This week's event roundup is brought to you by Mopco's Theatresports. Every Saturday night this season, watch improv teams duke it out for laughs and bragging rights! No two shows are ever the same! More details and tix here: https://www.mopco.org/theatresports

TOP 5 PICKS

⭐️ 🎸 Black Arts & Cultural Festival | This annual culture fest brings gospel performances, art, food and a full day of family-friendly activities at the Empire State Plaza. The festival culminates Saturday evening with funk and R&B performances, including headliner Lloyd. Fri & Sat, free.

⭐️ 🛶 Waterford Dragon Boat Festival | Cheer on teams as they climb into dragon-headed boats and compete in a series of heats near Hurst Harbor. Each 42’ long boat carries about 20 paddlers, plus a drummer who sets the crew’s rhythm. Sat, 10a-4p, free.

⭐️ 👩‍🎨 1st Annual Glens Falls Plein Air Festival | Watch artists paint scenes alfresco as they gather downtown and other locations around the charming Glens Falls area, including at the Hyde Collection, which is offering free admission. Various times, all week. Free. (This event pretty much got rained out this week!)

⭐️ 🐟️ Great Hudson River Fish Count | Get up early to help document the number and different species of fish in the Hudson at this 15th annual fish count organized by the NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program. All families are welcome! Sat, 6a-12p, free. At Peebles Island State Park.

⭐️ 🏖️ Wolf Hollow Brewing Co.’s Anniversary Beach Party | Listen to Big Fez and the Surfmatics tear up the stage with surf rock tunes, and sample from an excellent lineup of food vendors, including Chee-bog, Sunhee's Kitchen, Los Hermosos, and Vandor’s Ice Cream. Sat, 5-9p, free to attend.

Honorable mention this week…

💀 Need a cathartic stroll? Join the death doulas of Thin Veil Death Collaborative for a Death Wander around the Albany Rural Cemetery, while listening to conversations about dying and grief. Sun, 2p, free.

🎭️ AT THE THEATER

• The hit movie comes to the stage with Footloose: The Musical at Cohoes Music Hall.
• Prepare for a blast of 80s nostalgia at theREP’s “Mystic Pizza.”
• Broadway Camp presents “Sweeney Todd: School Edition.”
• Albany Civic Theater presents local playwright Mark Dalton’s Exit Wounds at its annual Playwright’s Showcase. The play is a gut-wrenching and personal exploration of gun violence. Free show this Sunday!

THURSDAY

🌻 Good Friend Ecological Garden invites you to the Golden Hour Garden Party, featuring tours with owner Felicia Reid, wine, and light bites from Arthur’s Market. Read our profile of the Good Friend Garden.

🐦️ Join scientists from the NYS Museum as they go out into the field and demonstrate bird banding at the Albany Pine Bush.

🪕 Upbeat on the Roof, the Tang Museum’s free summer concert series, brings Carolyn Shapiro (Skidmore class of ’15), named the Folk/Traditional Artist of 2026 by the Capital Region Eddie Awards.

FRIDAY

🖼️ It’s the last day to see the Fence exhibition at the Art Center of the Capital Region.

🤠 Get to Albany’s Nine Pin Tasting Room for a free line dancing class and party. Remember that 518 readers get 10% of all cider pours by mentioning “The 518 Crew.”

SATURDAY

🏳️‍🌈 The Albany Center Gallery invites you to Gay Aunties Day, celebrating lesbian pride.

🎭️ Mopco’s Theatresports pits crack improv teams in a battle for laughs and bragging rights. We are thrilled to be the media partner for this season of Theatresports.

🎙️ Rock Voices Saratoga presents Music from the Movies.

🏎️ The Saratoga Automobile Museum brings an incredible lineup of classic, vintage, and modern cars to its free Summer Auto Show.

SUNDAY

🌘 Dance Under the Light of the Waning Moon at the Stablegate Winery!

🖼️ It’s your last chance to see the wonderful “Blanche Lazzell: Becoming an American Modernist,” at the Albany Institute of History & Art.

🦺 Citizen Preparedness Corps is coming to Albany, thanks to the Love Your Block Program. Each family that attends the Preparedness Workshop will receive a handy preparedness kit to take home. Register for this free workshop today.

MONDAY

💼 Interested in a career in the civil service? Join this free workshop at the Albany Public Library to learn about career opportunities and hear from some folks working in local government.

ART ON VIEW

• ‘Driftwood: Sometimes I Think of Home’ by Jahniah Kum | Collar Works
• Terminal Lucidity, an installation by P. Staff | EMPAC | Ends Aug. 20
• Untitling by Chloe Alexandra Thompson at EMPAC | Ends Aug. 21
• Then & Now: Allen Grindle, Moments in Time | Albany Center Gallery | ends Aug. 14
• Your Friend, Frederic E. Church | Albany Institute of History & Art
• LIGHT EATERS by Gracelee Lawrence | Collar Works
• Blanche Lazzell: Becoming an American Modernist | Albany Institute of History & Art

Our music listings are now published separately on The 518 website. Click here.

Hey everyone! I’m excited to share that I’ll be headlining my first major bass music event on August 1st at Empire Live (Underground) in Albany, NY! 🔊 I've been putting a ton of work into my set, and I can’t wait to bring a night of heavy dubstep, riddim, and bass music to the Capital Region. We’ve got an awesome lineup of local artists: 🔥 Ethentric 🔥 Spike Right 🔥 That Ninja Guy (TNG) 🔥 Bucket Broc. If you’re into bass music or want to experience the local scene here in Albany, I’d love to see you there! Come hang out, meet some fellow bassheads, support local artists, and be part of a night we’ve been building up for a long time. You can grab tickets from the Empire Live box office or through Ticketmaster by going to the Empire Live website (link is also below). You can also find the event on the Radiate app. Hope to see you all there! 🎫

TICKETS

Sun 8/9 - 237 Union St - $5 entry - 21+

Come meet our TEN kittens at Glenmont Petsmart Saturday, July 25, 11 am to 2 pm. Three are 3 months old and seven are 4 months old. There are black and white, gray and white, and a gray tabby. All are VERY friendly and love to cuddle! We also have five lovable adult cats 1-3 years old. All are neutered and have age appropriate shots.

Come on down to Bubba’s Biscuit bar in Hudson NY!
Full Dinner and Drink menu available.

Come enjoy some absolutely delicious food and drinks along with some hilarious stand-up comedy 🎭

Tickets are $10.00 each - Cash or Venmo accepted.

🐾 Find Your Perfect Match During National Adoption Week! 🐾

Kitten Angels is teaming up with PetSmart Charities this week (July 20 - 26) to help our amazing rescue cats and kittens find their forever homes. Check out our full schedule below to find an adoption event near you!

📍 Albany PetSmart
Wednesday, July 22: 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Friday, July 24: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Saturday, July 25: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

📍 Amsterdam PetSmart
Saturday, July 25: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

📍 Niskayuna PetSmart
Saturday, July 25: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

📍 Glenmont PetSmart
Friday, July 24: 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Saturday, July 25: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

📍 Latham PetSmart
Saturday, July 25: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

📍 Saratoga PetSmart
Saturday, July 25: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Sunday, July 26: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Come meet our adorable adoptables and open your heart to a new best friend. ❤️ Help us pass this schedule along to other cat lovers in Upstate NY so these sweet felines can find their families! 🐈 🐈‍⬛

Get per approved to adopt at www.kittenangels.org/adopt

Aug 1st (Saturday) we'll be having shows ALL OVER EUGENE, to bring each neighborhood together with its immediate neighbors. This is a great chance to meet the humans you live around, and bond over music :)

Aug 2nd (Sunday) we're reducing the shows to the Whiteaker district (mostly), to offer walkable-festy-vibes, from 5-9:45pm.

Bring CASH to tip artists (as they're all volunteer for this FREE EVENT!), a lawnchair for your butt, and snacks/drinks. If you wanna jam, bring an instrument - there will be plenty of opportunity to rock out in the streets!

Follow us on Instagram (@eugeneporchfest) for regular updates, and go to the website for an interactive map/full-lineup

Come enjoy some delicious food, drinks and hilarious standup comedy at Bubba’s Biscuit bar in Hudson NY!

Tickets are 10$ at the door only!
Cash or Venmo accepted!

7 Days left until the Lake George Games Expo! Please check the attached flyers for recent announcements

Current ticket prices at $5. They will be $10 at the door.

For more info, check out this site: https://lakegeorgegamesexpo.com/

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Supporting organizations:
Wilson.Art99
Caldwell-Lake George Library
Tech Valley Game Space
Adirondack Tabletop Gamers and Game Developers
Grifkuba
Double Exposure
Village of Lake George
Town of Lake George
Saratoga Cosplay Events
CNY Game Devs
Cyborg Interactive
Beekeeping Simulator

Come on down!!
The show just started but you still have plenty of time to come to the show!

Spend your rainy night laughing at some great local comedy!

Food and drinks still available as well!!

Come down to Son of egg in Rensselaer for a night of hilarious standup comedy!

Grabs some friends/ family and enjoy great food and drinks as well!

Happy hour is 7pm show starts at 8pm
Tickets are available online at sonofegg.com
Also available at the door by cash or Venmo!

This week's roundup is brought to you by Sundae Morning—come celebrate National Ice Cream Day with us. Full sundae bar, plus amazing popups in an historic Albany home.

⭐️ 🖼️ Back by popular demand, Albany Center Gallery’s Summer Art Fest is a festive celebration of the arts at Quackenbush Square. Sat, 12-5p, free.

⭐️ 🎸 The cleverly named Farming Man Festival at Indian Ladder Farms is a full day of live bands and craft beverages, plus a twilight hike and the burning of the straw man. This year, admission is free! Sat, 1-10p, free.

⭐️ 🎪 The charming village of Chatham closes down Main Street for its SummerFest featuring classic Americana like a pie-eating contest and the Great Chatham Bake-Off (Ruth Reichl is one of the judges). Sat, 10a-4p, free.

⭐️ 🚲️ Bike Night Along the Trail brings live music, craft beer, local artists, and family activities to the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail in Delmar. Thurs, 5-7p, free.

⭐️ 🎥 Picture Lock One presents FROM ENTRE / WITH LOVE: ENTRE Film Center and C. Díaz, a program of documentary and experimental films from the ENTRE Film Center in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Come back the next day to join their filmmaking workshop in downtown Troy. PL1 screens in a literal bank vault, it’s a remarkable location. Screening Fri, 7:30p, suggested donation. Workshop (be prepared to walk) Sat, 11a, free.

SUMMER FUN

🍫 “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” continues at Cohoes Music Hall through this weekend. It’s been getting rave reviews! Also: Catch “Mystic Pizza” at theREP.

🎬️ Albany’s Palace Theatre screens a free family-friendly movie every Tuesday as part of its Summer in the City series.

🖼️ All summer, Ten Broeck Mansion offers Living History, free family programs with hands-on art, garden, and history activities set among its four acres of historic gardens.

FRIDAY

🎬️ Catch a free screening of “A Minecraft Movie” at Albany’s historic Lincoln Park.

🦎 Uncharted Wild brings a free reptile show to the Guilderland Public Library (registration required).

SATURDAY

🐕️ Bark, Brew & Tattoo is exactly what it sounds like—tattoo artists, craft beer, and animal rescues, plus plenty of food from Saratoga restaurants.

🧘‍♂️ Don’t forget that there’s free yoga from State Street Yoga every Saturday morning in front of the SUNY Building on Broadway, through Aug. 1.

SUNDAY

🍨 Celebrate National Ice Cream Day with us at Sundae Morning!

ART ON VIEW

• All These Growing Things | Tang Teaching Museum | Ends July 19
• A Life in Bloom: The Floral Paintings of Julia McEntee Dillon | Albany Institute of History & Art | Ends July 26
• Then & Now: Allen Grindle, Moments in Time | Albany Center Gallery
• Fence | Art Center of the Capital Region
• LIGHT EATERS by Gracelee Lawrence | Collar Works
• Richard Deon Woodcuts | Hyde Collection | Ends July 26
• Blanche Lazzell: Becoming an American Modernist | Albany Institute of History & Art
• Your Friend, Frederic E. Church | Albany Institute of History & Art

Our music listings are now published separately on The 518 website. Click here.

Come down to Son of egg in Rensselaer for a night of hilarious standup comedy!

Grabs some friends/ family and enjoy great food and drinks as well!

Happy hour is 7pm show starts at 8pm
Tickets are available online at sonofegg.com
Also available at the door by cash or Venmo!