All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

On your mark. Get set. Weekend!

There's so much stuff going on this weekend you may not know what to do first -- food, comedy, films, music, art, history -- baby animals. So. Much. Stuff.

After the jump, a little weekend roadmap to help you figure out how you're going to spend your precious 48(ish) hours. Planning something you don't see here? Drop it in the comments for the rest of us to see.

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

Troy Night Out
Friday: Troy Night Out is Earth Day-themed this month. Shops and galleries are open late with performances and exhibits. A few things to check out:
+ Troy Pop Up Art Show (33 2nd Street), with work from local artists that use recycled materials.
+ The Tech Valley Center of Gravity is hosting an Algo-rave -- an evening of live audio-visual performance mixing electro-acoustic improvisation with live-coded sound and image. It features interactive musical and visual performances and composition by faculty and graduate students from Rensselaer's Arts Department.
+ Troy Innovation Garage is hosting a shuffleboard competition at its unfinished space.
+ 1st Playable Productions has virtual reality and gaming demonstrations. You can also check out its interactive Minecraft exhibit of Downtown Troy and play its new title, The Fiscal Ship, a game about balancing the federal budget.

Collar City Craft Fest
Friday-Saturday: The Arts Center of the Capital Region presents the annual Collar City Craft Festival, a juried showcase of original works by some of the Northeast's top artists and craftspeople.. Friday noon to 9 pm, Saturday 10 am to 5pm -- $4 (proceeds benefit the Arts Center of the Capital Region)

Alton Brown at Proctors
Saturday: Food Network host Alton Brown returns to Proctors on with his live Eat Your Science show. Show blurbage: "With 'Eat Your Science,' fans can expect more comedy, talk show antics, multimedia presentations and music (yes, he sings) but Brown is adding a slew of fresh ingredients including new puppets, songs, bigger and potentially more dangerous experiments and what every cook needs in his kitchen: FIRE." Saturday at 8pm, $40-$135

Capital Roots Spring Brunch
Sunday: The annual Capital Roots Spring Brunch is at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center this year. The buffet-style brunch attracts nearly 700 guests each year and features food donated by more than 125 local restaurants. Kids activities, silent auction, including works of art, music and more. Sunday 10am to 2 pm -- $30

Stage

The Trip to Bountiful
Friday-Sunday: Capital Rep's production of The Trip to Bountiful continues this weekend. The show is the story of Carrie Watts, an aging widow who escapes from the home of her son and goes on a journey to revisit her childhood home. The show stars a number of talented Capital Region actors, including the amazing Barbara Howard, Kevin Craig West, Tony Pallone, and newcomer Joshua Powell. Friday 8 pm, Saturday 3 pm and 8 pm, Sunday 2 pm -- $20 and up

Elephant's Graveyard
Friday-Sunday: Confetti Stage presents a production of Elephant's Graveyard, George Brandt's play based on the true story of the Tennessee town that hanged a circus elephant for murder. Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm -- $15 / $10 for students

Calendar Girls
Friday-Sunday: Home Made Theater's production of Calendar Girls closes this weekend. The comedy based on the true story of a group of Yorkshire women who produced a nude calendar to raise money for leukemia research. Friday and Saturday 8 pm, Sunday 2 pm -- $24 and $27

Living on Love
Friday-Sunday: Curtain Call continues a production of Joe DiPietro's Living on Love, a comedy about a demanding diva who discovers that her maestro husband has become enamored with the lovely young lady hired to ghostwrite his autobiography. Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 3 pm -- $24

Comedy

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood
Friday: Whose Line is it Anyway? stars Colin Mochrie and Bran Sherwood bring their two-man improv comedy show to Proctors. Friday at 8pm -- $29.75-$39.75

Real Life: The Improv
Friday: The Mop & Bucket Company wraps up its season of Real Life: The Improv, in which improvisors create scenes and songs based on live interviews with local celebrities. Friday 8 pm -- $14

Mad Laughs
Saturday: Mad Laughs returns to the Madison Theater with headliner Mike Speirs. The show includes two local stand-up acts and an improv set by Sorry Not Sorry. Saturday at 7:30pm -- $10

Film

Colm Tóibin and Brooklyn
Friday: Novelist Colm Tóibin will be at UAlbany as part of the NYS Writers Institute visiting writers series. He'll be reading from his work on the uptown campus in the late afternoon. And this evening he'll be offering commentary and answering questions following a screening of Brooklyn, the film based on his novel of the same name. Friday 4:15 pm, Performing Arts Center uptown campus / 7 pm, Page Hall, downtown campus -- free

Help!
Friday: The Madison Theater presents a screening of The Beatles film Help, followed by a performance by Beatles tribute band, Hey Jude. Friday at 7pm -- $20.

Youth FX Shorts
Sunday: The State Museum is screening a slate of award-winning short films produced by Youth FX, as well as scenes from As You Are, a feature film directed by a Youth FX alum that premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Sunday 2 pm -- free

Music

Friday: Nellie McKay at The VanDyke
Singer/songwriter/actress/humorist brings her election themed Follow the Money show. Friday at 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm-- $22-$26

Friday-Sunday: Folkathon at Caffe Lena
A weekend full of shows to say farewell to old version of the venue before renovations start. Friday-Sunday various times -- weekend pass $75 / $35 students and kids

Friday: Fatoumata Diawara the Sanctuary for Independent Media
Afro-pop/world singer/songwriter. Friday 8 pm -- $25

Friday: Young Noble Gentlemen at Albany Housing Authority Atrium (200 S. Pearl Street)
The duo of Albany teens who won a trip to Grammys earlier this year.

Friday: Intelligent Television at The Ruck
Farewell show. 9:30 pm

Saturday: The Fab Faux: "Revolver" at The Egg
Beatles tribute. 7:30 pm -- $39 and up

Saturday: The Hackensaw Boys at The Hangar
String band. 9 pm -- $12 ahead / $15 day of

Saturday: Carrie Rodriguez at Helsinki Hudson
Texas singer/songwriter. 9 pm -- $18 ahead / $22 day of

Sunday: Parker Millsap at Helsinki Hudson
Americana. With: Caroline Rose. 8 pm -- $18 ahead / $22 day of

Living History Day at Ten Broeck Mansion
Sunday: The Albany County Historical Society is hosting a Living History Day at Ten Broeck Mansion. Re-enactors, archeological excavation, demonstrations, music, pony rides and more. Sunday noon to 4pm -- free admission

Homegrown History: Albany's Gardening & Agricultural Past at Historic Cherry Hill
Sunday: Historic Cherry Hill is hosting the annual Albany History Fair at the mansion grounds in the South End. The free event includes tours of the historic house, a scavenger hunt for families, music, exhibits, and vendors. The theme this year is "Homegrown History: Albany's Gardening and Agricultural Past" and there will be presentations about Washington Park, the Shakers and their agricultural industries, and colonial gardens. Sunday noon-4 pm -- free

Car and Plane Show
Saturday: The Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville hosts the annual Fly-in & Car Show that includes open cockpit tours of a number of planes and helicopters. Saturday 10 am to 3 pm -- car show is free, museum admissions are half price for the air show

Baby animals
Saturday-Sunday: Baby animal days at Hancock Shaker Village continue through May 8. (There's also a behind-the-scenes farm tour available, with "the opportunity to meet, hold and bottle-feed some of the newborn animals in a reserved area." Tickets for that are $27 or $30 depending on the day.) Adult admission is $20 / $8 for kids 13-17 / and free for kids 12 an under

Visit the tulips
The tulips in Albany's Washington Park (and the rest of the Capital Region) are awake. Visit them now. If you wait for Tulip Fest you'll miss some of them.

Museums
Wander through one of the Capital Region's museums:

Imaging the American West
The exhibit Imaging the American West: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art is now open at the State Museum. It includes works by artists such as Albert Bierstadt, Paul Manship, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic Remington, and Charles M. Russell. It will be on display through July 17.

MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA has two recently opened exhibits: Sarah Crowner: Beetle in the Leaves and The Space Between.

Arkell
The Arkell Museum has has exhibitions about Rembrandt's influence on printmakers and the work of Edward Buyck.

Alma Thomas
The Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College has its exhibit of the bright, colorful paintings of Alma Thomas. It's on display until June 5.

Sculpture parks
With the nice spring weather, maybe you'd like to explore some sculpture parks around the region.

Rugby
Saturday: The Albany Knicks Rugby team takes on Springfield at Hoffman Park. Saturday 11 am -- free

Ice cream stand season
Seasonal ice cream stands around the Capital Region are open.

Farmers' markets
Stop by a farmers market for something local and delicious. May starts on Sunday, so some markets are outside:
+ 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 moves to its outdoor location this week -- around City Hall. Sunday from 10 am-2 pm.
+ The Spa City Farmers' Market moves outdoors to the lawn at the Lincoln Baths this weekSunday from 10 am-3 pm

Troy Music Hall, Capital Rep and MopCo advertise on AOA.