Top 5 Weekend: First Friday, NY Women's Expo, Leprechaun Dash

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Hey, Capital Region readers! We’re back with another boffo guide to your weekend. First Friday Albany leads our Top 5 Weekend Picks with music and art happening in and around downtown. You’ve got two awesome expos—one for women and one for the kiddos. Plus, the Leprechaun Dash through the streets of Albany is always a fun sight. Check out the rest of the best below 👇️ 

🎟️ Congratulations to Frank & Abby from “the big city of Stillwater, NY” (pop. of 1,754), winners of our Song City ticket giveaway. Check out our profile of Song City, and get tix to their show on Tuesday, a special showcase of female talent.

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

⭐️ 🖼️ 🎸 First Friday Albany, the city’s monthly showcase of art, music & culture, is back with cool events all around the city. Among the highlights:

• Free admission and Opera Saratoga at the Albany Institute of History & Art (be sure to check out the The Floral Paintings of Julia McEntee Dillon)

• The young & talented Lulu Grey (and our friend!) at Fort Orange General Store

• “Her Art. Her Voice.” featuring Laura Leigh Sydney Worthley & Kendra McKinley with artwork from Ottavia Huang of Ms. Otter Studio, at the Hollow Bar.

• Kevin McKrell at the Irish American Heritage Museum (although it looks to be SOLD OUT)

⭐️ 🍀 St. Patrick’s Day festivities kick off this weekend with a couple of annual shindigs: The Leprechaun Dash at Lionheart on the Green and the Lepre-Con Troy Pub Crawl 2026. Sat, 12p, $25. The Leprechaun Dash is less than a half mile, but there’s a mid-run beverage stop to keep your spirits up. The Lepre-Con Pub Crawl takes a tour of some of Troy’s best drinking holes, including Bootlegger's on Broadway, Ryan's Wake, and The Ruck. Here’s the schedule of stops, kicking off at noon Sat. $5 suggested donation.

⭐️ 🦎 Bring the kiddos to the Hannaford Kidz Expo 2026 for face painting, bounce rides, arts and crafts, mini-golf, and even a reptile room—all free! You’ll also find info about summer camps, health care, sports clubs, amusement parks, dance studios, and more. Sat, 10a-4p, free.

⭐️ 👩‍🦱 With 150+ exhibitors across wellness, food, fashion, beauty, health, entertainment, and more, there’s a lot going on at the NY Women’s Expo. Billed as the “ultimate girl’s day out,” the expo is the largest women-focused event in the Capital Region. Sat-Sun, 10a-4p, $10.

⭐️ The Upstate Punk Rock Flea Market is always a worthwhile browsing experience. Get to Empire Live in Albany for all manner of oddities, vintage wear, jewelry, original art, and more! Sun, 11a-5p, free.

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FRIDAY

🎭️ The Capital Repertory Theatre raises the curtain on its production of “Archduke,” a dark comedy that reimagines the events leading up to the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Through March 29.

🎸 For the first time in over 50 years, The Music of George Harrison is touring North America, and it’s landing at Lark Hall. Join this rare celebration of George Harrison (“All You Need Is George”) featuring Jackie Greene, Steve Kimock, Berry Duane Oakley and more.

🎤 Femininomenon Live Band Sing-a-Long returns to Albany’s Lost & Found, featuring Erica Rose, Lennox, and DJ Fearless!

❄️ It’s your last weekend to take in the Lake George Winter Carnival.

⛷️ Get to Maple Ski Ridge’s Spring Thaw for discounted skiing, food, and live music.

SATURDAY

💃 Rillaxx Tavern celebrates its grand opening in the former Ama Cocina space off North Pearl in Albany with Funk Flex & Friends.

🍦Snowman Ice Cream opens for the season at 1p in Troy—a sure sign of the coming spring.

🏃‍♂️ The Electric City 10K kicks off the race season in the Capital Region.

🐦️ Who hasn’t thought about making a felt bird yurt? You can treat your backyard feathered friends to cool new digs at the Felt Bird Yurt Workshop, hosted by the Shaker Heritage Society.

📜 Historian Connor Williams, a Rex native, worked for Congress on the Naming Commission to end Confederate commemorations across the Department of Defense. Trump reversed all of their work. Come hear him speak about this experience at the wonderful Vischer Ferry General Store.

🐕️ The NY Dog Festival celebrates a decade of films exploring man’s best friend. This screening at Proctors benefits the Animal Protective Foundation.

⛸️ The Hudson Mohawk Figure Skating Club will teach your kiddos how to ice skate at the free learn-to-skate clinic at the Empire State Plaza. No guarantee they’ll come out of it doing triple axels.

📚️ The Book Hive’s Grown-Up Book Fair sets up shop in Malta this week at Active Ingredient Brewing Co.

🎛️ Break out your old iPod for the All Your Friends—Indie Party, a national tour landing at Empire Underground. If you look back on the Tumblr era with fondness, this one’s for you.

🖼️ The Martinez Gallery in Troy opens its newest exhibition, “A Will of Its Own,” featuring the works of painter Barbara Masterson and fine-art photographer Chris DeMarco. This is one of the six residential art spaces Phat wrote about in Capital Region Living magazine.

🍁 Up Yonda Farm puts on their Maple Festival featuring tours of their sap trail and tastings.

SUNDAY

🎸 Fan favorites TV Doctors jam with Bloody Marys and complimentary bagels at Second Act Spirits.

💃 Badheart Burlesque presents: Oops! All Drag! at No Fun.

🪩 The Pickle Arts and Crafts Club invites you to have fun painting, drawing, or doing anything else creative—no experience necessary!

⏰ Be sure to spring forward when Daylight Savings Time commences at 2 am. Yes, we’ll lose an hour of sleep but we’ll gain more daylight hours 🥳 

LOOKING AHEAD

• March 9-15: Wizard Fest

• March 14-15: Maple Fest at Indian Ladder Farms

• March 15-21: Glens Falls Restaurant Week

• March 21: Mushroom Dinner Experience

• March 22: A Big Gay Market

• March 27-29: Capital Region Flower & Garden Expo

• July 11-19: Cycle the Erie Canal

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

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