ACE

Upstate Overnights: Albany Edition

October 5, 2020 By wordpress

With COVID limitations and the warm months of summer ending, I’ve been feeling a little discouraged that my ability to “getaway” for a weekend here and there seems to be coming to an end. Luckily, CapNY has plenty of cozy little staycation spots that will feed my cravings to escape from reality for a couple of nights. On this edition of Upstate Overnights, I’ll fill you in on where you can stay for a few nights in Albany County!

Gabby’s Cozy Fall Picks

Click on each of the four picks for The Low-Down, what Gabby loves about each spot, and details on how to book!

Grey Gables

Washington Park Inn

The Morgan State House

The Red Cottage

CapNY is a perfect fall getaway destination. You deserve a vacation. Book, enjoy, and relax. Don’t forget to tag us in your photos, @UpstateCreative! We’d love to share.

Check out Upstate Overnights: Catskills edition, too!

Gabby Fisher is an avid CapNY ambassador, travel lover, & foodie. She is ACE’s Digital Media Manager and the Founder of co-mads, a consulting company that curates travel and volunteer experiences; along with providing marketing, event, and content creation services to organizations whose missions align. She’s also a Co-Founder of Flips Resale, a business she started with her father.

#CapNYRedAlert: Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of SPAC

October 5, 2020 By Maureen Sager

This Fall, ACE is spotlighting the significant financial hardships facing Creative Economy businesses in the Capital Region though our #CapNYRedAlert campaign. Locally, we are asking creative economy leaders about Covid’s impact and how they plan to move forward. Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), offered her perpective.

Elizabeth, when did SPAC start to feel the effects of the lockdown?

As an overview –SPAC has a $10 million dollar annual budget. Half of that revenue is earned income, like the Live Nation concert season, other rentals, our own ticket sales. The other half is contributed income, which comes from memberships, and individual and corporate giving.

Pre-pandemic crowds inside the SPAC amphitheater

So, back in March, the most immediate impact we felt was that our May and June graduation rentals went away.

Then, Mazzone Hospitality — a subtenant at the Hall of Springs – saw their events and weddings dry up quickly.

We began to understand that most of our own programs like the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York City Ballet would not be happening, and then came the question of Live Nation concerts. And, like everyone else, they canceled their season.

Basically, $5 million dollars of earned income evaporated.

And then 80 percent of our million of corporate donations also went away.

So all in all, we’ve lost $6 million of our $10 million budget in 2020.

How is SPAC weathering that jolt?

SPAC’s Chef’s Table events will take place outdoors, with proceeds going to the chefs. Photo courtesy The Saratogian.

The good news is that the community has really supported us in 2020.

The majority of people left their memberships with us this summer, even though they weren’t getting the usual perks of tickets and parking and things. We are deeply grateful for that.

Many of our corporate sponsors also gave what they could. Many said that they couldn’t spend the same amount, but gave what they could to keep some money in the coffers. Quite a number of long term corporate sponsors stuck with us. Quite a few could not.

Basically, we will be okay through 2020 because of the philanthropic spirit of our members, donors, board members.

The big question, now, is 2021.

So how do you plan for 2021?

Saratoga Spa State Park. Photo by Allison Schweitzer.

Right now we still don’t know what the spring and summer will hold, and that makes it very hard to figure out how to budget.

If we have to implement social distancing, our amphitheater capacity goes from 5200 seats to 1250. How would Live Nation concerts make that work? And in our field, the demographic tends to be older, and they are the most vulnerable age group to Covid. Even if we have social distancing in the amphitheater, how many of our patrons will actually come back and buy tickets?

Many performing arts groups have already canceled their spring seasons, and we’re trying to dream up ways to bring our resident companies up here in some other crazy fashion, if the amphitheater isn’t available.

Will orchestras be able to put 80 musicians on the stage? Can they have a chorus?

There are just more questions than answers at this point.

Can you tell us about some of the programming SPAC did in 2020, and what might happen in 2021?

SPAC helped practioners convene wellness classes during the crisis. Photo courtesy Albany Times-Union.

This summer, we really turned our focus to ways we can thank our members, and finding ways to allow people to have experiences and gather together safely.

For example, we opened the grounds up to wellness practioners. They registered people for their classes, met on the SPAC grounds, and all of the proceeds remained with the teachers.

We are doing the same for our Chef’s Tables events. Our new pavilion is equipped with temporary walls and heat sources, which keeps things safe and warm, and all the money that comes in will go to the chefs. We’re hoping this can continue to go through the fall and even into winter.

Elizabeth’s silver linings

The pandemic forced us to think deeply about our mission and the spirit of what we do. We created a ton of great new digital and live content and programming, which is something that arts organizations all knew we needed to do, but never quite got around to before.

The pandemic has taught us to be imaginative and flexible, and that will put us in good stead going forward, no matter what happens.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center is located 108 Avenue of the Pines in Saratoga Springs, NY, in the beautiful Saratoga Spa State Park.

Freelancers Training Up During Covid and Beyond

September 30, 2020 By wordpress

By: Gabby Fisher, ACE Digital Media Manager & Entrepreneur, in conjunction with Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) Career Launchpad.

We freelancers are versatile, hardworking and known for their ability to adapt to dynamic work environments and demands. To remain marketable and relevant in their fields, we prioritize professional development and and constantly engage in training and courses geared toward building modern skills. Over the past six months, more than 50% of freelancers have participated in skill-related education or training.

As mentioned in last week’s article, I’ve heard firsthand from many local freelancer’s and entrepreneur’s who have been using this period of uncertainty to “train up” and sharpen their professional tools. Kirsten Voege, Marketing & Communications Consultant and Owner of KiRated Communications, is one of those individuals.

Last week, Kirsten held her own Professional Development Day, where she blocked out her schedule – no calls or meetings – allowing her to hyper-focus on searching for online trainings and courses, setting goals, and looking for other new types of learning opportunities. She usually has two webinar trainings on her calendar each week.

I asked her why it’s so important for her to invest in professional development and she said “As actress Helen Hayes said, “if you rest, you rust,” I’m always trying to learn something new. I’m constantly finding new trainings/courses on LinkedIn, through podcasts, Eventbrite and in digital newsletters. It seems like many of the newsletters end up in my spam folder, so when I run out of new ideas, I check there too.”

Just a few of the books Kirsten’s read throughout the pandemic. Follow her on social media for her extensive book, podcast, & study music recommendations! FB / IG / Twitter

Freelancers spend a lot of time searching for worthwhile professional development opportunities…programs, courses, and experts that they trust.

We know a better way. Hudson Valley Community College’s (HVCC) Career Launchpad has fast-track options to provide you the education necessary to enhance skills or develop new ones. Their training sectors include the following:

Get in touch with HVCC today. Opportunities for tuition funding may be available. Yes, 50% of freelancers have engaged in some training over the past six months, but that number should be higher. Invest in yourself. Invest in your career. Invest in marketplace stability. Get started in less than a minute by filling out the form of the bottom of the website page. Let’s launch!

Check out “Training Up With Gabby: Build Your Skills, Knowledge & Earning Power!” here!

Free Flu Shots for the ACE Community!

September 28, 2020 By wordpress

We are thankful that The Occupational & Environmental Health Center of Eastern New York (1873 Western Ave., Albany) is offering our ACE community free flu vaccines.

You must schedule your appointment by calling 518-690-4420.

REQUIRED PAPERWORK

You must fill out all required paperwork and bring it with you to your appointment.

Week of October 5^th, 2020: Monday, October 5^th, 2020 from 10AM-3PM
Week of October 12^th, 2020: Thursday, October 15^th, 2020 8:30AM-11AM
Week of October 19^th, 2020: Monday, October 19^th, 2020 10AM-3PM, Thursday, October 19^th, 2020, 10AM-3PM
Week of October 26^th, 2020: Monday, October 26^th, 2020 10AM-3PM, Thursday, October 29^th, 2020 10AM-3PM.
You must schedule your appointment by calling 518-690-4420.

Freelance Lifestyle Writers Wanted

September 24, 2020 By upstatecreative

ACE is looking for Freelance Lifestyle Writers for a new project launching in 2021.

As a Freelance Lifestyle Writer you will:

Stay on top of and report on Capital Region trends and topics of interest to a diverse mix of millennials and Gen Zs, using existing templates and maximizing content for web, video and social media.
Propose your own story ideas and angles based on your insight and knowledge, as well as receive assignments from editors and managers.
Understand what does/doesn’t work for a story on our site, and demonstrate flexibility and willingness to re-focus ideas.
Dive into research, making use of internal and external links, to show your stories are based on more than just one person’s opinion.
Take a data-driven approach to writing, to gain insights on article performance.
Ability to work in an independent environment.
Consistently deliver high-quality, self-edited, and professional articles.
Work in a fast-paced, ever-changing, and demanding remote environment.

What you will need to be successful in this role:

Experience and background in — and passion for! – writing and reporting on a variety of topics including: Culture, News Trends, Travel, Food, and other Lifestyle topics, as well as a distinctive voice that resonates with our target audience.
A strong grasp of proper grammar and punctuation (e.g., Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style). Knowledge of AP Style is a plus.
The skill to recognize interesting news elements, come up with story ideas, and have these appeal to our audience.
A willingness to learn quickly and adapt to the varying and ever-changing demands of the job.
A working knowledge of search-engine optimization and previous experience using WordPress is strongly preferred.

If this opportunity interests you and you fit the job description, please send resume, articles, and published writing samples to capregionny@gmail.com.