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🍦 Tasting every seasonal ice cream at Stewart's Shops
Plus, our Top 5 Weekend Picks & Weird News Wednesday
Phat Chiem
August 07, 2024
Happy Wednesday, Capital District! Today, we’re tasting all of the limited edition ice cream flavors at Stewart’s Shops. Plus, get ready for a packed weekend with our Top 5 Weekend Picks and more!
Btw, we’re making a small change: Next week, we’re moving to a Tues / Thurs schedule (rather than the current M-W-F). Don’t worry—you’re still getting all the great event and local news coverage you’ve come to love from The 518. It will just arrive in fewer emails each week—and who doesn’t love getting less email!
—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan
In partnership with
Today in The 518
Tasting every seasonal ice cream at Stewart’s Shops 🍦
Spectrum Theatre founder Scott Meyer dies at 73 😥
Troy’s Circus in the Park is one of our Top 5 Weekend Picks 🎪
Weird News Wednesday: The case of the missing bulldogs 🐕️
📣 TALK OF THE TOWN
From left to right: Peanut Butter Pie, Hip Hip Churr-ay!, Win-Place-Dough, RPI Quantum Freeze, Tropical Passion, Boston Cream Dream, Brownie Cheesecake
Tasting all of Stewart’s Shops seasonal ice creams 🍦
It’s the dog days of summer, which means one thing at The 518 HQ—ice cream! That and naps with our cats 🐈️ 🐈⬛
In honor of Stewart’s Shops ice cream being nominated for The Coolest Thing Made in New York, we decided to do the very hard work of sampling all of their seasonal flavors.
These are the 7 limited edition flavors we found at our Stewart’s near the Amtrak station in Rensselaer. Your local shop may have different flavors available. These results come from an extremely scientific panel of two taste testers—Phat and his 13-year-old son. What’s an ice cream tasting without the youth vote?
Hip Hip Churr-ay! We love a good horchata. Here you get the classic Mexican cinnamon flavor profile with chocolate swirl and bits of churro added. But we found it to be overly sweet, and the churros didn’t really have a distinct flavor to them.
Tropical Passion: Combining coconut ice cream with a passionfruit swirl, this one came across as tangy and oh-so-refreshing!
Boston Cream Dream: Boston cream is the household choice in donuts, so seeing it as an ice cream was exciting. Unfortunately, this had the same issue with Hip Hip Churr-ay… bit of a one-note, overly sweet flavor profile.
Brownie Cheesecake: The chocolatey sweetness of the brownie bits offset by the classic tanginess of cheesecake is a winning combination.
Win-Place-Dough: We’re not big fans of cookie dough in general, so this one didn’t excite us. Adding chocolate and caramel swirl also didn’t seem to improve it.
RPI Quantum Freeze: This flavor is actually renamed from Fireworks to celebrate the 200th year of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It’s an extra kid-friendly, fun-to-eat scoop combining vanilla ice cream, tart cherry swirl and Pop Rocks!
And the winner is…
Peanut Butter Pie: Our favorite of the bunch by far! The chocolate cookie crumb swirl was dark and decadent, and the nuts added a great crunch to the whole peanut butter cup experience. Delicious!
Stewart’s seems to shine with its peanut butter flavors. Fan favorite Peanut Butter Pandemonium was named the best peanut butter ice cream in North America.
Btw, Stewart’s summer promotion (4 sundaes for $12) runs through August. Get your scoop on!
🌞 WEATHER WATCH
"Life is like an ice cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time." —Charles M. Schulz
The heat of the summer cools off a bit this week with showers likely.
🌥️ Wednesday 75°/59° 💧 25% 🌥️ Thursday 83°/64° 💧 25% ⛈️ Friday 75°/70° 💧 80% | 🌥️ Saturday 78°/59° 💧 55% 🌥️ Sunday 80°/60° 💧 25% |
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🗞️ CAPITAL DISTRICT DIGEST
Schenectady’s Central Park Pool is offering free Safe Child ID cards 📷️ Google Maps
Founder of Spectrum Theatre dies
The Times Union’s Steve Barnes has a lovely look at the life of Scott Meyer, the owner of the beloved Spectrum Theatre on Delaware Avenue, and the New World Bistro. Known for his wit and customer-centric business acumen, Meyer died at his home on Sunday after more than a decade of fighting Parkinson’s disease. He was 73.
Albany restricts new smoke shops
The Albany Common Council has passed new restrictions to limit the growth of vape and smoke shops, which have grown from just four in 2022 to 26 today. [News10]
Get a dip and a free photo ID
On Friday and Sunday, bring your kid to the sparkling new Central Park Pool in Schenectady for a swim—and get a free Safe Child ID card. The IDs are useful if your child should ever get lost or is involved in an emergency. Also, all visitors to Schenectady pools over the age of 16 are required to show photo ID. However, the city is still allowing non-residents to use the pool. [Daily Gazette]
🎟️ TOP 5 WEEKEND PICKS
⭐️ Palace Theatre Block Party | 12-4p, Sat, free. It’s a family-friendly street party on Clinton Avenue in Albany with music, vendors, community organizations and more. The kiddos will love the face painting, balloon twisters, bounce house, and free hot dogs and hamburgers!
⭐️ Fandom Fest | 10a-10p, Sat; 10a-5p, Sun. $25-60. Fandom Fest is upstate New York’s largest gathering for fantasy enthusiasts. Taking over four floors of Schenectady’s Proctors Theatre, this fan fest features the Geek Garage, the Dragon Dungeon and the Arcade Arcade, all returning this year.
⭐️ Circus in the Park | 1p & 7p Sat; 2p, Sun. Doors open an hour early for all shows. Opening weekend special: Kids under 12 for $5 w/ $25 adult ticket. Performing under the big top in Troy’s Prospect Park, Brooklyn-based troupe Bindlestiff puts on a show of gravity-defying tricks. Get your tickets to see this folksy tradition in action, then have your kids apply to be IN the Youth Cirkus next week!
⭐️ 18th Annual Cardboard Boat Races | 9a-4p, Sat, free. Fort Hardy Park, Schuylerville. First race begins at 2 pm. Free for spectators, but you need to register to participate in the races. Contestants construct boats entirely out of cardboard and race them across the mighty Hudson in a test of creativity, engineering skills, and sheer determination!
⭐️ Schoharie County Sunshine Fair | Now through Sunday. Tickets: $15-$22; children 3 and under free. We love the Schoharie Fair because admission comes with unlimited access to all 25+ Midway rides! Highlights this year include Chubby Checker, Josh Turner, Immortal Wrestling, the Demolition Derby, and Zerbini Family Circus. Check the schedule for dates and times.
Btw, don’t miss our guide to the Capital Region’s Best County Fairs to make the most of your trip!
🏃♀️ MORE NOTABLE EVENTS
Wednesday
Uke N’ Sip | 6-7:30p. $33.85. Nine Pin Cider, Albany. Learn to play ukulele while sipping on some delicious ciders. First one is free!
Turtle Time | 2p, free. Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Bring your questions and curiosity for learning about these cute reptiles. Every Wednesday and Friday in August.
Thursday
Reptiles at the Library | 2 pm, free. Albany Library, Washington Branch. Meet some snakes, box turtles, and bearded dragons! Registration required.
Friday
High Altitude Festival 2 | 3p, starting Friday through the weekend. $23.18 general admission. 5777 Depot Rd, Voorheesville. Enjoy live performances by Bearly Dead, Son of a Gun, Son of a Gun and more. Camping and ATVs allowed.
Saturday
Glens Falls Vegan Festival | 11a-3, free. Delicious plant-powered foods, shopping, entertainment and activities for the whole family.
Michael Yo at the Funny Bone | 8:30p, $30. The two-time Emmy-nominated comedian brings his biracial brand of humor to Albany.
Back to School Bash | 1-5p, free. First Unitarian Society of Albany. Come get free Safe IDs, ice cream and school supplies!
Corvette Car Show | 9a-12p. Free for spectators. Come to the Saratoga Automotive Museum to see some of the coolest Corvettes you’ve ever seen.
Sunday
Albany County Farmers Market | 10a-2p, free, plus Snap recipients get 2x benefits. Shop the best in produce, flowers and more at the MVP Arena.
38th Annual Run For the Roses 5K & Kids' Fun Run | 9a and 10 am. $32.80 for adults, $13.72 for kids. Grafton Lake Park is a beautiful location for this fun run. Come for the race, stay for the day!
🐕️ WEIRD NEWS WEDNESDAY
Have you seen this French bulldog? 📷️ Elisa Donato
Albany PD search for stolen French bulldogs
This isn’t so much weird as it’s heartbreaking. French bulldogs Anya and Nova were stolen from a home in Albany's Hudson Park neighborhood. Their owners are offering a reward of $2,000 for their return.
The Williams family went away for the weekend, and a family friend came to let the dogs out. They ran off and were reportedly snatched within minutes. A neighbor told the Williamses that they saw someone take the bulldogs from the front porch.
Anyone with information on these stolen pups should call the Albany PD. News10 has the full story.
🎸 LIVE MUSIC ROUNDUP
Wednesday 8/7 | Harvest & Rust: A Neil Young Experience | Freedom Park, Scotia Uke N’ Sip | Nine Pin Cider Caity Gallagher | Lunchtime at the Plaza Concerts in the Barn: Irish/Celtic Music with an American Twist | Pruyn House, Latham Josh Turner | Schoharie County Sunshine Fair Carvin Jones Band | Saratoga Springs Music Hall |
Thursday 8/8 | Julie Benko | The Mansion of Saratoga The Nields | Caffe Lena Heart To Gold | Empire Live Concerts at the Park | The Crossings of Colonie Guilderland Performing Arts Center Concert Series | Tawasentha Park Watervliet Summer Concert Series | Hudson Shores Park |
Friday 8/9 | Phish | Bethel Woods Internal Bleeding | Empire Underground John McEuen & The Circle Band | Caffe Lena |
Saturday 8/10 | Community Block Party | Palace Theatre, Albany Blackberry Smoke | The Egg Heart with Cheap Trick (POSTPONED) | MVP Arena Jonah Kagen | Empire Underground Phish | Bethel Woods |
Sunday 8/11 | New Kids on the Block | SPAC Phish | Bethel Woods Beethoven, Ravel, and Schumann | Little Spa Theater Ryan Coulter Memorial Show | Empire Live |
Congrats, you’re part of the coolest club in the Capital District. Help us grow The 518 and forward this newsletter to your favorite ice cream lover 🍦🫶
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