Items tagged with 'AOA'
A few answers to a few of your questions about the end of AOA
We have been overwhelmed by the response to our announcement last week that AOA will be ending December 31. Thank you to everyone who's posted a comment, sent us a note, or talked with us in person. We're tremendously grateful for all the support.
Many of you have had questions about why this is happening, whether there's a way to keep the site going, or what's next.
So we've pulled together a handful of the most common questions with a few answers. We hope they're helpful.
And, again, thank you.
AOA10
Update! The waitlist has been activated and we'll do our best to get as many people spots as possible.
____
Somehow AOA got to be 10 years old. And even though we didn't have a birthday party this spring, we didn't want to let the year go by without seeing everyone and thanking you for all the support over the years.
So: AOA10 will be Tuesday, November 13 at Fort Orange Brewing on North Pearl Street in Albany from 5:30-8:30 pm.
Let's call it a pizza party rather than a birthday party. DeFazio's -- a two-time champ in the Tournament of Pizza -- will be there serving up pizza (including a few vegan pies). There will be donuts from Cider Belly. And, of course, Fort Orange will be serving its many varieties of beer at a cash bar.
As in past years, space is limited so we're asking people to RSVP -- here's how. It takes less than a minute and we appreciate you doing so.
If the spaces on the list fill up (they usually do), a waitlist will activate. In past years many of the people who sign up for the waitlist do end up getting a spot.
We're looking forward to seeing you.
Photos from the AOA event with presidential historian Alexis Coe at Fort Orange General Store -- and a clip from the talk
Looking in on last week's talk. / photo: Michael Farrell
Thank you to everyone who got together with us last week at the Fort Orange General Store for a talk with presidential historian Alexis Coe. It was good to see many people again and meet others for the first time.
Alexis Coe is working on new biography of George Washington (scheduled for release next year). And she had a bunch of interesting things to say about the situation surrounding our current president, how we view past presidents, what it's like to be a historian right now, getting married by RBG, and apocryphal stories about arborcide.
Big thanks to the Fort Orange General Store for hosting us. And thank you to the sponsors who helped make this event possible (and free to attend): CDPHP, the Amplify Albany grant from the City of Albany Capital Resource Corporation and Capitalize Albany, O'Connell and Aronowitz, Beahive Albany, Broadway Plaza Liquors, the Hilton Albany, and the the Mop and Bucket Improv Theater.
Thank you also to Stacks Espresso for providing coffee, Cider Belly for the fun George Washington-themed donuts, and The Cheese Traveler for (surprise) the cheese. And we very appreciate Loch & Quay for having us all over after the event.
Here are a handful of photos and an audio clip from the talk...
The AOA event with presidential historian Alexis Coe has a new date! And it's free! And it includes an after-party at Loch & Quay!
Update update: The event is now full. (We were able to open up a few more spots for people from the waitlist, but we're now completely out of room. Thank you for all the interest!)
UPDATE! AOA is bringing presidential historian Alexis Coe to the Fort Orange General Store, but on a new date -- Thursday, May 24. Here's how to register. Also...
It's now a free event
Wait, what? Yep. Thanks to additional sponsorship from CDPHP and an Amplify Albany grant from the City of Albany Capital Resource Corporation and Capitalize Albany, tickets to the event are now free -- but you'll still need to register for tickets because space is limited. Early birds that have already purchased tickets have been issued refunds and we'll hold your space. (If you can't make the new date, please let us know so someone else can have your spot.)
There's a party afterward
Following the event, the newly-opened Loch & Quay -- right next door to Fort Orange General Store -- will host an after-party for all of us. Your event ticket will get you a free beer or wine, appetizers, and good conversation with interesting people. (Again, because space is limited, you must pre-register. See the link above.)
And a tasting before
Broadway Plaza Liquors, just up the street from FOGS, will be hosting a pre-event wine tasting from 5-6:30 pm.
This will be a fun, interesting time
Alexis Coe has a new biography of George Washington -- You Never Forget Your First -- coming out next year from Viking (Penguin/Random House). She was recently part of a CNN series about the Kennedys, and she co-hosted the Audible series Presidents Are People, Too!
We'll be talking about all sorts of things related to presidential history -- the subject's been a bit dramatic lately, as you might have noticed -- along with New York State presidents specifically (Teddy! Chester!), as well as a few other topics like history photo accounts on Twitter, and what it's like working as a historian right now. There will also be Q&A with the crowd.
And to go along with the conversation: coffee from Stacks and donuts from Cider Belly.
So we'd love to see you there! This AOA-organized event is Thursday, May 24 starting at 6:30 pm Fort Orange General Store in downtown Albany (conversation starts at 7 pm). It's free -- but you must pre-register.
This event is made possible in part thanks to the sponsorship of CDPHP, the City of Albany Capital Resource Corporation and Capitalize Albany O'Connell and Aronowitz, Beahive Albany, Broadway Plaza Liquors, the Hilton Albany, and the the Mop and Bucket Improv Theater.
AOA is bringing presidential historian Alexis Coe to town and you should come because, wow, there's a lot to talk about (and it'll be fun)
UPDATE: This event has been moved to May 24.
Check it out: AOA is bringing presidential historian Alexis Coe to the Fort Orange General Store May 17. And we'd love for you to join us. Tickets are just $10. Space is limited!
Coe has a new biography of George Washington -- You Never Forget Your First -- coming out next year from Viking (Penguin/Random House), was recently part of a CNN series about the Kennedys, and she co-hosted the Audible series Presidents Are People, Too!
We'll be talking about all sorts of things related to presidential history -- because, um, that subject has gotten very dramatic lately -- along with New York presidents specifically, a few other topics like history photo accounts on Twitter, and what it's like working as a historian right now. (Will there be something about Teddy Roosevelt or Chester A. Arthur? Yes, we think there will.)
There will also be Q&A with the crowd. And we'll have coffee from Stacks and donuts from Cider Belly.
So we'd love to see you there! This AOA-organized event is Thursday, May 17 starting at 6:30 pm Fort Orange General Store in downtown Albany (conversation starts at 7 pm). Tickets are $10 and available online now.
This event is made possible in part thanks to the sponsorship of O'Connell and Aronowitz, Beahive Albany, Broadway Plaza Liquors, the Hilton Albany, and the the Mop and Bucket Improv Theater.
And we're very happy that Alexis Coe will be making the trip up from New York City to join us for this event. Here's more about her:
Here's a handful of photos from the Great Flats / Slidin' Dirty AOA event
Thanks to everyone who joined us this week for the AOA event at Great Flats Brewing in Schenectady. It was great to meet a bunch of people and see others again.
Slidin' Dirty served up sliders, which were paired Great Flats beer. And we talked with local beer historian Craig Gravina and Great Flats co-founder Tom Owens about the beer boom here in New York State -- both present and past. (Also: There were some tangents about IPAs.)
And to finish off the night: The Cocobar created a batch of truffles made with Great Flats chocolate caramel stout -- which was then paired with a sample of the beer.
Big thank you to the crews at Great Flats, Slidin' Dirty, and The Cocobar. Much thanks to Craig Gravina, and to Duncan Crary for pinch hitting. And we appreciate The Capital Team at Howard Hanna for sponsoring the night.
Here are a handful of pics...
AOA event: Great Flats, Slidin' Dirty, and a conversation about beer history
Sold out!
We're making plans for spring already, and they include sliders, beer, and you.
On April 10, AOA will be at Great Flats Brewing in Schenectady for beer, Slidin' Dirty sliders, and a fun conversation about brewing -- both modern and old school -- with beer historian Craig Gravina.
Tickets are $8 and available online now. We expect this will fill up, so it's a good idea to grab tickets sooner rather than later if you'd like go.
Here's what the ticket includes:
+ Three different Great Flats beers
+ Two Slidn' Dirty sliders selected to pair with your first two beers
+ A chocolate/beer truffle made by Crisan to go with the third beer
+ A fun conversation about modern brewing and the history of Capital Region beer with Craig Gravina. You know Craig from the Albany Ale Project and AOA's popular Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers tours.
+ Meet the brewers and tour the brewery
It all starts at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, April at the Great Flats Brewing space on Lafayette Street in downtown Schenectady. We hope to see you there!
Thank you to The Capital Team at Howard Hanna and the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation for helping to make this event possible.
The most popular items on AOA in 2017
At the end of each year we like to go the through the stats on AOA to see which posts were most popular. It's one way to remember some of the stuff that happened.
So, here are some of the most popular items on AOA for each month during 2017...
AOA Birthday Party 9
AOA is now, somewhat unbelievably, 9 years old. So we're having a party to celebrate. And you're invited. (Because of course you are.)
AOA9 will be Friday, April 7 at Cornerstone at the Plaza (AKA, the restaurant space on the Empire State Plaza near the Corning Tower) from 5:30 pm-8:30 pm. There will be free snacks, birthday cake, a cash bar, music from DJ Trumastr, and some fun surprises.
As in past years, space is limited so we're asking people to RSVP -- here's how. It takes 30 seconds and we appreciate you doing so.
If the spaces on the list fill up (they usually do), a wait list will activate. In past years many of the people who sign up for the wait list do end up getting a spot.
We look forward to seeing you. Thank you for being part of AOA over all these years.
Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers photos 2016
This year's AOA Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers tour rolled through Albany, Troy, and Cohoes this past weekend. Along the way we heard all sorts of stories about local gangsters, corrupt politicians, red-light districts, brewing history, and controversial vaudeville stars -- and we sampled a bunch of different drinks and food.
Thanks to everyone who came along on the sold-out tour! We had a fun time! It was great to meet some new faces, and see some familiar ones again!
There are a bunch of photos from this year's tour, which included some new stops, after the jump.
Thanks to the City Beer Hall, Speakeasy 518, Patsy's Barbershop, Silver Fox Salvage/At the Warehouse, The Real McCoy Beer Co., The Cheese Traveler, Nine Pin Cider Works, Superior Merchandise Co., Cohoes Music Hall, Spindles on Remsen, and Brown's Brewing for hosting us and sharing samples. Thanks to Jack Casey for entertaining us again, and Michael Barrett of Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway Society for sharing historical items.
Big thanks again to Duncan Crary and Craig Gravina for serving as hosts of the tour.
The Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour was presented by Brian Brosen, Reggie Monroe, and The Capital Team at Realty USA. And it was sponsored by the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Downtown Troy BID, CDTA, E. Stewart Jones, Hacker Murphy, and Ryan's Wake.
Photos from the AOA cider cocktail tasting event at Nine Pin
Thanks to everyone who joined us at Nine Pin Cider Works Tuesday evening for a leisurely tasting of cider cocktails.
The owners of Harvest Spirits and Albany Distilling Co. were at Nine Pin's new tasting room mixing up a few cider cocktails for people to sample along with snacks. And they talked a little bit about what goes into making up different drinks and their ingredients. Then Nine Pin founder Alejandro del Peral led a tour of the cidery's expanded production space. And the evening finished with sorbet from The Dutch Udder.
It was a good time and fun to see everyone.
Here are a handful of photos of the night...
Tickets for AOA's Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour now on sale!
As mentioned Monday, AOA's popular Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootlegger's Tour is back November 5. And tickets are now sale! They're $30.
The tour combines craft beverages, fun people, and a history of the Capital Region that you won't find in text books. Duncan Crary and beer historian Craig Gravina of the Albany Ale Project will share stories of gangsters, bootleggers, and the area's brewing history. Along the way we'll stop for tastings at fun local bars and producers.
This year's tour is a new version, with a few of the old favorites along with some new stops and stories.
The Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour is presented by Brian Brosen, Reggie Monroe and The Capital Team. It's sponsored by the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Historic Albany Foundation, and the Downtown Troy BID, with help from CDTA.
Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour 2016
SOLD OUT!
Update: Tickets are now on sale!
AOA's Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour is back November 5!
The tour combines craft beverages, fun people, and a history of the Capital Region that you won't find in text books. Duncan Crary and beer historian Craig Gravina of the Albany Ale Project will share stories of gangsters, bootleggers, and the area's brewing history. Along the way we'll stop for tastings at fun local bars and producers.
This year's tour is a new version -- there will be some old favorites, plus new stories and new things to taste, so we hope you'll join us. (Here are some photos from BBB I, BBB II, and BBB III.)
Because the tour has sold out so quickly in the past -- before many people had a chance see that it was happening -- we're again giving everyone the heads up before tickets on go sale. So ask around, coordinate with your friends, whatever you have to do. ***The tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, October 18 at noon.*** (We'll post the link.)
We don't want to spoil it all, but here are a few details for BBB IV:
+ Tales of characters such as gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond, political boss Dan O'Connell, and Troy madam Mame Faye, and a cast of characters from Albany's political and brewing history.
+ A brewing history pre-game meetup at Ryan's Wake.
+ Stops at the speakeasy below City Beer Hall, Nine Pin Cider Works, and other establishments.
+ Tastes of historic and modern brews.
+ Swag and other surprises all the way.
The tour will start at Ryan's Wake on River Street in Troy and end at Brown's Brewing Co. just down the street.
History pre-game starts at 1:30 pm, the bus leaves at 2 pm, and we'll be back around 6 pm.
Tickets are $30 and will be available online starting this Tuesday, October 18 at noon.
The Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour is presented by Brian Brosen, Reggie Monroe and The Capital Team. It's sponsored by the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Historic Albany Foundation, and the Downtown Troy BID, with help from CDTA.
AOA event: Nine Pin Cider cocktail party
Autumn in the Capital Region is great for a lot of reasons -- many of them involving cider. Hot cider, hard cider, cider donuts. And now, cider cocktails.
Nine Pin Cider Works in Albany has a new tasting room with a New York cider cocktail menu. So we thought it'd be fun to get together a tasting of cider cocktails there on October 25.
Local distillers Derek Grout (Harvest Spirits) and John Curtin (Albany Distilling) will be there that evening mixing Nine Pin cider cocktails, as well as discussing their spirits and their cocktail creations.
What's included
Cocktail class
Derek Grout from Harvest Spirits in Valatie and John Curtin from Albany Distilling Co. in Albany will show us all how to make four cocktails, and they'll talk about using cider and other spirits in new cocktails. They'll send you home with recipes so you can mix your favorites yourself.
Cider cocktails
You didn't think we'd mix up cocktails and not drink them? Each ticket will include four Nine Pin cider cocktails mixed with locally-made spirits.
Snacks
Each drink will be paired with a local snack: cheese, fruit, nuts -- things that pair well with the cocktail.
Tour
Guests will get a tour of the cider works with founder Alejandro del Peral to see how Nine Pin is made, bottled, and canned.
Dessert
There will be a surprise, locally-made seasonal dessert.
The Nine Pine tasting room will be also pouring that night, and the company's different cider varieties and cider cocktails will be available for purchase.
And of course, you'll get to enjoy it all with other fun AOA people.
Tickets
The event is Tuesday, October 25 starting at 5:30 pm at the new Nine Pin tasting room at 929 Broadway in Albany. (The class and tasting will get started at 6 pm.) It's a 21-and-over event.
Space is limited for this event, and we expect it to fill up, so buying early will both save you a few bucks and ensure you get a spot.
Nine Pin advertises on AOA.
AOA ice cream social at Emack and Bolio's
Update: All the spots have been claimed. There's a short wait list at Eventbrite in case anyone cancels and an extra spot opens up. See you on Wednesday!
Whether because of the weather or politics or whatever, we've been thinking lately this summer really could use more ice cream. So... let's eat some cream.
This Wednesday (August 3) AOA will be at Emack & Bolio's in Albany at 7 pm and we'll be giving out a free scoop of ice cream to 50 people. Yep. One scoop of ice cream for you -- and it's on us.
IMPORTANT DETAILS: To claim your free scoop of ice cream, please sign up via this Eventbrite page. The free ticket generated there will be your voucher for the scoop of ice cream.
We'll be at Emack & Bolio's from 7 pm until about 8:30 pm. It looks like the weather will be beautiful. So stop by, have some ice cream, talk with some fun people, and soak up some summer.
We hope to see you there.
Photos from AOA8
Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate AOA's 8th birthday last week at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity. It was great to see so many people again, and to meet others for the first time.
There are a ton of photos from the party after the jump.
And thank you to everyone who helped make the party fun:
+ The Tech Valley Center of Gravity volunteers
+ The Tech Valley Game Space crew
+ Daydream.io
+ Ric Orlando and the team at New World Catering
+ Chatham Brewing
+ DJ Trumastr
+ And Duncan Crary, Anasha Cummings, Jason Lebrecht, Rhonda Rosenhect, Tom Tongue, Bridget McGivern, and Bob Bownes
Thank you
We figure we've now made something just short of 1,200 birthday cupcakes over the life of AOA.
We're skipping out a little earlier today so we can get ready for tonight's AOA birthday party.
It will be the eighth such party, which is almost unbelievable. The beginning feels like it was both a long time ago and just yesterday.
As we've said before, the best thing about working on AOA has been the people -- so many interesting, interested, thoughtful, and funny people. We really appreciate that you've been a part of all this.
Thank you.
AOA Birthday Party 8
The word is out: This year's AOA Birthday Party -- #8 (!) -- is in April. And you're invited. Because, obviously.
AOA8 will be at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity in downtown Troy on Wednesday, April 6 from 5:30-8:30 pm. There will be a bunch of free snacks from New World Catering, the traditional AOA birthday cupcakes, a cash bar, music from DJ Trumastr, fun projects, and tours of the COG. Also: a lot of interesting people (because you'll be there).
As in past years, space is limited so we're asking people to RSVP -- here's how. It takes 30 seconds and we appreciate you doing so.
If the spaces on the list fill up (they usually do), a wait list will activate. In past years many of the people who sign up for the wait list do end up getting a spot. Update: The wait list has been activated. We'll do our best to find spots for people on it.
We're looking forward to seeing you again, or meeting you for the first time!
The most popular items on AOA in 2015
At the end of each year we like to go the through the stats on AOA to see which posts were most popular. It's one way to remember some of the stuff that happened.
So, here are the most popular items on AOA for each month during 2015...
Photos from Bad Boys, Broads, & Bootleggers III
Sometimes it's fun to be bad.
The latest version of AOA's Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers tour rolled through Albany, Troy, and Cohoes this past weekend. The sold-out tour sampled beer, wine, and spirits along the way -- and explored the area's history of gangsters, madams, bootleggers, and brewers.
Thanks to everyone who came along! We had a fun time!
There are a bunch of photos from this year's tour after the jump.
Thanks to the City Beer Hall/Speakeasy 518, Nine Pin Cider Works, Druthers, The Lucas Confectionery, Smith's of Cohoes, Rare Form Brewing Company, and The Malt Room at Brown's for letting us stop in and sample.
Thanks also to CDTA for providing transportation, the Troy Music Hall for its assistance, and Jack Casey for entertaining us.
And big, big thanks to Duncan Crary and Craig Gravina for working with us and serving as guides.
The Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour was presented by Brian Brosen, Reggie Monroe, and The Capital Team at Realty USA. And it was sponsored by the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Druthers Brewing Company, Patsy's Barber Shop and Shocker Tattoo, and Historic Albany Foundation.
Well, that was frustrating
And... we're back online. Sorry about that.
We're still in the process of fixing some stuff after the site outage Wednesday into Thursday. It's our hope to have things more or less back to normal for Friday.
Thank you to everyone who expressed concerned -- and offered to help -- during the outage. We appreciate it. A lot.
Photos from the AOA cider pairing event at Nine Pin Cider Works
We got a bunch of people together Thursday night for a cider pairing event at Nine Pin Cider Works in Albany.
People got to taste a flight of four ciders paired with four locally-made cheeses, along with a short introduction to each from Nine Pin's Alejandro del Peral and cheese makers and purveyors. Then everyone took a tour of the production facility, and finished off the night with free samples of cider sorbet made by the Dutch Udder.
It was a good time. Thanks to everyone who joined us!
Here are a handful of photos of the night...
Tickets now on sale for the AOA Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour!
Update: Sold out!
AOA's popular Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour makes its return October 17. And tickets are now on sale -- follow this link to buy them online. They're $30.
The tour combines beer, fun people, and a history of the Capital Region that you won't find in text books. Duncan Crary and beer historian Craig Gravina of the Albany Ale Project will share stories of gangsters, bootleggers, and the area's brewing history. We'll also stop for tastings at fun local bars and producers.
As we mentioned earlier this week, the tour has changed a bit since the last time in 2013 -- there will be new stories and new things to taste, so we hope you'll join us. (Here are some photos from BBB I and BBB II, which both sold out.) A few details for this latest version of BBB:
+ Tales of characters such as gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond, political boss Dan O'Connell, and Troy madam Mame Faye, and a cast of characters from Albany's political and brewing history.
+ Stops at the speakeasy below City Beer Hall, Nine Pin Cider Works, Druthers Brewing in Albany, Smith's in Cohoes, and the Malt Room in Troy.
+ Swag and other surprises all the way.
The tour will both start and end on River Street in Troy near Brown's Brewing Co. We'll be traveling in CDTA's brand new accordion bus. The bus leaves at 2 pm and we'll be back around 5:30 pm.
The Bad Boys, Broads, and Bootleggers Tour is presented by Brian Brosen, Reggie Monroe and The Capital Team, and sponsored by Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Druthers Brewing Company, Patsy's Barber Shop and Shocker Tattoo, and Historic Albany Foundation.
How we make those maps
You can make a map like this. (Really.)
We like maps. And we like to make clickable maps to post here on AOA. Maps about patterns in Census data. Maps about election results. Maps about suggestions you've offered. (We might like all of this a little too much.)
Many of you also seem to like maps. And some of you have been curious about how we make the maps for AOA.
So here's how we do that.
AOA event: Cider pairing at Nine Pin
Update: Sold out!
Apple season has arrived. And when we think of apples our thoughts also turn to cider.
Nine Pin Cider Works is rolling out a new charcuterie offering at its tasting room on Broadway in Albany. So we thought it'd be fun to organize a get-together there on October 1, pairing four Nine Pin ciders with a variety of New York fruits, cheeses and meats. Here's what you get:
Cider flight
Taste four Nine Pin ciders: Signature Cider, Belgian Cider, Blueberry Cider, and Ginger Cider.
Local foods
Ciders will be paired with samples of cheeses fruits, veggies and charcuterie from farms and orchards both local and from around New York State, along with Saratoga Crackers.
Tour
Guests will get a tour of the cider works with founder Alejandro del Peral to see how Nine Pin is made, bottled, and canned.
Dessert
The Dutch Udder will be scooping free samples of its Nine Pin Cider Sorbet. (We got to taste this during the Startup Grant final and it was delicious.)
The Nine Pine tasting room will be also pouring that evening, so more of your favorite Nine Pin ciders will be available for purchase. And of course, you'll get to enjoy it all with other fun AOA people.
The event is Thursday, October 1 at the Nine Pin tasting room on Broadway. It's 21 and over.
Early bird tickets (purchased before September 15) are $15. After September 15, tickets are $20. Space is limited for this event, and we expect it to fill up, so buying early will both save you a few bucks and ensure you get a spot.
Nine Pin advertises on AOA.
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?