Fly 92 Summer Jam

We’ve been to the annual Fly 92 Summer Jam a time or two, and they can be a full afternoon of fun in the sun. There are so many musical acts that, well, you’ll be bound to like something. And the performers (mostly) get on and off the stage fast.

This year’ acts will include Natasha Bedingfield, Sum 41 (pictured), Simple Plan, Blake Lewis, C & C Music Factory (“Everybody Dance Now”), Ferras, Kate Voegele and—this just in—Ace Young.

Oh, and Coolio. Did you hear us? Coolio, damn it!

Plus there will be food and assorted liquid refreshments on sale. Just remember to pack the sunscreen.

The supa-dupa Fly 92 Summer Jam will be held Saturday (June 21) beginning at 11 AM at the Altamont Fairgrounds (129 Grand St., Altamont). Tickets are $28; an “event parking pass” is $5. For more info, visit fly92.com.

Kathy Griffin

Let’s just say that comedienne Kathy Griffin is no shrinking violet. Remember the time she made a Dakota Fanning-in-rehab joke on a nationally televised awards show? (Think hard—Dakota Fanning was the Hollywood “it” kid before Abigail Breslin.) Or the occasion when she won an Emmy for her basic-cable TV hit My Life on the D-List, and she said that Jesus had nothing to do with it?

Exact quote: “Suck it, Jesus!” The usual suspects were not amused.

The Chicago native has come a long from being a second (or third or fourth) banana on the now-forgotten NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan, and did guest bits on Seinfeld and ER. She’s a one-woman comedy wrecking crew when it comes to celebrities, so expect her targets to receive no mercy when she plays the Palace on Friday.

Kathy Griffin will perform at the Palace Theatre (19 Clinton Ave., Albany) at 8 PM tomorrow (Friday, June 20). Tickets are $27-$77. For more info, call the Palace box office at 465-4663.

Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region

Established 72 years ago, the Exhibition by Artists of the Mohawk-Region is the biggest regional deal of them all. It will showcase 71 works (painting, sculpture, drawing, mixed media and photography) by 34 artists, all living within a 100-mile radius of the Capital Region. This juried show will be judged by Joel Shapiro, who is “among the preeminent American sculptors of the 21st century.”

Pictured is Rob O’Neil’s archival inkjet print Uncoupling 12 (2008).

The 2008 Exhibition by Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region opens Saturday (June 21) at the Albany Institute of History and Art (125 Washington Ave., Albany) and continues through Aug. 10. There will be an opening reception and presentation of awards on June 26 from 5:30 to 8:30 PM; and an artists’ open house on Aug. 1 from 5:30-8:30 PM, coinciding with 1st Friday. For more info about the many other programs associated with the exhibit, call 463-4478 or visit albanyinstitute.org.