Lark Street BID seeks LarkFEST Photos from past 30 Years

The Lark Street Business Improvement District is asking the public to share their photos and memories to be used on the LarkFEST 2011 poster. This is being done in celebration of the 30th anniversary of LarkFEST, happening Saturday, September 17th from 10am to 5:30pm.

Christian & Bo at one of the first LarkFESTs

 

 

The Lark Street BID needs your images from LarkFESTs past including those that are funny, personal, solemn, random or monumental. A select number of submitted photos will be chosen to represent the past 30 years of LarkFEST on the official LarkFEST 2011 poster as well the Lark Street BID website and blog.

LarkFEST is Upstate New York’s largest one-day street festival held annually. This event showcases hundreds of vendors selling arts, crafts, retail items, food, and more as well as live music from both local and national headlining musical acts.

Please submit these images by July 22nd in a digital format via email or send them on a CD to bid@larkstreet.org or Lark Street Business Improvement District 245 Lark Street, Albany, NY 12210.

LarkFEST: Saturday, September 17th from 10AM-5:30PM.

Lark Street in Print!

Lark Street is being mentioned in two magazines this month: New York by Rail Magazine and Hudson Valley Magazine!  Both articles highlight LarkFEST as well as several Lark Street Businesses.



New York by Rail is a publication produced by Amtrak and placed in trains that bring visitors all over the Northeast.  New York by Rail highlights the 30^th Anniversary of LarkFEST, recognizing it as “one of the Capital Region’s best and biggest street festivals, in one of Albany’s most unique and diverse neighborhoods...” See the article here.


Hudson Valley Magazine’s special pull out section “Only in Albany” describes Lark Street as reminiscent of “Greenwich Village or the Left Bank (without the snooty waiters).”  The article goes on to mention many of our businesses including Justin’s, Elissa Halloran, and Romeo’s and the article also highlights the Wine Bar & Bistro in its own section under “Capital Cuisine.” See the article here.

 

New York by Rail can be found at the Amtrak Station in Rensselaer and Hudson Valley Magazine can be found at the Albany Visitors Bureau.

Cleanup Success

The partnership between Hackett Middle School and the Lark Street BID to clean up Lark Street on Saturday, June 4th 2011 was a huge success! Around 20 people including; students, staff, teachers and parents from Hackett and Lark Street BID staff participated in this effort.  Clean up took place in the Lark Street neighborhood between Washington and Madison avenues from Noon - 2pm. Participants helped clean the streets by sweeping, picking up litter, and weeding the tree beds. The City of Albany Department of General Services generously provided all the essential cleaning materials; brooms, shovels, garbage bags and green waste bags, etc. 

After a hard day's work, popular ice-cream maker; Ben and Jerry's, were kind enough to treat all those involved to ice-cream cones.

Many of the Hackett Middle School volunteers are part of the Time Dollar Program which encourages student and family volunteerism, empowers the community and makes schools and neighborhoods stronger. Time Dollar participants give their personal time to help others. For every hour that a Hackett student or their parent volunteers in the school or on a community project, they will receive a Time Dollar. Time Dollars can then be used to receive a variety of goods and services from the Time Dollar store located on the main floor at Hackett Middle School. The store contains various items such as school supplies, backpacks, DVD players, basketballs, skateboards, and gift cards to local businesses. The Time Dollar program is based on a national model developed by Edgar Cahn, founder of the Time Dollar Institute.  .

The Cleanup was organized in order to create positive relations between students and their families and the Lark Street business community.

YNN news station was present to cover this event. Follow link to watch a clip: YNN Hackette Middle School and Lark Street BID Cleanup coverage

Underground Arts Exhibition, Chefs Consortium & Youth FX Film Series

If you have been on Lark Street in the past week you may have noticed people coming in & out of the old Planned Parenthood space, open windows, and other signs of life. All the bustling in the space is in preparation for the Albany Underground Arts Exhibition & Chefs Consortium and the Youth FX Film Series taking place during Art on Lark on June 11th.

The Underground Arts Exhibition was planned & executed with Underground Artists co-founder Chip Fasciana & will feature over 20 artists. Some of the artists showing in the now unused space are: Abe Ferraro, Bob Gullie, and Lark Street BID executive director, Mary Spinelli. Noah Sheetz, the Govenor's Chef will be on-hand from the Chefs Consortium preparing local, seasonable, and organic foods. You can get a sneak peek of the Exhibition this 1st Friday, June 3rd from 5-9pm!











Additionally, the Grand Street Community Arts Youth FX intensive summer film program for teens will be screening their films on the 11th. Six films, which were conceived, written, directed, shot, starred in, and edited by the teens will be showing in the Planned Parenthood second floor conference room at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm. The 1pm screening will be followed by a Question and Answer session with the filmmakers.

Art on Lark
June 11 10am-5pm

Albany Underground Arts Exhibition & Chef's Consortium
June 3rd, 1st Friday 5-9pm
June 11th, 10am-5pm
Art is free, food is $10

Youth FX Film Series
June 11th, 11am, 1pm with Filmmaker Q&A, 3pm