Items tagged with 'Tulip Fest'

Tulip Festival 2018 music lineup

the band White Denim

White Denim. / photo: Drew Anthony Smith

The music lineup for this year's Tulip Festival is out. The headliners include the rock band White Denim.

A quick scan version of the music slates for both stages -- along with embedded videos of the acts -- is below. As usual, the lineup includes both national and local acts.

As you know, Tulip Fest includes a bunch of events in and around Albany's Washington Park, including the crowning of the new Tulip Queen and the annual Mother of the Year Award.

Tulip Fest is Mother's Day weekend, which is May 12-13 this year.

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Talking with the Tulip Queen

tulips queen 2016 Adaviah Ward

Albany's annual Tulip Festival is this weekend, and a new Tulip Queen will be crowned on Saturday.

That means the reign of the current Tulip Queen -- Adaviah Ward -- is about to end. "If anything, it's ignited a fire in me to get, and be, involved even more and keep a presence within the community," she said this week about the past year.

Ward is an Albany native who grew up in Arbor Hill and the South End, graduated from Albany High School, and is working on a liberal arts degree at HVCC with a plan to continue on at Saint Rose for an elementary education degree.

We got a chance to talk with Ward for a few minutes about the experience of being the Tulip Queen -- how it's affected the way she sees the city, what she'll remember, and what it's like to be a local celebrity.

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Tulip Festival music lineup 2017

Minus The Bear

Minus The Bear | photo: Shervin Lainez / Bradley Hale

The music lineup for this year's Tulip Festival is out. The headliners include Minus The Bear.

A quick scan version of the music slates for both stages -- along with embedded videos of the acts -- is post jump. As usual, the lineup includes both national and local acts.

As you know, Tulip Fest includes a bunch of events in and around Washington Park, including the crowning of the new Tulip Queen.

Tulip Fest is Mother's Day weekend, which is May 13-14 this year.

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The new Tulip Queen

The new Tulip Queen was crowned over the weekend at the Tulip Festival and she's Adaviah Ward from the city of Albany. Her Tulip Court bio:

Adaviah is a Liberal Arts major at Hudson Valley, planning go on to obtain her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education. She is working locally at the Lexington Center. Adaviah volunteers regularly with Albany Community Charter School and the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. She enjoys spending her time reading, journaling, singing in choir, and working with her church's youth group. Adaviah's goals as a member of the 2016 Tulip Court are to help develop educational programs for kids outside of the classroom, and to act as a mentor and role model for the community.

The Tulip Court works on community service and literacy projects during its year-long reign. Bios for the members of this year's court after the jump.

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Tulip Fest music lineup 2016

For-All-Eyes-SiteLanghorneSlim_roeth4-24-15-03-copy-2.jpg

Langhorne Slim &The Law -- headlining Tulip Fest 2016

The music lineup for this year's Tulip Festival is out. The headliners this year include Langhorne Slim & The Law and Tokyo Police Club.

A quick scan version of the music slates for both stages -- along with embedded videos of the acts -- is post jump. As usual, the lineup includes both national and local acts.

As you know, Tulip Fest includes a bunch of events, including the crowning of the new Tulip Queen.

Tulip Fest is Mother's Day weekend, which is May 7 and 8 this year.

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The situation is rather invovled

Albany Knickerbocker News 1951 Judy Davenport tulip queenThat post earlier today about what it was like to be one of the first Tulip Queens -- if you haven't read it, you totally should, it includes some fun stories -- briefly references the experience of another early Tulip Queen, Judy Davenport. Here's a clip from that 1951 Knickerbocker News article, because you might get a smile out of it:

Since her coronation May 10, Judy Davenport, Albany's tulip queen, has had six offers of jobs and 12 proposals of marriage.
The marriage proposals arrived when Judy picked up her telephone and found 12 young men on the other end. They all wanted to marry the tulip queen.
The young men suggested they come down to the YWCA, where Judy lives, and propose in person. Then Judy could pick the one whose proposal she liked best and the wedding would be the "highlight" of the Tulip Festival.
The brown-haired, blue-eyed tulip queen declined the collective proposal. She said in this interview that she is not engaged or planning to be immediately -- because, right now, she can't seem to narrow the field down to one.
"Just say my romantic situation is rather involved," she instructed, adding that she preferred tall men (Judy is 5 feet, 8) with "character."

We can only imagine how Miss Davenport turned away those suitors.

It's all rather involved, boys.

Knickerbocker News clip via Fulton History

What it was like to reign as one of Albany's first Tulip Queens

Tulip Queen - 1956 1.jpg

Nadia Spiak, Albany's 8th Tulip Queen, in 1956.

Nadia Rymanowski's friends still refer to her as T.Q., though her reign as Tulip Queen ended more than 50 years ago.

Albany's 8th Tulip Queen was 20 years old when she was crowned in May of 1956. Back then she was Nadia Spiak from Troy -- she was allowed to compete for Albany Tulip Queen because she was studying at Albany Business College. (Her father had entered her in the competition without her knowledge.) Spiak was one of more than 500 young women who competed for the crown that spring, and she still maintains that she was more surprised than anyone when she won.

"We all had our ideas about who it would be," Spiak-Rymanowski says, "I was speechless."

So what was it like to be the eighth Tulip Queen of Albany?

"Exciting," says Spiak-Rymanowski, who today lives in Loudonville with her husband and works as a professional painter.

The ceremony and the position, she says, were very different back then.

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Tulip Festival 2015 music lineup

the kooks smiling

The Kooks

Here's the music schedule for this year's Tulip Festival. The headliner is the britpop/rock band The Kooks.

A quick scan version of the music slates for both the main and local stages -- along with embedded videos of the acts -- is post jump. As usual, the lineup includes both national and local acts.

As you know, Tulip Fest includes a bunch of events, including the crowning of the new Tulip Queen. Here's the full event schedule.

Tulip Fest is Mother's Day weekend, which is May 9 and 10 this year.

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Tulip Fest Then & Now Photo Contest

tulip fest then and now contest

This could be fun: The Albany Postcard Project and the events arm of the city of Albany have teamed up for a Tulip Fest "then and now" photo contest.

How it works: The Albany Postcard Project has put together a collection of old postcards from Washington Park. The contest asks people to pick a one of hold postcards and try to recreate the scene in a new photo from now. The entries can be submitted via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram by tagging them #TulipThenAndNow. The deadline is May 16. (If you're going to enter, be sure to read all instructions at that link.)

Winners will be selected by a popular vote and a panel of judges. The winners get "a Tulip Festival prize package."

Tulip Festival 2014 music lineup

mike doughty on couch

Update: Mike Doughy has been subbed in for MS MR.

Updated May 9

The schedule for this year's Tulip Festival is out. The music headliner this year is the indie pop duo MS MR. They've been replaced by Mike Doughty -- see update below.

A quick scan version of the music slates for both the main and local stages -- along with embedded videos of the acts -- is post jump. As usual, the lineup includes both national and local acts.

As you know, Tulip Fest includes a bunch of events, including the crowning of the new Tulip Queen. Here's the full event schedule.

Tulip Fest is May 10 and 11 this year.

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The 2013 Tulip Queen finalists

albany tulip queen finalists 2013

Left to right: Jerry Jennings (not in the running for Tulip Queen), Kate Bender, Meghan Cahill, Gigi Diffenback, Fendi Munoz, and Alexis Osborne. (photo: Rosalie Phan)

The finalists for this year's Tulip Queen are out. Bios after the jump.

The selection of this year's court started with 70 nominations. Semi-finalists are picked by a panel of judges that includes former Tulip Court members. The finalists are then chosen based on their interaction at the annual Tulip Tea and "their community service and leadership skills as well as their knowledge of Albany." (Knowing Albany trivia probably helps during the competitive tea party.)

The Tulip Queen will be crowned on the Saturday of the Tulip Festival, May 11 at noon at the Washington Park Lakehouse. The queen and court work on literacy initiatives in the city of Albany during their year-long reign.

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Tulip Festival 2013 music lineup

silversun pickups

Silversun Pickups

The schedule for this year's Tulip Festival is now out. The music headliner is Silversun Pickups. A quick scan version of the slate -- including the local stage -- is post jump, followed by the full festival schedule.

Tulip Fest is May 11 and 12 this year. The festival is still looking for volunteers -- if you'd like help, call (518) 434-5411 for info.

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The new Tulip Queen

The 2012 Tulip Queen is Emily Finnegan, a UAlbany junior from Colonie studying political science, globalization studies, and Spanish. She's done volunteer work in India and Guatemala. And she's on the UAlbany track and cross country teams.

Here are all the finalists -- it sounds like any of them would have been worthy picks.

Mother of the Year This year's Mother of the Year is Helen Hagen. Paul Grondahl wrote a story in the TU this past weekend about Hagen and two of her friends -- among them, they have 22 children -- adopted, foster and biological.

Photos Here's a big Tulip Festival photoset by Michael Panzarino of M.A.P. Graphics. He caught some good reactions when Emily Finnegan's name was announced as the Tulip Queen.

photo: Michael Panzarino of M.A.P. Graphics

The 2012 Tulip Queen finalists

tulip queen finalists 2012

Jerry Jennings, Nicole Branchini, Millie Condon, Nicole Dama, Emily Finnegan, Jillian LeFevre, Tulip Festival chair Marcus Pryor

From a group of about 100 nominations, the field for this year's Tulip Queen is now down to five finalists. Names and bios are after the jump.

There's something delightfully retro about the Tulip Queen. The semi-finalists are picked by a panel of judges that includes former Tulip Court members. The finalists are then chosen based on their interaction at the annual Tulip Tea (that's right, it's a competitive tea party) and "their community service and leadership skills as well as their knowledge of Albany."

We remember going to a real estate open house years ago at which the seller's daughter had been the Tulip Queen. They had a framed display in their hallway commemorating her selection. You could tell how proud they were. It was great.

This year's Tulip Queen will be crowned May 12 at the Washington Park Lakehouse during the Tulip Festival. She and the other members of the court will work on education and literacy initiatives during their year reign.

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Tulip Fest 2012 lineup and schedule

fountains of wayne

Fountains of Wayne. Let's hope they don't need the scarves in May.

The lineup for this year's Tulip Festival was announced today -- Fountains of Wayne is the headliner. And some tribute bands.

Tulip Fest is May 12 and 13 this year (Mother's Day weekend, as always).

The full lineup -- with a schedule of events -- is after the jump.

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Tulip Fest 2011 photos

Bennett and Sebastien sent along nice photo sets from the Tulip Festival.

A handful of photos from the sets are after the jump. Re-live the flowers, the music, the lassos...

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20 facts about tulips

Tulips

Worth their own mania?

They're all over the Capital Region. We even have a festival for them (you may have heard).

So, here are 20 facts about tulips.

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Street Sweeping

Tulip Festival 2011 street sweeping 1.jpg

Sweeping State Street

Tulip Festival 2011 is officially underway. The festival starts every year with a ceremonial sweeping of State Street. It stems from a Dutch tradition of cleaning the streets before a festival.

After the jump a look today's street sweeping ceremony.

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The 2011 Tulip Queen hopefuls

tulip court 2010

The reign of the 2010 Tulip Court is nearly at an end.

Out of about 70 nominations for 2011's Tulip Queen, the field is down to five.

The city announced the Tulip Queen finalists earlier today. According to the blurbage, "These young women were chosen based on their community service and leadership skills as well as their knowledge of Albany."

(We admit we're curious about that "knowledge of Albany" part. Was there a history quiz? A naming of all the major east-west streets, running south to north, in order? A spelling bee?)

One of these young ladies will be crowned queen at Tulip Fest May 7 in Washington Park.

The queen and her court work on education and literacy initiatives during their year-long reign.

Names and bios after the jump.

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Cold War Kids to play at Tulip Fest

cold war kids

Cold War Kids. Obligatory black-and-white photo of indie dudes standing in front of a wall.

The music lineup for this year's Tulip Fesitval includes...

... and a handful of others. The full schedule is pasted after the jump.

Also this year: new rules for alcohol. No alcoholic beverages will be allowed to be brought in (under threat of bag and cooler inspections) and there will be no open containers allowed. (There will be a beer garden.) [TU]

The Tulip Festival is May 7 and 8.

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Tulip Fest 2010 photos

tulip fest 2010 OK Go

OK Go

Via Sebastien and Jason come a whole bunch of good photos from Tulip Fest.

Sebastien's set includes a lot of crowd shots from the main stage area. Jason's set has photos from the both the main stage and the lake house stage.

Sunday's high temp was 47 -- that's 21 degrees lower than the normal high. And it rained on Saturday. As Jason emailed: "I was glad i brought my raincoat, because getting hailed on sucks."

And from @OKGo on Saturday: "Albany, we stopped the rain just for you. Now lets get ready to celebrate these here tulips..."

Update: But, wait, there's more. Flickr user glittergirrll has a bunch of photos from the main stage, and here are some OK Go photos from Rob.

photo: Sebastien B

Go see the tulips

tulips moses in the background

They're ready for their closeup. Right now.

Don't wait until Tulip Fest weekend. Go this weekend. Or, if not this weekend, sometime during the next week.

The tulips in Washington Park are in bloom. They look great right now. And if you go during the next week, you won't have to elbow people out of the way wait patiently to see them up close.

OK Go to play Tulip Fest

ok go

OK Go. And a pony.

OK Go will be headlining the music slate at this year's Tulip Festival. You've probably seen their now-famous treadmill video -- or their latest, Rube Goldberg-inspired video. As it happens, they also play fun music.

The Tulip Festival is May 8 and 9 this year. OK Go will be playing Saturday afternoon. Like all the Tulip Fest shows, it's free.

Also: SPAC announced today that Kings of Leon will playing there June 6. Tickets go on sale this Saturday.

photo: OK Go

The Tulip Festival aftermath

tulipfest garbage

Apparently styrofoam coolers are in season.

Flickr user billfromesm snapped this pic of the, uh, leftovers from this year's Tulip Festival.

(Thanks, -S)

photo: Flickr user billfromesm

Friday's asks state police to look into snake head, parking official's wife's car got ghost tickets, landfill fined for stinkiness, Skidmore students accused of beat down, rooster finds new home, Tulip Queen crowned

TGI Friday's says the an independent lab has concluded that the snake head found in a side order of broccoli at its restaurant in Clifton Park was added after the veggies were cooked. The company says it's asked the State Police to open a criminal investigation. [TU] [AP/Daily Gazette]

GlobalFoundries says it won't buy the land for the Luther Forest chip fab until it can work out an agreement with construction unions -- and David Paterson's office is participating in the negotiations. Even with all the recent hype, the project still has some doubters. [TU] [Biz Review] [TU]

The vehicle registered to the wife of Albany's Parking Violations Bureau director received 70 ghost tickets, according to documents obtained by the TU. Albany treasurer Betty Barnette has said that her office, which includes the parking violations bureau, had no knowledge of the ghost ticket program. [TU]

A federal appeals court has upheld the $265,000 in damages awarded to a man who says an Albany cop violated his civil rights during an arrest in 2002. The cop -- who's had numerous complaints filed against him -- is still on the job. [TU]

Advocates for same-sex marriage have put together a coordinated campaign to lobby potential swing votes in the state Senate. Many senators have yet to say publicly how they'll vote on the issue. [NYT]

The state Senate and its slim Democratic majority have been quite the drama lately as small groups of senators have tried to get theirs by holding out on various bills. And now this: Kevin Parker, a senator from Brooklyn, has been charged with a felony for allegedly wailing on a New York Post photographer -- Parker is, perhaps fittingly, also the sponsor of legislation that would legalize ultimate fighting in the state. [NYT] [NYT] [NYP] [NYP]

Chuck Schumer has asked the Federal Trade Commissioner to look into those "your car warranty is about to expire" scam telemarketing calls. Apparently Schumer had had enough after he got a fourth call on his mobile last week. [AP/TU] [NYT]

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Officials expect H1N1 flu in every county eventually, first local stimulus project starts, mixed-use development planned for downtown Albany, Dr. Z gets stiffed, the weekend in chase and taser

There were 96 confirmed probable cases of the emerging H1N1 influenza in New York State as of Saturday night, according to the state department of health. Seventeen of the those cases were outside NYC -- and the state health commissioner says they expect that the virus will pop up in every county at some point. Three suspected cases from Schenectady and Albany counties have tested negative -- a suspected case in Saratoga County has gone for testing. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus is now "circulating all over" the country. [NYS DoH] [NYT] [Daily Gazette] [Saratogian] [NYT]

The Capital Region's first stimulus-funded project -- the reconstruction of Delaware Ave in Albany -- starts today (map). [TU]

The final tally for spending in the Tedisco-Murphy special election: $3.6 million -- $2.05 million by Murphy and $1.55 million by Tedisco. [TU]

Scott Murphy opened an office in Saratoga Springs Friday (it was Kirsten Gillibrand's old office). Murphy mentioned KG at least six times during his public comments. Apparently the biggest complaint at Murphy's first "Congress on Your Corner" event: Murphy supporters were blocking the nearby drive-up mailbox. [Post-Star] [Saratogian]

A state commission is looking into whether the ghost parking tickets given to some state officials in Albany violated a ban on gifts. [TU]

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The tulips are here!

Tulips.jpg

Tulips make us happy. (These are from last year.)

You may have noticed it yourself while driving around the Capital Region, but Albany City Gardener Judy Stacey says the first tulips of the season have reared their pretty heads.

Red Emperor Tulips are visible at the bottom of Broadway and Clinton, on the islands between Western and Madison and a few other spots throughout the city. And as you enter Washington Park near Madison and Willett St, Stacey says "The beds are just about to explode."

This year there were supposed to be 209 thousand tulips (they tack on a thousand extra bulbs each year)

Then Holland sent us a little gift. Awww...thanks Holland.

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Overheard at Madison and New Scotland

A guy is exiting Washington Park on his motorcycle during the Tulip Festival. He's dressed kind of preppy, but not wearing any socks. A group of young adults is looking on, smirking.

Young Adult: Excuse me, sir. Why aren't you wearing any socks?

Guy: (Annoyed) That's what I do.

Then the guy revs his motorcycle loudly and takes off.

NightFire video

Just in case you had a burning desire (oof!) to see the thing in all its, um, glory. We've condensed the time so that the video runs a bit less than half as long as the actual display.

Earlier on AOA:
+ NighFire: before, during and after
+ Igniting Albany's floating, burning tulip

Birthday cocaine, crime in the student ghetto, the gas tax and Plato, the new Tulip Queen

What do you get for that special ex-police chief in your life on his birthday? A shipment of cocaine, apparently. [Daily Gazette]

A map of crimes involving UAlbany students compiled by the TU paints a not-so-pretty picture of life off campus. [TU]

Using the obligatory "Look, I'm at a gas station because we're talking about gas prices" photo op, state assembly minority leader Jim Tedisco announced he's (or someone) collecting signatures for a petition supporting the "gas tax holiday." Sheldon Silver and David Paterson both oppose the temporary suspension of the tax. [Troy Record] [TU]

Speaking of Paterson, he gave the commencement speech for the College of Saint Rose this past weekend because "the lieutenant governor couldn't be be here." The governor also told the crowd that people pushing the gas tax holiday are following shadows instead of light. (Yep, that's a Plato reference.) [Daily Gazette]

The mysterious collapse of honey bee colonies is making things tough for apple growers around the area. It seems there were just enough bees to go around this year to pollinate the apple trees. [Daily Gazette]

Sarah Volk is the new Tulip Queen. [WNYT]

NightFire: before, during and after

nightfire during

That's hot. And a little different from what we expected.

Above is during. Before and after are after the jump.

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Tulips really are edible... sort of

blushing tulips in Washington Park

Good eats? Maybe.

When Judy Stacey, Albany's city gardener, told us that tulips were edible, we were kind of surprised. It seems you were, too. So we decided to do a little digging.

It would appear that it's most accurate to say that parts of tulips are edible. And people do eat them. There are recipes, even.

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How to sound smart about tulips

Tulips.jpg

What more can you say? Plenty, actually.

The 60th Annual Albany Tulip Festival kicks off tomorrow in Washington Park, which means tulips have temporarily replaced the weather as default small talk.

But every spring it's the same thing. Someone you're with invariably comments on how beautiful or colorful or happy the tulips look. And that's where the conversation starts to lag. Sure, you can agree. Yes, they are pretty aren't they? There are so many colors. The orange is so... bright. You want to liven things up -- expand on the conversation -- say something fascinating. But you can't think of anything to say. And those damn happy tulips just sit there -- taunting you.

Yep, we've been there too. But what is there to say about tulips?

Albany city gardener Judy Stacey says there's plenty. AOA asked Stacey to pass on a little conversational currency about Albany's city flower so we could entertain our friends
and look like savvy gardeners. Here's what she dropped on us...

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Igniting Albany's floating, burning tulip

Dr. Z with flaming handsMore Mission Impossible than 1812 Overture. That's what Dr. Gary Zeller (that's him on the right holding the fire) says it will look like in Washington Park on Friday night, when Mayor Jerry Jennings ignites "Night Fire", aka Albany's floating, burning tulip.

Gary Zeller (alias Dr. Z.) is a chemist, entertainer, pyrotechnics expert and the owner of the environmental technology company Zeller International. He did the special effects for "Dawn of the Dead" and won an Academy Award for the development of Zel Jel, a fireproof substance that protects stunt people.

He's also the guy who figured out how to make "Night Fire" burn.

AOA talked with Dr. Z about how to burn down a giant tulip display without, you know, burning down everything else around it.

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A little more about Albany's floating, burning tulip. Because we just had to know.

WaterFire Providence

A scene from WaterFire Providence in 2006

Like Nicki, we too were intrigued by the thought of a floating, burning tulip. It turns out that floating, burning art is sort of a thing right now.

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Police chase, Ch 10 for sale?, big crowds expected for Giants training, Tulip Fest gets fired up

Police say a Troy man (and rape suspect) told his mom he was going to get police to kill him and on Monday afternoon he came pretty close to getting his wish. [Record]

The parent company of WTEN Channel 10 may be thinking about selling the station. [TU]

The Ballston Avenue Price Chopper in Saratoga is expanding -- and it looks like the Railroad Place Price Chopper may be closing. [Saratogian]

After the Giants Super Bowl win, UAlbany is expecting record crowds for this summer's training camp. [Daily Gazette]

If the Tulip Festival just doesn't seem to have the zing it used to, organizers are planning something new this year to spice things up: a $100,000 floating steel tulip and lilly pads that catch on fire. [TU]

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

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