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  • 518 Weekender: Druthers Block Party, Lark Before Dark, Electric City Summer Fest and more!

518 Weekender: Druthers Block Party, Lark Before Dark, Electric City Summer Fest and more!

May 28, 2026

In partnership with

Hey 518 readers, we’re back with another packed 518 Weekender for you. But can someone tell us why it always rains on the weekends in upstate NY??

🍨 Drumroll please…. We are launching a new event series called Sundae Morning. Think Sunday brunch with ice cream! In our historic Mansion neighborhood home.

Our first date is Sunday, June 28, from 11 am to 2 pm. For our inaugural event, we’ll have baked goods from Nostalgia Bakery, coffee from Virgo Rising Coffee, popup bookstore from Dilly Dally Books, print sale from Kiddie Pool, plus a full sundae bar + mimosas. Maybe a mini vintage market too? 🤯 

But we need YOUR help to price this event:

What would you expect to pay for Sundae Morning?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

We’re excited for our ice cream date with you. Mark your calendars!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

The Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park's Annual Wildlife Festival coincides with the blooming of the lupine 📷️ Photo courtesy of Daily Gazette

⭐️ = Top 5 Staff Picks

⭐️ 🎸 Lark Before Dark at Lark Hall is billed as a “dance party for people who have things to do the next day” and the dress code is “come as you are.” Sounds like our kind of party! DJ RVMBA will be throwing down old-school 90s and early 2000 dance hits. And if you really want to keep going, there’s an afterparty at The Eleven. Sat, 6-10p, $15.

⭐️ 🍺 The Druthers Annual Albany Block Party is another reason why Albany’s Warehouse District is hoppin’ these days. Their block party is just a really fun night and a good excuse to come down to the district. Big Sky Country, who do rockin’ country music covers, headlines. Thurs, 4:30-9:30p, free.

⭐️🦉 Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park's Annual Wildlife Festival coincides with the emergence of wild blue lupines and the endangered Karner blue butterfly. It’s a perfect backdrop to celebrate wildlife and our precious natural resources. Expect lots of live animal demos, vendors, music from Caffe Lena, food and more! Sun, 11a-3p, free.

⭐️ 🎸 Schenectady’s inaugural Electric City Summer Fest brings live music, local vendors, food and drink, and a big crowd to North Broadway. Grateful Dead cover band The Wheel kicks off the Thursday concert series this week. Thurs, 5:30p, free.

⭐️ 🖼️ Troy Night Out will be going off this Friday. First, Picture Lock One’s very cool Home Screen, featuring home movies curated from their audience, kicks off at 5 pm (screening at 7:30 pm). Then, starting at 6 pm, get to the biannual Open Studios at Upstairs Arts Collective.

Honorable mentions:

🌺 The Ten Broeck Mansion Floral Show & Tea Tasting brings floral displays, special tours, and a china sale to Albany’s historic family home. On Saturday, Music in the Mansion is a delightful spring concert with Stringwynd, the dynamic duo of flutist Melanie Chirignan and Celtic harpist Dr. Darhon Rees‑Rohrbacher. Thurs-Sun, $20-$50. Some dates are SOLD OUT.

🪻Albany Pine Bush Preserve’s Discovery Center will open late for Lupine Fest: Nature Night Out with live music and food trucks.

⭐️ 🎡 The Clifton Park Carnival offers the summer fair experience without the admission fee (although unlimited ride wristbands are $30 and the carnival games are not free, of course). Pro tip: Bring cash! Opens Thursday, runs through June 7, free admission.

👀 Keep reading to see more notable events in “What’s Happening.”

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We’ve got some fantastic animal events to share this week:

THURSDAY

🍺 It’s a busy weekend at Wolf Hollow Brewing Co. West! Beginning with Blooms & Brews on Thursday; Rusticator on Friday, and Havana Night on Saturday.

FRIDAY

🏳️‍🌈 Get to RPI’s EMPAC for a Pride Kick Off, a relaxed, come-as-you-are evening of creativity, music, and good company.

🇦🇲 The Armenian Festival brings dancing, music, and homecooked treats to Watervliet, Fri through Sun.

🛞 Interfaith Sanctuary presents “Drive to Live” in Albany, a stage play set in 1952 about a Black family residing in Albany and Harlem. Fri-Sat.

🎙️ Songs of Freedom: Raising our Voices is a joint fundraiser benefiting Troy Indivisible and Christ Church United Methodist.

SATURDAY

🎭️ Mopco Theatre brings back Spontaneous Broadway, a fully improvised musical that is conceived and performed in a single show! Read our coverage of Spontaneous Broadway.

🎬️ The 4th annual Mayfly Film Festival is an hour of beautiful short films, screened outdoors at Jay Square in downtown Schenectady.

🏃‍♀️ The 48th Annual Delightful Run for Women is this Saturday—online registration closes on Tuesday at midnight!

🎸 Planet KPOP at the Palace Theatre is your chance to experience the music of KPOP Demon Hunters, BTS, Huntr/x, BLACKPINK, and more.

🌱 The Catskills Cup Spring Fling at McGrath's Edgewood Falls features a chainsaw carver, food trucks, seed swap, and more.

🖼️ Join an artist talk with Victoria Palermo, Adam Tinkle, and Page Darrow, moderated by Ian Berry, director at the Tang Teaching Museum. At the Main and Atrium Galleries in Saratoga.

SUNDAY

🖼️ It’s the LAST day to see “Americana/ble: The BIG GROUP SHOW” at Kiddie Pool. Bonus: Karley’s opening up her studio for visits and a flat file print sale! The address is 128 Grand St, Albany.

🍺 One of our faves, Lost & Found Bar and Kitchen in Albany welcomes the summer with a Patio Season Kickoff Party!

🏃‍♂️ The Cantina Kids Fun Run is an athletic event for kids up to age 12 held in Saratoga’s Congress Park.

🎻 The Festival of Young Artists at SPAC features student popup performances, poetry slams, fine art displays, and food vendors.

💃 Ecstatic Dance Troy transforms into SEED: Soul Expansion Embodiment Dance, a guided, anatomy-informed, life-force awakening journey where music and movement meet conscious facilitation.

🏳️‍🌈 Organized by the Pride Center of the Capital Region, the annual Pride Rainbow 5K Run-Walk is a fun family-friendly event with runners of all levels.

🍵 The 46th Annual Saratoga Antique Bottle Show & Sale is the major fundraiser for the National Bottle Museum. See a variety of bottles from early New England communities.

🛍️ Join Sand Lake Merchant and Sand Lake Center for the Arts in Averill Park for their Spring Merchant Market.

MONDAY

🏳️‍🌈 Get to Nine Pin for its Pride Drag Show, with a portion of the proceeds donated to LGBTQIA+ non-profit organizations in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley.

🎸 An Evening With Cake at SPAC brings the Sacramento-based band known for their unique blend of funk, country, mariachi, jazz, and folk influences.

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

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