All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Give us an S! Give us a P! Give us an R! Give us an ING!

We just feel like spring needs a little cheering section to help put it over the edge.

Temperatures promise to skirt 60 degrees by Sunday so it should be a nice weekend to be out and about -- but bring your umbrella just in case.

Now, for what to do. After the jump you'll find our round up of stuff you might want to try. As always, if you're planning something that's not on the list, share it in the comments.

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

1st Friday
It's 1st Friday in Albany. Shops and galleries are open late with art and performances. A few places to check out:
+ Stage One at the Albany Barn: painted works from local artists Stanley Lehman and Zachary Clement
+ The Currier and Ives exhibit is still on display at the Albany Institute of History and Art
+ Capital Swing Dance at $25 South Allen($15),
+ There's a Vinylmania dance party with music from the 40s through the 60s at Elda's on Lark
+ Futurist trip Off The Record is at The University Club.

There's lots more going on. You can check out the full schedule here.

Grown Up Easter Egg Hunt
Hunt for eggs filled with chocolate, Peeps, and gift certificates of up to $50 in a Grown Up Easter Egg Hunt in Troy's Prospect Park to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. The organizer is expecting to hide about 3,000 eggs. The hunt is Saturday afternoon from 3:30-5 pm and there's a post hunt party at Minissale's.

Roller derby
The Albany All Stars are in action this Saturday against versus the Lake Effect Furies (Buffalo) at the Washington Ave Armory. first whistle at 7 pm - $10 ahead / $12 at the door / kids under 12 $4

The Central Park Five
The NYS Writers Institute is screening the newest documentary by Ken Burns and his daughter Sarah Burns, The Central Park Five, "a probing inquiry into the 1989 'Central Park Jogger' rape case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of five Harlem teenagers. The five spent more than a decade in prison until their sentence was vacated in 2002." Sarah Burns will be there to discuss the film following the screening. Friday 7 pm at UAlbany's Page Hall, downtown campus - free

TAO
SaturdayEMPAC is hosting the premiere of TAO, a collaborative dance film between Argentinian filmmaker Cayetana Vidal and choreographer and dancer Sofia Mazza. Shot in Buenos Aires on the Argentine Atlantic coast, Germany, and Spain the film explores the superimposition of movement and image. "Male and female, winter and summer, day and night, and nature and city are overlayed, creating a new single image in which opposites coexist. The technique of video overlay proposes an imaginary world of new shapes, proportions, and perspectives." A discussion and reception follow the screening. Saturday 7:30 pm - $6

Theater

A Soldier's Play
Classic Theater Guild presents A Soldier's Play, the Pulitzer Prize winning murder mystery that examines racism in the South in the closing months of WWII. Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sunday at 2 pm in theProctors Fenimore Gallery.

Nuts
Schenectady Civic hosts a free staged reading of the play Nuts. Sunday 2:30 pm - free

Comedy

MopCo: You Never Know
The Mop & Bucket Company's "You Never Know" show is back. Think Whose Line is it Anyway -- a night of short form improv games where talented improvisers make up scenes and songs based on audience suggestions. Underground at Proctors. Friday at 8 pm - $14 adults, $6 students and seniors.

Improv at The Comedy Works
Mop & Bucket opens a weekly short form improv comedy show on Saturday night at The Comedy Works on Northern Blvd in Albany. Think Whose Line is it Anyway. 8 pm - $15-$20

Music

Friday: Arturo Sandoval at Proctors
Cuban jazz master. 8 pm - $20 and up

Friday: Chris Thomas King at The Linda
Blues. 8 pm - $18

Friday: Behemoth Music Festival at Putnam Den
Five acts: Total Slacker, US Girls, Driftwood, Edith Pop (Tim Oakley and Laura Hajek), Los Elk. 8 pm - $10

The DJ Pauly D event at the Washington Ave Armory Friday has been postponed.

Saturday: American Babies at Red Square
Alt-country/Americana. With: Rodeo Barons. 8 pm

Saturday: IAMDYNAMITE at Upstate Concert Hall
Indie rock. With: The Virgin Marys, New Politics. Free thanks to EQX and a beer company. 8 pm - 21 and older

Saturday: Sirsy at Putnam Den
Album release show. With: Wild Adriatic. 9 pm - $8 ahead / $10 at door

Saturday: Elvis Lives at Proctors
"Four memorable eras, four fabulous Elvises..." (We're pretty sure the plural is Elvii.) 8 pm - $20 and up

Sunday: Robert Frost at 100 with the Lost Radio Rounders at Caffe Lena
"An afternoon of poetry, theater and song in celebration" of the poet. A fundraiser for Caffe Lena. 2 pm - $15

Sunday: Alejandro Escovedo at Helsinki Hudson
Austin's eclectic icon. 8 pm - $28 ahead / $30 day of

Sunday: Al Di Meola and Gonzalo Rubalcaba at The Egg
Jazz. 7:30 pm - $34.50

Sunday: San Cisco at Bayou Albany
Australian indie pop. With: Stellar Young. 7:30 pm - free

Paula Wagner
Movie/television/stage producer Paula Wagner will be at Skidmore Friday evening for a talk about "entrepreneurship and entertainment." As part of a long career, Wagner partnered with Tom Cruise for more than a decade to produce a string of high-profile movies. Friday 6 pm, Palamountain Hall - free

Pitchapalooza
Sunday: Pitchapalooza -- the "American Idol for books" -- is back at St. Rose. Twenty local authors will get a chance to pitch their book ideas for one minute before "the Book Doctors" -- a former literary agent and an author who's been published many times -- and get constructive feedback. The winner gets an intro to an agent or publisher. The catch: in order to be in the pool of authors who can be drawn to make the one minute pitch, you have to buy the Book Doctors' book. If you just want to watch, it's free. Sunday 2 pm Events and Activities Center at 420 Western Ave

Albany Devils Hockey
The Albany Devils are at home at the TU Center this weekend. Friday at 7 pm and Sunday at 4 pm

Saratoga Baby and Toddler Expo
The Saratoga Independent School is hosting a Baby and Toddler Expo with exhibitors from doctors to preschools, about birth options, proper car seat installations, and more. Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm - free.

Gardening

Classes
The Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schenectady County is offering gardening workshops Saturday morning on plant propagation ($10), preparing your garden for spring ($5), and tool maintenance ($5) (or $15 for all three). The workshops are from 9-11:45 am at the Sustainable Living Center in Schenectady's Central Park (the greenhouses) -- check the schedule for specific workshops, and call ahead to register.

Capital District African Violet Society Show & Sale
If you've been craving more spring than spring has been offering, you could check out some of the plant life at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Albany County's African Violet show and sale in Vorheesville. Saturday and Sunday from 1-4 pm - $3 donation requested

Canstruction
The Canstruction show -- large structures built with canned goods -- is on display the New York State Museum. The show is up through April 11. Here's a preview.

Museums

Butterflies @ MiSci
This is the last weekend for the butterfly house at MiSci (formerly the Schenectady Museum). Saturday 11 am-5 pm, - Free with museum admission

Gordon Parks photography at the NYS Museum
Gordon Parks: 100 photos -- a collection of work by the famous photographer/director and Life magazine's first African American staff member -- highlights photos taken in Harlem and Washington DC during the early 1940s, "when both cities were going through significant changes--arising from post-WW II urban migration, the expansion of the black press, concern for children's education, and entrenched segregation and economic discrimination."

Currier and Ives
The Albany Institute of History and Art's new Currier and Ives exhibit, "The Legacy of Currier & Ives; Shaping the American Spirit," continues. The exhibition of 64 Currier and Ives prints "introduces the visitor to the firm of Currier & Ives and illustrates, through interpretive and educational materials, how their imagery became ingrained in the national consciousness." While you're there you can also check out the exhibit of work from the Hudson River School. It includes works from the institute's collection as well as works from private collections. The exhibit runs through August 18.

Take a walk
It's actually starting to feel like spring, and with temperatures in the 50s this weekend, it's a good time to find a friend, stretch your legs, and get a little fresh air.

Get some ice cream
Kurver opened this week, and Jumpin' Jack's, The Snowman, Tastee Freez in Bethlehem, Bumpy's in Schenectady and many of the other seasonal ice cream stands have been open for a few weeks now. Go get a taste of spring.

Proctors and the Albany Institute advertise on AOA.