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Top 5 Weekend: Saratoga Chowderfest, First Friday, Clifton Park Winterfest

February 05, 2026

Happy Thursday, friends! Our Deep Freeze continues in the Capital Region. You might swear that this is some kind of record for consecutive days of below-freezing temps, but you would be wrong. That record was set with a frosty 36-day stretch in 1945. Expect it to get colder before it gets warmer 🥶 

So, we might as well try to enjoy this most winter of winter weekends. Check out our Top 5 Weekend guide below for the absolute best things to do!

✊ Btw, loyal 518 reader Jane Gottlieb wanted us to highlight this opinion piece published by her good friend Dennis Gaffney in the Times Union: What Can I Do? Plenty.

In this provocative editorial, Dennis talks about how to channel our anger and anxiety about ICE, immigration crackdowns, and other current events into productive action. His first piece of advice? Pay less attention.

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

A chilly weekend makes for good slurpin’ at the Saratoga Chowderfest

⭐️ 🥣 On the heels of Schenectady’s Soup Stroll, the 27th annual Saratoga Chowderfest features more than 80 eateries vying to be the next chowder champ. There are several related events happening at the same time, including Sinopoli Dance at Saratoga Arts (noon) or pop-up salsa and swing by Dance Fire Studios along Broadway and Phila Street. Sat, 11a—4p, $2 per sample.

⭐️ 🎸 First Friday Albany is back with its celebration of arts and culture in multiple venues around the city. This month’s highlights include extended hours and free admission at the Albany Institute of History and Art with performances by the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company; the opening reception for “ABC—Anything But Canvas” at Albany Barn; Gianna + Ben at Fort Orange General Store; Dave Cohen at Emack & Bolio’s (it’s more than an ice cream shop!), plus music at the usual suspects, including Lark Hall and The Eleven, Ophelia’s, and more! Fri, 5ish–9pm, free.

⭐️ 🌶️ In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play, follows Dr. Givings, a scientist, who revolutionizes treatment for “hysteria” with his nifty new invention—the vibrator. As new patients and their relationships intertwine with his own household, his wife takes note and shenanigans ensue. Come for the comedy, stay for the revelations about intimacy and marriage. At Schenectady Civic Playhouse through Sun, $25.

⭐️ 🔥 Bonfires, s'mores, music, and horse-drawn carriage rides are all part of Clifton Park’s Winterfest 2026. This annual event features a slew of family-friendly activities at several locations across the community, including Bowman Orchards, Barney Road Pond, the Clifton Park Halfmoon Public Library, and more. Sat & Sun, check schedule for activity times, free. Weather watch: It’s going to be bitterly cold on Sunday with temps in the single digit.

⭐️ 🏈 This Super Bowl Sunday, the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks, and surprisingly controversial Bad Bunny takes over the halftime show. You can watch it alone at home, or join a Patriots-rooting crowd at City Beer Hall ($35/person gets you a pizza, wings, mozz triangles, and a bucket of 4 beers). Or hit up Greenhouse Social Club x Dove+Deer collab event ($55 gets you two drinks, wings, Kung Pao brussel sprouts, Buffalo dip, fried chicken, and a couple surprise snacks). Sun, kick-off at 6:30p.

THURSDAY

🍕 Get to City Beer Hall for its Pizza & Dough Making class, and learn from the folks who make the superb Blu Pizza.

🎭️ The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York brings “Confederates,” Tony-nominated playwright Dominique Morisseau’s newest play to theREP. Showtimes this weekend and next.

📚️ Join other book lovers for a Blind Date With a Book at Context Collective in Troy. Bring two books. Leave with new stories, new connections, and something you didn’t expect.

🔏 Share your personal tattoo story at Inkscapes, Tattoo Storytelling, at the Tang Teaching Museum.

🎤 Sing Along Broadway at Proctors is a high-energy party for the ultimate Broadway fan.

FRIDAY

❄️ The Lake George Winter Carnival features a jam-packed weekend of events.

🎸 Celebrate the next generation of performers with First Friday Youth Stage at the Blake Annex—our friend Lulu Grey is performing here! 👉️ See the full schedule for First Friday Albany.

🍫 Some 30 venues will be participating in the Ballston Spa Chocolate Festival, with samples going for $2 each (cash only). It’s an excellent excuse to walk around this charming village.

🪐 Get down in the dirt with Planetarium – EARTH: An Elemental Dance Party at No Fun.

⛷️ Ski all day, and party all night when SLOPE FEST takes over Hunter Mountain.

🎲 Albany Center Gallery puts on the first-ever Creator’s Game Night, an evening focused specifically on board games, card games, and analog play.

🧊 The popular ice bar at Mill on Round Lake is open this weekend (and also for the next two). The Scarlet Knife in Latham is also putting on its Ice Bar on the Patio. And if you’re up for a drive, there’s the Erlowest WinterBar 2026 in Lake George.

And Anthony’s by Romo Pizza has a fun ice bar happening Fri-Sat as well.

SATURDAY

🪴 Come celebrate the grand opening of Luseedlus, a new plant store opening up on Albany’s Delaware Avenue, which is seeing a lot of business activity of late—more on this soon!

🍦 King Brothers Dairy in Schuylerville hosts its annual Ice Cream for Breakfast event! Really, it’s a missed opportunity to hold this event a day later and call it Sundae Morning.

❄️ Huyck Preserve in Rensselaerville hosts its Winter Fest featuring an artisan market, educational demonstrations, s’more making, snowshoeing, and sledding (weather permitting).

SUNDAY

🐴 Ride into the Year of the Fire Horse with flare at the Chinese Community Centers’s Lunar New Year Gala at Proctors.

⛪️ Beacon in the Park is a juried exhibition lighting up First Presbyterian in Albany’s Washington Park neighborhood. The show celebrates the sanctuary’s architecture, glorious stained glass, and surrounding neighborhood. Be sure to walk there if possible!

📚️🍷 Put on a book fair, but make it boozy. Get your gal pals to Adirondack Winery’s Galentine's Boozy Book Fair for some adult reading.

🏳️‍🌈 Get to Troy’s Context Collective for A Big Gay Community Craft Day.

🦉 Pregame the big game by bringing the kids to the NYS Museum to see some live owls at Superb Owl Sunday.

LOOKING AHEAD

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