Best ways to ring in the New Year around the Capital Region 🍾

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Happy Tuesday, Capital Region! Today, we’re getting you ready for New Year’s Eve, even as you’re still scrambling to cross off your holiday list. But rez need to be made for the big night. Check out the awesome events grabbing our attention this year.

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

🙏 Thank you to everyone who’s donated to the Americana/ble Pop-up Art show on our Kickstarter so far. Today, we want to send out a special thank you to Karley’s Grams, Joyce Weed, who sent $100 in support. Although she now lives in Buffalo, Albany was her home for many years.

💯 We’re 50% done with our month of fundraising, and only 41% of the way to our goal 😬 That doesn’t mean that we won’t reach it in time. We hope you’ll consider joining Grams in supporting our grassroots cultural-building here in the Capital Region.

🎨 Make a $35+ pledge and choose a 8×10 print from a selection of artworks in the show 🍜 Make a $100+ pledge and we’ll invite you to join a special Patrons Dinner featuring Phat’s famous Vietnamese cooking—yum!

🍾 How to really ring in the New Year around the Capital Region

Can we all agree that it’s been an insane year? Well, the promise of a fresh start is right around the corner. From glow parties to improv shows, elegant dinners to family-friendly countdowns, the Capital Region is so ready to welcome the new year. Here are some of the best ways to ring in 2026 in style (or silliness), in no particular order:

UPDATE: Here are some late additions to this roundup:

• NYE at the Larkin Hi-Fi ($5 cover; DJ lineup from groop.lab)

• NYE at the Hollow Bar & Kitchen (No cover; Shannon Tehya & DJ Fearless)

• NYE at Ilium Brewing Co. (No cover; free champagne toast)

• NYE at Waterworks Pub (buffet, DJs, hotdog bar, champagne—there’s no info on tickets though. Call the pub!)
  

🎩 Bootleggers’ Neon Nights NYE — Troy

Bootleggers on Broadway lights up NYE with Neon Nights, a glow-in-the-dark party featuring DJ beats, That 80s Band, magician Shaun Robison, and neon cocktail specials. Expect a midnight champagne toast and 80s-dressed crowd to keep the good times rolling. Get tix: $40 GA; $75 VIP

🎇 Saratoga New Year’s Eve — Saratoga

Downtown Saratoga Springs throws a two-day community NYE celebration with fireworks, free outdoor entertainment, and live music. It’s festive and family-friendly, and concludes with Saratoga First Day 5K on New Year’s Day. Free.

😂 First Night of Funny — Proctors, Schenectady

Ditch the bar crawl and laugh your way into 2026 with four nationally touring comedians at this annual NYE comedy show. It’s the Capital Region’s go-to event for stand-up lovers. Get tix: $35

🤠 Wild West NYE — The Desmond, Albany

The Desmond at the Crown Plaza goes rodeo-chic this year with a massive Western-themed bash featuring open bars, dinner, DJs, live bands, and dancing. Looks like room packages are sold out, but there’s still general admission tickets left. Pro tip: This event sells out every year! Get tix: $216.50.

🥂 NYE Midnight Improv & NYE Family Improv Shows — MopCo, Schenectady

Celebrating its 30th year, MopCo is putting on its traditional NYE improv show, topped off with a midnight champagne toast. Get tix: $26 GA; $17 for students/seniors/military. It also offers a Family Improv Show with silly comedy, audience participation, and an early 8 pm countdown for kids. Get tix: $9.31.

🐠 Noon Year’s Eve — Via Aquarium, Schenectady

Perfect for little ones, this undersea adventure features a noon-time countdown, party favors, and sea creatures galore. It’s free with regular admission. Splash into the new year early! Get tix: $21 adult; $15 children.

🦌 A Dove & Deer New Year — Albany

This intimate NYE gathering at Dove & Deer, one of our all-time favorite spots in Albany, offers classy vibes, music, drinks, and dancing — a cozy-chic option for ringing in the new year downtown. Get tix: $115.

🇮🇹 NYE at Caffe Italia — Albany

The food is always a gamble at NYE parties. You won’t have that problem at Caffe Italia, known for its hole-in-the-wall vibes and old-school Italian. Celebrate NYE with a lively dinner and dancing at one of Albany’s coziest spots. It’s a pricey affair, but the menu features lobster tail and a 5-hour open bar. Better have Uber on speed dial. Get tix: $275.

🎶 Phish NYE Stream — The Performance Sanctuary, Troy

Wanna get a little trippy? Jam your way into 2026 with fellow Phish fans while watching a live-streamed NYE concert in this cozy performance space. Oh, there’s also wacky fun in store like Korean massage beds, salt therapy, cold plunges, a vibration plate… um, you just gotta experience it, man. Get tix: $64.80.

🎺 A Van Dyck New Year's Eve ft. the NolaNauts — Schenectady

For its first-ever NYE party, the Van Dyck Music Club brings some big New Orleans energy via the NolaNauts, a 10-piece band known for their funk, soul, and brass-heavy vibes. Get ready to dance! Get tix: $23.18.

🎩 Steampunk Soirée — Bard & Baker, Troy

Ring in the new year in geared-up style at this steampunk-themed game night with an open bar, buffet, games and more games. Costumes are highly encouraged. Come as you are, in fancy dress or pajamas, or really get into the steampunk cosplay. It’s all fun & games here. Get tix: $55.20.

Did we miss something amazing? Tell us in the poll 👇️ and we’ll let our readers know!

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💰️ The TU takes a look at what you need to earn as a single person to “live comfortably in the Capital Region.” Spoiler alert: It’s in the six figures. That’s more than the median income for the Albany area 😬 [Times Union]

🍔 Slidin’ Dirty has returned to Troy—in a much larger space. The local favorite now occupies the entire first floor of the former River Street Market in the Hedley Park Place building at 433 River St. “It feels good to be back in Troy, where our story started, and to connect again with the community that supported us from the beginning," says owner Tim Taney. [Albany Business Review]

🎅 Wondering why the iconic General Electric sign in Schenectady isn’t all lit up for the holidays? Installed at the plant back in 1926, the sign is undergoing a major renovation—so no Christmas colors this year. [Daily Gazette]

Located in the heart of Albany’s Center Square, this beautifully restored historic home with 2 full apartments just may pay its own way. Hardwood floors, exposed brick wall, fireplace mantels, and a clawfoot tub keep it classy, while modern updates including a wood stove insert, central air, walk-in closets, recessed lighting, updated baths, and a remodeled kitchen make everyday living easy. The private backyard stacks up nicely with two-stories of fresh Trex decks and an inlaid stone patio at ground level. Step outside to admire Jay Street’s charming cobblestones and the neighborly vibe; you’re just minutes from the Empire State Plaza, Lark Street, and Washington Park.

The deets: 3 bd, 3 ba, 1710sf. Asking: $400,000. Days on market: 1. See the full listing here.

Note: Our Top 5 Weekend roundup now publishes on Thursdays!

TUESDAY

👯‍♀️ 2025’s final Velvet Visions burlesque show at September's Too promises to channel the season in inventive, unpredictable ways. Oh my.

🎬️ Christmas always comes early for serious movie buffs. Screen Ishiro Honda – Memoirs of a Film Director (2025) at Proctors or if you’re looking for something a bit trashier (and free) check out VCR Vortex – Pink Flamingos (1972) & Trash Humpers (2009) at No Fun.

WEDNESDAY

🎭See it first at the Mopco Improv Theatre with Mabel & Geffrey's Music And Family Interest Affair as the Performance class polishes up for showtime. Free admission.

🎤 The Ultimate Showcase is your chance to hear live music at the sports-swanky Albany Armory bar for free.

🎄 A Christmas Story – The Musical continues its charming run at Cohoes Music Hall with toe-tapping, high-kicking numbers by Pasek & Paul, and some of the region’s best performers. Through Sunday.

🇮🇹 There are still tix available for Anthony Nunziata “Christmas & Italy!” at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls.

THURSDAY

⛵️Work in Progress: RAFT, by Yanira Castro at EMPAC invites you to help, as poet Kay Ryan so eloquently put it, “build the ship as we sail it”.

🌱Picture Lock One screens “Just Above the Surface of the Earth,” a poetic look at wildlife conservation by Marianna Milhorat, followed by a discussion with the Citizen Science Department at Pine Bush Nature Reserve. PL1 screenings take place in a real bank vault!

FRIDAY

🖼️ Art Night Schenectady rolls around again, featuring hundreds of prints from international artists at the Museum of Prints & Printmaking, a calligraphy demo at New York Folklore, The Dave Kitchen Quintet at the Schenectady Armory, and more!

💀 Rage against the dying of the light at Dark Ballet: A Heavy Metal Christmas Eve at Putnum Place.

📚 Check into the Holiday Book Fair at Wolf Hollow Brewing Co., or suit up for their Ugly Sweater Party on Saturday.

❄️ Take the family for a free screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” at the gorgeous Palace Theatre. It’s a holiday classic for good reason.

SATURDAY

🐉 Calling a Pokemon fans, Poke-A-Con Christmas is taking over the Albany Armory.

🧣Do some good at the Crisis Isolation Holiday Food Drive benefiting Albany Food Not Bombs, at Hangar on the Hudson.

🎅 Greg Bell's Halliday Ball brings a jam fest to Lark Hall.

SUNDAY

🏳️‍🌈 Have a gay ol’ time (and some dam good food) with the Holi-Gay Drag Brunch at Stable Gate Winery.

🤑 Take care of your holiday shopping with 25 vendors from the Capital Region and beyond, especially vintage and oddities at The Last Lap Holiday Market at Putnum Place.

🖤Join the other naughty boys and girls as Bad Heart Burlesque presents KramPUSS at No Fun.

🎸Shake off your holiday stress with a Rock 'n' Roll Christmas with The Tichy Boys at Hangar on the Hudson.

🎻 Albany Pro Musica’s beloved holiday concert, “The Many Moods of Christmas,” with chorus and full symphony orchestra brings the light of the season to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

ART ON VIEW

• Last Day is Dec. 31st! Liberation and For Life celebrates 50 years of Black Dimensions in Art, showcasing 90+ artists and 100+ works that will blow your mind at the Albany Institute of History & Art.

• Don’t miss the delightful Nina Katchadourian: Fake Plants and Other Curiosities at the Hyde Museum.

• Family Forms at the Tang Teaching Museum presents art and archival photographs from the Tang collection that highlight themes of kinship and care and offer an expansive vision of family.

• Noel W Anderson: Black Excellence and Romare Bearden & Ralph Ellison: From the Archive | UAlbany Art Museum

GET TIX

🔮 Get loose with Moe., coming up on Saturday, Dec. 27, at the Palace Theatre.

🥚 The Egg, Albany’s beloved Brutalist performing arts center, is hatching from its historic $19.5 million makeover and celebrating with a free evening show and tours on Thursday, Jan. 8. RSVP now.

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

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