NIGHT
ALBANY — On average, locally-based musician and singer/songwriter Erin Harkes travels 1,000 miles a week. However, she’ll be staying in town this Friday, Dec. 23, for a show at The Ginger Man Wine Bar and Restaurant from 8 to 11 p.m.
Harkes is no stranger to the Capital District music scene; she’s been named the area’s Best Singer/Songwriter by both the Times Union and Metroland.
In the biography posted on her official website, Harkes’ childhood memories of being ignored and imagining that all the world is a stage have resulted in her becoming a “self-proclaimed performance ‘whore,’ — meaning she will do anything to perform in front of an audience.”
Harkes, who began writing her own songs at the age of 19, has since released four albums of original material. Her debut CD, “Bar Napkins and Magic Markers,” a reference to the crude way she jotted down lyrics as a college student.
It is said that hearing Harkes sing is “a powerful experience that grabs anyone within earshot.” Her voice is often compared to that of the late Janis Joplin, with power and emotion that emanate from her life-inspired lyrics; it “makes you want to sit and listen to every word.”
The Ginger Man is located at 234 Western Ave. in Albany (between Ontario and Quail streets) For more information or to reserve a table for the show, call (518) 427-5963.
DAY
ALBANY — Come and visit the New York State Museum over the holiday school break for some free “Ice Ages-” themed educational adventures and hands-on activities! Explorers of all ages are encouraged to head to the South Lobby (walk towards the skeleton of the Cohoes Mastodon) and venture back 12,000 years in time to the last Ice
Age. See and handle the giant teeth of mastodons and mammoths and learn how to tell the difference between the two. On Wednesday, Dec. 27, join local PBS-affliate WMHT in the South Lobby between 1 and 4 p.m. For Ice Age Creature Crafts. Participants will make their own Woolly Mammoth or Saber-toothed Tiger to bring home with them!
For a complete schedule of family activities taking place over break, visit www.nysm.nysed.gov/programs or call the Main Lobby desk at (518) 475-5877.
The New York State Museum is located at 222 Madison Avenue in Albany. Parking is available in a pair of lots adjacent to the museum, accessible from Madison Avenue. Weekday parking fees are $10 before 10 a.m. and $5 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Parking is free after 2 p.m. weekdays and on weekends. Additional paid parking is available in the Visitor Lot under the Empire State Plaza Concourse.
While admission to the museum is free, a $5 donation per person or a $10 donation per family is suggested.
