All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

It's the weekend. So much time and so little to do. Strike that. Reverse it.

There's a long list of stuff going on in the Capital Region this weekend, from Kilt Fest and comedy to sci-fi and college hoops. To make your choices a little easier, we've gathered together a bunch of stuff we thought you might like. You'll find it listed after the jump.

Planning something you don't see on our list? Drop it in the comments so we can all see.

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

1st Friday
Friday: Shops and galleries in Albany will be open late for 1st Friday. A few things on tap:
+ Jeff Bellio, a concept artist from Vicarious Visions, will be at the Albany Institute of History and Art with a talk on game and character development (free admission).
+ Upstate Artists Guild features a show called Abstract Existence.
+ The work of Nigerian painter Louis-Collins Ejeh will be shown at the African American Cultural Center Of The Capital Region.
+ The University Club hosts Jeff Strange for a pre-St. Patrick's Day show.
+ The 1st-Friday Swing Dance at the Albany Elks Club with headliner Bryan Brundige and his Piggly Wigglies

Here's the rest of the schedule.

MAAC tournament
Friday-Sunday: The end-of-season tournament for the MAAC -- Siena's conference -- continues at the TU Center this weeked (both the men's and women's tournaments). The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

+ The Siena women's team faces Iona Friday at 2:30 pm.

+ The Siena men's team will take on Manhattan Saturday at 7 pm.

MAAC-n-Cheese Fest
Friday: To go along with the MAAC tournament, there's a "MAAC-n-Cheese Fest" at the 90 State event space in downtown Albany. Sample mac-n-cheese dishes from a host of Albany restaurants and try beer from New York State craft breweries. Friday 4-6:30 pm - $10

Albacon
Friday-Sunday: Albacon -- a gathering of fans of sci-fi, fantasy, games, anime, and web comics -- will be at the Best Western Albany Airport Inn on Wolf Rd. Panel discussions, art exhibits, dealers, interviews, films, games, readings, and autographs. Guest appearance by David Weber, New York Times bestselling author of the Honor Harrington series. Friday-Sunday 9 am to 3 pm -- $35 for the whole weekend / $10 Saturday only

Collar City Kilt Fest
Saturday: The annual Collar City Kilt Fest -- a Celtic celebration in downtown Troy -- starts with a 5K kilt race and continues throughout the day with a costume contest, music, food, and a kilt crawl. Saturday, 8am to 5pm -- 5k registration $30 ($35 with city pass) / city pass discount card $20

Hannaford Kidz Expo
Saturday: The Hannaford Kids Expo returns to the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. Performers, superheroes, costumes, bounce houses, music, vendors and more. Saturday from 10 am to 5pm -- free admission

Craft New York Brewers Festival
Saturday: The New York State Brewers Association Craft New York Brewers Festival at the Desmond is sold out.

College hockey
Friday-(maybe) Sunday: The RPI men's hockey team faces Brown at Houston Field House this weekend in best-of-three series in the ECAC playoffs. Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday 7 pm

Stage

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Friday: UAlbany presents Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, the emo-rock musical that recreates and reinvents the life of Andrew Jackson. Friday 7 pm -- $20 / $15 students and seniors

Glengarry Glen Ross
Friday-Sunday: Curtain Call Theater continues a production of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross -- the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a cutthroat world in which real estate salesmen vie for success. Leave the kids home for this one -- there's lots of adult language. Friday and Saturday 8 pm / Sunday 3 pm -- $24

Agnes of God
Friday-Sunday: Confetti Stage continues its production of Agnes of God in the theater at the Albany Masonic Hall. Friday & Saturday 7:30 pm / Sunday at 2 pm -- $15 / $10 students

I Am My Own Wife
Friday-Sunday: Creative License presents the Tony-winning one-man show I Am My Own Wife at the Albany Barn. The play explores the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, "a transvestite and celebrated antiques dealer who successfully navigated the two most oppressive regimes of the past century-the Nazis and the Communists-while openly gay and defiantly in drag." Friday and Saturday 7:30 pm -- $15

Comedy

Irish Comedy Tour
Friday: The Irish Comedy Tour -- "a pint of boisterous, belly-laughing hooligans straight out of a Dublin pub" -- makes a stop at the GE Theater at Proctors. Friday 8 pm -- $30 ahead / $40 at the door

Real Life: The Improv
Friday: The Mop & Bucket Company opens its new season of Real Life: The Improv, in which improvisors create scenes and songs based on live interviews with local celebrities. This week's guest is Lecco Morris, actor, fusion pianist, poet, and music organizer. Friday 8 pm -- $14

Capitol Steps: Mock the Vote Tour
Saturday: The Capitol Steps -- the musical, comedy, political satire group -- brings its Mock the Vote Tour to Proctors. Saturday 8pm -- $20 and up

Mr. Proctor's Birthday Walking Tour
Sunday: Proctors is offering a free walking tour of the theater in honor of the birthday of the theater's founder, FF Proctor. The event includes a history, walking tour, and a demonstration of Goldie, the Wurlitzer organ. Sunday 1 pm -- free

Film

Ken Winokur's Psychedelic Cinema
Saturday: Ken Winokur of Alloy Orchestra brings his new film and live music project, Psychedelic Cinema, to MASS MoCA. Blurbage: "Psychedelic Cinema revitalizes cult filmmaker Ken Brown's Super 8 films from the late 1960s, which were used as light shows for Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, and Sly Stone.Winokur and his accomplices overlay his signature junk percussion, melodic clarinets and keyboards, and recorded speeches and audio artifacts to dazzling effect." Saturday 8 pm -- $16 ahead / 422 day of / $10 students

Long Days Journey Into Night
Friday: The NYS Writers Institute classic film series at UAlbany's Page Hall (downtown campus) continues with Sidney Lumet's 1962 version of Eugene O'Neill's Long Days Journey Into Night starring Katherine Hepburn. Friday 7 pm -- free

Classics
+ The Saturday and Sunday morning Movies and Mimosa classic at the Bow Tie is Carmen Jones, Oscar Hammerstein's film version of Bizet's Carmen.

+ The Friday and Saturday late night Insomnia Theater at the Saratoga Bow Tie is Fight Club.

Music

Friday: The Beth Hart show at The Egg is sold out.

Friday: The The Wood Brothers show at Helsiniki Hudson is sold out.

Friday: French Horn Rebellion + Mystery Skulls at The Hollow
"Next jack swing" + indie pop. 8 pm - $15 ahead / $18 day of

Friday: R5 at The Palace
Pop rock. With: DJ Ryland and Max. 7 pm - $29.50 and up

Friday: Kate Taylor at Caffe Lena
Singer/songwriter. (James is her brother.) 8 pm - $28

Friday: Matuto at Old Songs
"[A]n honest love for roots music, genuine Brazilian styles, and improvisational experimentation..." 7:30 pm - $23 / $5 kids 12 and under

Saturday: Neko Case at Troy Music Hall
Probably a superhero. It's the only way to explain her voice. 8 pm - $35

Saturday: The Warren Haynes show at The Egg is sold out.

Saturday: Rustic Overtones at Putnam Den
With: Swale. 9:30 pm - $10 ahead / $13 day of

Saturday: Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds at Helsinki Hudson
With: The Suitcase Junket. 9 pm - $20 ahead / $25 day of

Saturday: Barrel Fest at The Barrel Saloon
A day of bands, headlined by Skeeter Creek, both inside the bar and outside in a heated tent. starting at 1 pm - $22 at the door

Saturday: Dustin Mele Memorial Concert at Rev Hall
A bunch of local acts raising money for suicide prevention. 6 pm - $10

Saturday: Paul Green's Rock Academy w/ Ed Mann: Playing the Music of Frank Zappa at The Hollow
Kids from a school of rock in the Hudson Valley. 9 pm - $12 ahead / $15 day of

Sunday: Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra at The Palace
"[I]n hot demand worldwide for their winning combination of charming humour, disarmingly small ukuleles, and sublime musicality." 3 pm - $17.50 and up

Sunday: Banners at The Hollow
Vaguely Coldplay-ish or Snow Patrol-ish. 8 pm - $10.27 ahead / $12 day of

Sunday: Dust Bowl Faeries at Helsinki Hudson
Album release show. 8 pm - $10

St. Patrick's Day Baking
Saturday: Deanna Fox teaches a class about St. Patrick's Day baking at Different Drummer's Kitchen. Included in the course: traditional Irish Soda Bread, hot cross buns and a spiced sweet bun, Guinness cake, Blarney Stone cookies, shamrock marshmallows and currant scones with Irish butter. Saturday 1 pm -- $55

Road Trip
Spend a winter day in the Pioneer Valley or Saratoga Springs or Columbia County

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

William Kennedy
Sunday: The Albany Institute of History and Art hosts William Kennedy for a talk about Albany through the eyes of his fictional characters. Sunday 2 pm --free with museum admission

While you're there 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.

Butterflies
Saturday-Sunday: MiSci's butterfly house continues. "Discover hundreds of brilliantly colored native butterflies." The exhibit continues through April 19. free with museum admission

Shakers
This is the final weekend to see the exhibit The Shakers: America's Quiet Revolutionaries at the State Museum. It closes on Sunday.

Rockwell
The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls has its Norman Rockwell in the 1960s exhibit up for another month. (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.

Arkell
The Arkell Museum is open again after its winter break with two new exhibitions.

Eye for Excellence
The Clark has a good permanent collection, and there's currently an exhibit about how works have been added to it (it's on display for another month).

Skating
There are just a few more weeks of outdoor skating in the Capital Region. Here's our list and map of indoor and outdoor 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, Proctors, Troy Music Hall, and ACCVB advertise on All Over Albany. And AOA is a media sponsor of the Collar City Kilt Fest.