All Over Albany

Stuff to do this weekend

We've still got some summer left on the calendar, but Labor Day weekend is the unofficial wrap up for the season -- so whatever summer thing you wanted to do but haven't done yet -- do it. Do it now!

Sure, it's last call for swimming pools, beaches and some of our favorite summer ice cream joints. But, wait -- is that cider donuts we smell?

After the jump, a few things we thought you might enjoy this holiday weekend. Planning something you don't see here? Drop it in the comment section so everyone can see. And whatever you're up to, have a fantastic Labor Day weekend.

County fairs
County fair season wraps up this week with three fairs around the region:
+ Friday-Labor Day: The Fonda Fair at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. It's the county fair for Fulton and Montgomery counties.
+ Friday-Labor Day: The Columbia County Fair at the fairgrounds in Chatham
+ Friday-Labor Day: The Schaghticoke Fair at the fairgrounds in Schaghticoke. It's the county fair for Rensselaer County. This is the 197th year for Schaghticoke Fair -- it's said to be the 3rd oldest fair of its type in New York State.

The Track
Friday-Monday: The season wraps up this weekend at season at the Saratoga Race Course. Labor Day is the last day of the meet. Saturday is the Woodward Stakes, one of the bigger races of the season. And Sunday is a gate giveaway day, a Saratoga long-sleeve pullover shirt.

Final Stretch Music Festival Weekend
Saturday-Sunday: Downtown Saratoga celebrates the end of the racing meet with the annual Final Stretch music festival. Performers will line the sidewalks of Saratoga during the evenings. Saturday and Sunday, 7-11 pm -- free admission

Capital District Scottish Games
Saturday-Sunday: The Capital Region Scottish Games return to the Altamont Fair Grounds this weekend. Scottish music, dancing, pipe bands, caber tossing, a bonnie dog contest, and more. Saturday 8 am to 8 pm, Sunday 9 am to 5:30 pm -- Saturday $22 at the gate / Sunday $12 at the gate / kids 12 and under free

1st Friday
It's 1st Friday in Albany -- the city's monthly art walk. Here are a few things happening:

+ Upstate Artists Guild hosts The Space In Between, an exhibit featuring folklore, lowbrow, pop, and surrealism.

+ Albany Barn is hosting its annual Youth Talent Exhibition

+ The Albany Institute of History and Art is open late and there's no admission.

+ Doc Scanlon's All Star Swing Band headlines the 1st Friday swing dance at the Albany Elks Club. 8 pm -- $15 / seniors and students $10

Here's the rest of the schedule.

Baseball
Friday-Saturday: The Tri-City ValleyCats take on the Staten Island Yankees at the Joe as they wrap up their regular season. Friday and Saturday at 7 pm -- $5-10 ahead / $7-12 on game day

Stage

The Best Man
Friday-Sunday: Albany Civic's well-timed production of the political drama The Best Man opens this weekend. Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 3pm -- $18

Music

Friday: The Robert Cray Band at The Egg
Blues. With: Shemekia Copeland. 8 pm -- $29.50 and up

Friday: Boston Pops and The B-52s at Tanglewood
The bands hits with orchestra backing. 8 pm -- $22 and up

Friday: Rob Hamilton "108 Troubles" at EMPAC
A performance using EMPAC's new 496-channel wave-field audio system. 7:30 pm -- free

Friday: The Orange at The Low Beat
With: Gobhi, Kitari. 8 pm

Saturday: Zac Brown Band at SPAC
Country star. With: Drake White and The Big Fire. 7 pm -- $32.50 and up

Saturday: Boston Pops Swing Orchestra "Dancing Under the Stars" at Tanglewood
"[A] festive, toe-tapping performance to close out the 2016 season in style." 8 pm -- $22 and up

Saturday: Dave and Phil Alvin at Helsinki Hudson
Roots/alt-country. With: Sarah Borges. 9 pm -- $25 and up

Saturday: Everton Blender at MASS MoCA
"Reggae dance party, straight from Jamaica." 8 pm -- $10 ahead / $16 day of

Sunday: Blink-182 at SPAC
Pop punk vets, now without Tom DeLonge. With: A Day to Remember, All Time Low, DJ Spider. 7 pm -- $25 and up

Film

"Frankly, my dear..."
Sunday: The Saratoga Bow Tie Cinema hosts a 100th birthday tribute to Olivia de Havilland with a screening of Gone with the Wind Sunday 11 am -- $5.50

The Dude Abides
Friday-Saturday: The Saratoga Bow Tie's Insomnia Theater Series presents The Big Lebowski this weekend. Friday and Saturday nights at 11 pm

The Maltese Falcon
Friday-Sunday: The Madison Theater is screening Bogart's The Maltese Falcon this weekend. various times -- $5

Trainspotting
Friday-Sunday: It's the 20th anniversary of Trainspotting, and The Madison is hosting several screenings of the film this weekend. Various times -$5

Drive-in
Here's what you can see this weekend:
+ Hollywood: Finding Dory, Pete's Dragon and The Secret Life of Pets
+ Jericho Drive In: Pete's Dragon, Finding Dory and The BFG
+ Malta has two quadruple features: Screen 1:Central Intelligence, Ghostbusters, Sausage Party, and Bad Moms | Screen 2: The Secret Life of Pets, Jason Bourne, Suicide Squad, and Nerve

Museums/Galleries

Hudson Valley Ruins
Recently opened at the State Museum: Hudson Valley Ruins. It includes more than 80 photographs by Robert Yasinsac and Thomas Rinaldi of "forgotten historic sites and cultural treasures in the Hudson River Valley." It will be on display through the end of 2017.

Splendor, Myth, and Vision
Still on display at The Clark: Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado. Blurbage: "The exhibition explores the role of the nude in European painting in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the collecting and display practices of the Spanish royalty. Twenty-four of the paintings have never before been shown in America." It's on display through October 10.

Alexander Hamilton
The Albany Institute of History and Art exhibit on the life of Alexander Hamilton and his time in Albany continues. Hamilton, who has experienced a resurgence in popularity due to Lin Manuel Miranda's award-winning musical based on his life, married Elizabeth Schuyler at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany and visited the city often after that. The exhibit highlights objects related to Hamilton, including a portrait from the permanent collection of Union College. (On display through December 31.)

A More Perfect Union
The Tang presents: A More Perfect Union -- a new exhibit featuring Mel Ziegler's Multi-Year Project Flag Exchange. The installation includes 50 American flags collected by Ziegler, who traveled the country trading new flags for tattered ones flying at homes and public locations. (Runs through January.) free admission (suggested donations of $2 - $5)

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

Circus
The Arkell Museum has an exhibit of circus-themed art and vintage circus marketing materials. On display through October 16.

MASS MoCA
+ Explode Every Day: An Inquiry into the Phenomena of Wonder
+ Alex Da Corte's Free Roses
+ Here Comes the Sun in the Kidspace

Sculpture parks
Maybe you'd like to explore some sculpture parks around the region.

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

Swimming
Last call for swimming. Capital Region pools, spray pads and beaches close up after Labor Day. Here's a list of local pools, beaches and spray pads, complete with dates, pricing and other important details.

Farmers' markets
This is a great time of year to visit the farmers markets in the Capital Region.
+ Troy Waterfront Farmers Market is in Riverfront Park for the rest of the summer because of the planned construction on River Street. 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

The Albany Institute of History and Art and the Madison Theater advertise on AOA.

photo: Capital District Scottish Games