All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

This is looking to be a perfect pre-Halloween weekend. With temperatures in the mid 60s you might not have to wear a coat over your costume. Get it while you can, folks -- before Sandy comes and changes the game.

Our trick or treat bag of stuff to do is overflowing with fun size treats. Actual fun size -- not the tiny little treats that masquerade as a "fun size."

Pick your favorites and if you've got something planned that isn't here, share it with the group.

And whatever you're up to, have a fantastic weekend.

TNO
Friday is the Halloween Troy Night Out. There's a zombie mob at the Atrium with a dance party and a Thriller flash mob. Shops and galleries are open late for browsing, shopping, and trick-or-treating. The Arts Center of the Capital Region has demonstrations by the From Scratch Club, a dance performance in the black box and an opening party for Sean Riley's "Everyday Will Be Sunday" exhibit. There are performances by Oobleck and The Capital District Playwrights Workshop. And there's a haunted house at 49 2nd Street ($5 admission goes to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation). There's a tarot card reader at JK Bloom and a screening of the silent film Nosferatu with live organ accompanyment at Sages's Bush Memorial Hall. And as always, Daisy Baker's is hosting the TNO after-party.

Spooky

Murder ballads
Saturday at Caffe Lena: "A Night of Murder Ballads," a Halloween fundraiser for the venue. "[G]ood, gory fun, with regional folk favorites singing about dead lovers, deceased drifters, and decomposing ne'er-do-wells who done been stretched for their dirty deeds." 8 pm - $20

Paranormal investigation
Saturday at the Ten Broeck Mansion: "an evening of haunted insight and inquiry" with the Tri-City New York Paranormal Society -- "an informative lecture on the ways and means of looking for and documenting the paranormal, a pizza dinner in the formal dining room and a full scale investigation with hands on experiments and high tech equipment." Also: magic. It's a fundraiser for the mansion. 3 pm-1 am - $100

Faust
Sunday at Proctors: a screening of F.W. Murnau's Faust with live score played on theremin and Proctors' Wurlitzer organ by Filharmonia. 3 pm - $12 / $10 for 17 and under

Dark Side of Center Square
This Sunday (and next Monday and Tuesday), there's a "Dark Side of Center Square" walking tour in Albany. The guide is Tim Varney -- of the Albany: Then and Now app -- and it's a fundraiser for the Historic Albany Foundation and the University Club. From the blurbage:

Many dark and unsettling dramas have played out behind the elegant façades of Albany's Center Square and Hudson/Park neighborhoods. This tour will explore both the sinister deeds and the handsome architecture of a bygone era.

Tim tells us of the tour, "The narrative will be 'R-rated' and include graphic material not suitable for children or the faint of heart." 6-7:30 pm - $15, reservations required (465-0876 x10)

Haunted trolley
There are haunted historic trolley tours of Albany. Tours leave from the Albany Visitors Center at Quackenbush Square. Arrive at 6:30 pm for a 7 pm tour - $25 per person.

Scare Fair
The Scare Fair at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds wraps up this weekend. Hay mazes and haunted houses for teens and adults. Friday and Saturday from 6pm-10pm - $5

Haunted house and haunted hayrides
The Classic Theater Guild and Indian Ladder Farms are doing a haunted house and haunted hayrides on Friday and Saturday nights. 5-8 pm - $5

Rocky Horror
Friday at The Linda: a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with live shadow cast The Whip It Outskirts. two shows 8 pm and midnight - $10 ahead / $12 at door

Halloween stuff

Halloween party
The Lark Street BID is hosting its annual Halloween costume party the Washington Park Lakehouse Friday night. 9 pm-1 am - $20 in advance / $40 at the door

Halloween parade
Clifton Park hosts its annual Halloween Parade on Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm at the Clifton Common.

Monster Mash and Bash
The NYS Museum hosts this Halloween festival on the 4th floor for toddlers to 10-year-olds on Saturday from 11 am-4 pm. $5 per child.

Haunted Hound Halloween Costume Party
Dogs in costume at the Spaw City Social Club Indoor Dog Park. Benefit for the Mohawk & Hudson Humane Society. Friday 6 pm-9 pm - $20 per person

Halloween Underground Party
The Mine in Saratoga is hosting a Halloween Party with a costume contest on Saturday from 10p.m. to 3a.m. Free admission.

City Fear Hall
City Beer Hall becomes City Fear Hall on Saturday night. They're throwing a Halloween party with a costume contest. The winner gets free beer for a year.

Fall festival
Saratoga's Downtown Business Association is hosting its annual Fall Festival on Saturday with music, performances, kids activities, a costume parade and a pumpkin roll down Caroline Street. 10 am to 5 pm - free admission

Kevin Hart
Comedian Kevin Hart will be at the TU Center Sunday night for a standup show. Hart is one of, if not the, biggest stand up comedians in the country right now. He sold more tickets than any other comedian on Ticketmaster last year, and released a successful film version of his stand up show. (There was an interesting Slate article this year looking at why Hart isn't more famous.) 8 pm - $49.50 and up

Theater

Pride@Prejudice
Pride@Prejudice closes this weekend at Capital Rep. In this adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the cast shifts from character to character -- both from the story and from outside it -- folding in context about the story and Austen's life. various times - $20 and up

Assassins
Class Act Productions presents Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. This look inside the minds of American Presidential assassins is really an exploration of the desire for fame and the American dream. Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm - $15-$18

Voices of the Puerto Rican Diaspora
Friday at UAlbany: a handful of Puerto Rican authors will be reading as part of a wider Puerto Rican studies conference. It's co-sponsored by the NYS Writers Institute. 5:30 pm campus center ballroom - free

Music

Friday: Melissa Etheridge at The Palace
Come to her window. 8 pm - $38 and up

Friday: National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba at Proctors
First tour since Castro revolution. 8 pm - $20 and up

Friday: Ricky Nelson Remembered at Troy Music Hall
By his sons, Matthew and Gunnar. Remember Nelson. 8 pm - $20 and up

Friday: 8th Step Anniversary Homecoming Concert at Proctors
A bunch of acts from 8th Step. There's another 8th Step anniversary show on Saturday. 7 pm - $28

Friday: Laura Marling at MASS MoCA
British folk rock. 8 pm - $16 ahead / $19 day of

Friday: The Wiyos at Caffe Lena
Vaudeville-esque. With: Ana Egge. 7 pm - $18 ahead / $20 at door

Friday: Skeletons in the Piano at Putnam Den.
Dirty haunted rock and a Halloween party. With Party Boat, Linear North and Cosmonauts. 9 pm - $7

Saturday: A Hawk and a Hacksaw at Valentine's
Violin and accordion. Includes Jeremy Barnes, formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel. With: Brian Dewan, Sgt Dunbar. 8 pm - $11

Saturday: Annual Swordpaw Halloween Freakout at Valentine's
With: Disposable Rocket Band, Lucky Jukebox Brigade, Slaughterhouse Chorus, S.C.O.R.E., Secondhand Roses. 7 pm - $5

Saturday: Classical Mystery Tour at The Palace
A Beatles tribute group + the Albany Symphony Orchestra. 7:30 pm - $20 and up

Sunday: Metropolitan Opera Brass at Troy Music Hall
A good place to hear horns. 3 pm - $25 and up

Head of the Fish Regatta
The second largest regatta in the country, the Head of the Fish Regatta, is this Saturday and Sunday at Fish Creek at Saratoga Lake. Races start at 8 am and run until 4:45 pm (Saturday) and 3:50 (Sunday). Free.

Improv
The Mop & Bucket Company takes a break from their TheaterSports tournament for their annual Spooky, Ooky, Pooky Halloween show. Underground at Proctors on Friday at 8p.m.

The Saddest Music in the World
Mass MoCA is screening Canadian director Guy Maddin's 2003 film The Saddest Music in the World, starring Isabella Rossellini. "a comic musical that unfolds around a beer magnate's contest to find the saddest piece of music in the world. The contest draws entrants from across the globe, but ultimately boils down to competition within one family." Saturday at 4p.m. $5

Make your own Halloween treats
Different Drummer's Kitchen is hosting a class on how to make your own Halloween treats. Saturday 3:30 pm-6 pm - $65

Cider donuts
The 2012 FUSSYlittleBLOG Tour de Cider Donut has come and gone. But now that you have the results, you can go check them out for yourself.

Apples
We're at the end of the season, and this year's weird weather resulted in large crop losses at many orchards. But many orchards have apples available for sale in their farm store.

Farmers' markets
Farmers' markets are moving indoors next week. Among the markets open this weekend: Troy (Saturday), Delmar (Saturday), Saratoga (Saturday), and Schenectady (Sunday).

Road trip
Fall is a great time of year for a road trip. Try a shopping trip to Northampton . But who needs new clothes when you have good beer and cheese -- maybe a visit to a brewery or cheese farm. And there's still time to take in a few flowers at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.

Take a walk
The colors are changing and it doesn't last long. This is expected to be the peak weekend in the Adirondacks and the weather should be lovely on Saturday. Before you head out, check out some of our favorite autumn walks and some hikes.

The Arts Center, Troy Music Hall, and Palace Theatre advertise on AOA.

A Hawk and Hacksaw photo via their website.