This week brings great excitement with free and frugal events left and right! Look through the events below for something that catches your eye for the weekend, and come back for more events, as they span into the week. Surprise that special someone, or plan a fun-filled day with your closest friends here in the Capital Region! Take a break, because you deserve this! (Plus, you don't have to empty your pockets to do so.)

April 21st

HUGE Book & Media Sale
East Greenbush Community Library
10 Community Way, East Greenbush, NY 12061
April 21-24
Free!

Evenings at the Institute
(Every Thursday)
Albany Institute of History & Art
125 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12210
5:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Free!

Reading: Laura van den Berg, short story writer and novelist
Huxley Theatre
New York State Museum
Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12230
8:00 PM
Free & Open to Public 

Real Life: The Improv
8 PM
The Underground at Proctors
432 State St., Schenectady, NY 12305
$14 

April 22nd

Pints & Punchlines
Parting Glass Pub
40 Lake Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
9pm
$20

(Also see Multiple Days below) 

April 23rd

Albany: A Walking Tour Begins!
(Recurring monthly on the 4th Saturday)
Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center
25 Quackenbush Sq (Corner of Broadway & Clinton Ave.), Albany, NY 12207
11:00 AM
FREE! 

Albany Improv Festival
The Madison Theater
1036 Madison Ave, Albany, NY 12208
Noon - 10PM
$11/Show; $17/2 Show Pass; $20/Day Pass; Workshop Fee $20

Skyscape Series: Lyrid Meteor Shower
Wagon House Education Center
Olana State Historic Site
5720 Rte 9G, Hudson, NY 12534
7pm
Free/Member, $5/Non-Member

The Half Moon Market
11 AM - 6 PM
Washington Park Lakehouse
Madison Ave, Albany, NY 12203
Free

April 24th

Deep Air: Interdisciplinary Arts Reading Series
Wagon House Education Center
Olana State Historic Site
5720 Rte 9G, Hudson, NY 12534
1-3pm
$5/Member, $10/Non-Member

Sunday Art Studios: 3D Paper Olana Model Making
Olana State Historic Site
5720 Rte 9G, Hudson, NY 12534
10am-12pm
Free!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favorites
The Egg
Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY
Starting: 3:00 PM
$18, Adult in free when accompanied by a child 

Wedding Of Your Dreams Bridal Show
Holiday Inn Resort
2223 Canada Street, Lake George, NY 12845
12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Free

MOVE Music Festival
April 22, 2016 - April 24, 2016 (Recurring daily)
Downtown Albany
Pearl street, Broadway, Albany, New York 12207
April 22, 2016 at 7:00 PM - Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 9:00 PM
$20-$35

The Theatre Institute at Sage Presents: Romeo & Juliet
Friday-Sunday
Schacht Fine Arts Center, Russell Sage College
5 Division Street, Troy, NY 12180, Troy, NY 12180
Varying times, See description

Ten Thousand Villages Albany Earth Day Celebrations

Tuesday April 26th

A Mad Science Museum Lab
1- 3 p.m.
Museum Lab | Families
Mastodons are the stars in New York State not Wooly Mammoths; explore why in this interactive lab. Examine Ice Age Mystery Skulls; find the human femur; examine remains and other mysteries of the last ice age. Great for ages 10 and older
Free!

Follow the North Star Planetarium Program
Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center
25 Quackenbush Sq (Corner of Broadway & Clinton Ave.), Albany, NY 12207
11:00 am
$3 per person - all seats 

Move into Music: Ice Age & Beyond
2 p.m.
Adirondack Hall near the Colvin Tower | Preschoolers Join Deb Cavanaugh of Heldeberg Music Together for an interactive music program that gets people moving and grooving, singing and dancing while listening to a variety of instruments including guitar, mandolin, mountain dulcimer and more.
Free!

Mastodon Magnet Craft
2-4 p.m.
Bird Hall | FamiliesTrace a mastodon cut-out to create a magnet for your refrigerator!
Free!

SPRING into the Museum! School Vacation Week Schedule: ICE AGE!
Late Pleistocene Exploration Station
1 & 3 p.m.
Native Peoples Hall near the mastodon model | Families | Free There were some crazy-looking creatures who lived right in our backyards during the last Ice Age, a mere 85,000 to 10,000 years ago. Come discover and touch some of their bones and teeth and try your hand at matching these with pictures of what these animals would have looked like. Travel back in time to imagine a world where we shared the landscape with a number of bizarre creatures many times our size. 

Wednesday April 27th

Architecture and Astronomy - Walking Tour and Planetarium Program
Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center
25 Quackenbush Sq (Corner of Broadway & Clinton Ave.), Albany, NY 12207
11:00 am
$3 per person - all seats

Natives Peoples Tour
1 & 3 p.m.
Meet in Native Peoples Hall | Families | Free Join a Museum Educator for an in-depth look at Native Peoples of New York Hall. Take a journey into the distant past to meet the first people who lived in New York more than 10,000 years ago.

Dinosaur Train craft
1-4 p.m.
Adirondack Hall near the Colvin Tower | Families | Free All aboard the Dinosaur Train! Join WMHT and PBS for a Dinosaur Train craft to enhance your child's learning of science. Play PBS Kids games on iPads and Kindles.

Subway Art
11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
Meet in Main Lobby | Families | Free
Join art instructor Peggy Steinbach in a short tour of the historic A-train car, then it's off to the art room for an introduction to a NY artist, their unique subway art and a try at the artist's "action" style of drawing characters! Recommended for ages 5 and above.