All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Weekends are like cider donuts. In that they're delicious. Or is it that they're sweet? Or lightly powdered with cinnamon sugar?

OK, maybe weekends are not like cider donuts at all. Maybe we just want some cider donuts. Mmm... cider donuts.

But back to this weekend. It promises to be a pretty nice one, with lots of sunshine, temperatures in the 60s and plenty of fun fall things to do, from stocking up on pumpkins and apples, to fall festivals and haunted hayrides, to movies and theater. After the jump, a few things we thought you might like to try. Got something else planned? Tell us about it.

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

And get a cider donut.

Chowderfest
Sunday: The Troy Chowderfest returns to downtown Troy. More than 30 restaurants will be set up at booths in Riverfront Park selling samples. Sample tickets are $1 each. Also: music and kids activities. Sunday noon-4 pm - free admission

Family Heritage Day
The New York State Museum is hosting a Family Heritage Day on Saturday, with a day of programs for people interested in exploring their family heritage. StoryCorps will be recording personal histories and the day includes programs on chocolate making, a recipe swap, and information about preserving treasures and using the NYS archives for research. Saturday 10am to 4pm. Free.

Autumnal Stuff

Harvest Fest & Art Show
Saturday: The annual Harvest Fest and Art Show is on Upper Union Street in Schenectady. Saturday 10 am-3 pm - free admission

BBG Harvest Festival
Saturday-Sunday: This should be a gorgeous weekend for a drive to Stockbridge for the Berkshire Botanical Gardens' annual Harvest Festival. Tour the gardens and check out music, vendors and family friendly activities. Saturday & Sunday 10am to 5pm - $5

Apple Festival
Goold Orchards hosts its annual Apple Festival this weekend. Apples, Crafts, vendors, bounce house, wagon rides and entertainment. Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm.

The Way We Were
Ballston Spa's annual The Way We Were Car Show. Antique cars will line Front Street in Ballston Spa on Sunday from 9am to 4pm.

Fall Festival Craft, Car & Tractor Show
Saturday: More than 40 local crafters with handmade products will be at Maple Ski Ridge in Rotterdam for its annual Fall Festival Craft, Car & Tractor Show. Cars, tractors, chairlift and hayrides, pie eating contest and more. Saturday 10 am to 4pm

Sheep-to-Shawl Workshop
Saturday: Learn how wool goes from sheep to sweaters at a workshop at Mabee Farm Historic Site. Saturday 10 am to noon - $40

Autumn in Austerlitz Festival
Sunday: Re-enactors, sheep-shearing, border collies, crafters and more at the 18th annual Autumn in Austerlitz festival. Sunday 11 am to 4 pm - $6, under 12 free.

Gore Mountain Harvest Fest
Gore Mountain is hosting a Harvest Fest this weekend with food, lift rides, helicopter rides, bungee trampolines, a petting zoo, kids activities and entertainment. Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm. Free admission.

Pick apples
Apple season is in full swing at orchards around the region. Here's a list of local spots to pick apples. (The list is from last year, but much of the info should still be good.)

Check out a park
This is a great time of year to check out a local park or hiking spot, like the Saratoga National Historic Park, Vroman's Nose, Schodack Island, Cherry Plain, Moreau, Grafton Lakes or Peebles Island.

Also: There an Ask AOA question this week about favorite fall hiking spots turned up some good suggestions.

Spooky
We've entered the time of year when some people like to freak themselves out with ghost stories and haunted hayrides. Here are a few options this weekend:

Saratoga Scare Fair
The Saratoga Scare Fair is an 8,000 foot haunted attraction at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds. Friday and Saturday nights throughout October - 6:30pm to 10pm - $8

Ghost Tour of Albany
The people at Dutch Apple Tours are hosting historic ghost tours throughout October. There's one slated for this Friday night at 7pm. $30

Schuyler Farms Haunted Corn Maze
Schuyler Farms in Schuylerville offers trips through the "Field of Screams," a haunted corn maze, every Friday and Saturday night in October. $14

Haunted Hayride
The Double M in Ballston Spa has haunted hayrides every weekend in October. various times and prices

Field of Horrors
The Capital Combat Zone paintball facility in Brunswick has turned itself into the new "Field of Horrors," with haunted hayrides and haunted houses. (Two of the haunted houses are "not recommended for children.") Friday-Saturday 6-11 pm - $22 with online discount

Ghosts in the Yaddo Gardens
Yaddo is offering ghost tours in its gardens on Fridays and Sundays through October. 5 pm - $10

Theater

Newsies
Saturday: Proctors opens a weeklong run of Disney's Newsies - The Musical. This show will probably be very popular, so if you don't have tickets, yet... now's a good time to get them. various times and prices

Other Desert Cities
Capital Rep's production of Other Desert Cities, a comedy-drama by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Jon Robin Baitz, continues. It got a good review from the TU. Other Desert Cities will be at Cap Rep through October 19. various times - $20 and up

Rocky Horror
The stage version of the cult classic opens this weekend at SLOC. Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Sunday a 2pm - $18/$25/$28

Neat. Sweet. Petite.
Home Made Theater opens a production of the musical The Addams Family this weekend. Friday & Saturday 8pm - $29/$26

Confetti Fest X
Confetti Stage continues its annual Confetti Fest, with a slate of five new plays by local authors. Friday & Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm - $15

Family Furniture
Curtain Call Theater presents A.R. Gurney's Family Furniture, a coming of age tale of parents and children in the 1950s.

Born This Way: A Musical Revue
UAlbany's Performing Arts Center presents Born This Way, an original musical revue billed as "an entertaining and thoughtful examination of diversity in America," featuring contemporary rock songs and Broadway classics. Friday 7pm, Saturday 2pm and 7pm, Sunday 2pm - $15 advance / $20 at the door / $5 discount for UAlbany students/staff

The Taming of the Shrew
Adirondack Shakespeare Company presents Taming of the Shrewon Sunday at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga.Sunday, 2pm. $20-25

Film

Visitors
Friday: EMPAC will be hosting a screening of Visitors, a collaboration between filmmaker Godfrey Reggio (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi and Naqoyqatsi) and composer Philip Glass, with filmmaker Jon Kane. Blurbage: "Presented by Steven Soderbergh , Visitors reveals humanity's trancelike relationship with technology, which connects humans in extreme emotional states to experiences far outside themselves. Beyond simply relaying information about the historical moment in which we live, the film is a visceral exploration of the senses and the kinds of machinery we've built to expand them." Followed by a discussion with Geodfrey Reggio and RPI professor Langdon Winner. Friday 7 pm - $6

Safety Last!
Friday: The NYS Writers Institute is screening the Harold Lloyd silent comedy classic Safety Last in Page Hall on UAlbany's downtown campus. Friday 7:30 pm - free

Good Will Hunting
The Bow Tie in Saratoga Springs continues its month long tribute to Robin Williams with screenings of Good Will Hunting on Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11am

Fight Club
The Bow Tie in Saratoga Springs is showing Fight Club. Friday and Saturday nights at 11:30

Ida
The Saratoga Film Forum is screening Ida this weekend. It's the story of a Polish orphan preparing to be a nun when she learns a family secret that sends her on a journey to her past. Friday and Sunday at 7:30 pm - $7

Drive-ins
Two of the three area drive-in theaters are still hanging in there. Bring your blankets.

Malta:
Screen 1: Anabelle / The Equalizer
Screen 2: The Boxtrolls / The Maze Runner

Jericho: The Boxtrolls/Dolphin Tale 2

Laughs

MopCo
Friday: The Mop & Bucket Company is at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga on Friday night.

World's Largest Foam Party
Saturday: Music, foam, glow at the Washington Avenue Armory. Saturday 8 pm - $25 and up

Music

Friday: Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer at Troy Music Hall
All stars on their instruments -- Thile on the mandolin, Meyer on the bass -- and collaborators with seemingly everyone. 8 pm - $27 and up

Friday: Martina McBride at The Palace
Pop country star. 8 pm - $41.75 and up

Friday: The Hello Strangers at The Linda
Roots rock/alt-country duo. 8 pm - $12

Friday: Ashley Bathgate at The Tang
Cellist, Bang on a Can All Star, and Saratoga Springs native. 7 pm - free (reservation required)

Saturday: Chance the Rapper at Skidmore
The fall Big Show. With: Sweater Beats, Young & Sick. 8 pm - $25

Saturday: Richard Thompson at The Egg
Folk rocker. With: The Mastersons. 8 pm - $39.50

Saturday: Lacuna Coil at Upstate Concert Hall
Italian gothic metal. With: Devil You Know, Starset, Syka. 7 pm - $25 ahead / $28 day of

Saturday: An Evening of A Cappella with VoicePlay at EMPAC
Also featuring RPI student a cappella groups. 8 pm - $20 / $15 students

Saturday: Dead Winter Carpenters at Parish Public House
Alt-country string band. With: Ragliacci. 8 pm - $10 ahead / $12 at door

Saturday: Wild Adriatic at The Hollow
With: The Titanics. 9 pm - $10 ahead / $12 day of

Saturday: Professor Louie & the Crowmatix at Caffe Lena
"A night of rompin', stompin' roots rock, sweet ballads, and roadhouse blues." 8 pm - $20

Saturday: TriBeCaStan at The Linda
World music. 8 pm - $15

Saturday: Gary Lucas: The Goddess at MASS MoCA
"Magical" guitarist playing original live score to 1934 Chinese film The Goddess. 8 pm - $12 ahead / $18 day of

International Flavor Fest
International Flavorfest is being held in various locations in Saratoga Springs. Participating restaurants around the city are offering samples of a variety of foods for $1 per sample.

Farmers' Markets
Farmers markets will be moving indoors very soon, but right now they're out in the sunshine and flush with produce. Enjoy now -- it'll be fading out soon.
+ 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.

Proctors, Capital Rep, Troy Music Hall, and The Mop & Bucket Company advertise on AOA.