About Skidmore
Creative Thought Matters
Why Skidmore?
Skidmore Facts
Summer at Skidmore
Maps, Directions & Virtual Tours
Opportunity Program
Skidmore marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Skidmore College is partnering with MLK Saratoga and sponsoring Dr. King Celebration Weekend events to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his continuing legacy.
Summer Pre-College
First Year Experience in London
Off-Campus Study & Exchanges
Tang Teaching Museum
Events and Open Houses
Why Skidmore
Options and Timelines
Connect with Admissions
Skidmore Shop
About Saratoga Springs
Skidmore Thoroughbreds
SkidmoreAthletics.com
Facility Directions
Friends of Skidmore Athletics
Athletic News
Updated athletic spectator policy begins Jan. 21
Skidmore College has announced that no spectators -- except for Skidmore community members approved to be on campus -- will be permitted to attend home athletic events beginning on Friday, January 21. All spectators are required to wear a KN95 mask.
Support Skidmore
Skidmore Fund
Friends of the Tang
Parents Fund
Skidmore Young Alumni
Presidents Society
Saratoga Classic Horse Show
Senior Gift Program
Sustainable Skidmore
Alumni Relations and College Events
2020-2021 Planning
HOMENEWS & EVENTSSaratoga traditions Skidmore students love
Saratoga traditions Skidmore students love
by Jenny Lupoff
Saratoga Springs is the perfect college town. What really makes it stand out, however, is how passionate the community is about its traditions. Some may be expected — like its horse-racing history — but others can only come from a small city that values creative thought as much as Skidmore College does.
To get a taste (a lot do involve food), here are a few Saratoga traditions Skidmore students love.
Saratoga Farmers' Market
Filling the High Rock Park Pavilion in the summer and the Lincoln Baths building in the winter, the Saratoga Farmers' Market provides warm, freshly baked bread, vibrant produce and artisanal cheese all year round.
Since 1978, the market has grown to include vendors selling everything from hand-crafted accessories to hydroponic vegetables and even ready-to-eat hot and cold meals. A trip to the Farmers' Market is a great way to celebrate the craft and skill of this community.
Chowderfest
It may fall on a frigid February day, but Saratoga's annual Chowderfest is always a highly anticipated culinary celebration.
Every year, Skidmore students and visitors from near and far traverse the packed streets of downtown Saratoga Springs, carefully inching from storefront to storefront so as not to miss a single cup of $1 chowder.
To put it in perspective, according to Discover Saratoga, in 2018, 88 restaurants served more than 137,000 cups of chowder to 40,000 people.
From classic seafood to spicy chicken, hearty vegetable or even dessert chowder, each restaurant offers its own unique spin on this rich soup. With so many to sample, you'll always have a cup in hand, warming your frozen fingers and tiding you over as you and your taste buds wait in anticipation for the next spoonful.
The Saratoga Race Course
While some towns gather together with noise makers, jerseys and face paint for a highly anticipated sports game, we do things a little differently in Saratoga, trading baseball caps for dramatic, decorative hats.
Saratoga's most known tradition, the annual Saratoga Race Course meet, has drawn a large crowd to the city every summer for 150 years. In fact, the population of Saratoga Springs triplesduring the summer. As a Skidmore Thoroughbred, be sure to catch a glimpse of these speedy horses as they make their way around the track.
Nationally ranked as one of the top five towns with the most restaurants per capita, Saratoga Springs is a true foodie destination. So naturally, Saratoga's annual Restaurant Week is a fall favorite.
Throughout the week, patrons can enjoy a $20 or $30 three-course meal or a $10 lunch special at participating restaurants. With so many options so close to campus, Restaurant Week offers the perfect chance for a college student to explore — at a fixed price — the exceptional restaurants Saratoga has to offer.
Great Pumpkin Challenge
Put away your books, but keep them close by for the Great Pumpkin Challenge. For this creative, Halloween-themed contest held by Skidmore's very own Scriber Library, participants design a "literary-inspired" pumpkin.
Using their literary-artistic minds, students and faculty transform their pumpkins into imaginative works of art. Past creations include Cinderella's carriage — complete with Cinderella herself — the Lorax seated on his tree stump surrounded by truffula trees, and the iconic deep-blue cover of "The Great Gatsby."
The finished pumpkins, bearing very little resemblance to a winter squash, are put on display for all library-goers to enjoy. At Skidmore, the creative possibilities are truly endless.
More favorite fall traditions
International Flavorfeast
It may be one of Saratoga's newer traditions, but for this foodie community, there are never too many ways to celebrate eating.
Held in mid-October, the International Flavorfeast celebrates the international culinary flavors and styles of Saratoga Springs. With dishes from France, China, Japan, Italy and Mexico, just to name a few, participants experience worldly flavors in the heart of Saratoga Springs.
With nearly 30 participating restaurants, flavor-feasters can sample everything from potato knish to sushi rolls, tacos and ziti Bolognese. For just $1 per sample, this event is the perfect opportunity to try something new.
Victorian Street Walk
Travel back in time as you make your way along a brightly lit Broadway on a chilly December night. Filled with music, performances, shopping and plenty of spirit, the Victorian Street Walk is the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of the holiday season.
Sponsored by the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association, this event is just one of the many quintessential traditions that bring together members of the community, local businesses and Skidmore students, many of whom volunteer as performers and behind-the-scenes event planners.
More favorite winter traditions
Bonus: Charitable giving
There's no question that Skidmore has a unique bond with Saratoga Springs. And there's no better way to show appreciation for this city than to give back to it. Supporting charitable causes is a tradition for Skid Kids and Saratogians alike.
Off campus, students volunteer at organizations such as the Saratoga Senior Center, Saratoga Bridges, Shelters of Saratoga and Franklin Community Center. On campus, each holiday season the Skidmore Cares program raises donations of food, provisions and school supplies for the Saratoga community. Since 2006, the program has raised more than $90,000 for community causes and has distributed more than 28,000 items.
No matter the season, place or time, there are dozens of ways to get involved in this caring tradition.
A great place to call home
All year round, these one-of-a-kind traditions, whether they're 150 years old or five, bring endless joy and entertainment. But more than anything, they continuously connect us with one another. Each tradition, whether it be a light-hearted dog parade or volunteer work, strengthens the bond between Skidmore and the creative and passionate city it is lucky to call home.
Jenny Lupoff is an art history major with a management and business minor from Westport, Connecticut. She loves the carefully crafted stories behind all things visual, making her two areas of study a perfect combination. Though from the suburbs, she feels truly at home in bustling cities and enjoys exploring — preferably on foot — the energy, foods and shops of new places.
Inspiring creative careers: The Tang Teaching Museum
Over the past two decades, the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery has provided students with valuable work experiences and extraordinary access to art, artists, and ideas that supported careers both inside and outside the arts.
First-year seminar inspires book that re-imagines U.S. Constitution
Political Science Professor Beau Breslin says his latest book, imagining what might have been if each generation in American history had written its own constitution, grew out of a first-year Scribner Seminar and a collaborative research project with Skidmore students.
Apply Early Decision II or Regular Decision by Jan. 15
Admissions & Aid Contact
admissions@skidmore.edu
Visit Skidmore
Admissions: 800-867-6007
Diversity at Skidmore
Working at Skidmore
Thoroughbred Society
Foundations & Corporate Relations
©2022 Skidmore College
of close