All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Yep, it's going to be HOT.

But there's a long list of stuff going on in the shade, in the water and in the air conditioning. Grab a popsicle and take a look at some of the ideas after the jump. If you've got something else planned, let us know about it.

Keep cool, and have a great weekend.

Swim
Let's just put this one right at the top this week. Here's the list of all the pools, beaches and sprinklers in the region.

Saratoga County Fair
Fair season is here. Wait, we didn't say that right. Fair season is here!!! Better? The Saratoga County Fair is already underway at the fairgrounds in Ballston Spa. You can check the daily schedules here. (We hear there's deep-fried Kool-aid this year.)

And they're off
It's opening day at Saratoga Racecourse. Grandstand admission is $3, Clubhouse is $5. The first post time is 1 pm.

Hats Off
Opening weekend at Saratoga means the Hats Off Music Festival. Friday and Saturday night there will be bands and performers all over downtown Saratoga. Businesses will be open late for strolling and shopping. Exhibits, rides, animals and other entertainment, too.

Brewfest
There's no baseball at The Joe this Saturday. Instead, from 2:30 to 6:30 the stadium hosts the 2nd Annual Capital Region Craft Brewers Festival. Food, music and tastings from 25 craft brewers from across the Northeast. $25 - $47

Music

+ Tonight at Valentine's: an album release show for locals Aficionado. The self-titled album will be available July 26. It's their first full-length album on the label No Sleep (you can pre-order a copy). Also on the slate: End Of A Year, Self Defense Family, Nightmares For A Week, Form & File. 8 pm

+ Red Square tonight: act name of the week finalist Midnight Spaghetti & the Chocolate G-Strings, a funk band from Virginia. 8 pm

+ The Tang Museum's Upbeat on the Roof concert series continues tonight with blues and classic rock from The Blues Olives. Starts at 7 pm on the roof of Skidmore's Tang Museum. free

+ Acoustic blues guitarist Paul Geremia is at Caffe Lena tonight . 8 pm - $18 ahead / $20 at the door

+ The Saratoga Acoustic Blues Society is hosting its 4th annual Blues Celebration in the old firehouse at 534 Broadway (in the oriental rug import shop). 5:30 - 10:30 tonight and Saturday. Free.

+The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival starts today on Dodds Farm in Hillsdale. Here's the schedule for the weekend. Tickets start at $40.

+ Cracker is at Bearsville Theater tonight at 9 pm - $25

+The 80s called -- they're bringing their hair bands to SPAC on Saturday. Motley Crue and Poison will be there with The New York Dolls. 7 pm - $26

+ Saturday ska at Northern Lights: Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish. 8 pm - $20 ahead / $23 day of

+ Saturday at The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington: Dr. John. 8 pm - $55 and up

+ Sunday at Valentine's: Times New Viking. Indie lo-fi rock that sounds like a type face (but, you know, not like Comic Sans). With Better Pills (Brent Gorton), and Gay Tastee. 7 pm - $10

Movie theaters are air conditioned...
We're just sayin'. This could be a really good weekend to catch that movie you've been meaning to see. If Harry Potter doesn't do it for you, Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, Terrence Malick's Tree of Life, or Bridesmaids might . On Sunday at noon, The Spectrum is screening the National Theater of London's production of Chekov's, The Cherry Orchard ($15, $12 for kids 12 and under).

... and so are museums
+ The Albany Institute of History and Art has started up its Free Fridays and Half Price Saturday admissions for the summer. You could chill with the mummies or check out new work by artists of the Hudson-Mohawk region.

+ Pissarro's People, portraits by impressionist Camille Pissarro, is the big exhibit this summer at The Clark, but while you're there, be sure and check out Spaces: Photographs by Candida Hofer and Thomas Struth. The large scale photographs kind of bent our minds recently. The photos examine how people interact with spaces, history and the passage of time.

+ Mass MoCA's Bang on a Can Music Festival continues this week with a full day tribute to John Adams (the composer, not the president). The composer of Nixon in China has been called "the most vital and eloquent composer in America" by The New Yorker. There's an afternoon gallery talk (2:30, $5 with museum admission) and an evening concert of Adams' work (8 pm, $24). While you're there, you can check out what's going on in the galleries. We really enjoyed the Sol LeWitt wall drawing retrospective.

+ The Hyde Collection's big summer exhibit, New York New York: The 20th Century, includes over 60 works of art that depict New York City and human interaction with it.

Theater
Summer theater festival season is in full swing. Here's some info to help you decide what you want to see. A few things you can catch this weekend:

+ This is the last weekend to see Steven Weber and Maura Tierney in Three Hotels at Williamstown Theater Festival($54). You can also see Lili Taylor in Ibsen's A Doll's House on WTF's Nikos Stage ($35). Tonight only you can catch a free performance of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors at the nearby Poker Flats Field.

+ It's opening weekend for The Producers at Park Playhouse in Washington Park. Get a seat early and see it for free or reserve a seat for $5. 8 pm.

+ Saratoga Shakespeare Company's production of The Merchant of Venice just opened in Congress Park. You can see it for free tonight and Saturday at 6 and Sunday at 3.

+ Bakerloo Theater Project in Troy presents The Love of the Nightingale tonight through Sunday at 8. On Saturday at 2 they perform Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. $15

+ Leslie Uggams is at Capital Rep with her two-act solo musical Uptown, Downtown.

Support art and buy stuff
McGeary's is hosting a "not so silent auction" of goods and services from Capital Region artists and businesses to benefit the Living Walls project. Saturday, 7 pm.

Baseball Hall of Fame
It's induction weekend at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven, and Pat Gillick will be inducted on Sunday. Something to keep in mind even if you don't plan on attending -- because Cooperstown will completely jammed.

Polo
The Saratoga Polo World Expo continues this weekend at Saratoga Polo. Matches start at 5:30. Reserving a seat will cost you $40, Unreserved clubhouse seats are $25 a person, but if you're willing to go the general admission -unreserved route, all the friends you can pack in one car can get in for $25.

Italian Festival
Music, food, wine tastings, grape stomping, kids rides and a pizza, pasta &cannoli eating contest are part of this weekend's Festa Italiano at The Italian American Community Center in Albany. Tonight from 5-10, Saturday from noon-10 and Sunday from noon - 8.

Drive-in
Once the sun goes down it should be perfect drive-in weather. Here's what's playing:
+ Hollywood: Harry Potter & Horrible Bosses
+ Jericho: Captain America & Transformers
+ Malta Drive-in: Screen 1 - Harry Potter/Horrible Bosses, Screen 2 - Captain America/Transformers

Water ski practice
This Sunday in Scotia you can watch the US Water Ski Show Team practice. Practice starts at 9:30 AM. Free. 5 Schonowee Ave in Scotia (you know, near Jumpin' Jacks).

Puppets in the park
The Puppet People are putting on a free show on Sunday night at 7 in Freedom Park in Scotia.

Star gazing
Looking for a place to hang out and view the night sky? You could check out the sky watching scene at RPIs Hirsch Observatory on Saturday night or do your own stargazing at one of these spots.

Brunch
Relax with a nice cold mimosa or Bloody Mary over brunch or enjoy a great diner breakfast.

photo: Crystal Powell