THE BLUEBILLIES LEAD SINGER PERFORMS country songs for visitors attending October’s Troy Night Out.On the last Friday of every month, the streets of Troy fill with students and residents who are there to enjoy Troy’s food and cultural opportunities. In Monument Square, there were food and art vendors displaying their wares to passing visitors. The Troy Children’s Chorus and The Bluebillies provided music to people of all ages enjoying the last few warm days of summer.
In Barker Park, RPI’s jazz bands played. These bands included the Repertory Jazz
Orchestra, 8th Street Swing Band, Contemporary Jazz
Ensemble, and the Afro-Cuban Jazz
Orchestra. The Ensemble Congrero played in the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.
In the center of Broadway and 2nd, a group called Troy Alley Action was working on their latest project. Using spray paint, sidewalk chalk, stencils, and the help of anyone who offered, they converted the center of the busy intersection into a work of art. The intersection was covered in dozens of ovals in all colors. The white ones said “Enjoy Troy,” while the rest were started with “Enjoy” but space was left for visitors to fill in the blank. The idea is that converting a busy intersection into a work of art will slow traffic down. Instead of rushing through, people will want to slow down to see the art, and so will the people who are trying to cross the street. Those brave enough to risk getting painted on, moved into the intersection to help out with the project. Right now, the paint is temporary, but if it works as intended the city might consider a permanent installment.
RPIgnite Drumline performed at Monument Square. The RPI Unicycling and Juggling club was also there to entertain visitors. They brought juggling balls and a number of unicycles with them. Everyone tested their hand-eye coordination, but few had the patience to work past two juggling balls. Some also wanted to test their balance on the unicycles. Members of the club helped first time unicyclists get a feel of what it is like to balance on one wheel. Those who felt their skills were not up to par were not left out. The club officers got to demonstrate their abilities by juggling as many as five balls at once in a variety of complicated patterns. The unicyclists of the group tested their agility on one wheel with a game of unicycle tag.
At the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, four of RPI’s a capella groups took the stage. While the Music Hall was completed in 1875, the performances were of modern songs like “Price Tag” by Jesse J and “Troublemaker” by Olly Murs. The audience was in awe at each group’s talent, and gave huge rounds of applause after each performance.
In the Arts Center of the Capital Region, the Dance Team performed, followed by Sheer Idiocy. Sheer Idiocy played some rhyme games and then did a poet’s corner where they asked the audience for a word. Several improvised songs and dances about noodles, the word chosen, were performed to big laughs. Sheer Idiocy also pretended to broadcast a mundane activity, in this case doing laundry, ESPN-style. Dozens of other improv games also delighted the audience.
In addition to the RPI activities, many stores stayed open later than normal. Specials were also offered. This was not unique to this Troy Night Out, the next event will be on November 28 and more information can be found at
http://downtowntroy.org/special-events/troy-night-out.html.