Rocky Horror has spent decades being something other than a film you simply watch, and RISE Housing and Support Services has spent the last several years turning that quality into a Saratoga institution. The organization’s annual fundraising gala returns to Universal Preservation Hall on Friday, October 23, for approximately its fifth edition.
About the Show
RISE Housing and Support Services provides residential housing, crisis services, affordable housing, and recovery support in Saratoga County. The choice of Rocky Horror as their signature event was not arbitrary: Associate Executive Director Lindsey Connors explained that the organization selected it “particularly because of the impact that it had and it continues to have on folks who feel alien or outside or even outcasts from society.” Richard O’Brien’s 1975 film (which flopped on release before becoming, by 2022, the longest-running theatrical release in film history through its midnight screening tradition) built its cultural footprint among people who felt like outsiders. RISE works with those same people.
The evening runs in two tiers: a VIP Cocktail Party from 6 to 7:45 p.m. for Rocky Sponsors, Honorary Committee Members, and Friends of Rocky (live music, light fare, open bar access for sponsors and committee members, and the presentation of the 2026 “Above and Beyond Award”), followed by General Admission at 7:45 p.m. for the interactive screening. All tickets include an official RISE prop bag with 10 items (bubbles, newspaper, heart-shaped lights, rubber gloves, kazoos, toilet paper, fake toast, cone-shaped party hats, bells, and playing cards) along with popcorn. A costume contest and raffles round out the night. Outside props—rice, water guns, food, confetti—are prohibited inside Universal Preservation Hall. Costumes are not required, though the event’s standing motto (“DON’T DREAM IT! BE IT!!”) makes the expectation clear enough. All proceeds support RISE’s programs.
Executive Director Sybil Newell on what draws people back: “My favorite part of Rocky Horror is just that it brings everyone together. All parts of the community, everyone feels welcome.”
Venue & Logistics
Universal Preservation Hall at 25 Washington Street in Saratoga Springs has served as the home for this event in recent years. The Capital Region has its own relationship with Rocky Horror audience-participation culture: the Kids of Albany have been running shadow cast screenings at the Palace Theatre in Albany since 2010, giving the tradition local roots that predate RISE’s gala by more than a decade.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. The event has sold out in prior years. Buy tickets through Proctors Collaborative.