PREVIEW: Discover Albany details plans for a spooktacular October
“The most wonderful, underlying theme of all these events is how the separate organizations working hard to bring folks out to Downtown Albany are all working so closely together.”
It wasn’t that long ago that Albany made the rounds on social media under the spotlight of NCAA commentator Rebecca Lobo claiming there was nothing to do here. If you didn’t already know it was a misguided dig, Discover Albany detailed why at The MVP Arena’s atrium yesterday, with a press conference hosted by President and CEO, Jill Delaney.
The conference was scheduled to detail the city’s exciting month of October, which will feature a full slate of entertainment from Halloween Festivities, to performances from comedians like Sebastian Maniscalco and Jon Stewart, to a multi-day performance from Phish at this very arena. Jill detailed all of this alongside Mayor Kathy Sheehan, County Executive Dan McCoy, and a number of representatives from city venues and organizations.
As Jill proudly declared in her introduction, Albany truly does have something for everyone this Fall. One of the highlights she focused on was the 100-year-old All-Hallow E’en Festival, resurrected for the first time last year.
“We are very excited that the All-Hallow E’en Festival has taken hold after its inaugural year and is drawing more and more visitors to Albany,” Jill told us after the conference. “With the support of the Albany for All ARPA grant from the City of Albany, we were able to revive this seasonal favorite after more than 100 years and include many incredible partners to make it spectacular. All of that, coupled with seemingly innumerable activities across Albany for the month of October, it promises to be a banner month for our destination.”
Last year’s festival brought an uptick in visitors from throughout the Northeast, with out-of-state visitors accounting for over 47% of all visitor spending. Hotel Occupancy – which Jill explained is a key metric of success – reached record numbers at 69% for the month of October.
Discover Albany has once again assembled a stellar team of partners dedicated to resurrecting the festival, showcasing Albany’s diverse talent through public art displays along The Albany Center Gallery’s Art Path, community events like The Downtown Business Improvement District’s Hounds of Halloween, dramatic ghost tours, and the Halloween House Ball hosted by In Our Own Voices.
“As you can imagine, pulling off a festival of this magnitude takes many hands and many supporters,” Jill told the crowd. “We are thrilled to once again have not only our amazing partners, but also these great sponsors: CDTA, Albany Broadcasting, Camelot Print & Copy Centers, and the Albany Parking Authority.”
In addition to the month-long festival, the capital will host a plethora of exciting events sure to delight, entertain, and boost economic growth for the local community. The aforementioned Sebastian Maniscalco will have audiences on stitches when he takes the stage at The MVP Arena on October 3rd, and right down the road Jon Stewart is slated to do the same at The Palace Theatre on October 25th.
In the music sector – our favorite, naturally – The MVP Arena will welcome blockbuster acts Lil Wayne on October 11, and a three-night run from Phish October 25-27. Additionally, the Albany Symphony will be performing with the Empire State Youth Orchestra on October 14. And that’s not even including the incredible slate of smaller, local shows you can find throughout the month in Albany and the surrounding areas. (Just check out our calendar if you don’t believe us!)
If none of that is spooktacular enough for you, you might instead opt for The Palace Theatre’s annual Rocky Horror Picture Show performance on October 21, or perhaps get yourself some new ink at The Albany Capital Center’s Dead Man’s Hand Tattoo Expo happening from October 25-27.
The most wonderful, underlying theme of all these events is how the separate organizations working hard to bring folks out to Downtown Albany are all working so closely together.
Good luck finding something to do.
