Saranac Thursday season opened Thursday at Matt Brewing Co. in Utica, N.Y., and after nine years the event is a community fixture. The event raises roughly $30,000 for the United Way.
Russ Myers wasn’t about to let 600 miles stop him from being among the nearly 2,700 people at Saranac Thursday. The 81-year-old former Whitesboro man drove all the way up from Florida with his wife, Gussie, earlier Thursday and gave himself just enough time to unpack his car, he said.
“I made sure I got here today for Saranac Thursday,” Myers said alongside his daughter, Pam Ford of Utica. “I just like seeing all the people, and once in a while I’ll bump into someone I haven’t seen in 50 years.”
“It’s one of those things everybody looks forward to,” brewery president Nick Matt said.