ROCK AND RUN FOR THE ARTS
SPAC hosted annual fundraising race Sunday
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.>>
More than 1,300 runners, walkers and supporters participated in the eighth annual Rock and Run, one of the region’s most popular fundraising races, to benefit Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s arts education efforts.
The event - which encompasses a half-marathon, 5K, 10K and a kids race with live music performed along the route by local bands - was held Sunday morning in the Saratoga Spa State Park, starting and ending on the SPAC grounds.
“It’s good to see all of you people out here ready to run,” Elizabeth Sobol, president and CEO of SPAC, said to a large group of participants before the start of the 5K and 10K races, inviting them all to visit again over the course of the summer.
This May run celebrates the beginning of the SPAC season, which includes dozens of diverse performances at the venue through September.
“As Saratoga Performing Arts Center looks ahead to an exciting new season, what better way to officially open our gates than with our community members joining us for a run through the beautiful Spa State Park,” Sobol said in a
press release. “This unique event highlights all the best elements of the SPAC experience - live performances, nature, community and connection.”
The yearly event is also the biggest fundraiser for SPAC’s Vivienne Anderson program, an arts education initiative that provides approximately 300 children each summer, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the opportunity to experience a live performance of the New York City Ballet at SPAC. The program is named for the late Vivienne Anderson, a champion of education and the arts who served as chair of SPAC’s volunteer fundraising committee, the Action Council.
All proceeds from the Rock and Run, which typically raises about $32,000, benefit this cause.
Sobol said that the work of the Action Council to organize and present the Rock and Run each year helps bring the arts to the next generation of artists and audiences - a mission which is tremendously important.
For the hundreds of participants, SPAC’s Rock and Run is a fun way to spend a spring morning. Unlike traditional races, the Rock and Run features a lineup of 12 local acts that perform live for the runners as they make their way through the park. This year’s artists were Legendary Losers, Diz, Immune Friction, Keller & Cannon, Missing Link, Pony in the Pancake, reaLation, The Long Bow Trio, Paradox Saints, Owls in Orbit, Crush and Cosby Gibson.
Gibson, a local acoustic folk singer-songwriter, was set up with her guitar near the SPAC Box Office on Sunday, which was her fourth time playing at Rock and Run. “It’s just a lot of fun. There are tons of people and it’s for a very good cause,” said Gibson, who is a runner herself. As a full time musician, “A certain part of my work I put towards the community,” Gibson added.
First-time participant Lindsey Stevens of Charlton was eager to get out on the Rock & Run course. “I’ve done races here before, and they’re beautiful,” she said, looking forward to experiencing one with entertainment along the way. Stevens has run in a similar event called the Bolder Boulder in Colorado, and was excited to do it again in her home region. She signed up to run with a group of girlfriends, and her family was there to cheer her on from the sidelines on Sunday as well.
More information about SPAC and the Vivienne Anderson program, as well as a full season schedule of events , is available at spac. org.