Category — Art

I’m away on vacation, so I asked for help from readers. Here’s a contribution from Amy, who helped me out last year, too. Thanks, Amy!

Fridays in July and August are FREE at the Albany Institute of Art! Last year we took advantage of the opportunity to visit such a special place. I remembered having gone a few years back while my oldest was younger and more stroller tolerant than my youngest is now. While my oldest is a spirited child to say the least, my youngest is no less spirited but a whole lot more difficult to manage in terms of his aptitude for destruction. When we “checked in” upon entering, the kindly man at the desk suggested a visit to the Children’s Gallery. But no, says I, we were there to see the current Hudson River Panorama exhibition. On and up we went to the second floor where within minutes of entering my youngest climbed upon a display faster than you could say “Jack Robinson” (For usage, read a favorite of ours, The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (Sandpiper Books) by DuBose Heyward). And faster than Jack Robinson did a security guard arrive and fixed me with that knowing glance that perhaps our kind would be better suited to the Children’s Gallery after all. I must admit to feeling slightly annoyed until we entered containment zone known as the Children’s Gallery.

The Children’s Gallery is a wonderful little room for families who desire a cultural outing without worry of becoming persona non gratis. (Although it’s really so much more, so read on!) Despite our experience, it is important to note that the AIHA does indeed welcome families. They also offer programs beginning at ages 3 years and up, as well as summer camps for kids. It just may be that the 2 and under set are not quite as ready for all of their offerings like the exhibits on the second and third floors, especially if those tots are anything like my own almost 2 year old. While children are welcome to touch and explore and “interact” in the “happy space” of the Children’s Gallery, there was only one other “touchable” display, located in the “mummy” room on the second floor and these were replicas of Egyptian deities. In the Children’s Gallery, “touchables” include a light box encouraging color and pattern exploration, an awesome puppet theater, dress up clothes and a bookshelf of Caldecott-only books. Next time, with both in tow, we know where will be headed.

Light Table in the Children's Gallery

As luck would have it, my oldest and I were able to make a return visit to the AIHA the same day, later in the afternoon. What a world of a difference! The man at the front desk remembered us and inquired about my other child. I assured him that said child was in the good care of his father. The two of us then proceeded upstairs and into the museum gift shop. (We like gift shops.) With the help of the shop girl, we picked up several postcards featuring works of art on display to be used as part of a makeshift matching/scavenger hunt game. Not only was it fun, but also encouraged my daughter to really LOOK around her and take in all of the great art here. She spotted pieces that I walked by, completely oblivious to her experience. “But mom, we saw this one already right when we walked in!” And she was right!

First, the health report. J appears to have shaken her fever, although she’s not at her best. She took a huge nap this afternoon, so she’s currently lying in bed at 10:20 pm wide awake. I think that we’re going to do a modified schedule tomorrow, hopefully sleeping in, heading to school late, taking a nap, and then attempting the recital. Meanwhile, M decided to yank my chain and feign illness. And I panicked because she’s singing a solo part in her third grade play on Thursday night. She sounds surprisingly great (although this is the mother speaking), so I would really like her to actually be able to do it. Plus, I admire her fearlessness. So, fingers crossed, and thank you for the healthy karma.

Anyway, since I put together that Summer Camps post, I’ve heard about some more camps, classes, and programs that you might be interested in. They are:

Candyland Activity & Enrichment Center in Schenectady has camp for (potty-trained) kids ages 3-7. It runs Monday to Friday, with session from 9 am to noon or 1-4 pm. $95/week.

There are Summer Art Classes for kids entering grades 1-6 with Heather Hutchison, an art therapist. They’re on Wednesdays from July 13th to August 17th, either 1:30-3:30 pm or 3:30-5:30 pm in Schenectady. It’s $70 if you do the full 6-week session. Contact Heather at heatherarttherapy@gmail.com or 729-7153 by June 27th to enroll.

The Language Learning Institute has summer camps in Latham for kids to learn French, Spanish, Italian, or Russian. They’re generally 3 hours a day Monday to Friday for $175/week. They have other programs for kids and adults.

In J’s class there’s a case of head lice, and she came home itching.  I went and got some kill-the-bugs shampoo. We kept reassuring her that this was “just in case”, or, as W likes to call it, a “prophylactic measure”.  Every time he said it I’d start to giggle because it sounds dirty.  Am I a 12-year-old boy or what?

I’d gotten J to strip down for the treatment, but the shampoo was surprisingly inoffensive.  Once I put it in her hair (it stays there for a few minutes pre-shampoo), it gave her some fabulous body.  So it was funny:  she was all “nakey” with wild hair, dancing and flaunting like a model.  Anyway, I put something about lice in my Facebook status (because I’m shameless) and various friends have been sharing advice.  And they’re just being helpful, but really?  Reading the advice just makes me want to curl up into the fetal position.

And all of this grooming was going on while we were listening to the gubernatorial debate.  Dude, I’m so glad that they let everybody participate.  I mean, it seriously upped the entertainment value, am I right?  And yet, it was sort of like the lice wash:  entertaining,  interesting poses, a few giggles.  But deep down, it just feels dirty.

Oh, also, Fin is hiding quietly.   Which, according to Google, is not a good sign.  I changed the water up, but who knows.  I fear a reprise of the
Ant Farm Debacle.  I’ve said before that two kids and a cat pretty much takes me to my personal limit.  But, truly,  I’m trying.

And I just figured out (she slid it into the class newsletter, about two paragraphs after I stopped paying attention the first time) that J’s teacher is pregnant, due in April.  Couldn’t she wait and have a life after J gets through this crucial first year?  Ack.

But, how ’bout this cute scary Halloween craft by J?  I thought that it was such a good idea to draw with white chalk on black construction paper.   This is left over from a previous year at nursery school, but it was so fun that it’s in my annual decoration box.   I’m feeling really nostalgic about nursery school right now. . . .

I’m catching up on the birthday party craftiness with the cute little gardens that we made for our fairies.

Here are some supplies:

I bought a peat-moss-looking table runner as well as some vase fillers and pretty little scrapbooking roses at Michael’s.  I cut the table runner up into small-ish pieces and glued them onto three stacked-up styrofoam plates to make the base of the garden.  They have lovely styrofoam blocks for this purpose, but they’re surprisingly expensive.  This was sort of the weak link in the craft, because it was sometimes difficult to poke things into the foam.  Still, it worked out.

The beautiful branchy-looking things are from Experience in Schenectady, which is right across the street from the main downtown library.  It is absolutely not a child-friendly store:  just walking into it with anyone under 6 is enough to make you break out into stress hives due to all of the delicate items, and they even say “no strollers” at the door.   Mostly it’s home decor stuff that’s way too fancy and expensive for me, but in the back there are aisles packed with all sorts of stuff that makes you want to get crafty:  fake flowers and fruits and birds and beads.  Again, a little expensive, but I took one large branch and cut it into little miniature trees and ornaments for the fairy gardens, so it wasn’t too bad.  It would also be a good source if you wanted to some sort of extra-nice crafty gift.

Anyway, here’s one of the fairy gardens:

M's garden with Mommy & Baby Fairies

It was a fabulous success.  The girls at the party spent a good 35 or 40 minutes crafting away, which you know is a long time, especially when there’s a house full of different toys and a table full of punch and Cheetos mere steps away.  When I woke up the next morning, M & J were busy using up the extra craft materials to expand their fairy homes and families.  What’s nice, too, is that it’s not glued, so they can pick up the pieces and rearrange with wild abandon.

Phew!  Everyone had fun and we’re still trying to finish off the cake.  It was nice to have an extra day to recover.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

One of the perks of the Vibram Five Fingers. . .

You’re not just running:  you’re also picking flowers!  Which reminds me, here’s a local photography blog with a simple-but-satisfying Queen Anne’s Lace Project.  And as long as we’re talking local blogs and craftiness, here’s a blog about family fun in the Adirondacks with a cool window star craft.

Actually, I ran into a friend at the pool today who accused me of rolling my eyes at her.  I was sure that she was wrong until I realized when:  she’d stopped her car and waited for me to run in front of her.  I know it’s wrong, but this is one of my pet peeves.  When people stop I feel like I have to speed up and get out of their way, when I just want to maintain my pace.  It’s not like it’s so busy around my neighborhood that I have to stop for cars much at all–usually I can just postpone crossing the street or I’ll even jog in a little circle.  And she had stopped, feeling bad for me because I’d been “caught” in the rain.  When, actually, I went running because it was raining.  Rain might be my favorite running weather.  So, I’m sure that I did roll my eyes at her.  I’ll have to try to be less obvious in the future.

For more of our adventures at the pool, you can check out the CBS 6 Blog, too.

I finally made it to the Albany Art Room!   I’ve been wanting to visit ever since I found out about it while working on my Big Ol’ List of Links.  Today we were planning on meeting W for lunch in downtown Albany with our out-of-town friends before saying goodbye to them, so it was the perfect opportunity to get a little artsy.

Basically, you pay $7 per hour per artist, and let the kids have at it.  The walls have different completed objects to provide you with inspiration, and the shelves are packed with paints and brushes and paper and fabric and play-doh and beads and pompoms and all sort of materials for projects. It’s great for anyone who wants to encourage a little creativity, and especially for those who are squeamish about having all that creativity splattered around their own house (although you know I don’t fall into this latter category:  W is still grumbling about the cooked egg that’s permanently adhered to our driveway).  Anyway, all four kids–we ranged from an 11-year-old to 5-year-old J–crafted happily for the full hour, and they could have stayed there another hour, easy.

Of course, there’s a small store and a few items that you have to purchase separately.  M wanted a little wooden doll (you can see hers in progress and a completed dolly below), and our oldest artist, Lizzie, painted on a real canvas.   Altogether I dropped a bit under $20 for two kids doing art for an hour each, plus two wooden items that the girls painted to bring home.  Now, you know I’m cheap, so this was a bit of a drag.  But it  didn’t give me quite the same yucky feeling that I’ve complained about at other pay-as-you go locations.   First, because it’s actual stuff that they’re purchasing to take home, and second, because I didn’t feel like I was being fleeced.  For example, when J immediately jumped on the lovely little wooden birdhouses that would have doubled my cost right then and there, Karen from the art room showed her the many other options, including the teensy treasure boxes which were  cheaper and more manageable for her attention span, anyway.

And herein lies the charm beyond the oodles of supplies available:  a friendly person to encourage and instruct your kids while still letting them do, pretty much, whatever.  You & the kids tidy up a bit, but any serious paint scrubbing is left to others.  You’re also more than welcome to help yourself to whatever you or your child needs to create their art.  So it’s a comfortable, casual atmosphere, but much more relaxing than the same projects would be if you tried to do them at home.  It seems like a good destination with friends so that the grown-ups can chat while the kids create.  Although there are enough cool-looking projects that you’ll be tempted to do some grown-up art as well.

The Albany Art Room has memberships available as well as classes for kids and adults.  They also do birthday parties, and I ran into a reader who’d had a birthday party there, and she said that it was great.  There are even parties for grown-ups.  Seriously:  how’s this for a baby shower idea?  Everyone makes onesies together, or each guest makes a small canvas or frame with coordinating colors or stencils for the nursery?

Canvas, glitter & sequins.

They’ve got parking available (wish I’d noticed before I’d parked a block away), and there are sandwiches, wraps, or Mexican food very close by, making it an easy outing.  This is a bit pricey to become a weekly outing for us, but we’ll definitely be coming again.

We took a bike ride to the Central Park Rose Garden after dinner–the girls frolicked with some random children, people were pushing strollers around, and it was positively serene.  So worth a visit, especially if you want to get some good family pictures.  There’s a bridge that the girls love, and J likes to compare the flower scents and gather up fallen petals to throw on us.

One of the rotating header pictures  is the garden before the roses are blooming, so hopefully I’ll have a blooming version soon.  Of course, Tiny Tot Land is closed again–what’s up with that?

I keep getting emails from Albany Art Room.  Their site lists several camps, but there are actually many more.  They’ve added a camp running August 2-6 for ages 5 and up called Adventures in the Forest, culture in Ecuador, including some Spanish language.  They’ve also got two different sessions of Mon/Wed/Fri classes on [Pottery] Wheel Throwing for Teens.   This is just a couple of the more recent offerings that they’ve sent emails about, so if you’re generally interested in art programs, it’s worth it to get on their email list.

J went to a birthday party today at Bumble Beads in Latham.  I hadn’t ever been inside, although I’d peered in one day when we were visiting Hoffman’s Playland, which is right next door.

Party Area Decor

The mom provided snacks, pizza, & dessert.  The store provided the space (a little alcove portion of the store), two crafts per child, and a teensy goody bag with a candy necklace, a honey stick (because of their bee theme), and a coupon.  They also had tiaras and fairy wings available to wear during the party.  The party was 1 1/2 hours.

Supplies for Necklace

Here was a good idea:  they had little felt fabric place mats for each girl to keep the beads from rolling.  I will so use this technique in the future.  The crafts themselves were a little blah.  Both were items that you could have done just as easily by buying basic supplies at the craft store.  I know that the kids were 5- and 6-year-olds, but I want it to be extra messy to do and/or look extra fancy at the end if I’m going to a crafty destination.  Of course, that’s me.  I know that some people will pay significant money just to keep the party out of their own home.

I’m also a little bit freakishly sensitive about the girl party thing:  this idea that little girls want to sit quietly and make themselves beautiful and/or create accessories so that they can be more beautiful.  Yeah, I know that they like it.  And I’m okay with that.  I mean, I made that princess castle cake, right?  But I just don’t like to completely pigeonhole them quite so much.  I want them to be able to run around and laugh and shout, and the space just wasn’t there for the wild abandon that makes a great party.  In fact, there was a hopscotch design on the floor, and J kept on getting up and doing hopscotch.   At one point a few of  the girls started to run in a little circle, and they got pulled back into the quiet activity.   There was plenty of giggling, though.  And the birthday girl is currently nutty about jewelry, so it was absolutely perfect for her.

I think that this would be a terrific destination for an older girls’ party, when they’re at the age when they might just want to hang out and chat and do an absorbing project.  Or even a moms’ night out:  they do grown-up crafts.  There was a tremendously enthusiastic customer buying items who had come back after going to a class for the first time last night:  looks like she’s got a new obsession.

I thought that the party prices (they’re on the website) were expensive, but the items in the shop were priced well.  You know I’m not a shopper, but there were plenty of nice things  for the moms to examine during the party.

Cute Bracelets!

I barely managed to suppress my desire to buy one of the thin turquoise bracelets for M–it’s just exactly her style.  But I’d already completed her birthday shopping.  In fact, now I’m a little bummed that I didn’t go ahead and buy it and store it for some future occasion:  she saw the picture and liked it, just as I predicted.  There were cute gifts.  I also wanted a mood ring for myself.  I’m a sucker for a mood ring, probably because I’m naturally a warm-fingered gal.  So mood rings always tell me that I’m happy & relaxed, and then I’m convinced.  Come to think of it, I’m the same way about most things like that:  I only “believe” in horoscopes and fortune cookies when they tell me that everything’s going to be great.

One scheduling note: tomorrow’s 9:45 am hike listed on my weekly events post has been canceled.

Phew!  Everyone exhausted from the weekend?  Weather’s looking great for much of this week–still sunny, not so hot.  Yay.  Here are some things going on:

Monday, June 7th:

• The local Sling Babies group is meeting at North Bethlehem Playground at 10:30 am.
• From 6:30-8 pm, the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library will have a training session for teen volunteers.  Participants must pre-register and be in grades 6-12.
• The Colonie Town Band will play at 7 pm at Canal Square in Cohoes.

Tuesday, June 8th:

• NYSTI is presenting Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. on the 8th, 9th, & 10th at 10 am.  One of our readers went and commented that it was “fabulous”.
• The Town of Schodack has Music in the Park from 6-8 pm.
• At 6 pm, it’s the Geronimo Stilton Book Club at the Saratoga Springs Barnes & Noble.

Wednesday, June 9th:

• NYSTI is presenting Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. on the 8th, 9th, & 10th at 10 am.  One of our readers went and commented that it was “fabulous”.
• Take a Teddy Bear Picnic:  Beachside! at 10 am at Bethlehem Public Library.  Sign-up is required.
• It’s Beads! Beads! Beads! from 1-3 pm at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.  Free with admission.
• From 7-8 pm at the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library there’s an Introduction to Geocaching. It’s designed for teens and adults, and you can register online.

Thursday, June 10th:

• Starting today and through the weekend it’s the Saratoga Arts Fest.  The serious family good times are on the weekend, but beginning today you can purchase an Art Rally for Kids kit at the Children’s Museum to take an artistic walking tour through Saratoga.  Here’s where I’d love to hear from a reader who tries this out early so that all of the rest of us folks know if it’s worth doing!
• At 9:45 am, there’s a group of parents & young children hiking Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary. See the Capital District Hikes page for more information.
• NYSTI is presenting Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. on the 8th, 9th, & 10th at 10 am.  One of our readers went and commented that it was “fabulous”.
• Drop in to the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Library for Preschool Movies from 10:15-11 am.
• There’s free Jazz on Jay Street in Schenectady from noon to 1:30 pm.
• Chubby Checker’s performing at Alive at Five at the Albany Riverfront Park.
• Staging Youths’ Future presents Seussical the Musical as dinner theater.  At 6 pm there’s spaghetti dinner, and the show is at 7:30 pm.  Tickets are $15 for dinner and the show.  This is for 6/10, 6/11, 6/17, & 6/18.
• At 6:30 pm, it’s American Girl Book Club at the Mohawk Commons Barnes & Noble.
• At 7 pm, there’s a Teen Reading Group at the Colonie Center Barnes & Noble.
• At 7 pm, there’s The Children’s Circle Storytime, designed for families with kids with special needs, at the Bethlehem Public Library.  Sign-up is required.

Friday, June 11th:

• Wiggle and Giggle from 10-11:30 am at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• At 2 pm, they’ll be doing Soil Prep for the garden project at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga.
• At 3:30 pm it’s Teen Time at the Bethlehem Public Library.
• Staging Youths’ Future presents Seussical the Musical as dinner theater.  At 6 pm there’s spaghetti dinner, and the show is at 7:30 pm.  Tickets are $15 for dinner and the show.  This is for 6/10, 6/11, 6/17, & 6/18.
• At 7 pm, the Guilderland Public Library will be showing Mary Poppins. With popcorn.

Okay, really?  This weekend is ridiculous.  There’s so much going on.  About ten different fair/festival-type events, along with so much more.  This is when I wish that organizers would get together somehow and coordinate a little bit better, because there’s just way too much to choose from.   Anyone have recommendations about what’s worth doing?  Here’s what I’ve collected:

All Weekend:

• Steamer 10 Theatre will be showing The Good (& Bad) Faeries of Nottingham.
• Okay, it’s about an hour northeast of us, but perhaps worth the trip?  The Cambridge Balloon Festival is all weekend, starting Friday with its first balloon launch and fireworks.  Anyone ever gone to this?
• It’s Charlton Founders’ Weekend.  Celebrated on Saturday and Sunday with a variety of events including a run, a parade, and free ice cream.
• NYSTI is presenting Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr. beginning on Saturday through June 18th.
• Kingston is holding Timefest, its city-wide celebration of history, from 11 am to 5 pm on Saturday & Sunday.  This is about an hour south of here, so not necessarily convenient unless you happen to be down there picking organic strawberries.
• St. Basil’s in Troy has a Greek Festival all weekend.
• Saturday’s National Learn to Row Day (yeah, who knew, right?).  Celebrate in Niskayuna from 10 am to 2 pm, or on Sunday with Schenectady-Guilderland-Scotia-Glenville Crew.   This is an activity for middle-school-aged kids and up.

Friday evening, June 4th:

• It’s First Friday in Albany from 5-9 pm.
• It’s Ballston Spa First Friday from 6-9 pm.  During the summer, this will include a family-oriented film at 9 pm in Wiswall Park.  Tonight’s is Coraline.  Personally, those crazy button-eyes creeped me out way too much in the preview, but maybe  some of you can handle it. . . .
• At 7 pm, the Guilderland Public Library will be showing Swiss Family Robinson.  I’ve got to say:  I love the Guilderland Public Library.  It’s one of my favorites, and since I’ve been to programs at at least 6 or 8 different local libraries (because I am a wanton library whore), that’s saying something.  But when I first heard that they were doing Friday night Disney movies, I kind of rolled my eyes.  Like, we don’t have enough of the freakin’ Disney movies, right?  So I was ever so pleased that they are kickin’ it old school with this one, Mary Poppins, Bedknobs & Broomsticks, and Treasure Island.  Yeah, baby!  And there will be popcorn.
• There’s an Alternative Prom from 7-11 pm for LGBT youth aged 13 to 19 at Revolution Hall in Troy.  It’s  $10.

Saturday, June 5th

• Celebrate National Trails Day by spending the morning doing trail work at Grafton Lakes State Park or Thacher State Park or Dyken Pond.  Sorry–if I had processed this sooner I would have told y’all to register a few days ago to get some free barbecue out of the deal, but maybe you can pack a lunch?
• It’s Art Gone Wild at Five Rivers from 9 am to 4 pm.  Some art, some nature, with music thrown in.  Some projects might include a nominal fee.
• It’s the Freihofer’s Run for Women at 10 in downtown Albany.  This is a big deal–world-class runners and regular folks.  There’s a kids’ run at 11 am, and Andy the Music Man will be playing at 10 am by the kids’ registration table in the concourse.
• From 10 am to 2 pm, the Schenectady County Historical Society is celebrating Heritage Weekend with walking tours of the Stockade, crafts, and tours of the museum.  Check out the Schenectady County site for a list of various activities.   They’ll also be teaching how to use a drop spindle from 9 am to noon at Mabee Farm.
• There’s a Town of Niskayuna Arts Fair from 10 am to 4 pm.  Free.
• There’s a Sheep and Wool Gathering from 10 am to 4 pm at the Thacher Nature Center.  Learn about traditional wool crafts like spinning, felting, and knitting. They’ve canceled this due to a bad weather forecast–hoping to reschedule later this summer.
• It’s the Lupine Festival from 10 am to 4 pm at the Albany Pine Bush.  Two random handy facts about lupines:  Miss Rumphius is a lovely picture book about lupines and it’s pronounced loo-pin, not loo-pine, which is the adjective meaning wolf-like.  I don’t know why, but I always get those confused.  Or not, you know, always, but when I’m thinking about blue wildflowers native to this area.  Which is more often than you’d expect.  Free.
• At 10:30 am, there’s a Family History Walk by the Rensselaer County Historical Society leaving from the market table at the Troy Waterfront Farmer’s Market.  Free for members, $10/non-member family.  Suggested for families with kids ages 5 and up–find clues about Troy’s history.
• Take Time Out for Tales at the Bethlehem Public Library at 11 am.
• Friendly’s is serving free ice cream from noon to 5 pm.  Don’t ask why.  Just say, “yes, please.”
• From 12-6 pm, the Albany Riverfront Park will have a Say It Loud!  Black and Latino Gay Pride celebration.  There are free activities for kids 5-12, music & performances, and free food.
• Schenectady is having its annual Kids Art Festival from noon to 4 pm.  This event is geared toward preschool and young school-aged children.  We’ve gone and had fun.  Come to think of it, I believe that it was at this festival that we took the now-famous (sort of) business card photo of J.
• From 1-2:30 pm, Peter McCarty will be signing two of his recent picture books at the Open Door Bookstore.
• At 1 pm at the Children’s Museum of Science & Technology, there’s a program for the 5-and-over crowd called Up in the Air in which, among other things, they’ll make mini hot-air balloons to take home.  $2/non-member and pre-registration is required.  A perfect complement to the Cambridge Balloon Festival, right?
• Join Clifford the Big Red Dog at the Lansingburgh Branch Library to explore the new Raising Readers Library Corner from 1-3 pm.
• It’s the NY Shout Out:  Youth Media Festival:  there’s a workshop for teenagers starting at 1 pm, and a showcase of youth media from 7-10 pm.  Suggested donation for the evening event is $10/person, the workshop is a sliding scale, $20 to $40.
• At 3 pm, the gates open at Schaghticoke Fairgrounds for the Western Festival and Championship Rodeo, which will start at 7 pm.  Bouncy-bounce and pony rides.  $12/adult, $7/kids 6 and over, and kids 5 and under free.

Sunday, June 6th

• At 9 am in Saratoga Springs, it’s the Cantina Fun Run for families.
• From 11 am to 12:30 pm, Shannon Hayes, author of Radical Homemakers:  Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture, will be signing books at the Open Door Bookstore in Schenectady.
• At 1 pm, the Town of Clifton Park is hosting their annual Family Bike Ride–it’s a casual bike ride with commentary and stops for refreshments.  Free, and no pre-registration required.
• In Saratoga Springs, the Caroline Street Arts & Blues Fest and Chili Cookoff will be from 1-7 pm.  The Children’s Museum will be running kids’ activities.
• At 3:30 pm, there’s a Community Concert at Algonquin Middle School.  It’s free, but donations are accepted.