(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2022)
Reggae band Mighty Mystic plays at Putnam Place on Friday Dec. 30 to open the Saratoga New Year's Fest.
Hotels might not have been completely full, but the weekend of New Year’s Eve and the new Saratoga New Year’s Fest was a success none-the-less. This is according to hospitality leaders and other officials who ran the music festival that brought in original acts such as the Cowboy Junkies, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, the Peter Parcek Band and others.
"We filled some hotel rooms, no doubt about that,” said Bob Millis, a principal with the 398Group, an organizer and promoter of the event.
Dan Fortier of the Embassy Suites in Saratoga Springs, Dan Shilling, of Saratoga’s Hampton Inn & Suites, and Brittany Gaetane of Calendula Properties, which manages more than 40 short-term rental properties in and around the city, all said they were full.
“All my homeowners were happy to be booked,” Gaetane said. “It's been a slow couple of months."
Discover Saratoga’s President Darryl Leggieri said he thought the event was a great success, though he knew that not all beds in town were full.
"Not everyone sold out, but what I'm hearing is demand was stronger than last year, though he did not yet have exact numbers. Discover Saratoga promotes tourism in the county.
Asked if beating last year was a low hurdle to jump, given the pandemic, Leggieri said, not at all.
"People were looking to get out in a big way last year,” he said, adding that restaurants and lodging did well a year ago.
Putting a big event such as a music festival with original bands on top of the regular New Years Eve festivities “created a nice draw to our community."
“New Year's Eve is always busy, but this definitely makes our job easier,” the Embassy Suite’s Fortier said. “It draws in a good, strong base for us.”
Both Fortier and Shilling at the Hampton Inn said they could command slightly higher rates for the weekend, as well.
“People booked multiple nights,” Shilling said.
The Hampton Inn played host to comedian Moody McCarthy, who played three sets over three hours in the lobby of the hotel (“Don’t come back,” for the next show, he said to the first audience. “It’s the same thing.”)
Shilling said that having people wander into the hotel was a nice way to get non-guests to see their location.
Saratoga had partnered with the First Night company in years past to put on a festival similar to the one this past weekend. The current event kept the fireworks of years past, though the time moved from midnight to 6 p.m., and this year's event kept the 5k foot race on New Year’s morning.
There were a couple major differences. For one: the music this weekend was often held in bars or venues that served alcohol — a no-no under First Night rules — and the acts were aimed more at original music, Millis said. The aim was to create a music festival on New Year's Eve, not just another party.
"We didn't put 50 or 60 cover bands out there like we used to. We put up original music," Millis said. He believes that is why people turned out for it.
He would not say how many tickets for the event were sold. Along with the sponsorships from the likes of Deathwish Coffee, Druther’s Brewery and many others, they drew enough revenue to make a profit in the first year, he said.
Businesses outside of hospitality might not have felt the same level of excitement in the event. Millis admitted that he heard from retailers and shop owners that the focus on night-time events meant shop owners felt a smaller economic impact from the festival.
Shopping will get a greater look next year, Millis said, adding, “I couldn’t do everything in year one.”
Rory Wilson, owner of D'Andrea's Pizza on Caroline Street, said he liked the concept.
“Overall, we were very busy,” Wilson said. Still, in an indication that people might still be staying home, he said, “Our delivery was very strong that night.”
Danny Petrosino the chef and owner of Danny on Henry Street said the music festival meant little to his small restaurant with a focus on Neopolitan Cuisine.
He only has 49 seats at the tables, and the regulars often show up New Year's Eve looking for the meals they normally have, even if he puts specials on the menu.
On New Year's Eve they might spend a bit more money, or buy a nicer bottle of wine than normal, he said, but given this year’s timing: “It’s just another Saturday night.”
Although the city has seen violence downtown, most recently a late night shooting which involved police, New Years Eve "was relatively easy night,” said Sgt. Paul Veitch the Public Information Officer with the city’s police department.