All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Today and Saturday look like the best days of the weekend, so if you decide to cut out of work early this afternoon, we won't tell.

As with most summer weekends in the Capital Region, there's plenty of stuff going on to keep you busy -- rain or shine. You'll find our list after the jump. If you've got other plans,
share them with the crowd. Everything is more fun when you share.

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

Hudson Music Festival
The Hudson MusicFest begins today and runs through the weekend. Through out the city of Hudson the organizers are promising to "have music in every possible indoor venue and outdoor public space the organizers can conjure--jazz brunches, a Blues, Brews and BBQ tent, buskers on street corners, dueling DJs, dance parties, country bands, classical music concerts, singer/songwriter contests, new age music and old time Dixieland, salsa and soul." Here's the lineup of acts.

More Music
+ The Sean Rowe show at at the Marketplace Gallery in Albany tonight is SOLD OUT.

+ The UpBeat On the Roof series continues tonight on the roof of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College with Celtic/bluegrass band Red Hen.

+ Todd Nelson's TN3 play a happy hour show at Valentine's tonight at 6.

+ The Farewell Drifters are at Valentine's tonight. 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. With: The Landlines, Dan Johnson and the Expert Sidemen. 9 pm

+ Slender Shoulders plays Valentine's on Saturday with Balto, and a sold Eric Margan. 8 pm

+ Yarn is at Putnam Den on Saturday. The
Brooklyn-based alt-country band has a song about Schenectady. 9 pm - $10

+ Atmosphere is at Northern Lights Saturday. 8 pm - $20 ahead / $22 day of

+ John Hiattis at The Egg on Sunday. 7:30 pm - $34.50

+ Also Sunday: Witness is at Red Square with a handful of others, including DJ Trumastr. 6 pm

A Stonehenge in danger of being trampled by a dwarf
MASS MoCA is screening This is Spinal Tap tonight. Before the show comedians Dan Schilling and Rob Gorden do an opening act. The fake rock stars replace the cancelled M.Ward show that was originally scheduled at Mass MoCA tonight.) $7

Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra wraps up its season at SPAC this weekend. The weather should be perfect for tonight's salute to Hollywood. The Tchaikovsky Spectacular is Saturday, closing night.

Celtic Festival
Celtic rock band Hair of the Dog headlines the Concert Under the Stars and Irish Festival at the Waterford Harbor Visitor Center Saturday. 3 pm-9 pm - free

Animation Festival
Proctors' animation festival wraps up this weekend. Tonight: Megamind, Corpse Bride and The Triplets of Bellville. Tomorrow the festival starts at 10 am with Despicable Me. The Oscar nominated shorts start at 6 pm and Nine Nation Animation starts at 8 pm. Tickets are $3 per screening, or you can buy a $15 pass that gets you into 10 screenings.

By the way: There's a behind-the-scenes tour of Proctors Saturday morning at 10 am. It's free.

Theater
+ The Producers closes at Park Playhouse this weekend, so if you've been meaning to get to it, this is your last chance. The show starts at 8 pm. Tickets are free, but you can reserve seats for $11-$14.

+ The newly-married Matlana stars in Rent this weekend at Schenectady Light Opera Company. It's the same production that was at The Egg this spring, with the addition of musicians Daniel Weiss -- who was part of the original Rent in NYC and and Dave Malachowski who's been playing for the current national tour of the show with original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. Tonight and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. $18-$38

+ Ten Cents a Dance, a new musical featuring songs from Rodgers and Hart just opened on the Man Stage at Williamstown Theater Festival. This is the last weekend to catch Touch(ed) on the Nikos Stage.

+ A production of Wine Lovers: The Wine Tasting Musical continues this weekend at Universal Preservation Hall. The touring show gives audience members the chance to "See, Swirl, Smell, Sip and Savor Six Wines while watching a hilarious musical comedy." Maybe it gets funnier the more you drink. $59

+ Shakespeare and Company performs As You Like It, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Romeo and Juliet, and a whole slate of other shows this weekend in Lenox.

Earlier on AOA: A quick guide to summer theater festivals.

Comedy
MOPCO returns to Schenectady on Friday with its Chortal Combat improvisational comedy show. Underground at Proctors, 8 pm. $14, $6 for students/seniors.

A day at the races
Grab your hat and a few extra dollars and spend an afternoon at the Saratoga Racecourse. If you win, celebrate with a Sloppy Track Shake from Shake Shack. If you lose, console yourself with a Sloppy Track Shake from Shake Shack.

Take a swim
Pool season is ticking away. Grab your sunscreen and head fora local beach or pool.

Cardboard boats
Watch people race self-constructed cardboard boats Saturday at Schuylerville's Hudson Crossing Park. The first launch is at 1 pm (photo ops start at noon). free

Caribbean Festival and Carnival Parade
Caribbean food, music and, culture on Saturday in Schenectady Central Park. The festival starts at noon with a carnival parade. Then from 2pm-8pm there'll be food, music and crafts in the park. free

Baseball
The Tri-City Valley Cats are playing home games all weekend with a double-header starting at 5 tonight with post-game fireworks Saturday's game starts at 7PM and Sunday's is at 5PM.

Museums
+ Union College has a new exhibit of pulp fiction paintings at the Mandeville Gallery in the Knott Memorial.

+ 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.

+ 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.

Urban exploration show
Wander over to The Albany Barn's Stage One on Sunday from 9-1 and you can see some great urban exploration photos by Sebastien Barre, Paul Gallo and Darren Ketchum.

Dog Show
The Adirondack Circuit Dog Show is at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds through Sunday. We've heard that Best in Show isn't that far from the truth.

Drive-in
+ The Malta: Smurfs and The Planet of the Apes on one screen, The Change Up and Friends with Benefits on the other.
+ Jericho: Planet of the Apes / Harry Potter
+ Hollywood: Zookeeper and Transformers

Farmers' markets
Local farmers' markets are overflowing with seasonal goodness right now. Here are a few you can visit this weekend:
Saturday: Troy, Saratoga, Delmar. Sunday: Schenectady and the new Malta Drive-in Market.

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

Ice Cream!
Head over to The Snowman for a Boston Milkshake, take the AOA Ice Cream Tour or make a stop on Daniel's Tour de Soft Serve. Heck, it's summertime -- make two stops.

Brunch
Relax with a nice cold mimosa or Bloody Mary over brunch (one of our current favs is The Iron Gate on Washington Ave in Albany. Get a table outside if you can) or enjoy a great diner breakfast.

photo via Farewell Drifters