anyone out there?

I'm just curious. Does any one read this? If so, please comment and tell me what you think. Thanks.

the scene (this coming weekend)

Things to do this weekend:

1. ALL WEEKEND: Gilded Pony Performance Festival
A few of my neighbors, Julie Rose (dancer and Pilates instructor) and Emily Dalton-Smith, are involved in performing and coordinating this performance festival, with two venues: the Arts Center in Troy and a church in Valley Falls. Helene Lesterlin of RPI's EMPAC is one of the curators. Last time she produced an event, everyone from Troy went to see dancers hanging from the rafters of the soon-to-be home of EMPAC at RPI and cooed about it for days...
Go to gildedpony.org for more information.

2. FRIDAY: Michael Eck at Caffe Lena, Saratoga, 7 p.m.
Michael Eck is a good guy. He writes reviews for the Times Union on occasion and does rock, pop, folk, country, and jazz himself on others. He describes himself (on his website, michaeleck.com) as "Woody Guthrie wired on black coffee." Who wouldn't like that?

3. SATURDAY: Troy Waterfront Farmers' Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This is the third weekend the market is outside in its spring/summer venue, the Troy Marina (right between River Street Cafe and The Hedley Building on River Street, just north of Revolution Hall). Why shop the farmers' market? You know where your food is coming from. You can ask the vendors all sorts of questions (like, "How many gallons of milk can a goat produce on any given day?"), pet the rooster that perches atop Our Farm's sign, support fair trade for farmers, and know that most of the vendors don't use any sort of pesticides or funky chemicals on the food you're eating. There are no steroids involved.
Things I recommend buying (that I buy for my daughter and husband): whole milk from Gumaer Farms Dairy in Stuyvesant Falls, summer cheddar cheese from Adirondack Cheese, tomatoes from the best tomato vendor ever yet whose name escapes me (they grow hydroponic tomatoes all year in a greenhouse, and their tomatoes taste like a slice of juicy heaven!), pottery (a good wedding gift, I've been told) from Saratoga Pottery, greeting cards designed by Kristine Dominichini's Green Studio in Troy, and all sorts of hot, ready-to-eat curry concoctions from Greenwich's Thunder Mountain Curry.

coming this weekend

What to do this weekend (5/12-14):

This weekend/FUN
Tulip Festival in Albany
The best part -- the Pinksterfest -- is Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Don't worry if it rains. Vendors might be more willing to sell you items at cheaper prices, simply to get rid of products. (I know this from experience)

This weekend/FILM
Berkshire International Film Festival
www.biffma.com

Saturday/MUSIC
Hamell on Trial
8 p.m., $15
WAMC Linda Norris Auditorium, Albany.
-He opened once for Ani diFranco when she played at Proctor's in Schenectady and sang about the weirdness of bringing kids on first dates. This is his CD release party.

Saturday/COMEDY
Chicago City Limits
8 p.m., $16 ($10 students)
UAlbany, Main Theatre
The New York Times calls them "the perfect masters of improvisation" so try to stump them with cues like "blueberry people" and see if they can come up with a good skit...

Saturday/DANCE
80s Night
10 p.m., $5
Fuze Box, Albany
C'mon; I know you're dying to dance to Bon Jovi and The Go-Gos. It's IN you.

Sunday/REMINDER
Don't forget: It's mothers' day on Sunday. Maybe your mom has been eyeing a particular magazine, pretty body lotion or perhaps she's just itching to get out or have a night/day off from the kids. Let her! Surprise her by saying "Mom/sweetheart, why don't you just go shopping today? Here's $100. I'll stay home and watch the kids." (Hint to my husband)

call for submissions

Anyone see Mission Impossible III yet? Read a great book? (I'm curious if anyone else read Anne Rice's "Christ the Lord" yet, since I don't want to write all the reviews!)
I welcome reviews. Send to: artsblog@terranovachurch.org. Submissions may be edited for clarity or content.

what to do this coming weekend

FOOD/FRIDAY at 7:30 p.m.
Cinco de Mayo at Carmen's Cafe, First Street, Troy
$15 per person. RSVP to Carmen at gcarm8@aol.com, 272-3011

FOOD, ARTS, COMMUNITY/SATURDAY
Troy Farmers' Market moves to its outdoors venue, Troy's Marina near Revolution Hall.
This is a sure sign of spring and warmer months to come!
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
troymarket.org

COMEDY/SATURDAY at 8 p.m.
Laugh for a good cause.
Comedy Relief at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Second Street, Troy.
Benefit for Joseph's House and Shelter of Ferry Street, Troy.
Tickets: $20-$35; students $15-$25
For more info., call 273-0038.

DANCE/SATURDAY at 8 p.m.
15th Anniversary Celebration of Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company.
The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany.
This concert features the premiere of a new collaboration between Sinopoli, composer Hilary Tann and Sculptor Martin Olstad along with a retrospective of ESDC repertory.
Cocktails at 6 p.m.
Box office: 473-1845
Cocktail reservations: 408-1341.

ARTS/SUNDAY at 2 p.m.
Jason Martinez: New Work: Where the Rainbow Never Ends
Opening reception at Visions Gallery, 40 No. Main St., Albany

pray

National Day of Prayer is this Thursday.

Join people at Troy's Monument Square, Albany's Capitol steps, or Schenectady's City Hall at noon to pray together... for the US, for our local communities, for our brothers and sisters around the world.