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- The 518 Weekender: Easter Egg Hunts, First Friday, Dyngus Day!
The 518 Weekender: Easter Egg Hunts, First Friday, Dyngus Day!
Happy almost Friday, folks! The 518 Weekender is hot off the presses, and it’s a banger. This weekend, we kick off with First Friday Albany featuring a host of cool happenings in and around downtown. Sunday brings the Easter Bunny and fun egg hunts around the CR. Don’t forget that Monday is Dyngus Day—a very Polish affair featuring water fights and pussy willows. Get the rest of the best below 👇️
🐈️ You all loved our story about our cat, Georgie, getting lost & found so much that we’ve decided to try out a new weekly section called Pet Stories, featuring pet adoptions and tall tales about our furry best friends. Look for it on Thursdays.
🍏 Save the date! Our first-ever 518 Happy Hour heads to Nine Pin’s Tasting Room on Wednesday, April 15th!
—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan
The Love Albany Easter Egg Hunt is an annual rush for the kiddos—sans snow this year!
⭐️ = Top 5 Staff Picks
⭐️ 🐰 It’s Easter Sunday! The Easter Bunny will be busy this weekend hosting events throughout the Capital Region. Here are some of the standouts:
6th Annual Easter Eggstravaganza at Altamont Vineyard & Winery (Sat)
Easter Brunch & Egg Hunt at Indian Ladder Farms (Sun; reservations highly recommended)
⭐️ 🎭️ Vermont-based Bread & Puppet Theater is a politically provocative puppet theater, active since the 1960s. The outfit gets its name from its famous sourdough rye bread with aioli, which is served after the show. This weekend, Bread & Puppet is bringing a new play, “The End of the World Never Minding Show.” One imagines there will be zingers directed at a particular orange puppet. Fri-Sat shows; tix are on a sliding scale: $15-$75.
⭐️ 🇵🇱 Dyngus Day, also known as Śmigus-dyngus or Wet Monday, is a Polish-American holiday traditionally celebrated on the Monday after Easter Sunday. Marking the end of Lent, the day is feted with festive water fights and pussy willows (a flirty practice that’s meant to lightly “tap” a love interest). Wolf’s Biergarten in Albany and Schenectady will host a Dyngus Day Festival with polka music, Polish foods, and lots of bier, of course! Meanwhile, Dyngus Day 2026 at the Hill Beer & Wine Garden in Troy will be going on all day, with live music from 3-7p. On the menu: pierogi, kielbasa, pretzels & mizeria (aka Polish cucumber salad).
🍏 April Fools Comedy Night at Nine Pin’s Tasting Room in Albany will feature a trio of comedians out of New Jersey. Now that’s fodder for some good laughs. Best of all, it’s free! If you go, remember that subscribers to The 518 get 10% off all cider pours. Just tell them you’re part of “The 518 Crew.” Fri, 8:30-10:30p, free.
⭐️ 🎸 First Friday Albany is back with a full lineup of music and art events happening all around the city. Some highlights catching our eye:
Opalka Gallery at Russell Sage stays open late with Andrew Mollica performing 6–7p. Don’t miss the “Plastique” exhibition while you’re there!
Albany Center Gallery hosts the 27th annual High School Regional Juried Art Exhibition, with live music by Mixed Roots.
Irish American Heritage Museum’s Irish Talent Salon showcases creative work from locals in its intimate space.
The fabric sale at Big Emotions Studio, a vintage shop and studio on Delaware Avenue in Albany.
Free admission and postcard screen printing with The Department of Things at the Albany Institute of History & Art.
FRIDAY
🎸 Are jam bands your jam? Get to Slidin’ Dirty for Conehead Buddha, known for their blend of funk, ska, rock and reggae. Plus, great sliders!
🦈 Has it really been 50 years since “Jaws”? Curtain Call Theatre presents “The Shark Is Broken,” a play that offers a revealing look at the real-life personalities behind the iconic characters of the cult classic.
🏍️ For the first time ever in Albany, Monster Jam trucks team up with Freestyle Motocross (FMX) bikes to deliver gravity-defying skills and thrills. At the MVP Arena.
🌕️ Indian Ladder Farms invites you to the first Full Moon Hike of the season with Claire from Grizzly Adventures.
SATURDAY
💇♀️ The Sip Society, a mobile coffee bar brought to you by two hip ladies, is popping up at Heart + Soul House of Beauty in Albany, which just happens to be where Phat & Karley get their haircuts. If you run into Tiffany, say 👋 for us!
🎙️ We have a thing for talented singer-songwriters with lovely voices. Olive Klug definitely belongs in this category, and she’s playing at the historic Caffe Lena on Saturday.
🇰🇷 One of our faves, Sunhee’s Farm & Kitchen does a tasty popup at Nine Pin.
SUNDAY
🫖 Prince Tea House is now serving alcohol. Brunch mimosas, anyone? Read our review of this dainty Euro-Asian cafe.
MONDAY
🎸 Three legendary punk and hardcore bands—The Circle Jerks, Gorilla Biscuits and special guest Negative Approach—unite for this epic tour, stopping at Empire Live.
UPCOMING
April 11: Drink Schenectady at miSci
April 11: Twilight Market’s Halfway to Halloween
April 11-19: Capital District Dark Sky Week
April 12: Blooming the Imaginarium
April 18: South End Earth Day at Radix
April 18: Spring Fling Dinner at Evermore Hall
April 25-26: Saratoga Invitational Regatta
May 9: The Vintage Roundup
May 16-18: Waterford Canal Festival
June 5-7: The Odditorium Carnival in Saratoga
June 14: Capital Pride Parade & Festival
Our music listings are now published separately on The 518 website. Click here.
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