All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

It's the holiday weekend and the unofficial kick off to summer.

So, what's your plan?

After the jump, not one, not two, but three days of goings on in the Capital Region this weekend, from parades and memorials to music and drive-ins. And that doesn't count the barbecues, picnics, lazy strolls, and patio time you can start logging.

Doing something that's not on the list? Tell us about it in the comment section. And whatever you're up to, have a fantastic weekend!

Troy Night Out
Friday: It's Troy Night Out, so Collar City shops and galleries will be open late with music, art and all kinds of activities. A few things to check out:
+ There's a Mystery and Mayhem in Old Troy tour
+ An art show and DJ at Superior Merchandise Co.
+ The Fence show and interactive gaming at The Arts Center for the Capital Region
+ The Rensselaer County Historical Society has free admission to its galleries.

Here's the full map of events.

Memorial Day Parades
There are parades scheduled all around the Capital Region this weekend to commemorate Memorial Day. Here are just a few:
+ Ballston Spa's Memorial Day parade is Saturday at 9 am and will head down Milton Avenue.
+ The Rensselaer parade is Sunday at 1 pm and starts at the Doane Stuart School at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Forbes Avenue.
+ Albany's Memorial Day parade starts Monday at 9:30 am at the corner of Central and Quail and goes to city hall.
+ Lansingburgh's parade is also Monday. It starts at 11 am at 123rd street and 5th and heads south.
+ Bethlehem's parade is Monday. It steps off from American Legion Post in Delmar (16 W Poplar Drive) at 11 am.

USS Slater
Friday-Monday: The USS Slater -- the WWII destroyer escort turned floating museum on the Albany riverfront -- is open for tours this weekend, including Memorial Day.

Swimming
Wait, what? Yep. Beaches are open for swimming on weekends at Thompson's Lake at Thacher State Park, Grafton Lakes State Park , Cherry Plain State Park, and Moreau Lake State Park.

Battenkill Runs Through It
Saturday: The annual Battenkill Runs Through It festival will be held at the Greenwich town beach. It's an afternoon of music demonstrations, family-friendly activities, kayak rides, contests and a picnic. Saturday from 1-6 pm -- $12 ticket price includes everything / discounts for families

Olana's Tasty History: 1872
Saturday: Olana State Historic Site is hosting the first in a three part series of events exploring the dining and drinking customs from three pivotal years in its history. The series starts on Saturday with a look back to 1872. Sample period hors d'oeuvres and dessert with chef Julie Gale and drinks from the Hudson Wine Standard. (A June 25 event will celebrate 1966, and the the program on July 23 celebrates the current year.) Saturday 3 pm -- $30

RPI Colloquy
Friday: The annual commencement colloquy at RPI this year is titled "The Unity Underlying Diversity: Multi-cultural, Intellectual, and Geographic." Panelists include Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the UN World Food Program; David Skorton, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; Steven Weinberg, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist from the University of Texas; and Rensselaer president Shirley Ann Jackson. Friday 3:30 pm at EMPAC -- free (registration required)

Stage

Lonely, I'm Not
Friday-Sunday: Creative License theater company presents Lonely I'm Not at The Albany Barn. The play is by Paul Weitz, and the New York Times said the "damaged-boy-meets-defensive-girl story has the sweet suspense, elliptical construction and off-kilter charm of an ideal Hollywood rom-com." Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm -- $15

Comedy

Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show
Saturday: Pretty Much the Best Comedy Show returns to Proctors with headliner Jared Freid, a NYC based comedian and writer who has been featured on MTM and TruTV. Saturday 8 pm -- $15 ahead / $20 at the door

Mad Laughs
Saturday: Mad Laughs is back at the Madison Theater -- an evening of stand-up and improv comedy featuring E.J. Edmonds, Quentin Davis, and improve troupe Sorry Not Sorry. Saturday 8 pm -- $10

Drive-in
Here's what you can see this weekend:
+ Hollywood: Jungle Book and Captain America: Civil War
+ Jericho Drive In: X-Men: Apocalypse and Money Monster
+ Malta: Screen 1: The Angry Birds Movie and Ratchet & Clank | Screen 2: Captain America: Civil War and Keanu

Day trips
Explore some waterfalls, head for The Berkshires, The Catskills, or Columbia County. Or check out a state park.

Music

Friday-Sunday: GottaGetGon Family Folk Music Festival at the Saratoga County Fairgrounds
Three days of folk music. Here's the schedule. Friday starting at 6:30 pm, Saturday starting at 10 am, Sunday starting at 9:30am -- $35 for a full day / $5 after 5 pm / students half price

Friday-Sunday: Black Creek Fiddlers' Reunion at Altamont Fairgrounds
Three days of old-time fiddle. An Old Songs event. single-day tickets start at $15

Friday: Ashley Sofia at Caffe Lena
Folk rock. 8 pm -- $16

Saturday: Lake Street Dive + Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings at Brewery Ommegang
First outdoor show of the season at the brewery. gate at 5 pm -- $35 ahead ($15 camping upgrade) /
$40 day of ($20 camping upgrade)

Saturday: Luna at MASS MoCA
90s indie rock. 8:30 pm -- $25 ahead / $32 day of

Saturday: Deradoorian at Helsinki Hudson
Formerly of the Dirty Projectors. With: Emily Ritz. 9 pm -- $10

Art/museums
Wander through one of the Capital Region's museums:

Masterworks Paper
In honor of its 225th anniversary, the Albany Institute of History and Art is showing some rarely-seen paper items including manuscripts, letters, architectural plans, photographs, ephemera, silhouettes, and maps spanning three centuries in its newly opened Masterworks Paper exhibit. Many of these items can't be exhibited often or for extended periods due to their sensitivity to light. On display through October 16.

Imaging the American West
The exhibit Imaging the American West: Selections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art continues 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.

Ansel Adams
The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown has an exhibit of early works by Ansel Adams on display through September 18.

MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA opens a new exhibit this weekend called Explode Every Day: An Inquiry into the Phenomena of Wonder. Blurbage: "Harnessing the idea of wonder as a thematic metaphor, the exhibition features both existing and new works by twenty-three international artists, each touching on certain facets of wonder, including: the perceptual/ visionary, the technological/scientific, the philosophical/meditative, time/cosmos, and illusion/fear."

Also on view is Alex Da Corte's Free Roses. "Provocative, puzzling, and visually seductive, in his first museum survey Alex Da Corte's neon-bright, exuberant works merge the languages of abstraction and modern design with banal, off-brand items, ranging from shampoo to soda to tchotchkes and household cleaning supplies."

Arkell
This is the last weekend for the Arkell Museum's exhibit about about Rembrandt's influence on printmakers.

Fence
The annual Fence show is now on display at the Arts Center of the Capital Region -- it shows art works from members of the center. Blurbage: "This year we accepted and displayed 382 pieces, including paintings, drawing, photography, fiber arts, stained glass and sculpture. There is also a separate category for young artists in grades K-12." on display through June 26

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.

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

Italian Classics from Scratch
Friday: Deanna Fox leads a hands-on class at Different Drummer's Kitchen about making lasagna Bolognese and tiramisu. Friday 6 pm -- $65

Farmers' markets
Farmers Markets are outdoors...
+ Troy Waterfront Farmers Market will be on River Street and around Monument Square Saturday 9 am-2 pm
+ The Saratoga Farmers' Market is outdoors at High Rock Park. Saturday from 9 am-1 pm
+ The Delmar Farmers Market is at Bethlehem Central Middle School. Saturday 9 am-1 pm
+ The Schenectady Greenmarket is at its outdoor location around City Hall. Sunday from 10 am-2 pm.
+ The Spa City Farmers' Market is outdoors to the lawn at the Lincoln Baths. Sunday from 10 am-3 pm

Creative License and The Madison Theater advertise on AOA.

photo: Danny Clinch