Saratoga Arts
A Weekend Trip to the Adirondacks
July 13 - 16, 2006
Sponsored by TDF




This 4 day 3 night escape to the Adirondacks includes: round-trip motor coach transportation for duation of the tour program, 3 nights at the Holiday Inn, daily Breakfast, 2 Dinners, 3 performances and admissions to an array of museums.    
 
Trip Cost: $1,349.00 (Double Occupancy), see details below.  



The thriving arts center of  Saratoga Springs and its rich cultural schedule is the attraction for our weekend  trip in the Adirondacks.  At the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the cultural hub of upstate New York, enjoy two performances by the New York City Ballet and tour the National Museum of Dance & Hall of Fame.  A performance at the Adirondack Theatre Festival rounds out the offerings. Cultural attractions include the Hyde Collection of American Art, Yadoo artist colony and  the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. On our return to New York we tour Springwood, the lifelong home of America's only 4-term President, Franklin Roosevelt.  (Please note:  specific performances will be confirmed after the 2006 seasons are announced in late March/early April. Deposits due April 28.






1.  Thursday, July 13     
We meet our guide and depart aboard our comfortable motorcoach in the morning from our central location in midtown New York City location (30th Street and 7th Avenue) and travel directly to Saratoga Springs.  Upon arrival we have lunch (included) followed by a walking tour of this lovely town.  Once again, guests enjoy the excellent central location and facilities at our hotel, the Holiday Inn.  Amenities include a restaurant and 2 pools. We have time to relax and refresh before our welcome dinner and our first performance at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. SPAC hosts the New York City Ballet in its acoustically ideal amphitheatre in the heart of Spa State Park;  (L/D)



2.  Friday, July 14     
On our tour we  see the preservation of Saratoga Springs’ unique architectural, cultural and landscaped heritage. In its heyday in the late 19th century, Saratoga was the elegant refuge of high-society.  Saratoga Springs is awash in splendid examples of Victorian and other diverse styles of architecture, from Queen Anne and Colonial Revival to Early Federal, Greek Revival, and English Gothic.  We visit Yaddo, founded in 1900 by the financier Spencer Trask and his wife Katrina, as an artists' community in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Yaddo Gardens are part of the 400-acre estate consist of a formal rose garden and an informal rock garden featuring turn-of-the-century fountains and statues. handsome turn-of-the-20th-century gardens and a working artists' community.  We continue for a tour of  the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, located across from the historic Saratoga Race Course. the oldest operating track in the country. The museum’s mission is to interpret the history and convey the excitement of Thoroughbred racing in America.  
 
After time for lunch on our own, we have a late afternoon visit to The Hyde Collection Art Museum, a splendid collection of Old and Modern Masters.   The collection, housed in a gorgeous renovated mansion, is reminiscent of New York City's Frick Collection in its breadth and beautiful setting. Among the treasures assembled in  the 1912, neo-Renaissance Florentine-style villa are works by Raphael, da Vinci, Van Dyck, Tiepolo, El Greco, Reubens, Tintoretto, Homer, Whistler, Turner, Degas, Seurat, Renoir, Picasso, and van Gogh.    
 
We have an included dinner before tonight’s performance at the Adirondack Theatre Festival, the region's professional summer theater and a cultural gem.   ATF brings the best writers, actors, and theater artists from New York City and around the country to present a season of live theater at the new Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls.  ATF's mission is to produce "new and contemporary" plays and musicals and you will see  some  of the most promising "up and coming" artists working in the theater today.  (B/D)  



3.  Saturday, July 15     
The day is spent at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the cultural hub of upstate New York and the Hudson Valley. Our first stop is the Saratoga Auto Museum where cars, trucks, and other vehicles representing the automotive heritage of New York State and the world of motorized transportation are on display. Next, we tour the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame, the only museum in the nation dedicated to American professional dance.  The museum is located in the former Washington Bath House, a spacious, airy 1918 Arts and Crafts-style building -- in the Saratoga Spa State Park.  The Museum houses a growing collection of photographs, videos, artifacts, costumes, biographies and archives comprising a contemporary and retrospective examination of seminal contributions to dance. We have a free afternoon and lunch on our own.  We have an early farewell dinner tonight followed by our last included performance by the NYC Ballet.  (B/D)



4.  Sunday, July 16     
We check out and travel to Springwood, the lifelong home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America's 32nd President. When purchased by Roosevelt's father in 1867, Springwood was a large but simple Italianate farmhouse. By 1915, Franklin and his mother, Sara, completed extensive renovations that included the stucco-and-fieldstone exterior and the addition of a tower, two large wings, a terrace, and a columned portico. The interior decorations reflect the lifestyle favored by this "old money" family (in stark contrast to the Gilded Age tastes of their neighbors, the Vanderbilts). Inherited by FDR upon his mother's death in 1941, the house and much of the estate was transferred to the federal government in 1945 (as the President had requested) and is administered by the National Park Service. Its interior remains exactly as it was during Roosevelt's lifetime: a boyhood collection of stuffed birds graces the entrance hall, photos of FDR with heads of state decorate the piano, and the bed the president was born in occupies an upstairs chamber. The grounds at Springwood are extensive, containing flower gardens, outbuildings, and miles of walking trails. The Rose Garden contains the graves of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Not far away is Top Cottage, FDR's retreat.    After lunch (included), we travel back to Manhattan and our midtown stop where we anticipate arriving by approximately 5:30pm.  (B/L)





This engaging experience includes:

  • Round-trip motor coach transportation for duration of tour program
  • 3 nights at the Holiday Inn - Saratoga Springs
  • Daily Breakfast, 2 Lunches, 2 Dinners
  • 3 Performance tickets (best available): Adirondack Theatre Festival and 2 Ballet performances - NYC Ballet Company
  • Admissions to Springwood, Saratoga Springs Architecture & Museum, Yadoo, National Museum of Dance, Saratoga Auto Museum, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
  • Local service charges & taxes
  • Services of a CTC tour escort throughout
PROGRAM PRICES  
Per person (double occupancy) from New York: $1,349.00  
Single Supplement: $250.00