There may have been a snowstorm and more than a few flurries this week, but the 2019 Flurry Festival in Saratoga Springs has everything and more to shake off the cold and get your blood pumping. The highly anticipated festival will last all weekend (February 15-17) and feature more than 200 events and performances, with 300 performers at six different venues throughout Downtown Saratoga. There’s so much simultaneous entertainment going on at this year’s Flurry Fest—concerts, dances, workshops, jam sessions, family events and more—it’ll be a challenge just to sort it all out. But hey, that’s what saratoga livings‘ for.
For Friday, February 15, the festival will kick off at 7pm and run until 1am, showcasing world music with Afro-Caribbean Dancing featuring Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra at the City Center, Folk Dances of India with sitarist Veena Chandra and drummer Devesh Chandra at the Hilton on Broadway, and two back-to-back shows of fiery blues music at The Parting Glass pub with the Saratoga-based Tango Fusion Dance Company and blues rockers The Resonators. In addition to an incredible lineup of dancing and music that will last all day (literally, from 9am to 1am the following morning), some of the highlights from Saturday’s roster of entertainment include workshops and bootcamps in storytelling, beginner ukulele, percussion, tap dance and even a demonstration on Naad Yoga, a form of yoga based on the healing power of sound. Also on Saturday will be a big raffle with a number of exciting prizes, including the chance to win two tickets to next year’s Flurry Festival plus a room for two at the Saratoga Hilton. Finally, on Sunday, from 9am to 5:30pm, bring your instrument of choice and take part in a jam session midday on the City Center’s stage. There will also be an array of fun dance parties on Sunday such as a West African Drum and Dance For Families event, a Salsa and Cumbia Dance Party (both at the City Center) and a Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party at the Hilton Ballroom.
The majority of the entertainment will take place at the Saratoga Hilton and the Saratoga Springs City Center, but be sure to check out fun events at the Excelsior Springs Event Center, Putnam Place, The Parting Glass Pub and Temple Sinai, too (view the full schedule here). And while you catch your breath from all that dancing, don’t forget to check out these other great events this weekend.
Friday, February 15
Fire on the Mountain – 7pm at West Mountain Ski Area in Queensbury.
Ensemble Connect at Skidmore – 7pm at Helen Filene Ladd Recital Hall in Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center. Tickets available at the box office.
Gravity and Bad Chaperones – 8pm-12am at Putnam Place in Saratoga.
Bailey’s 3rd Annual Ice Bar – Friday from 4pm to close and Saturday from 2pm to close at Bailey’s Saratoga.
Jazz Pianist Joey Alexander – Don’t miss an opportunity to hear this three-time Grammy nominee live, 7:30pm at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
Saturday, February 16
Sketches of Influence – Jazz music with composer and drummer Joe Barner, 9pm at 9 Maple Avenue.
Larry the Cable Guy and John Crist – Saturday at 4pm and Sunday 7pm at the Palace Theatre in Albany.
Annie in the Water “Funk Valentines Day” Party – The Party starts at 9:30pm at Nanola in Malta.
QUO! Live with King Delicious and the Purple Dream – 8pm at Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center. All proceeds will be donated to Saratoga Code Blue.
Sunday, February 17
Steve Martin and Martin Short: “Now You See Them, Soon You Won’t” – The two comedy legends will be performing at 8pm at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady.
