creative Economy Panel Discussion
When: August 18 from 5:00 to 8:00
Where: The Park Theater | 14 Park Street | Glens Falls, NY
Russel Sage College / Opalka Gallery POP UP! Beer Garden and Neighborhood Block Party
When: September 16 from 5:30 to 9:00
Where: Front Lawn at the Opalka Gallery | 140 New Scotland Avenue | Albany, NY
--
More to come about these exciting events and RSVP opportunity in the August Newsletter. Until then, let's join together in enthusiastically amplifying the activity of our regional creative economy participants, all the while moving forward together into a more productive and impactful future.
Corey Aldrich
ACE! : Executive Director
