UAlbany Fall Festival Offers Community Members Opportunity to Experience Vibrant Campus

Fifth Annual 'Fallbany' Festival, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Fallbany, UAlbany's fall festival, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Science Library lawn. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

ALBANY, N.Y (October 1, 2012) – The Capital Region community will have the opportunity to meet UAlbany authors, including Humorist and former New York Times "The Ethicist" columnist and "Late Night with David Letterman" writer, Randy Cohen '71, sample farm-to-table food recipes, enjoy lively dance and musical performances, and engage in a host of family-friendly activities at UAlbany's fifth annual Fallbany festival on Saturday, October 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event, which is held on the Science Library lawn on the main UAlbany campus, is free and open to the public.

The day also includes science demonstrations, opportunities to meet real Great Danes, a hot dog topping contest, tailgating and a homecoming football game as the Great Danes take on Northeast Conference foe St. Francis (Pa.) at 1 p.m. on University Field.

Fallbany offers a host of activities geared for parents, alumni, students, families and more. (Photo Mark Schmidt)

The day kicks off at 8:30 a.m. with the Alumni Association's 5K Run/2.5K Walk and Little Dane Dash to benefit the University at Albany Cancer Research Center’s Fund for Memory and Hope. Registration is available online.

Book Fair and Author Signings

Cohen, author of Be Good: How to Navigate the Ethics of Everything, will be among the UAlbany faculty and alumni authors at the event to sign their latest books.

Other featured titles include UAlbany School of Criminal Justice Professor Frankie Bailey's Forty Acres and a Foggy Grave; historian Allen Ballard's Carried by Six; alumna Mildred Chang, The Mask is Off; musician and UAlbany music professor Bob Gluck's You’ll Know When You Get There; and UAlbany Africana Studies professor and poet Leonard Slade's Triumph.

Sample and Purchase Farm-to-Table Foods

The extensive farmer's market will include fresh produce and craft items from 40 Capital Region farms, including baked goods, fruits, vegetables, cider donuts, honey, syrups, and homemade jams. All proceeds from the market will benefit the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.

In addition, UAlbany chefs will entertain and inform by demonstrating the creation of autumnal dishes such as pork Osso Buco served with chive-crusted potato cakes using items from the farmer’s market. The community will have the opportunity to sample the dishes as well.

Featured in the food tent will be the DANEgerZone Hot Dog Topping competition, highlighting student-created hot dog toppings. Contestants’ entries will be judged by a panel of self-proclaimed hot dog foodies including Times Union writer Kristi Bartlette. The winning recipe will be featured as the topping for the DANEger Dog available in the concession stand at UAlbany home basketball games.

Sheepherding Demonstration

With the help of hungry sheep and border collies to herd them, UAlbany Biological Sciences Professor Gary Kleppel has developed a new way to control invasive plants without using herbicides or heavy equipment. The approach, known as targeted grazing, uses livestock to eat invasive plants on designated lands. The livestock are moved according to a precise procedure that mimics the way wild herbivores, like bison, migrate.

Kleppel will be on hand with his border collie Tory and long wool sheep from his farm to demonstrate the roles they play in targeting grazing. Kleppel will show how the border collie moves and manages the flock

Variety of Family Activities

Fallbany also features live student talent performances, including perennial favorite Knemesis, a student step dancing group; a Great Dane dog rescue; pumpkin decorating; and a host of activities geared for parents and children.

Find out more about Fallbany.

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