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

Hackett Middle School & Lark Street BID Partner Up to Clean Up Lark Street

On Saturday, June 4th from 12-3pm the Lark Street Business Improvement District will be working with a group of student volunteers, parents, and teachers from Hackett Middle School to clean up Lark Street from Madison Avenue to Washington Avenue. 

Volunteers will be picking up garbage, weeding, removing graffiti, and number of other tasks in order to make Lark Street sparkle. 

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.  

This successful collaborative effort has been coordinated by Ms. Zena Dorsey, Parent Partner in the resource center, the Lark Street BID, and in partnership with School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany, as well as with support from Albany’s Department of General Services, JB Lodge, and CDTA.  The School District and the School of Social Welfare have been involved for several years in a collaborative effort to develop and expand the Time Dollar programs and family resources in the Albany schools.

Art On Lark

The Lark Street Business Improvement District is proud to present the 15th Annual Art on Lark 2011 on Saturday, June 11th from 10 am to 5 pm. Art on Lark is Albany’s Premier Arts Festival drawing over 25,000 attendees in 2009 and named “Best Arts Event” in the  Times Union Readers Poll in 2009 and 2010. It is the 2nd largest street festival in upstate New York, second only to LarkFEST! This event will host hundreds of artists, musicians, dance and theatre performances, one-day installations, and many more special events that will showcase Lark Street as Albany's Arts District.

New for 2011

Several local Arts Organizations will be contributing to the festivities at Art on Lark 2011 including the addition of an Art Mecca presented by the Marketplace Gallery and Living Walls on Hudson Avenue between Lark and Willett. Come and Watch several artists create an enormous “living walls” mural right in front of your eyes and check out booths representing a number of New York City Galleries and Artists. Additionally, the buildings formerly occupied by Planned Parenthood will be transformed into a one-day “Pop-Up Gallery” packed with Art and Artists. The Pop-Up Gallery is being presented in conjunction with Albany Underground Artists co-founder Chip Fasciana. This space will also play host to the Youth FX Film series by the Grand Street Community Arts Youth Film program with several showings throughout the day. 

We are proud to partner with WEXT 97.7 FM for the 2nd year at Art on Lark 2011!

EVENT LINE UP   

Madison Stage           11am      Spaceland      12pm      Bryan Thomas         1pm        Olivia Quillio         2pm       Alta Mira       3:10pm   The Red Lions         4:15pm   Erin Harkes

Washington Stage              11am   The El Dorados      11:45am   Zack Cohen         12:45pm   Albany Poets      1:30 pm    NeedleGun         2:30 pm    Mike Poulopoulos         3:45pm     Disposable Rocket Band

Dana Park Beautification

On Thursday, May 5th, in conjunction with Champagne on the Park, the Lark Street Business Improvement District and representatives from Scotts Miracle-Gro Company announced the completion of a beautification project of Dana Park.

Sitting at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Lark Street, Dana Park was selected to be the exclusive recipient within the Capital District of a Scotts Miracle-Gro Company beautification project which included the installation of four new elm trees, shrubbery, flower beds, and new sod. George Gellar, from the Scott’s Miracle-Gro Company, commented on the joint effort: “The City of Albany’s Department of General Services and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company teamed up in March of 2011 to beautify Dana Park in downtown Albany. The level of cooperation and collaboration has been tremendously effective in getting the park together in such a short period of time. Without the cooperation and selfless efforts of many, the beautifying of this wonderful piece of Albany history would never have been accomplished.”

The Dana Park beautification project will further the BID’s efforts to utilize the park to bring neighbors and visitors together while appreciating the splendor and importance of nature.