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 (June), an astronaut, Alive at Five, Saratoga Arts Fest, Art on Lark, Pride, and music...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Sunny and 77.

Tuesday: Sunny, low 70s.

Wednesday: Sunny, mid 70s.

Thursday: A few clouds, maybe some rain, but mostly sunny. 70s.

Friday: Cloudy, chance of rain. Low 70s.

Weekend: Cloudy, maybe some rain, mid 70s.

June is here.

Arts and sciences

Astronaut
Monday: Astronaut Story Musgrave will be at miSci in Schenectady for a talk. In addition to going into space six times as an astronaut, Musgrave is also a medical doctor and polymath (he has five university degrees in addition to his MD, one of them a masters in literature). Monday 5:30 pm (reception with light food), talk at 6 pm - $30

Two Row Wampum
Wednesday: Onondaga representative Oren Lyons will be at Sage for a talk about the discovery doctrine and the Two Row Wampum Treaty, an agreement between the Iroquois and the Dutch. Wednesday 6 pm, Bush Memorial Sage Troy campus - free

Subliminal Transcriptions
The opening reception for the light installation Subliminal Transcriptions at the Arts Center of the Capital Region is Thursday. Artist Yael Erel will be there for a talk. The exhibit will also be open for viewing Friday and Saturday. Thursday 5-9 pm (talk at 7 pm)

Capital Pride

The annual Capital Pride celebration continues this week and culminates with the pride parade and festival on Sunday. The headliner for this year's festival in Washington Park is Debbie Gibson.

Rainbow Skate
Among the Capital Pride events this week: Rainbow Skate. The family-friendly event at the Rollarama in Rotterdam is skate along with "your favorite Albany All Stars skaters and the best drag queens of the Capital Region." Monday 5-9 pm - $10 (includes skate rental)

Billy Elliot

The touring company of the Broadway-style musical version of Billy Elliot starts at six-day run at Proctors Tuesday. The show is based on the movie of the same name, and includes music by Elton John. The Broadway production won a bunch of Tony awards, including best musical. Tuesday-Sunday, various times - $20 and up

Alive at Five

The first Alive at Five concert of the summer is Thursday in Albany's Riverfront Park amphitheater at the Corning Preserve. First up: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, with opener Super 400. (Alive at Five 2013 lineup.) Thursday 5 pm - free

Saratoga Arts Fest

The annual Saratoga Arts Fest runs Thursday through Sunday with music, dance, visual art, film, and theater events around Saratoga Springs. The headliner for this year's festival is Ben Vereen, who will be playing a show featuring the music of "Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, and the best of Broadway" at the Zankel Center Friday night. Also in the lineup: Cuban jazz group Tiempo Libre, at the Zankel Thursday night. Thursday-Sunday various times - a festival pass is $40 (discounts for students and military, 17 and under free), and some events have individual admission fees

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Wednesday: Jeff Kinney, author and cartoonist for the Diary of Wimpy Kid series of books, will be in Saratoga for a presentation and book signing as (an early) part of the festival. Wednesday 6:30 pm, Zankel Center - free with festival pass (tickets also available at the door)

do do de dooo

Friday: The Price is Right Live is back at the Palace -- this is the show that was added after the strong demand for last week's show. (It looks like there are still a fair number of seats available for this show, especially in the balcony.) Friday 7:30 pm - $32.75 and up

Art on Lark

The annual Art on Lark festival is Saturday in Albany. Lark Street will be closed off for artists to display and sell their work. Also: food vendors -- and music. The lineup on two stages includes a bunch of good locals. Saturday 10 am-5 pm

Mountain Jam

The Mountain Jam Festival is back at Hunter Mountain Thursday through Sunday. Among the lineup for this year: Gov't Mule, Phil Lesh, Primus, The Avett Brothers, the Lumineers, David Wax Museum. single day tickets start at $49 (Thursday) and go up from there, multi-day passes start at $200 (3-day) and go up from there

Music

Tuesday: The Steel Wheels at Caffe Lena
Americana/roots. 7 pm - $16

Tuesday: Ryan Cabrera at Hollow Bar
Pop rock singer songwriter. Noted for dating Ashlee Simpson and his Ryan Gosling tattoo. With: Jason Castro (American Idol), Deleasa (something Jonas Brothers related). 7 pm - $18 ahead / $20 at door

Thursday: Metric at Upstate Concert Hall
Fight off the lethargy. 8 pm - $25 ahead / $27 day of

Thursday: Sea Wolf at Valentine's
Indie folk rock. With: Savoir Adore. 8 pm - $10

Friday: Over the Rhine at Helsinki Hudson
Named after a neighborhood in Cincinnati. 9 pm - $20

Saturday: Charlie Mars at the Linda
Folk rock singer/songwriter. 8 pm - $18

Saturday: Brass-O-Mania! at Troy Music Hall
19-piece brass big band. 8 pm - free (tickets available via the Troy Record)

Saturday: J.P. Harris and Joe Fletcher at Helsinki Hudson
"Honky tonk heroes." (Their respective bands have great names: J.P. Harris and the Tough Choices, Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons.) 9 pm - $12

Saturday: The Lucky 5 at Helsinki Hudson
"A hard-swinging old-school jazz quintet." Swing dancing (beginner swing lesson at 8:30, $5). 9 pm - $15

Sunday: Faith Prince at Helsinki Hudson
Tony-award winner in a one-woman show "Have a Little Faith." Part of the Helsinki on Broadway series. 6 pm
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These are a just a few things for this week. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

Proctors and the Arts Center advertise on AOA.

Billy Elliot photo: Amy Boyle