CAP REGION NY

CapNY Essentials: Farmers Markets, Nurseries, and Farm Stores

June 1, 2020 By Maureen Sager

One of the very best things about NY’s Capital Region is our access to farmers and farmland. Lucky for us, most of us can get to rolling fields in under thirty minutes. These beautiful drives are a great way to spend an afternoon; I let out an audible sigh at my first sight of cows. Another good reason to go: supporting small farmers and family-owned nurseries keeps our local economy humming. Also: your brand-new Victory Garden will be healthier with locally grown seedlings. Therefore, to get you started, we’ve offered up some great farm store and nursery options in all eight counties.

Download the map, below, to take it with you on your journey. But, please know that this map won’t be complete without your input! It is designed to be crowd sourced. Share your farm faves by clicking below.

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Farmers Markets
Farm Stores
Nurseries

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Farmers Markets

Farmers markets are rapidly adapting to current conditions with online ordering, timed shopping, and more. Therefore, we suggest that you check their websites for updates.

Cambridge Valley Farmers Market, 24 South Park Street, Cambridge, 12816. Sundays 10am – 2pm at Cambridge Central School.

Chatham Farmers and Makers Market, Chatham, 12037, Fridays 4pm – 7pm on the Village Green, across from the Clock Tower.

Copake Hillsdale Farmers Market, 9140 State Route 22, Hillsdale, 12529. Saturdays 9am – 1pm, through October 31st.

Delaware Community Farmers Market, 331 Delaware Avenue, Albany 12209. Tuesdays 4pm – 7pm, July 2 – September 24.

Delmar Farmers Market, Elm Avenue Park, 261 Elm Ave, Delmar, NY 12054, Saturdays 9am – 1pm, with 9am – 10am.

Germantown Farmers Market, Palatine Park Road, Germantown, 12526. Saturdays 10am – 1pm, under the Pavilion at Palatine Park.

Glens Falls Farmers Market, Elm Street, Glens Falls, 12801. Saturdays 10am – 2pm at South Street Pavilion in downtown Glens Falls.

Hudson Farmers Market, North 6th Street, Hudson, 12534. Saturdays 9am – 1pm, April 25 – November 21, on Columbia Street between 5th and 6th Streets.

Kinderhook Farmers Market, 1 Hundson Street, Kinderhook, 12106. Saturdays 8:30am – 12:30pm.

New Lebanon Farmers Market, 496 Columbia Pike, New Lebanon, 12125. Sundays 10am – 2pm, beginning June 7th.

Saratoga Farmers Market, Wilton Mall, Saratoga Springs, 12866. Wednesdays 3pm-6pm and Saturdays 9am – 1pm, at Wilton Mall, near Bon Ton parking lot.

Schenectady Greenmarket, 105 Jay Street, Schenectady, 12305. Sundays 10am – 2pm, around Schenectady City Hall.

South End Healthy Market, 230 Green Street, Albany, NY 12202. Saturdays 11am – 2pm, July through October.

South End Night Market, The Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, 153 Grand Street, Albany 12202. Thursday evenings 4pm – 7pm; curbside pickup is available.

Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, Troy, 12180. Online sign-up and other pickup options available; check their website for updates.

Farm Stores

Black Horse Farms, 10094 U.S. Route 9W, Athens, 12015. Black Horse Farm is a family-owned country market with a wide array of fruits and vegetables. Also, their garden store offers summer blossoms, nursery stock, garden items, pottery, gourmet foods, and much more.

Capital Roots Urban Grow Center Market, 594 River Street, Troy, 12180. Terrific collection of locally-grown fruits, vegetables and herbs, produced by dozens of area farms. Open 9am – 5:30pm, Monday – Friday.

The Chatham Berry Farm, 2309 Route 203, Chatham, 12037. Take a drive to Columbia County to find this award winning, family owned store with a range of local, regional, all-natural & organic products. But don’t be fooled by their name — it’s more than berries!

Gade Farm Farm Stand, 2479 Western Avenue, Guilderland, 12084. Family-owned farm stand and nursery, available for pickup and delivery.

Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, 327 County Road 21C, Ghent, 12075. This full-line natural / organic food and grocery store is set on a working farm in rural Columbia County. In addition to the store, Hawthorne Valley offers programs and products that fulfill their social and economic mission.

Samascott’s Garden Market, 65 Chatham Street, Kinderhook, 12106. Vegetables, fruit, local products and more available for online orders and in-store shopping.

ACE Director Maureen Sager at Story Farms — ACE Director Maureen Sager at Story Farm in Catskill

Saratoga Apple, 1174 Route 29, Schuylerville, 12871. Family owned for a century, this orchard and farm market produces much more than apples. Here you’ll find a wide range of fruit, cider, fresh baked goods, and produce, as plus local, natural, and healthy food and gifts. In addition, the world’s best apple cider donuts are made daily, all year round.

Story Farms, 4640 NY-32, Catskill, 12414. My favorite place to buy fresh vegetables and seedlings for my backyard garden, Story Farms also has terrific baked goods and local meats in their freezer.

Nurseries

Suzanne Haight of Balet Flowers and Design

Balet Flowers and Design, 5041 Nelson Avenue Extension, Saratoga Springs, 12866. Just outside of downtown Saratoga Springs, you’ll find this wonderful greenhouse and flower farm helmed by farmer / owner / potter Suzanne Haight. In addition to vibrant blooms, vegetables, and herb plants, Suzanne offers kind and supportive tips for what will work in your garden.

beckers garden center hanging baskets — Becker’s Farm Garden Center

Becker’s Farm Garden Center, 420 Columbia Turnpike, Rensselaer, 12144. Family owned for five generations, Becker’s offers soils, mulch, and a great plant and flower selection.

Story’s Nursery, 4265 Route 67, Freehold, 12431. Great selection of trees, shrubs, perennials, greenhouse crops, soils, and bedding plants, much of it grown on site. This wonderful family business has been thriving for over 50 years.

Toadflax Nursery, 1604 Saratoga Road, South Glens Falls, 12803. Idyllic nursery with 11 greenhouses and huge selection of shrubs and trees, common and unusual annuals, tropicals and perennials. In addition, there is a full selection of mulches, landscaping materials, and soils.

Pondside Nursery, 5918 Route 9G, Hudson, 12534. Great selection of plants and trees in a beautiful, pondside setting, just a few minutes’ drive from downtown Hudson.

faddegons edible baskets — Faddegon’s Nursery

Faddegon’s Nursery, 1140 Troy Schenectady Road, Latham, 12110. Three beautiful greenhouses of trees, plants, flowers and more, owned by the Faddegon family for 100 years.

And more nurseries…

Gade Farm Nursery, 2479 Western Avenue, Guilderland, 12084. Family-owned farm stand and nursery, available for pickup and delivery.

Kulak’s Nursery and Landscaping, 1615 Route 146, Rexford, 12148. Family-owned nursery and greenhouses with wide selection of flowers, plants, shrubs, trees and more.

Olde Saratoga Home and Garden, 934 Route 29, Saratoga Springs, 12866. Family-owned nursery with locally grown herbs, flowers, bedding plants and perennials. In addition, you’ll find garden supplies, tools, potting soil, crafts, gifts and more in their store. They’re also great with tips, and have a teaching garden on-site.

Zema’s Nursery, 154 Presbyterian Hill Road, Stephentown, 12168. Family-owned nursery and greenhouses with varied selection. Also note that curbside pickup is welcome.

Greene Bee Greenhouse, 2744 Route 20, Cornwallville, 12418. Family-owned nursery with online ordering and on-site pickup.

Cap Region Creatives: Andrea “Drea” LaRose

June 1, 2020 By wordpress

Andrea “Drea” LaRose is a Cap Region native, born in Troy, NY. She’s an artist that works primarily in photography and site-specific installations that deal with visual shifts in analog and digital worlds. In January 2020, Drea and her good friend, Carolyn Hopkins, opened Second Street Studios, in Troy as a space to create artwork and grow a sense of community amongst artists. In this interview, she talks about the struggles and rewards of being a young artist.

Drea, please introduce your creative endeavors and what you’re up to these days.

I like to play and interfere with photography in a way that the information, originality, and authorship mirror our own interactions with images on the internet, a constantly fluctuating digital world around me. I have taught painting at SUNY New Paltz, where I went to undergrad and sculpture at SUNY Albany, where I went to graduate school. I received my Masters in Fine Arts a year ago from UAlbany where they awarded me an amazing summer residency at Sculpture Space in Utica, NY.

After the experience of working with artists from around the world, I knew I wanted to continue the arts in a way that wasn’t just about my studio practice, but finding ways to involve other artists. Today, I’m a server, which was my main source of income before the crisis, while applying to adjunct teaching jobs waiting for the right fit – as many artists are doing; juggling multiple jobs to support their practice.

Let’s talk about your gallery space, Second Street Studios. What led you to open the space? What is its status now with the current crisis?

An artist and good friend of mine, Carolyn Hopkins, were both in a similar position of wanting a studio space outside of the home. It’s sometimes quite difficult to create in a space you live in, or I find it that way anyway. I got lucky and found this amazing space at 68 Second Street in Troy, a small but beautiful space that we could instantly see ourselves in. We both had the idea of making it into more than just a studio, we wanted to have classes, invite other artists into the studio for critique nights and exhibit work of other artists. You’re told so many times how difficult the “real world” is after graduate school, especially in the arts, but until we actually went through it, we didn’t have a clue.

Application fees for exhibitions added up…we received so many rejection letters from job or show opportunities, it began to drag a bit. But what remained was that we both wanted to provide a space for emerging artists, like ourselves, to show their work, without all these application steps AND keep 100% of their sales. “The Hallway” (literally the adjoining hallway from the front door to our studio) became this opportunity to exhibit artwork, and our inspiration for what this space could turn into started there. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, Carolyn had to move out of the space because she wasn’t able to use it anymore, but she’s still part of the energy. So now we’re at a bit of a standstill with the physical space and I’m coming up with ideas of how I can make Second Street Studios come back stronger than before.

Why do you love being a creative in the Cap Region?

The support we’ve gotten on our exhibitions has been absolutely eye-opening. We’ve had roughly 100 people through our space for each exhibition and it’s amazing to see the community come together, even if the space is small and a bit alternative (compared to your average white-cube art space). I am so happy that through this tough time, our community has donated to help us keep our doors open; and to give back, we’ve been hosting virtual exhibitions that can be viewed on our Facebook page. Our second show airs on Friday May 29th (which would have been Troy Night Out). I don’t want to lose momentum, and most understand the struggles of a starting space/business, especially in the arts; but I want to be able to provide an open, creative, and inclusive environment for people, in-person or virtual.

Seeing the work virtually is in no way a replacement of seeing it in person, but we want to be sure that during this time, they are being supported. I understand there is a huge surge of visual information out there, with businesses, schools, etc. moving to online platforms…we just ask that people simply look.

There’s nothing required of you, other than to look and appreciate what people are making and creating. Through all of this, I think it’s been particularly eye-opening how much the general public has gripped onto the arts as a means of entertainment. I hope everyone remembers that after this is over and helps support the emerging artists today in their community.

Will you leave us with a positive word?

Something I’ve been struggling with during this whole pandemic is the idea of what to do with all of this time. As an artist and creator, this time is ideal to create artwork, but it has proven to be difficult for me at times. I’ve reached out to other artists friends who are feeling the same way, and I’d just like to say to whoever needs to hear this that it’s okay if you aren’t as productive as you were pre-Covid-19. We’re all figuring things out and there’s enough pressure on us all to find solutions to our seemingly ever increasing problems. So, if you need to take a day to do nothing? Do nothing, take time for yourself, and we’ll all get through this together.

Connect with Drea

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Email

Unemployment Talks: Salon Owner, Jessica Shattuck

June 1, 2020 By wordpress

Meet Jessica Shattuck, Owner of The Shop on 7 in Latham. Before salons were legally shutdown, Jess made the difficult decision to shut down her business for two weeks in order to protect the wellbeing of her clients and herself. She felt that despite losing the income, she had to do her part to stop the spread. A few days later, NYS shut down all salons. Unsure of how long this would last and if there would be any unemployment benefits for sole proprietors, anxiety ensued. Luckily, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was created to help people like her, but it took seven weeks of back and forth, answering questions incorrectly, and confusion before she received her first payment. Here’s her story…

When you did you first apply for unemployment and what was the process like?

I applied the second week of April, when I first realized sole proprietor’s could obtain some benefits. I spent one whole day filing and on the phone, I waited on the phone for seven hours. At this point, my employee who I had laid off when we shut down still hadn’t gotten through herself and she applied weeks before.

I finally got through and after giving some information, the person said my application was complete. Since I opened business Dec. 2018 and hadn’t yet filed for 2019, I got a letter saying I was approved for unemployment but for $0. Again, since I hadn’t filed for 2019 yet, my past four quarters showed I had no earnings. I filed my taxes the first weekend in April, right before applying, so I had to light a fire under my accountant to get those through and finally mailed, emailed, and faxed my 2019 taxes to the state.

What happened after you sent your 2019 taxes in?

One night, I got an email saying to apply for PUA. I started filling out the information and I felt like I was finally getting somewhere. I had gone six weeks with no pay at this point. It asked, “are you willing to work” and I said “yes,” then it asked if I was able to work, and I clicked “no” because legally, I could not work as salon owner. This caused it to automatically kick me out. Then, I got an email saying “since you’re not willing to work, you’re disqualified for PUA.” That obviously was not the case. There was no way to go back so I had to start the entire application process again and wait on the phone for additional hours.

Later on, I finally got call from unemployment and the way they were worded the questions was confusing and I kept answering incorrectly. The representative would say, are you sure you want to answer that way? The questions were ambiguous and I wasn’t answering the questions correctly to be approved. He was very helpful and patient. He finally told me I was approved, and I was coming up on seven weeks with no pay. He said I would receive back pay of unemployment and PUA in next 3-4 days, which I did receive in two separate waves. Finally.

People in my industry are resourceful and creative. We’re hustlers. We’ll bounce back.

Connect with Jess

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Facebook
Instagram

Cap Region Bike Trails: Jeff Buell’s 16-Mile Loop, From Albany to Troy

May 19, 2020 By wordpress

By: Jeff Buell, Principal of Redburn Development

Over the past couple of months, biking has become the preferred mode of transportation for many looking for socially distant recreational activities. Jeff Buell, a Schenectady resident, Cap Region enthusiast, and Principal of Redburn Development is an avid biker, so we asked him to share one of his favorite Cap Region bike trails…read on!

From 1994 to 2019, I biked around 75 miles. Generously. Since we’ve shut down our lives, I’m one short ride away from 600 miles! I’ve biked more in two months more than I’ve driven, a notion I would have scoffed at if ever suggested to me prior to COVID.

Naturally this makes me an expert in 2020, and so here are a few tips for a Cap Region ride, especially for all the new cyclists (that’s what we call ourselves) out there looking for expand their horizons.

For today, we will talk about my loop.

Jeff’s Loop: Albany to Troy

Just about every day I head out from the base of Jennings Landing (it’s the footbridge on Broadway, plenty of parking available) in Albany and head towards Troy. The total loop is just about 16 miles, and with a few exceptions, is quite an easy ride.

The first 5.5 miles is on the bike path. You can’t get lost, you can’t take a wrong turn, you just go. It’s crowded until you clear the I-90 bridge, then loosens up. Be prepared then when passing, many people wear headphones, and do not always excel in walking in a straight line.

At 5.5 you’ll hit Watervliet and must head onto the streets where the cars care less for bikers than the pedestrians you just passed, though admittedly, it’s probably close. Hug the road that 787 parallels (Broadway) until you get to 25^th Street. There you want to hang a right until you get to the Green Island Bridge.

There’s something freeing about slowly moving over the Hudson River and being able to take it all in.

Right now you’re about 8 miles in and you’re going to head back. OR, you can head into downtown Troy and stop somewhere. Little Pecks is always a great option, so is Liza’s. Or, if you’re me, you stop and talk with your buddy Heidi on her stoop for a while.

To Get to Downtown Troy:

From the Green Island Bridge you can head right into Riverfront Park where a bike lane mysteriously appears and will take you all the way through South Troy to the Menands Bridge. Be forewarned, the deceptively hilly and always windy last mile of South Troy can be a challenge for new bikers, but you got this! Sure, sometimes I feel like I’m going backwards, but that really is just a feeling. Promise.

View of Troy from the Green Island Bridge

Over the Menands Bridge you go until the path dumps you back onto the bike path where you are about 4.5 miles from Jennings Landing. Go right, not left, off the ramp.

There’s a few alternate plans that head you up to Waterford, or Schenectady if you are intrigued. All are great paths with some hills. All eminently accessible via the Interweb.

Biggest takeaway? Fear not the streets! Cars are (mostly) aware of you. Go in a straight line. Wear a helmet. And see the Cap Region from a brand-new vantage point!

Cap Region Creatives: Marilyn McCabe

May 19, 2020 By wordpress

Marilyn is a published poet, living in Saratoga Springs. Her main creative outlet is poetry, sometimes making videos that blend her words with images and sound. She offers writing workshops in conjunction with the Hyde Collection and writes book reviews for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

In this interview, Marilyn offers insight on what it means to be “an individual and largely unknown poet” during these unique times.

How did poetry become your main creative medium?

I have tried just about everything else — fiction, essay, plays — but it’s poetry that stuck. As an editor, it’s part of my make-up to get to the point and be concise. I love rhythm and silence, both of which are essential to the craft. Poetry suits me.

Marilyn, you’ve recently published an Award-Winning Chapbook, Being Many Seeds. Congratulations! What has that experience been like?

Ordinarily I’d throw it a little book party, do some readings and open mics. But I’m reliant now on the virtual networking. I’ve got an extensive email list of friends and acquaintances, as well as Facebook posts both to my own page and group pages such as NY Writers’ Compendium, and I also have a blog.

I created a video project using poems in the collection, so I can use this as a book trailer. I may also record myself reading a few of the poems. People enjoy poets reading their work aloud; it offers insight that words on the page may not. I enjoy readings, but I don’t enjoy the schlepping around. I often spend more in gas than I can recoup in books sales, so I confess I don’t wildly miss the reading shuffle. But I do miss the interaction with listeners and other poetry fans.

Do you feel like your creativity has been flourishing or diminished by being in isolation due to the quarantine?

My life has not changed all that much under quarantine. I do miss seeing my friends, casually stopping somewhere to meet up, and particularly I miss the library — but my creative work continues in its usual fits and starts. My “practice” is haphazard anyway, and I’m fairly distractible at the best of times.

How have you seen the creative community band together during this time?

It’s amazing to see how arts organizations are sharing information and creating new platforms. Virtual readings, gallery tours, fundraising for artist relief funds, virtual concerts — the outpouring has been tremendous. I think people around the world are grateful, and are perhaps newly aware of how art feeds us.

I enjoy ACE’s profiles. The Hyde Collection has invited local artists to post work. Jacob’s Pillow has brought dance to my computer screen, and innumerable other ways in which the arts have gone viral… If anything, the proliferation of arts online has made it a bit more difficult for a largely unknown poet like me to get “heard.”

Several Facebook groups of women writers, such as Binders Full of Women and Non-binary Poets, help me find publishing opportunities and discover new writers. The members have been great cheerleaders for each other, which is so encouraging. New York Foundation for the Arts has tons of resources on its webpage about funding and opportunities. The Adirondack Center for Writing has been great in engaging the already isolated community of writers across the Adirondack region. The Creative Writers Opportunities blog is regularly updated with calls for work from literary magazines, etc.

Are you thinking about ways that you’ll change the way you create/do business in the future due to this experience?

I’ll reach out more globally both in terms of promoting my own work and engaging with the work of others. The online world is small, and it’s rich to reach across geographic, cultural, and national boundaries. Ironically, social distancing has spurred me to bring the world closer.

Any last words of positivity for our readers?

The best of art and science has come out of active use of our imaginations, out of joyous play. Let’s use some of this wonderful quiet to dance around with wild abandon, figuratively and literally.

Marilyn is the winner of the Grayson Books Poetry Chapbook Contest: Being Many Seeds. She has two full-length collections of poems — Glass Factory, and Perpetual Motion — and another chapbook, Rugged Means of Grace. Her themes include science, spirit, memory and identity, and how people connect to each other and the earth.

Connect with Marilyn!

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