All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

Yes, it's the first weekend in February, but you should probably cancel your plans for tobogganing and snowball fighting. Still, a winter carnival, Chowderfest, roller derby and plenty of other events -- both indoor and outdoor-- are slated for the weekend.

After the jump, we've collected a bunch of stuff we thought might be fun. Doing something you don't see here? Tell us about it in the comments.

And whatever you're up to, enjoy he weather and have a fantastic weekend.

1st Friday
Friday: Shops and galleries around Albany will be open for 1st Friday. On the list of happenings:
+ The Albany Center Gallery opens Unrestricted, a new collaborative show featuring the artists of Vicarious Visions.
+ The Opalka Gallery is hosting an opening reception for Kate Teale's Housed exhibit.
+ Albany Barn hosts a reception for Activate, an exhibit focused on the role of art in activism.
+ The University Club is hosting an opening reception for an exhibit of paintings and photographs by its artist-in-residence, David Hinchen.

Winter Carnival
Friday-Sunday: The Lake George Winter Carnival opens this weekend and continues every weekend through the month of February. This weekend's events include a parade, outhouse races, a chili cook-off, and a bonfire with marshmallow roasting on the beach. Saturday & Sunday, various times - free admission

Chowderfest
Saturday: Chowderfest returns to downtown Saratoga Springs. Stroll the Spa City and sample soups and chowders from more than 50 restaurants. Vote on your favorites. Saturday 11 am-4 pm - $1 per 3-oz soup sample

Clifton Park Winterfest
Saturday: Clifton Park hosts its annual Winterfest. Events include Taste of Clifton Park soup contest, Clifton Park Idol singing competition, face painting and kids activities, and a bonfire with s'mores. Saturday, 10 am-4 pm - free admission

Mardi Gras Festival
Friday: Proctors hosts a Mardi Gras celebration in the GE Theater. Cajun cuisine and cocktails, a drag queen parade with Mardi Gras beads, and music from New Orleans Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole. Friday 8 pm - $40

Molly Ringwald Revisits the Club
Saturday: Actress Molly Ringwald will be at Proctors for a Q&A following a 30th anniversary screening of The Breakfast Club. Saturday 7:30 pm - $20 and up

Stage

Ain't Misbehavin'
Friday-Sunday: Ain't Misbehavin' opens at Albany Civic. The Fats Waller review boasts a powerhouse of Capital Region vocalists, including the amazing Barbara Howard. Friday and Saturday 7:30 pm / Sunday 3 pm - $18

The Explorers Club
Friday-Sunday: Schenectady Civic Players presents The Explorers Club, a farce that spoofs Victorian adventurers. Friday and Saturday at 8 pm / Sunday 2:30 pm - $17

Sweeney Todd
Friday-Sunday: Schenectady Light Opera closes a production of Sweeney Todd. Friday & Saturday at 8pm / Sunday at 2pm - $22, $24, $28

Naked Influence
Friday-Sunday: Capital Rep continues its production of Naked Influence, a new play by Suzanne Bradbeer. Blurbage:

A dancer's past. A woman's future. The seductive and lucrative world of strip clubs sets the stage for this spellbinding tale about a charismatic exotic dancer who finds herself engulfed in a doomed relationship with a congressman. She wants to leave the club life behind for a fresh start, but is she powerful enough to untangle herself from her former life?

The production runs through February 14. Friday-Sunday various times - $20 and up

Sleuth
Friday-Sunday: Curtain Call Theatre continues a new production of Anthony Shaffer's comedy/thriller Sleuth. Friday and Saturday at 8 pm / Sunday at 3 pm - $24

Freedom Train
Sunday: Park Playhouse presents Freedom Train, a play about Harriet Tubman, at The Palace. Sunday 2 pm - $20

College hockey

RPI
Friday: The RPI men's hockey team takes on Saint Lawrence at the Houston Field House. Friday 7 pm - $10

Saturday: The annual Big Red Freakout against arch-rival Clarkson is sold out, but you can listen to the game on WRPI. Earlier on AOA: Rules of etiquette for RPI hockey.

Union
Friday-Saturday: The Union men's hockey team has the flipped version of RPI's schedule -- Clarkson Friday night, and St. Lawrence Saturday night. Friday and Saturday 7pm - $15

College hoops

Siena
Friday: The Siena's men's basketball team takes on St. Peter's at the TU Center. Friday 9 pm - $8 and up

UAlbany
Saturday: The UAlbany men's basketball team takes on Vermont at the SEFCU Arena. Saturday 7 pm - $12 and up

Albany Devils
Saturday: The Albany Devils take on Hartford at the TU Center. It's GE Kids Get in Free night, so tickets are free for kids under 12. Saturday 5 pm - $16 and up

Roller Derby
Saturday: It's the Brawl Stars vs. the Battery Brigade in Albany All Stars Roller Derby at the Washington Avenue Armory. Saturday 7 pm - $10 ahead / $12 at the door / $4 for kids.

Globetrotters
Sunday: The Harlem Globetrotters will be at the TU Center. Among the Globetrotters: Former Siena star Tay "Firefly" Fisher. Sunday 1 pm - $28 and up

Comedy

MopCo on the Main Stage
Friday: MopCo's Theatersports is on the main stage at Proctors this week. Two teams compete against each other creating scenes and songs based on audience suggestions. Think Whose Line is it Anyway?. Both players and audience will be on the big stage -- it's a cool view of the theater and a fun space to see a show. Friday 8 pm - $14 / $6 students and seniors

Patty Rosborough & Jaye McBride
Friday-Saturday Local favorite Jaye McBride shares the bill with NYC-based stand-up comic Patty Roseborough at The Comedy Works in Albany. Friday & Saturday 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm - $15 ahead / $20 at the door ($39.95 / $44.95 with dinner)

Film

Oscar-nominated short films
Friday-Sunday: The Spectrum is screening the Oscar-nominated live action and animated short films. (The screenings continue into next week.)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Friday: The NYS Writers Institute continues its classic film series with John Cassavetes 1976 noir film The Killing of a Chinese Bookie. "Ben Gazzara plays an insolvent strip club owner at the mercy of the Mob in this highly original film noir." Friday 7:30 pm, UAlbany downtown campus, Page Hall - free

Classics
+ The Saturday and Sunday morning Movies and Mimosa classic at The Bow Tie in Saratoga Springs is The Girl Can't Help It with Jayne Mansfield.

+ The Friday & Saturday late night Insomnia Theater at the Saratoga Bow Tie is Sixteen Candles.

Music

Friday: The Record Company at The Low Beat
Blues rock. 8 pm - $11.54

Friday: Normal Instruments at The Hollow
Mult-genre instrumental dance music. With: Lord Electro. 9:30 pm - $12 ahead / $15 day of

Friday: Ariana Gillis at Caffe Lena
Singer/songwriter. 8 pm - $18

Saturday: Umphrey's McGee at The Palace
Prog rock. With: Tauk. 7:15 pm - $27.50

Saturday: 8th Annual Beat Shot Spins for J Dilla at The Confectionery
Annual event honoring the memory of J Dilla -- The Dilla Gents the 518 J Dilla tribute band, J-Live, JB a.k.a. Dirty Moses, Masai, Moses Rockwell, Oddy Gato, with Dilla-inspired DJ sets by Nate Da Great and DJ Trumastr. 7 pm - $10 ahead / $12 at door

Saturday: Empire Strikes Brass at Parish Public House
10-piece brass band. 8 pm

Saturday: Dean Martin Valentines Tribute at Proctors
Valentine's-theme Dean Martin tribute show in the GE Theater. 8 pm - $27.50 and up

Saturday: Basically Beatles at Caffe Lena
"[A] night of authentic and innovative Beatle renditions performed with panache and reverence for the music." 8 pm - $22

Albany Winter Guard
Saturday: Albany High School hosts 17 color guard teams from around the region for an afternoon of music, dance, and competitive choreography. Saturday 4:30 pm - $6 / $5 for students and seniors / under 5 free

Talks

Frederick Douglass and the Irish
Saturday: Tim Madigan, director of Irish studies at St. John Fisher College, will examine the life of the great social reformer Frederick Douglass at the Irish American Heritage Museum in Albany. The talk with focus on Douglas' lecture trip to Ireland as a young man in 1845 and how it influenced his later views on abolition and human rights. Saturday 2 pm - free

Peregrine Falcons
Saturday: Matthew Perry of the Utica Peregrine Falcon Project will give a talk on peregrine falcons at Mabee Farm Historic Site. "Two falcons have been observed flying above Schenectady recently and one used the Parker Inn to perch and hunt during 2015." Saturday 2 pm - $5

Museums
Winter weekends are great times to wander through one of the Capital Region's museums.

+ The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls recently opened Norman Rockwell in the 1960s, featuring 21 illustrations and original magazine covers "created by the beloved artist during a decade of change and turmoil." (And while you're there, here are some fun places to eat in Glens Falls.)

+ If you're interested in more Norman Rockwell, you can head over to Stockbridge for the Norman Rockwell Museum.

+ If you haven't seen the exhibit The Shakers: America's Quiet Revolutionaries at the State Museum, it closes at the start of March. So now's a good time to catch it before it's gone.

+ You can check out the Masterworks: 225 Years of Collecting exhibit at the Albany Institute. And there'a also The Capital Region in 50 Objects exhibit.

+ The Clark has a good permanent collection, and there's currently an exhibit about how works have been added to it.

+ If you're up a for a bit of trip, you can head to Beacon and Dia:Beacon.

Skating
There are a bunch of places around the Capital Region for ice skating, both outside and inside -- we recently updated our listing and map of ice skating spots.

Farmers' markets
Stop by a farmers market for something local and delicious:
+ Troy Waterfront Farmers Market is inside the Atrium. Saturday 9 am-2 pm
+ The Saratoga Farmers' Market is indoors at the Lincoln Baths. Saturday from 9 am-1 pm
+ The Schenectady Greenmarket is at its indoor location at Proctors. Sunday from 10 am-2 pm.
+ The Spa City Farmers' Market is inside at the Lincoln Baths Sunday from 10 am-3 pm

The Mop & Bucket Company, Capital Rep, and Proctors advertise on All Over Albany.