All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Today may be the nicest day of the weekend, so if you decide to play hookey or skip out early, we promise not to tell.

Still, there's lots of stuff to do between the showers -- Pridefest, Art on Lark, racing soapbox cars and more. Yep, it's summer in the Capital Region.

Our list of weekend potentials can be found after the jump. Got other plans? We're listening.

Whatever you're up to, have a fabulous weekend!

Art on Lark
Lark Street is closed on Saturday from 10 - 5 for Art on Lark. Artists and crafters will be lined up along Lark Street with all kinds of fun, creative stuff to see --and the music line-up includes Bryan Thomas, The Red Lions, Erin Harkes and Olivia Quillio. A few things to check out:
+ The Marketplace Gallery will host a living walls demo, creating art in public space on Hudson Ave near Lark and Willett
+ The Youth FX films will be screened in the old Planned Parenthood building at 1 and 3.
+ Albany Center Gallery will have an outdoor gallery filled with local sculpture, paintings and photography.

Pridefest
Pride week culminates in a weekend-long festival in Albany.

+ The Walgreen's 5K Run for Pride kicks off Saturday morning at 9 at The Lakehouse in Washington Park. Registration at 8.

+ Sing Out Louise V Mama-Brent, Freida Munchon, Penny Larceny and Carmie Hope hold their annual Pride Weekend drag show at Waterworks on Saturday night at 9. $10

+ The Pride Parade starts on Sunday at noon in Washington Park at State ans Sprague Street.

+ The Pride Festival starts right after the parade in Washington Park. Musical guests include Sirsy, Shontelle and Ce Ce Peniston.

Saratoga Artsfest
A weekend of music, dance, theater, art and literature gets underway today in Saratoga. The Saratoga Artsfest includes hundreds of exhibits and performances at venues all over the Spa City. There are a handful of free events, but most of the events will require an artpass. They're free for kids under 5, $5 for 5-17. Adult passes are $15(military) $20(student - id required) and $35.

Troy Flag Day Parade
Troy's 44th annual Flag Day Parade is this Sunday at 1 p.m. The parade starts in South Troy at Burden and Main streets, the heads up 4th Street to Grand Street.

Local food, local chefs
Tonight at 6 at the Cohoes Farmers Market across from Harmony House Marketplace, chefs from the Chefs Consortium will demonstrate how to use seasonal ingredients from the market vendors.

Local Food Festival
Indian Ladder Farms is hosting a local food festival on Sunday from 10-4. Local food and specialty vendors, cheese makers, vintners , chocolatiers and more.

Roller Derby
The Albany All Stars take on the Western Mass Destruction on Saturday night at the Washington Avenue Armory. Doors open at 6, whistle at 7. $10 in Advance $12 At the Door $4 kids Under 12

Soapbox derby
The Capital District Soapbox Derby is this weekend. Kids from 8-18 will race home made soapbox cars on Saturday and Sunday from 9-5 outside the NYS Museum on Madison Avenue. Kids 8-18

Go to the ball
The Arts Center of the Capital Region is hosting a summer ball on Saturday night with a free dance lesson at 7. $12/$10 members of the Arts Center. Glass slippers not required.

Music
+ The Farewell Drifters at Caffe Lena: They're from Nashville. They have haircuts make them looks sort of like latter day Beatles. They sound a bit like the combination of those things. Tonight at 8 pm - $15 ahead / $17 at the door

+Compositions for a Sound Dome: Using 24 loudspeakers suspended in the air as a sound dome, eight composers will present compositions created in a six day workshop at EMPAC. The exploration of sound, music and space starts tonight at 8. Free

+ Sirsy is at Putnam Den tonight at 9 $5 ahead / $10 at door

+ Jazz group Bopitude features Brian Patenaude on Sax and Michael Benedict . They're holding a CD release party tonight at 7 at The Linda. $15

+ The 2011 UpBeat On The Roof series on top of the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore starts tonight at 7 with world jazz by Elizabeth Woodbury-Kasius. Free.

+ Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell at MASS MoCA on Saturday -- Kids music that parents can also like. 2 pm - $20 adults / $10 kids

+ Black Mountain Symphony at Valentine's on Saturday with Platypus and The Landlines. 7:30 pm

+ Timbre Coup at Red Square on Saturday with The Fundimensionals "Improg" jam band. 8 pm - $10

+ Michelle Shocked brings her Campfire Girl tour to Helsinki Hudson on Saturday night at 9. $25.

+ Puff the Magic Dragon alert: Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary is coming to Caffe Lena on Sunday night at 7.

Baaaaa!
Thacher Park is hosting a Sheep and Wool Gathering festival at Pear Orchard. Sheep, goats, alpacas and leaping llamas. Wheel and spindle demonstrations, weaving felting, yarn dyeing, knitting and crocheting workshops and more. Vendors will be selling yarn and handmade crafts. Saturday 10-4.

Earnest
The Spectrum is simulcasting the Tony nominated revival of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. Sunday at noon. $15. Kids 12 and under $12

GCBA Country Car Show
Classic cars, trucks and motorcycles in Greenfield on the grounds of the Wayside Inn. $2 general admission, $10 to enter a car.

Check out some hogs
Americade is in Lake George this weekend, so if you like motorcycles, there should be lots of them on Capital Region highways and back roads this weekend.

Fund-raisers
+ The American Cancer Society relay for life starts tonight and runs through Saturday morning at the track at Shenendehowa High School.

+ The Saratoga Winery is hosting a Hannah's Hope fundraiser at their Tasting Room. $12 for Adults, $5 for kids.

World Naked Bike Ride
If you notice some scantily clad cyclists in the Washington Park area on Saturday afternoon, here's why: The Capital District World Naked Bike Ride starts at noon tomorrow at the Moses statue in Washington Park. For god's sake, bring sunscreen! We've never actually seen anyone show up naked to this thing -- not that we're asking, thanks.

Armenian Festival
St. Peter's Armenian Church in Watervliet hosts an Armenian festival this weekend with traditional Armenian food, music, dancing and other entertainment. Saturday 4-8, Sunday 12-4. Free admission

Art
+ New York, New York: This weekend the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls opens a new exhibition. New York, New York! The 20th Century, contains more than sixty paintings, photos, sculptures and other works that examine New York City's urban atmosphere between 1899 and 2009.

+ Pissaro's People: The Clark Art Institute opens a new show on Sunday. Pissarro's People looks at the life and work of impressionist Camille Pissaro through his portraits, harvest scenes and market views.

Theater
Frank Ingrasciotta's one man show about his Italian relatives has gotten some great reviews. Blood Type Ragu is currently running at Capital Rep. You can see it tonight at 8, Saturday at 3 and 7:30 and Sunday at 2:30.

For the birds
The Berkshire Bird Paradise is open for the season. As long as you don't have any Tippi Hedren-like phobias, this place is really neat. There's clucking and squawking and colorful feathers. It's a fun diversion on a trip out to Grafton Lake.

Other road trips
Take a shopping trip to Northampton or spend 12 hours in Ulster County, Bennington, Vermont or Columbia County.

Farmers' Markets
The Delmar Farmers' Market is open for season (Saturdays). And, of course, there are also the markets in Troy and Saratoga on Saturday, or the Schenectady Greenmarket on Sunday.

Brunch
Spend a lazy morning/afternoon lingering over brunch and a Bloody Mary or enjoy a great diner breakfast.

Ice Cream
Have you picked a favorite summer ice cream joint yet? If not, you can try to narrow down the selections with the Tour de Soft Serve or AOA's Ice Cream Tour.

AOA is a media sponsor of the Albany All Stars. Capital Rep advertises on AOA.

Photo: Sebastien Barre