OUR EXPERIENCES AT THE
SARATOGA VICTORIAN STREETWALK
IN SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY  

2007

Jim & I had a mid-winter flu that hung on for the 2007 Victorian Streetwalk. Jim was into his 14^th day of sniffles and I was into my 10^th day. I wouldn’t have been able to perform the day before, but by the time the streetwalk rolled around, I felt that I might be out of the woods (just barely!). It was difficult to sing pieces with a wide range, so we stuck to pieces that were “safe” and included a lot more instrumentals (to give my voice a rest) and more songs from our usual repertoire than just the holiday fare that most people are used to hearing us play at this festival.

I have been learning a lot of Carols on the harp and we hope to incorporate this instrument in future shows (especially when I know I will be well).

We were at the Gap again. The mannequins were still in front of us, but they were facing the entrance this time.  

There was a fur hat that everyone seemed to be trying on while we were performing and a Christmas tree with a garland made of inventory from the store, particularly scarves. Children danced to some of the instrumentals we performed (a first at this venue) and a LOT of people approached us wondering what that trapezoidal box with the hammers was. Not everyone can wield hammers like Jim does.

2006

The weather was unusually mild this year for the Streetwalk (about 72 degrees), so the event was packed as was our venue for most of the night. The association picked the GAP for us to perform at again and the store did a fine job of clearing away space for all of our instruments, sound equipment and cases. They also set up an audience of mannequins in a semi-circle around us! With the lights giving an equal tone to everything in the midst of concentrating on some Christmas Carols that require a different chord on every beat, it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between the mannequins (out of the corner of our eyes) from the real audience members!

Kind of reminds me of college days where a friend found a life-sized photo of a stewardess (mounted on cardboard and cut out around the perimeters of her costume) and put it outside our door. When we’d wake up groggy and open our door, there’d she’d be and it would startle us every time!

The highlight for us was that so many people who we have known throughout the years came in to see us.

We saw many people taking photographs of us with their point-and-shoot cameras, but alas, no one sent the pictures to us.

On Sunday, we did manage to get to Troy’s Victorian Stroll just to see what one of these festivals is actually like as a non-performer. The streets were blocked off so that you could walk or dance in the middle of the street (even if packed), plus food vendors, many people in costume, carolers, reindeer, horses and carriages, stilt walkers and lots of shops with entertainers and free food (all amongst the stunning Victorian architecture that Troy is famous for). All I can say is: too bad there aren’t festivals like this for every season in every city with a beautiful historical section!

2005

 
Photo by Hunter Currin

Hopefully we will add more content to this page as the years go by, as people give us feedback about the festival and e-mail us photographs. We would be hard-pressed to know what is really happening at the festival or take photographs because we are fully engaged in our duties and wouldn’t have the time. However, we do have some perspective as performers, however slanted.

 I have been performing for the Streetwalk since 1995 at a number of venues from clothing stores to food markets to classy restaurants. Jim joined me three years ago and this is one of a few venues that we play as a duo every year.

 Apparently, over the years, the streets became so crowded and impassible that Matt McCabe, fellow musician, city council member and former director of the Saratoga Downtown Business Association came up with the idea of closing off Broadway, the main drag, to car traffic during the festival. This is what makes the festival so pleasant. There are horses and carriages, people dancing in the streets, carolers, stilt-walkers, people dressed in Victorian attire, drumming circles, you name it. The stores are jam-packed.

 At 10:00 in the evening after we were done with our performance, Jim and I had a little time to see what remained of it. We went to Celtic Treasures to see John Cromie play a beautiful version of Greensleaves on recorder and on the way out stopped to say hello to a guy who had just moved to Syracuse . He had heard of Joe Davoli, our violinist. Last time we saw the man from Syracuse he was looking over the “Wing’d With Hopes” and “Goldenrod” albums at Celtic Treasures. We also saw Rick Bolton and the Dwyer Sisters performing outside (icy fingers on guitar strings: how does Rick do it?). We also got wind that our fellow Killington Renaissance Faire performer, Jack of All Trades (ala Steve Gratto) was performing somewhere in town.