Caffè Lena set to celebrate 60th anniversary Thursday
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Caffè Lena will be celebrating its 60th anniversary on Thursday, May 21, with festivities adapted to social distancing guidelines.
The daytime portion of the two-part event will include Bonacio Construction’s flatbed trucks roll around the Spa City with bands playing music on the back.
Three local acts l- gypsy jazz group Hot Club of Saratoga, soul singer Garland Nelson and rock n’ roll band Let’s Be Leonard will perform this mobile concert from noon to 1 p.m. on a route that includes Broadway, Lake Avenue, Circular Street in Saratoga Springs.
Attendees are encouraged to park along the route, decorate their cars, and cheer out the window as the parade rides along.
In the evening, there will be a live stream special featuring stories, songs, and photos from the Caffè Lena community.
The venue’s broadcast team,
Grammy-winning producer Joel Moss and video production manager Reese Fulmer, are creating an online program to feature stories, songs, and photos to celebrate the venue’s history.
This will take place at 7 p.m. and will be available for viewing through the venue’s website www.caffelena.org featuring artists such as humorist Christine Lavin, Vermont folk duo Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen, celebrated blues guitarist Rory Block, singer-songwriter Don Armstrong and Colorado folksinger John Winn, who joined the venue’s roster in 1960.
“Each of these performers have played the Caffè Lena stage many times and represent the breadth of our programming,” marketing manager Carolyn Shapiro said in a press release.
The celebration will mark six decades of Caffè Lena. On May 21, 1960, actress Lena Nargi Spencer opened the doors of a new coffeehouse at 47 Phila Street in Saratoga Springs. Her
goal was to create a venue with a “continental atmosphere,” complete with espresso, folk music, poetry, fine art, and plays.
Artists and curious customers made their way to the top of Lena’s narrow stairs, and the venue quickly became an off-thebeaten-path mainstay in the burgeoning world of folk music.
Lena passed in 1989, but not before making her venue a landmark.
On the occasion of the now not-for-profit venue’s 50th anniversary, the Library of Congress called the club “an American treasure” and accepted the venue’s papers and memorabilia into the archives of its American Folklife Center. This marked the beginning of a resurgence of national interest in the classic 1960’s folk club that is now, once again, a mustplay stage for bands rising through the ranks of Americana and roots music.
A major renovation in 2016, funded by private donations and a philanthropic partnership with Saratoga’s
Bonacio Construction, Inc., created handicapped access, expanded seating capacity, and a fueled a growth in programming that has won Caffè Lena numerous Capital Region “Best Of” prizes over the past three years, including three Eddie Awards and three Saratoga Fab Five awards.
When COVID-19 collided with Caffè Lena’s spring season, the venue, which is widely recognized as the longest continuously operating venue of its type, pivoted within 24 hours to an online schedule of “Stay Home Sessions” that has reached thousands of YouTube viewers across the globe with nightly live or pre-recorded performances.
On April 20, New York state designated the venue “essential” for purposes of broadcasting. With the only stage available in the area, Caffè Lena has reached out to Capital Region artists to come play for the cameras. Tips donated by viewers have put more than $25,000 into the pockets of these musicians since March 14.
As the venue’s 60th anniversary approached and the shutdown showed no signs of ending, the staff accepted that its concert hall celebration needed to be retooled.
“Bonacio Construction is coming to our aid once again,” explained Sarah
Craig, who marked her 25th anniversary as Caffè Lena’s executive director in February, in the release. “They’re providing flatbed trucks. On May 21st, we’ll circle around downtown from noon to 1 p.m. with three of Saratoga’s favorite bands on the back. We’re inviting people to park along the parade route and enjoy the music as the trucks roll by. Decorated cars would be very welcome!”
“Everyone is hungry for happy occasions right now,” board president Jim
Mastrianni added about the celebration. “For Caffè Lena to have not only survived against the odds for sixty years, but to be actually delivering music in the midst of this pandemic, is something Saratoga can be proud of. We’re here because of the support of this town, and this is a chance for us to give back a little joy.”
Viewers may make donations during the broadcast to sustain Caffè Lena through the shutdown.
In addition, the nonprofit organization is using the occasion to launch the Lena Legacy Society, a new endowment fund that is expected to grow over the coming years.
“We have 60 years behind us and countless decades ahead,” Craig said in the release. “We’ve seen that crisis can come anytime, and an endowment ensures that the music will never die.”