All Over Albany

The week ahead

Here are a few things to keep in mind, look forward to, or keep busy with this week, from the weather (still summer-like), to Woz, to Rest Fest, to wine and food, to Sean Rowe, to tugboats, to apples...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for the short week:

Tuesday: Cloudy and rainy. Maybe a thunderstorm. Highs in the mid 70s.

Wednesday: About the same, chance or rain tapering off as the day goes on.

Thursday: Some sun, but also some scattered showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Warmer -- highs in the mid 80s.

Friday: Sunny and 80.

Weekend: Sunny to start, cloudy toward the end. Highs in the upper 70s. Small chance of rain.

Still summer-like.

School's in

Now that we're past Labor Day, schools everywhere -- both colleges and K-12 -- are either back in session or are starting this week. Keep an eye for kids crossing the street.

Woz

Apple co-founder, and general uber nerd, Steve Wozniak will be in town Thursday for two public events:
+ In the afternoon he'll be at GlobalFoundries in Malta for a panel discussion "What's Next For Tech Valley?" The panel also includes fiber optics inventor Peter Schultz. 3-4:30 pm - $75 ($25 students) - registration required
+ That evening he'll be appearing at a fundraiser that evening at Proctors for Peaceful Acres Horses. 6:30 pm - $60 ($25 students)

Saratoga Wine and Food Fest

The Saratoga Wine and Food and Fall Ferrari Festival is this weekend at SPAC. There are events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday -- events require individual tickets, so check the schedule. A few of the highlights: the "Epicurean Exploration" gala Friday night; the "Cast Iron Chef's Challenge" -- chef Suvir Saran will be judging -- Saturday morning; and the grand tasting Saturday afternoon.

Rest Fest

The annual Restoration Festival is back St. Joseph's in Albany this weekend. This year's Rest Fest adds a third day of music -- Friday night -- to the schedule. The lineup includes headliners Sharon Van Etten, Mount Eerie, the Kamikaze Hearts, Willy Mason, the Loom, Brian Dewan, Common Prayer, and Hop Along -- plus a bunch of good locals.

A weekend pass for the whole festival is $50. Individual day tickets are $20 (Friday and Sunday) and $30 (Saturday).

Saturday -- the day of many musical choices

In addition to the second day of Rest Fest, Saturday also includes:

Sean Rowe
His new album -- The Salesman and the Shark -- was released last week. And he's playing a show to celebrate it Saturday night at Valentine's. And the opener is Railbird. 7 pm - $10

Jazz Festival
The annual Port of Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival is Saturday at the amphitheater in the Corning Preserve. The lineup includes Way Down, Pedrito Martinez, Delfeayo Marsalis, Charlie Hunter, and The Mosaic Project featuring Terri Lyne Carrington, Nona Hendryx and Gretchen Parlato. It's free.

Music starts at noon with the winner of the Downtown Albany Jazz Fest Competition. Eight acts will be competing Friday night at venues around downtown Albany for the Saturday spot.

Music on the ESP
But, wait, there's more: the "Local Legends Live" music event is at the Empire State Plaza Saturday. The headliner is Mike Doughty (neither local nor a legend, just bow before the appeal of alliteration). The rest of the slate: Eastbound Jesus, John Brodeur and Charmboy, Karma's Army, The Chronicles, Catching Cadence, and Happy Birthday Dr. Jim. It runs from 2-9 pm. It's free.

So, you're not lacking musical options on Saturday.

Risk!

The Risk! storytelling show will be back at the Linda Saturday night. The nationally-touring show/podcast was there this past spring, and host Kevin Allison said it was so successful they decided to come back. The lineup this time around includes locals and special guest Dave Hill. (Just a heads-up: this is not a show for kids.) 7:30 pm - $17

Friday at the Linda: A pop-up art gallery night featuring work from four artists. 6 pm - free

Tugboat Roundup

The annual Tugboat Roundup is this weekend in Waterford. It's pretty much what it sounds like -- a bunch of tugboats gather at the Waterford waterfront, there are exhibits, games, food, stuff for kids. But the best part is checking out all the different boats. Admission to the festival is free.

On Friday keep an eye out for the tugboat parade -- it leaves the Port of Albany at 2:45 pm, passes Troy at 3:45, and starts arriving in Waterford around 5 pm.

Apples

Apple season has started in the Capital Region. This year's weird weather resulted in large crop losses at many orchards, so some of them don't have pick-your-own this year. But most of those orchards say they'll have apples available for sale in their farm stores.

Here's AOA's list/map of Capital Region apple picking spots, updated for 2012.

These are a just a few things for this week. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

Look for our "Stuff to do this weekend" post on Friday.

The Downtown Albany BID and the Saratoga Wine and Food Fest advertise on AOA. And AOA is a media sponsor of Rest Fest.

map: OpenStreetMap | Sean Rowe via Sean Rowe Facebook | Mike Doughty via Mike Doughty Facebook | Charlie Hunter via his publicist | Sharon Van Etten via Sharon Van Etten Facebook