Top 5 Weekend: Cathedral in Bloom, Saratoga Snow Day, Nightmare Expo

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Happy Thursday, 518 crew! This weekend, we’re celebrating the chilly season with a couple of cool winter festivals, plus a new event—Saratoga Snow Day. Don’t feel like braving the weather? Get to Cathedral in Bloom where it’s already springtime.

On Friday, you’ll find us at Albany Center Gallery’s Annual Member Show in their new digs, and at Pizzeria Mari in Troy (opening on Friday afternoons for the first time this week).

Also, The Nightmare Expo at Proctors looks super interesting. Might need to add that one to the list. So much good stuff, so little time…. Enjoy!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

⭐️ 🌺 While snow is expected this weekend, it will feel like the peak of spring in The Cathedral of All Saints when some of the most talented floral artists in the Capital Region and beyond gather for the annual extravaganza known as Cathedral in Bloom. Constructed in the 1880s, the stunning High Gothic cathedral will be fully transformed into a garden so grand it may even convert nonbelievers. Fri-Sun, $15 general admission, $10 seniors. Special events include the Great Indoor Garden Party on Friday night and Afternoon Tea on Saturday. Get tix here.

⭐️ ❄️ Saratoga Snow Day is a free winter-themed celebration featuring a snowman scavenger hunt through downtown, a “Fire & Ice Trail” with creative food and drink specials, cozy outdoor gathering spots, a family movie at the City Center, and a flannel-themed party at Night Owl. All day Sat (with some events kicking off on Friday), free.

⭐️ 💀 For the first time in the Capital Region, 100+ vendors specializing in the occult, the obscure, and the otherworldly will gather at Schenectady’s historic Proctors Theatre for The Nightmare Expo. It will be a full day of performances, classes on taxidermy, butterfly pining, and perfumery; true crime stories, and a marketplace of oddities. Sat, $17.40; additional fees for classes.

⭐️ 🎨 Albany Center Gallery opens the doors to its spanking new location at 48 N Pearl St. for their biggest reception of the year, the Annual Members Show. Guest curated by Kayla Carlsen, exec director of the Albany Institute of History & Art, the show will take over the 7,000 square foot space. Come see the new digs and meet the artists! Fri, 5-8p, free.

⭐️ 🧊 Catch a bit of winter magic at Albany County’s Annual Winter Festival at Lawson Lake County Park featuring snowshoeing, ice fishing, sled dogs, snowmobiling, and more. To keep you warm, there will be a hot chocolate bar and food trucks. Upon arrival, families can pick up a ticket at the lodge for a free meal! Sat, 11a-3p, free. Grafton Lakes State Park Winter Festival is also happening at the same time, on the same day.

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THURSDAY

📌Join the Vision Board Workshop with Mariah, founder of Troy’s Context Collective, for an intimate evening of intention-setting and reflection. We love Mariah—she’s super chill and lovely!

🧀 Troy Wine Co. hosts a wine & cheese pairing event at Little Pecks.

FRIDAY

🎭️ Singles Outreach in Colonie hosts Mabel & Geffrey's Music And Family Interest Affair. The duo sing their way through this family-friendly, mobster-themed lounge act.

🎸 Yacht Lobsters bring 70s & 80s soft rock favorites to Ryan’s Wake.

☠️ Celebrate the Capital Region’s heavy music scene at the Extreme Music Awards this Fri & Sat.

🎤 Got something to say? Get to the poetry slam at the Alice Moore Black Arts & Cultural Center..

SATURDAY

🌕️ Context Collective presents “What Blooms in Moonlight,” featuring live painting and live music, followed by an ecstatic dance!

🖼️ This week, Family Saturday at the Tang focuses on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

🎙️The Egg has hatched and it’s hosting Rock Voices Albany – Greatest Hits, LIVE!, featuring hit songs from the Beach Boys, Ozzy Osbourne, Supertramp, Sly & the Family Stone, Cyndi Lauper, James Taylor, and more.

🧵 Don’t throw out your old clothes. Get them mended at the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market. Pay what you can.

📚️ Get to the Wire Event Center in Coxsackie for Booked on the Hudson, featuring a curated book fair and bestselling author appearances.

🍺 The Beer & Chip Pairing at Wolf Hollow Brewing Co. is a classic combination.

🎸 Lark Hall welcomes the 22-year-old guitar virtuoso Taz.

🎨 Drink n’ Draw at MoJo’s Cafe & Gallery features a live model and chill vibes.

🎭️ Girls! Girls! Girls! is an original stage play by Lila Rallatos showing at No Fun. Hilarity ensues when four college friends reunite and get blackout drunk.

SUNDAY

💃 Learn some sizzling moves at Burlesque Dance Night with TachyCardia at No Fun.

🎟️ This collab dinner with First + Adams & Familiar Creature looks delish—we love sunchokes!

🎬️ In homage to the late great Rob Reiner, Scene One Spectrum 8 Theatre will be screening "The Princess Bride” all next week, starting this Sunday.

MONDAY

✊ Albany’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Beloved Community March kicks off at 11a in front of the NYS Museum. There are also events honoring Dr. King in Saratoga and Schenectady.

UPCOMING

1/22-24: Albany Wine & Dine Festival
1/24: New York State Craft Brewers Festival at the Desmond Hotel
1/25: 5th Annual Chili Cookoff at Lost & Found
1/31: Schenectady Soup Stroll
2/6-7: Beacon in the Park Art Show at First Presbyterian Church of Albany

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

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