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 (warm, wet), to Christmas, to Christmas films, to an oversized elf, to hoops, to museums...

Weather

Here's the paraphrased forecast for this week:

Monday: Cloudy, maybe some rain and snow. Upper 30s.

Tuesday: The same, but with a chance of freezing rain in the morning. High in low 40s.

Wednesday: Rainy. Highs in the mid 50s.

Thursday: Cloudy, maybe more rain. Upper 40s.

Friday: Sunny and 44.

Weekend: Cloudy, cooler, maybe some snow.

Rainy Christmas.

Christmas

You might have heard: Christmas is Thursday. Christians will be celebrating the birth of Jesus.

But many of the related aspects of the holiday have roots that stretch back to traditions that pre-date Christianity, to the Romans and groups in northern Europe. And a lot of those celebrations centered in part on this fact: The day with the shortest daylight of the year just happened, and the days get longer from here. Cheers for that.

Because of the holiday Thursday, many things will be closed, of course -- and many places will close early on Wednesday.

Classic Christmas films

It's a Wonderful Life
Monday: It's a Wonderful Life seasons continues, this time at Proctors, with a screening of the film in the GE Theater. Monday 2 pm / 4:45 pm / 7:30 pm - $5

White Christmas
Monday: The Palace is screening White Christmas, the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney. You know the Irving Berlin song "White Christmas"? It's prominently featured in the film -- but it wasn't the first film to use it. Monday 7 pm - $5 / $3 kids

Elf

Tuesday: A touring production of the Broadway show version of Elf opens a run at Proctors. It's based on the movie of the same name:

Unaware that he is actually human, Buddy's enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity, and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

It will run at Proctors Tuesday-Sunday (skipping Thursday because of Christmas). various times - $20 and up

Hoops

UAlbany
Monday: The UAlbany men's basketball team will be at the SEFCU Arena to take on Fairfield. Monday 7 pm - $12 and up

Siena
Tuesday: The Siena men's basketball team will be at the TU Center to face Cornell. Tuesday 7 pm - $12 and up

The Throwaways

Tuesday: Following a recent sold out screening, the Spectrum will again be showing The Throwaways, a documentary by local co-directors Ira McKinley and Bhawin Suchak. Both creators will be there for a Q&A after the film. (Earlier: Talking with the makers of The Throwaways about four ideas for changing things for the better in marginalized communities.) Tuesday 7 pm

Museums

Got people in town and need to take them somewhere? Got a few days off and you're looking for something to do? The Albany Institute, miSci (the train exhibit is still up), the State Museum (check out the new Shaker exhibit), The Clark (new building!) MASS MoCA, The Arkell, The Hyde Collection, and the Baseball Hall of Fame are all open this week and weekend (except for Christmas, of course).

Music

Friday: Holiday Hangover Fest at The Low Beat
Slowshine, Better Pills, Russel the Leaf. 8 pm

Saturday: Rustic Ovetones + Dryer at Putnam Den
Dryer has some bad news about Santa. 9:30 pm - $10

Saturday: Guy Davis at Caffe Lena
Blues. 8 pm - $22

Saturday: The Machine performs Pink Floyd at Upstate Concert Hall
As described. 8 pm - $20 ahead / $22 day of

To do list

1. Try to spend some time with family and friends.

2. If you're going out on New Year's Eve, it's not a bad idea to make sure you have reservations and whatnot lined up.

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These are a just a few things for this week, not a comprehensive list. Know of something people should be looking forward to this week? Please share!

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photo: Doug Blemker