Through the Caffe Lena "On The Road" program, we coordinate 2-3 day residencies with professional touring bands and musicians, sending them around the Saratoga Springs community and wider Capital Region for private, unadvertised, 30-60 minutes performances and/or interactive workshops. The program is supported by grant funding and donations to our non-profit venue, and each community visit is FREE for the host organization. The locations range from school visits (music classes, assemblies, after-school programs) to elderly care centers, shelters, soup kitchens, recovery programs, and other spaces which serve people who may not be able to seek out this professional music in a standard venue for a variety of reasons. *IMPORTANT* These residencies do not occur on a regular basis. Please reach out if you would like to be added to the list of host organizations, and we will contact you when there is an opportunity to coordinate a visit from a band or artist.

Kelly de la Rocha is a poet, journalist and founder of poem RENOVATION, a fun, web-based word challenge that promotes literacy, creativity and social-emotional learning. The software was a prize-winner at the 2024 Yale Innovation Summit. Every day, poem RENOVATION presents users with a scrambled snippet of literature. They select words that resonate with them, then move them around on a digital canvas. The rules? There are none. The objective? To create. During her lively, interactive workshops, Kelly details how poem RENOVATION came to be and how it works. Students have an opportunity to create a poem, phrase and/or word art on the site, share their creations, and receive positive feedback. Along the way, constructs including perspective, voice and figurative language are discussed. Poem RENOVATION has been used by hundreds of students from New York to California and has become a favorite, ongoing activity in a number of classrooms. Workshops: *Are appropriate for middle and high school classes *Can be personalized to include literature of the teacher’s choice *Are offered in-person or via video call WHAT EDUCATORS ARE SAYING: “The level of confidence that I saw grow in my students was amazing, from not being willing to share to being willing to share, from sitting quietly and not saying much, to offering a compliment or asking a question to better understand one of their peers.” ~Teacher Valerie Wadsworth, O’Rourke Middle School, Burnt Hills, NY They’re loving it! ~Teacher Renee Duran, Stone Valley Middle School, Alamo, CA It empowered them and it brought them to a place where they wanted to share what they made and they love that their creation was never wrong. I think that was what really made the students feel so special and so willing.” ~Teacher Dena Marie de la Rocha, Gowana Middle School, Clifton Park, NY “I immediately understood the impact it could have on public school children’s literacy and social-emotional development. ~Lauren B. Carpenter, Ed.M, Director of Education Programs, Albertus Magnus College, New Haven, CT

Looking for a little less trouble at your elementary school? Then it’s time to call Les Trouble Problem Investigator! Maybe your school doesn’t have a big problem with bullying, but you’d like a little more help getting kids to get along. Les Trouble PI and his sidekick Spike will show your students the skills they need to handle little problems on the playground or in the classroom completely on their own. This Conflict Resolution School Assembly and Leadership Assembly Show is all about Safety, Responsibility and Respect, and how leaders utilize these positive behavior traits to solve problems even when they are upset or angry. Les Trouble PI guides students into discovering that getting along with each other takes Cooperation, Communication, and Treating others with Mutual respect during this conflict resolution school show. Support your PBIS program or celebrate Red Ribbon Week with Les Trouble PI. Throughout the conflict resolution school assembly show, students will learn more about the simple four-step process to solving their own problems in peer to peer conflict resolution.

Historic Huguenot Street is a 10-acre National Historic Landmark District and museum in New Paltz, NY. Visitors at HHS can experience thousands of years of history at our seven historic stone-house museums, reconstructed 1717 French Church, original burying ground, and replica Esopus Munsee wigwam. Historic Huguenot Street envisions a nationally recognized historic site that will inspire guests to think in new ways about American history while also carrying forward the conversation about the relationship between past and present. In-person K-12 field trips are offered September-November and April-June. Outreach visits to your school are available January-March. Visit https://www.huguenotstreet.org/programs or email education@huguenotstreet.org to learn about our field trip offerings. Testimonials: “My students were able to experience what life was like in those times.” “As a teacher as well as school principal, it is evident how well prepared the tour guides were to share historical information.” "My students really love all of the hands on activities and rich cultural experiences."

The Compassionate Leaders Circle (CLC) proudly offers Student Leadership Labs for K-12 students, fostering creativity, self-discovery, and meaningful connections at every stage of their educational journey. Book Lab for Elementary Schools empowers young learners to write and illustrate their own stories, which are professionally published on Amazon. This exciting experience allows students to showcase their work to friends, family, and local libraries, building confidence and pride in their achievements. Dream Lab for Middle Schools guides students to uncover their core values and collaborate in learning pods. These sessions strengthen their connection with themselves and their peers while setting actionable goals for a purposeful and rewarding transition into high school. Purpose Lab for High School and University students helps participants realign with their personal values and aspirations. Using proven methodologies, this program equips students with actionable steps to pursue a fulfilling life and realize their full potential. CLC has aligned its programs with NYSED’s initiatives, including the “Portrait of a Graduate,” to support students in achieving a successful path to graduation. Each lab is thoughtfully designed to inspire and empower students, creating lasting impacts both within and beyond the classroom.

At the Granger Homestead and Carriage Museum we offer a plethora of educational enrichment programs. Our most popular programs are: Homestead Days: A two hour program where students spend time at 6-8 stations outside learning old-fashioned homestead skills such as candlemaking, butterchurning, and how to put out a fire via bucket brigade. Geared toward 2nd & 3rd Graders and offered in June each year. Summer Fun Days: A week of fun at the Homestead for children aged 7-12. For 3 hours each day, students will join in the historical summer camp fun. Each year rotating the activities to include: soapmaking, old fashioned game day, seed starting, and more. Open to the public, spots limited to 15 children per day. Twas the Night Before Christmas: A 45 minute program for nursery children through 1st grade that includes a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas accompanied by a puppet show and followed by a scavenger hunt through the museum and a sampling of sugar plums. Generally the last week of school before Winter Break. We also offer private programs geared toward special interest groups. For example we have done a homestead skill day combined with museum tour for teens in the Children of the American Revolution group. We also offer multiple Girl Scout and Boy Scout Badge Programs.

Our mission at BIG INK is to encourage appreciation for woodblock printmaking: one impression at a time. In 2012, Lyell Catongguay founded BIG INK to provide woodblock printmaking workshop opportunities for people of all skill levels. As a result, thousands of individuals have learned how to carve wood by following Castonguay’s online master class, and numerous community members have attended BIG INK’s workshops to witness the spectacle of large-scale woodblock printing. With its community-driven and public art education model, BIG INK is committed to ensuring a promising future for printmaking. Hire BIG INK for a workshop at your school. We’ll travel to your location and set up The Big Tuna, our custom-designed giant mobile printing press. Does your group have limited woodblock carving experience? That is okay. We’ll be your guide!

Doug Berky has been creating and evolving his own brand of physical theater for over thirty years. His performances weave together classic theatre forms of mime, mask theatre, circus arts, physical comedy and storytelling.  Doug is also known internationally for his mask construction. He designs and constructs the masks for his own performances as well as creates all of the sets, choreography, scripts and many of the costumes. Doug tours two family and school shows.  "No Show” and "Gems: The World's Wisdom Stories”.  - Curriculum Areas:  world cultures and traditions; folklore, literature, visual arts, physical fitness, communication - Weblink:  http://loydartists.com/roster/f/c/47 AND https://www.dougberkytheatre.com TEACHING PERFORMANCES "Gems: The World's Wisdom Stories" -  Pre K - 6th & Family - Video Link: https://youtu.be/iuvgqz6m72M - Study Guide - in addition to the study guide for "No Show" : http://loydartists.com/images/resources/DougBerkysGemsSG.pdf Doug Berky uses classic styles of storytelling from many cultures including masks, mime, puppetry and the power of a good story to introduce this collection of wisdom stories from around the world. All people seek to understand the world, to live in peace, to deal justly with one another.  These stories of hope, peace, freedom and justice will inspire while introducing students to literature from other cultures including Greece, India, Native America, and tales from Europe and South America. Doug has three versions of this production for the different age groups including a preschool version to help introduce young students to masks and stories. "No Show" -  K-College and Family - Video Link:  https://youtu.be/qOtjtqvLUAA - Study Guide:  http://loydartists.com/images/resources/MainStudyGuide.pdf A performance has been scheduled, but the actor fails to show. Or does he?  What will happen when a lone spectator finds himself unwittingly on stage?  Doug is transformed into several characters ranging from a gorilla to a ballerina as he explores the props and masks on stage. Students experience a variety of theatre forms: mime, mask theater, circus arts, and storytelling. The performance pieces vary in length, characters, and subject depending on the age of the audience. RESIDENCIES AND WORKSHOPS - Doug has specifically designed residencies of one day to three weeks for elementary to college students and for theater students and professionals including: Mask Making • Mask Theater Technique • Mime • Physical Theater and Comedy • Commedia Del Arte Workshops in communications, movement, cooperation, healing & humor are available for elementary students to adults. Community workshops are also available. ? STUDENT WORKSHOP: "Exploring Communication and Cooperation with Mask and Physical Theatre" - Doug conducts versions of this 45-60 minute interactive workshop for elementary to high school students. Students learn and practice skills in better cooperation and communication by exploring how we "talk to each other through body language." Students engage in movement and character development and experience mask theater and mime. Younger elementary students will participate in physical theater games that encourage cooperation, following directions, communication, and movement. Older elementary, middle and high school school students explore more subtle movements and communication through techniques from mask theater and mime.? STUDENT RESIDENCY: "Give It A Facelift: Unmasking Literature With Mask Theatre" - Five-day residency for elementary and middle school students. Imaginative literature (stories, folktales, myths), its context and content, can be creatively opened to students using the theatre disciplines of mask, mime, and storytelling. Each class will select an international folktale, myth, or story. After learning about the culture, context, story, and characters, the students will create their own presentation of their selection using these theatre arts. Theatre and mask artist Doug Berky will guide students in this creative process. TEACHER WORKSHOP: "Building Concentration and Creativity Through Mask Theater" - This movement workshop uses Creative Dramatics to teach skills in observation, creativity, improvisation, cooperation, and concentration. Doug uses mask theater techniques and a collection of masks within this workshop to teach both the art form and demonstrate how masks can be used to teach these skills. Teachers will receive instruction and simple templates they can use to make masks with students.

Brooklyn Robot Foundry - Lower Hudson Valley provides a STEAM program that combines creativity through art with hands-on engineering builds that teach foundational STEM concepts - essentially, 21st-century skills and science through art. Each class introduces a new project featuring different robot components and art materials. Many projects incorporate sculpting, drawing, painting, and mixed-media decoration, allowing students to explore both artistic expression and scientific principles in an integrated, hands-on way.All robots designed and built by students are functional and interactive - some move, light up, vibrate, or even throw objects. Every creation is unique, reflecting each student’s artistic vision and creative approach. The program is currently active across multiple counties in New York State, offered in both public and private schools as after-school enrichment, in-school residencies, workshops, assemblies, and special events. Our program is recognized by STEM.org as one of the Top 5% “Best in STEM” programs for 2025. The robots we build in class are never the same — while the building process is guided, each student’s artistic vision and design make every creation unique.

Music enrichment geared to your curriculum. This can include a songwriting component and a wide variety of topics.

I am a third generation artist whose paintings of race horses are in a number of private collections of prominent horse people across the country. I would like to do presentations involving reading my children's book "Awesome Elijah," a drawing lesson, and play and sing the song that I wrote that goes with it, or play a professional recording of it. Elijah, the calf, is rescued from certain death, and grows up to be a much loved steer who is ridden at a Horse Expo at the Saratoga Race Course. This true story illustrates just what an effect one act of compassion can have on so many lives.

My flute and cello duo, Duo Envol, leads a guided exploration of music and its connection to visual media. We use famous examples and play along with video clips from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, K Pop Demon Hunters, Harry Potter, a Christmas Story, etc. to explore the emotional impact on us of no music, the wrong music, or different music used in totally different contexts. We will play a piece we commissioned for flute and cello called Cumulus Reverie and let the audience imagine what different shapes they're observing in the imaginary clouds as they're listening. Then, like reading the book before watching the movie, we will watch Tiny Planet LLC’s animation video to the piece. https://youtu.be/94GxetlvXVU. The workshop culminates in everyone painting what they heard in their mind's eye. It's an hour long program, and can be lengthened or shortened as needed.