The Beat

“The Lilac Table: A Tasting Collective” Takes Place Saturday, May 16

Rochester, N.Y. — The Rochester Lilac Festival will debut its first-ever premium food and beverage tasting event, The Lilac Table: A Tasting Collective, on Saturday, May 16, 2026.

The ticketed event will take place from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 249 Highland Ave. (behind the Lilac Adventure Zone). The space will be outfitted with tents, lounge areas, music by DJ Pepi, and a surprise-guest MC for a thoughtfully designed all-inclusive tasting experience. The Lilac Table name brings Rochester’s hottest restaurants and craft beverage producers all ‘to the table’ to showcase pairings of the City’s best flavors.

Hague, NY (February 3, 2026) – Winter in the Town of Hague brings a season of community traditions, outdoor recreation, and family-friendly events taking place throughout February and March. Rather than a single weekend, Winter in Hague features a series of signature events hosted by local organizations that highlight the best of winter and early spring in the Adirondacks.

Saratoga Springs, NY (Feb. 9) — Opera Saratoga has announced casting for its 2026 festival season, marking the company’s 65th anniversary with a diverse slate of opera, musical theatre, new works, and community-centered programming. Performances will take place primarily at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Feltman: World's First Hot Dog

March 18 - June 14 at 36th Street Theatre

New York, N.Y. - Step into the ultimate hot dog story. Long before Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog’s, Feltman’s dominated Coney Island. In Feltman: World’s First Hot Dog, audiences travel back to 19th-century Coney Island as German immigrant Charles Feltman invents what would become an American icon. Written and performed by Coney Island native Michael Quinn, this new solo show traces the birth of the hot dog alongside Quinn’s own family connection to the original Feltman brand. The production brings to life an overlooked chapter of New York and culinary history.

Creating Space for Women to Learn, Connect, and Explore Outdoors

Free Open House on March 7 kicks off a new, women-centered outdoor education series

Cortland, NY — Lime Hollow Nature Center is launching Women in the Woods, a new outdoor education series designed to empower women and non-binary people of all ages, abilities, body types, and experience levels to feel confident spending time outdoors. The series begins with a free open house on Friday, March 7 at 10:00 a.m., offering an accessible introduction to hiking and essential outdoor skills.

Fashion and Faith: Hats from the Great Migration Opens to the Public Saturday, February 14

Albany, N.Y. - The New York State Museum is honoring the Black women whose faith helped shape Albany’s communities with the opening of its newest collections feature, Fashion and Faith: Hats from the Great Migration. Between 1910 and 1970, more than seven million African Americans left the South, with New York State becoming a popular destination for those seeking higher wages, better housing, less discrimination, and improved educational opportunities for their children. The display explores the lived experiences of women during the Great Migration through their church hats, which became vibrant, impactful expressions of identity, connection, and possibilities.

Saratoga Springs, N.Y. — The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame’s Win, Place, Show: The Annual Student Art Exhibition, presented by the New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, will open to the public in the Museum’s von Stade Gallery on Feb. 14. The exhibition, which will feature more than 60 works of art from Capital Region students in grades 3-7, will run through March 15.

New student-curated exhibition opens February 14 at the Tang Museum

Saratoga Springs, NY (February 10, 2026) — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces Designing Power: The Black Panther Party, a student-curated exhibition on view Feb. 14–May 31.

A Community Celebration of the Iconic Downtown Crow Roost

Cayuga County (February 2026) – Each winter, Auburn is visited by one of nature’s most fascinating spectacles: the arrival of thousands of American crows, gathering nightly in the heart of downtown. This phenomenon, unique in its scale and character, has become a seasonal hallmark for the community and an unexpected attraction for visitors. 

This February, Auburn is inviting residents and guests alike to come together and mark the occasion in a new way: Auburn’s First Ever Crow Cawcus, a citywide event set for February 20 and 21, 2026.

New York, NY— MidAmerica Productions announces its 43rd concert season at Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, presenting a wide-ranging series of choral and orchestral performances from March 14 through June 29, 2026. The season includes 11 world premieres, 4 Carnegie Hall premieres, and an expansive survey of sacred and secular repertoire, spanning cornerstone masterworks and newly commissioned works by leading composers of today.