Stuff to do this weekend
ANTM finalist Laura LaFrate at tonight's Electric City Couture Show at Proctors
If all goes according to the current forecast, then by the end of this weekend you might just want to send Mother Nature a thank you card.
Don't waste it, people. If you don't have a plan yet, you'll find a few ideas after the jump. Got something else in mind? Let us know what you're up to.
And have a fantastic weekend!
Electric City Couture
Friday at Proctors: America's Next Top Model finalist Laura LaFrate will model at Electric City Couture, a fashion show featuring collections from local designers. There will be full collections from Katie Pray; Kristina Collins; Jen Dugan; Jessyka Neitzel and Danielle Breitenback. And mini collections from Joleen Button; Lakeshia Motley; Sarah Roberts and Kristin Marshall; and Van Demps. The show is a part of the 5th anniversary of Art Night Schenectady. 7 pm
Souvlaki
The annual Greek Festival at St. Sophia's in Albany is this coming weekend. There are a handful of different activities there, but the real reason to go is, of course, the food. $3 admission for adults, free for kids
Laughs
MopCo.: You never know. The Mop and Bucket improv company has a new show Underground at Proctors. It's a mix of short-form scenes and improv games, and it's different every week. Friday at 8 pm - $14, $6
Vanguard designer showhouse
This is the last weekend to check out the Vanguard Designer show house at 17 Chapel in Albany. This year's "house" is three beautifully decorated condos. $18 admission supports the Albany Symphony - free parking is available
Theater
God of Carnage
Yasmina Reza's comedy God of Carnage continues at Capital Rep this weekend. Tonight at 8 pm, Saturday at 3 pm and 8 pm, Sunday 2 pm - $20 - $60
Hair
This is the last weekend to catch the Cohoes Music Hall production of the rock musical, Hair. Friday at 8 PM, Saturday 3PM & 8PM, Sunday 3PM - $26-$36
Hairspray
Schenectady Light Opera's production of Hairspray closes this weekend. Tonight and Saturday at 8, Sunday at 2. $22, $28.
The Farnsworth Invention
Aaron Sorkin's play about the invention of television, The Fansworth Invention, closes this weekend at Albany Civic Theater.
A New Brain
Class Act Productions presents A New Brain, William Finn and James Lapine's musical about a songwriter's near death experience. Friday and Saturday at 8. Sunday at 2.
Beauty and the Beast
The touring company of the former Broadway show Disney's Beauty and the Beast continues at Proctors through Sunday. Beauty and the Beast is the eighth longest running show in Broadway history. multiple times - $20 and up
Oceanic Verses
Friday at MASS MoCA: Oceanic Verses, a "full-length multimedia opera" set against the backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea that "follows people who flee and people who stay; it follows those who sail to escape and those who sail to arrive." 8 pm - $15 / $10 students
EBA 40th Anniversary
Maude Baum's dance company and school, EBA, celebrates 40 years in Albany -- 35 of them on Lark Street-- with a weekend of salon concerts. Tonight, Saturday & Sunday at 7:30PM
American Music Festival
The Albany Symphony's annual American Musical Festival runs through the weekend with concerts each day:
Friday: Dogs of Desire at EMPAC
Saturday: American Music Festival Concert at EMPAC
Sunday: Eight World Premiere Pieces at Troy Music Hall
Music
The Rancid show at Northern Lights on Friday is sold out.
Friday: Lucky Jukebox Brigade at Valentine's
An album release show for Lucky. With: Oobleck, Homebody. 8 pm
Friday: OUTPOST1 at Jillian's
Jillionare and Dre Skull join the regulars. 11 pm - $5
Saturday: 52nd Caffe Lena Anniversary Celebration
Also celebrating the 100th birthday of Woody Guthrie, with Butch Hancock, Michael Eck, Sgt. Dunbar & the Hobo Banned, The Bluebillies, Kate McDonnell, Rich Bala, George Wilson, and Kim & Clyde. at Caffe Lena (had been at Skidmore) 7 pm - $25
Saturday: The Revelations at Helsinki Hudson
A group of soul musicians who've worked a bunch of big names in R&B and hip hop. 9 pm - $15
Saturday: Lil Kim at Northern Lights
One day you wake up and you're part of the old guard, taking flak from people like Azealia Banks. It happens to all of us, eventually. 8:30 pm - $25 ahead / $28 day of
Saturday: Gordon Lightfoot at The Palace
"With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more / than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty, / that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed / when the 'Gales of November' came early." 8 pm - $38 and up
Sunday: Collective Soul at The Egg
Playing an album from 1999 in its entirety. 8 pm - $29.50
Spring Spree
Saturday is the annual New Scotland Avenue Spring Spree. A "trivia treasure hunt, music, face painting and other activities for kids and adults. Free admission 10AM-4PM
Niska-Day
Niskayuna celebrates its annual Niska Day on Saturday with a parade, music, dancing, food, crafts, games and fireworks. The parade kicks off the day at 10AM. Free admission.
Troy Bike Rescue Spring Fundraiser and FilmFest
The day starts with a meet and greet at 1 pm at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. Meet folks from Troy Bike Rescue, Collard City Growers, Missing Link Street Ministry and Youth Media Sanctuary. There's a fundraising dinner at 6 prepared by local food enthusiasts. The Greasy Peas Film Festival starts at 8 with "Cutting-edge shorts celebrating urban rebirth and creative resistance! From the ground up, diverse communities are using bicycles, gardens, counter-economies and more to redefine culture and public space."
Dinner and the film festival $20. Film festival only by donation.
Art Kites in The Fields at Omi
Art Omi hosts a kite parade through the Fields Sculpture Park at Omi International Arts Center on Saturday at noon. Bring homemade kites, and picnic lunches. There's a kite making workshop as well. Noon. Free admission
Baby Animal Days at Indian Ladder Farms
This is the last weekend for baby animals at Indian Ladder. Saturday and Sunday from 9-5. $5 per child. No charge for accompanying adult.
Plants and bulbs
+ The Capital District Community Gardens is hosting their Spring Plant Sale on Saturday from 9AM - 1PM at 8th and Eagle Streets in Troy. They'll have unusal, high-quality perennials, annuals and heirloom veggies from Behns Wholesale Nursery,that you can't get in retail stores.
+ The annual plant sale at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Voorheesville is this Saturday . There will be perennial, annual, and vegetable plants for sale. Also: "Master Gardeners will be on hand to help you make good decisions for your garden and to take in soil samples for pH testing." And let's face it, if you never test your soil, you'll never know if it's learning. 9AM-1PM
+ Sunday morning starting at 8 am at the Washington Park Lake House in Albany, tulip bulbs from this year's display will be on sale -- $5 for a bag of 25. You might want to show up right at the start -- we hear it can be a bit of a frenzy.
Rock 'n Run
SPAC's Rock 'n Run is just what it sounds like. There's a one mile kids race at 10AM on Sunday, followed by a 5K race for grown ups, followed by a slate of more than ten bands and an afternoon of family entertainment. Performers include NYC-based My Pet Dragon and local bands Headband Jack and Black Mountain Symphony. You can register to run here. Starts at 10 AM
Star gazing
Friday and Saturday nights Landis Arboretum in Esperance and the Albany Area Amateur Astronomers are hosting a Public Star Party. 9:30 PM. Free.
Albany Pine Bush Lupine Fest
Albany Pine Bush Preserve celebrates the annual Lupine Festival on Saturday. Lupines, butterflies and kids activities. 10AM - 4PM Free.
Portrait miniatures
Sunday at the Albany Institute: a talk by Elle Shushan, an expert on portrait miniatures. 2 pm - free with museum admission
Farmers' markets outside
The outdoor season for farmers' markets are in swing in Troy (Saturday), Saratoga (Saturday), and Schenectady (Sunday).
Brunch
It's one of the best ways to spend a lazy weekend morning. Here are a few fun brunch options and some great diner breakfast stops.
Ice cream
Kurver Kreme, The Snowman,Jack's Drive In in Wynantskill, and Jumpin' Jack's and lots of other seasonal joints are now open. Go to it!
Proctors, MopCo. and Capital Rep advertise on AOA
photo via Laura LaFrate Twitter
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Comments
Hi, Another item for stuff to do this weekend! Thanks.
This Sunday, May 20, the Albany Sonic Arts Collective is thrilled to be hosting one of the true unsung legends of American experimental music. Joseph Hammer is surely not to be missed! He recently released a widely praised LP on the incredible PAN Records label out of Berlin, and he's on a rare East Coast tour. A member of the world famous Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) collective, Hammer has been steadily contributing for the last 32 years to the underground music scene in LA and beyond. His practice draws on the complexities of the process of listening and playing, reflecting on the role of the audience versus the performer, and uses music as it influences our notion of time, memory and intimacy as the basis for improvisation and abstraction. In various collaborations, solo, and as a founding member of the trio Solid Eye along with several other projects (Joe & Joe, Dinosaurs With Horns, Dimmer, Points of Friction).
Also performing will be LA Lakers, the solo project of Shannon from the Dungeon Taxis tape label (Australia) and current bass player for NZ legends the Renderers. Expect tense electronics, tape manipulations, and complete mastery of the sonic environment. Opening the night will be two solo projects from Burnt Hills members Jeff Case and Eric Hardiman.
Who knows what to expect?!?
JOSEPH HAMMER (LAFMS legend)
LA LAKERS (tape manipulator extraordinaire from Australia)
CASE (debut solo electronics performance from Burnt Hills drummer Jeff Case)
RAMBUTAN (solo project from Century Plants/Burnt Hills member Eric Hardiman)
at the
UPSTATE ARTISTS GUILD
8pm on Sunday 5/20
247 Lark St. Albany, NY
... said Anna on May 18, 2012 at 11:06 AM | link
Had dinner from the Greek fest last night, so good, better than any Greek place around here. Get the pork on a stick!
... said Chrystal on May 18, 2012 at 11:36 AM | link
The Champions League final is Saturday at 2:45pm. If you miss the passion and excitement of the World Cup, or you want to join in for the first time, head to a place like Wolff's showing the match. The teams are Chelsea (from London) and Bayern Munich (from, er, Munich, Germany).
... said Craig Patik on May 18, 2012 at 1:03 PM | link
Empire Orienteering Club is holding an event on Saturday at Saratoga Spa State Park. (Orienteering is an outdoor sport that involves using a map and compass to navigate cross-country to find marked control points.)
Registration from 10am to noon. There will be courses with various difficulty levels, including some suitable for beginners.
http://empo.us.orienteering.org/schedule
Here's a good place to start if you're a complete beginner interested in trying it out: http://empo.us.orienteering.org/publications/obasics
... said laiskiainen on May 18, 2012 at 1:26 PM | link
Mundo Nuevo returns to Carmen’s Cafe tonight
Mundo Nuevo is a musical quartet that is dedicated to preserving the classic repertoire of the Spanish speaking Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Lush vocal harmonies, acoustic guitars, bongo and flute deliver the music of Rafael Hernandez, Miguel Matamoros, Armando Manzanero, Antonio Carlos Jobim and many more of the composers that make up the Latin American Songbook.
Cafe open from 5–10pm with music in two live shows from 6–7:30 or 8–9:30 5$ Cover. Call 518 326 2064 for reservations
... said JustinAlbany on May 18, 2012 at 3:22 PM | link
Just had breakfast at tollgate Ice cream and restaurant. Omg. Such a gem. The service was great and the food was very good. I recommend the French toast. Best homemade ice cream around too.
... said Frank on May 19, 2012 at 2:22 PM | link