Top Weekend Picks: June 7-9, 2024

🏳️‍🌈 Pride + ponies dominate a packed weekend 🏇 

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⭐ = The 518 Staff Picks

⭐ Albany First Friday | 5-9p, Friday, free. Kick off your busy weekend around the Capital Region with an evening stroll along Lark Street and visit with a variety of vendors. Other events happening around the city as well, including City Hall, Albany Elks Lodge, First Presbyterian Church and the Capitol Building.

Movies Under the Stars: Elemental | Preshow at 7:30p, movie at 8:30p, Fri, free. Arbor Hill Elementary School, Albany. Bring a lawn chair and watch the Disney/Pixar flick (hopefully sans rain).

⭐️ 22nd Annual Cambridge Valley Balloon Festival | See hot air balloons, enjoy carnival rides and food vendors, plus a fireworks show. Tethered rides available for purchase this year! Starting Friday night through Sunday. Btw, check out this guide for what to do and where to eat in the Village of Cambridge.

State Street Yoga | Join friends and neighbors for a free, all-levels yoga class on the beautiful lawn at SUNY Plaza, led by instructors from Hot Yoga Spot. Every Saturday in June and July. 10-11a, SUNY Plaza, Albany.

⭐️ Belmont Stakes and Belmont on Broadway Festival | All weekend. The first-ever running of the Belmont Stakes in Saratoga is something special. The Daily Gazette has the full guide to the event, and check out other events at the Belmont on Broadway fest. (Also, see our story on on everything you wanted to know the Belmont in Saratoga!)

All-Ages Belmont Stakes Viewing Party | 4-6:30p, Sat. Tix: $17.85-$33.85. Saratoga Living and the Children's Museum at Saratoga are teaming up to host a family-friendly Belmont viewing party. Paper hat-making and other horse-related activities for the kiddies, cash bar for the grownups.

American Music Festival | 7:30-9:30p, Sat, EMPAC at RPI. Ticket prices vary. With Grammy-winning flutist Brandon Patrick George and the Albany High School Chamber Choir.

⭐️ Capital District Renaissance Festival | 11a–6p, Sat-Sun. Tickets: $20-$25 for adults, $5 for children. Take yourself back to the 15th century for a weekend of magic and wonder at Indian Ladder Farms in Altamont.

Albany Twilight Market | 5-9p, Sat, free. Quackenbush Square, Albany. A night market for the strange and unusual. Note: No tickets are required for this event; just show up!

NatureBus Walks: An Introduction to Tivoli Lake Preserve | Noon-1:30p, Sat, free. Tivoli Lake Preserve, Livingston and Judson parking lot, Albany. Join a guided tour of the second largest urban preserve in NYS. Walk will be 1.5 miles with two steep (but short) sections.

⭐️ Summer Craft Fair at Shaker Heritage Society | 10a-4p, Sat-Sun. Admission is ‘pay what you want.’ Shaker Heritage Society, 25 Meeting House Rd, Albany. 60+ regional artisans selling Shaker-themed crafts, plus a petting zoo, sheep shearing, local treats and live music.

Cars and Coffee | 9a-12p, Sat. Donations accepted. Old Stone Fort, 145 Fort Rd, Schoharie. Automotive enthusiasts and history buffs come together for a memorable morning at the historic Old Stone Fort.

⭐️ Capital PRIDE Parade & Festival | Join thousands of out-and-proud festival goers for one of the biggest Pride parades in upstate NY. 11:30a, Sun, free. Washington Park, Albany.

Albany Comic Con | 10a-4p, Sun, $10 (plus ticket fees). Over 75 tables of vendors, artists and writers of comics and collectibles. Bonus points for showing up in full cosplay 🦸

Antique Fair at Clifton Park Center Mall | 9a-3p, Sun, free. 22 Clifton Country Rd, Clifton Park. Over 60 vendors, featuring antique fixtures, furniture, toys, vintage clothing and other collectibles.

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