Elyse Young is once again bringing cafe-style entertainment to Malta, but this time it has a touch of the Irish.
Young began holding the Café Malta event in 2010 at the Malta Community Center as an acoustic café of sorts in which local performers and musicians got a chance to show off their stuff in a casual, family-friendly, yet lively atmosphere. The show takes place in the center’s multipurpose room where tables are set up and covered with tablecloths, lights are turned down lower than normal and candles are placed around the room, giving off that evening coffee café feel.
Young likens the café event to the atmosphere found at Caffe Lena, with the main difference being Café Malta is family-style.
“The crowd is a little bit of everything from kids, singles, families and teens,” Young said.
Jane McVey, who volunteers at the event, said she brings her entire family every year.
“Sometimes if you go into Saratoga to the bars you are going to run into people who over imbibe and it makes it unpleasant,” McVey said. “At this event, you can comfortably sit, have coffee, soda or a small snack and be entertained in a safe environment.”
The upcoming Café Malta event falls on the weekend of St. Patrick?s Day, and appropriately Michael Yates, a musician from Saratoga Springs, will bring his love of Irish heritage to the stage.
“I consider myself Irish, even though like most Americans, I am of mixed heritage. I’m probably about one-quarter Irish, but that’s the part of my heritage that I associate with,” Yates said with a laugh.
Included in Yates’ repertoire that evening will be a song he wrote about the young Irish men who migrated to America after the potato famine in the 1800s.
“I often wondered what it was like for a man to leave his family at home in Ireland and come to a strange country, a new world, find a job in many places where he was looked down upon, and earn money to send home to his family,” Yates said. “That was the inspiration for the song I am going to do at the café.”
As the theater director at the community center, Young sees the array of talent in the community and said the idea of Café Malta is to provide an opportunity for these performers to perform in a different type of venue.
“I have never done anything like Café Malta before this. I have directed shows, but this is an idea that I had for quite a few years, and it finally came to fruition three or four years ago when I started it,” Young said.
Young tries to bring different talent to the stage each year. This year, the event will highlight St. Patrick’s Day showcasing live Irish music and clogging as well as sing-alongs and singing waitresses.
“This is the first year I have made a theme of it, calling it ‘Irish-style,’ so I am gearing my musicians and performers toward that,” Young said.
In addition to the yearly Café Malta event, Young directs two full musicals a year at the community center and teaches acting classes throughout the year to kids and adults.
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Café Malta style on Saturday, March 16, at 7 p.m. at the Malta Community Center, One Bayberry Drive in Malta. Tickets are $6 in advance and $8 at the door. Coffee and desserts will be available for purchase.
For more information about the Malta Community Center or Café Malta, visit malta-town.org or call 899-4411.
