All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Ok, we hate to be the ones to tell you, but there are only three more weekends until September. So if you've got summer stuff to do on your list that has not been checked off, the time for waiting is, you know, over.

AOA is skipping out a little early for the weekend. But after the jump, we've pulled together a list of stuff to do on this particular summer weekend.

Got something planned that you don't see here? Drop it in the comments so we can all see.

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

Restoration Festival
Friday-Saturday: Rest Fest is back at the CAC Woodside in Troy with two days of music from a bunch of good local bands. $25 festival pass / $15 Friday / $20 Saturday

Altamont Fair
The Altamont Fair is underway at the fairgrounds in (surprise) Altamont. It's the county fair for Albany, Schenectady, and Greene counties. Friday, Saturday, Sunday admission is $17. (You can buy tickets online ahead for $15.) The tickets include shows, parking, and unlimited ride. Kids under 36-inches tall are free -- but they're not allowed to ride the rides.

The Track
Racing continues this weekend at the Saratoga Race Course. Saturday is the running of the Alabama Stakes, which was first run in 1872. (And it is named after Alabama the state -- sort of.) Also: Five winning food options at the Saratoga Race Course.

Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra continues its annual run at SPAC. Friday is a multi-media performance called "Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women." Saturday is an art-and-music night.

Chamber Music Society
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is spending its first season at SPAC. On Sunday the Miro quartet performs three of Beethoven's most difficult quartets.

Theater

WTF
Chita Rivera and Roger Rees (Lord John Marbury on The West Wing) star in WTF's production of The Visit, directed by John Doyle. With a book by Terrance McNally and music by Kander and Ebb, it's the story of the "oft-widowed richest woman in the world, who returns to the hardship-stricken town of her birth." It closes this weekend.

Also at Williamstown this weekend: Pig Pen Theater Company presents The Old Man and the Moon, the story of a man who abandons his job of filling the moon with light, to cross the seas in search of his missing wife.

Park Playhouse
The Park Playhouse in Albany's Washington Park continues its August production, which is Oliver this year. The last performance is Saturday night.

Guys and Dolls
The Mac Haydn Theater in Chatham closes its production of the Frank Loesser classic Guys and Dolls this weekend.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Shakespeare & Company in Lenox has a production of Christopher Durang's take on Chekov, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, this weekend.

Comedy

"So...I Got Fired From That Job"
Comedian Tom Brisco is at The Comedy Works in Saratoga this weekend with stories of false starts in careers from billboard painter to national sales trainer to beer truck driver. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 pm - $15 in advance, $20 day of show or $39.95 for dinner & show package.

Film

Friday Night Flicks
The Friday Night Flicks series in West Capitol Park continues Friday with a screening of Forbidden Planet. 8 pm - free, bring a lawn chair or blanket

Roman Holiday
Schenectady's Dan DiNicola Memorial Outdoor Film Series continues this week with a screening of Roman Holiday in the parking lot behind Perecca's on Friday. Films start at around 8 pm - free, bring your own lawn chair.

An Affair to Remember / Edward Scissorhands
This weekend's classic film at the Saratoga Springs Bow Tie: Carey Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember. Saturday and Sunday at 11 am

The late night Insomnia Theater film is Edward Scissorhands.. Friday and Saturday at 11:30pm

Drive-ins
+ Jericho: Ninja Turtles / Guardians of the Galaxy
+ Hollywood: Ninja Turtles / Into the Storm
+ Malta: Screen 1 - Ninja Turtles/ Guardians of the Galaxy | Screen 2 - Into the Storm/ Let's be Cops

Rensselaerville Writer's Festival
The annual Rensselaerville Festival of Writers is this weekend. This year's lineup of authors includes: Elisa Albert, Shin Yu Pai, Joann and Arielle Eckstut, Gail Godwin, and Eugene Linden. There's also a songwriters concert featuring Sean Rowe and Ashley Sofia. Friday through Sunday. A three-day festival pass is $100. But individual tickets are available for many of the events, and some are as cheap as $5.

Music

Friday: The Wood Brothers at Helsinki Hudson
Americana/blues. With: Simi Stone. 9 pm - $25 ahead / $30 day of

Friday: Jason Isbell at MASS MoCA
Former Drive-By Trucker. 8 pm - $24 ahead / $30 day of

Friday: Garage Bands at the Albany Public Library
This month it's Big Frank and the Bargain Bingers, and Blackcat Elliot. 6 pm - free

Saturday: Elysian Fields at MASS MoCA
"Weaving dream pop and noir landscapes together." 8 pm - $12 ahead / $16 day of

Saturday: Wild Party at The Hollow
Pop rock. 8 pm - $7 ahead / $10 day of

Saturday: The Soul Rebels at Helsinki Hudson
New Orleans brass ensemble. 9 pm - $22 ahead / $25 day of

Sunday: Luke Bryan at SPAC
Country star. With: Lee Brice, Cole Swindell. 7 pm - $40.25 and up

Sunday: Robert Ellis at Helsinki Hudson
Texas country. With: Dawn Landes. 8 pm - $12 ahead / $15 day of

Sunday: Brian Patneaude Quartet at Freedom Park in Scotia
Jazz. 7 pm - free

Ajkun Ballet Theatre
Saturday: The Ajkun Ballet Theater presents La Fille Mal Gardèe, one of the oldest ballets still regularly performed, at The Egg on. Saturday 7:30pm - $19-$29

Corn maze
You know summer is meandering to an end when the first corn mazes start cropping up. Fort Ticonderoga's Corn Maze Adventure opens this weekend. You can wander through the maize maze looking for history and clues. 10 am-5 pm daily

Polo
Saratoga Polo hosts matches on Friday and Sunday at Whitney Field. Friday and Sunday 5:30pm - $20-$50

Museums

Grossology
miSci's Grossology exhibit is open for a few more weeks. Digestion, organs, and stinky gunk to play with, including interactive games and larger-than-life exhibits about the science of the human body. Saturday 9 am-5 pm and Sunday noon-5 pm

Ansel Adams/ Edward Hopper
The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls continues its exhibition of later works by photographer Ansel Adams, and a show featuring Edward Hopper and some of his contemporaries.

Albany Institute
The Albany Institute of History and Art's Small and Seductive contemporary art exhibit is up for a few more weeks, as is its Summer Exposure photography exhibit.

The Clark
The much-anticipated expansion of The Clark Art Institute -- designed by architect Tadao Ando -- is now open. The Clark is in Williamstown, about an hour's drive east of Albany. If you're headed that way, you might think about a combo ticket for The Clark, MASS MoCA, and the Williams College Museum of Art.

Berkshire Botanical Gardens
The Berkshire Botanical Gardens are a lovely place to to wander or have a picnic.

WWII B-17 Flying Fortress
The Commemorative Air Force's World War II B-17G "Sentimental Journey" will be available for tours this weekend as part of the 30th anniversary celebration at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville. 10 am to 4 pm - cockpit tours are included with $10 museum admission

See the sun
Olana State Historic Site hosts Dr. Willie Yee, president of the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association, on Saturday afternoon. Dr. Yee will conduct exercises demonstrating different aspects of the sun and you'll have a chance to safely view the sun with a variety of specialized telescopes. Saturday 2pm to 4pm (rain date: Sunday 2pm to 4pm)

Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar Duck Derby
See 5,000 rubber ducks float down the Hudson at the Capital Region Sponsor-A-Scholar Duck Derby at Jennings Landing in the Corning Preserve. You can adopt a duck prior to the race and the winning duck gets a $2,500 prize. Saturday 10 am to 2 pm

Hit the beach
Time is running out. If you need your ocean fix, here are some of the closest places to get it.

Check out a state park
Visit a local state park, like Cherry Plain, Moreau, Grafton Lakes or Peebles Island.

Swimming
There are a bunch of Capital Region pools and beaches. Here's a handful of places to swim.

Farmers' Markets
Outdoor farmers' markets should be flush with produce:
+ The Troy Waterfront Farmers Market will be on River Street in downtown Troy Saturday morning.
+ The Saratoga Farmers' Market is at the High Rock Park pavilions on Saturday.
+ The Delmar Farmers Market is at Bethlehem Central Middle School on Saturday.
+ The Schenectady Greenmarket is around Schenectady City on Sunday.
+ The Spa City Farmers' Market will be on the front lawn of the Lincoln Baths Sunday.

AOA is a media sponsor for the NYSOGS Friday Night Flicks outdoor film series and Rest Fest.

photo via Rest Fest FB