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SCHENECTADY
City festival features freebies
Merchants hope Melodies & Magic brings shoppers
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com

    Magic is coming to downtown Schenectady this Thursday with horse-drawn carriages, bagpiper processions and flame jugglers.
    The annual Melodies & Magic festival will begin at 4 p.m. with many of the events that are offered every year: free rock climbing and crafts at Center City, musical performances in every nook and cranny, horse-drawn carriage rides at City Hall and the always-popular fire spinning.
    There will be a few new touches this year, mainly an indication of how deeply the recession has hurt retailers who rely on Christmas sales to break even.
    Many Jay Street stores are giving out free cookies while the Octavo Singers lead caroling to draw customers to the embattled businesses. But there will be far more freebies than just a sugary snack. Vintage Art will offer free antique appraisals. Jay Street Fine Arts Supply will give away art projects for children. Adults can sample a cigar for free at Habana Premium Cigar Shop.
    “We’ll do anything to get people in the store,” said Habana owner Paul Sickles, who confessed that the recession is making this holiday season a little less bright. “We mostly want to let people know we’re here and spread a little cheer.”
    The Backstage Pub & Grill will even feed visitors — everyone who braves the chilly walk to Smith Street, which is just on the other side of Proctors, will get a free cup of soup. On State Street, TARA Global Shop will offer Indian food from the Taj Mahal Restaurant and hot chai.
    Coffee, hot cocoa and tea will be offered at nearly every establishment, from the Hampton Inn to Chez Daisie Creperie, guaranteeing a way for festival strollers to warm up.
    There will be two different woodcarving demonstrations on Jay Street as well. The Gallery of New York Folk Art and Mohawk Valley Guitars will both run demonstrations, though Mohawk’s will obviously focus on guitar design.
ELVIS SIGHTING
    Live music will range dramatically this year. Ambition will host an Elvis show, Mohawk Valley Guitars will showcase classical and flamenco guitar music, and the Bahai Reading Room will host jazz performances. Tattoo Blues has also hired its own musicians for the night.
    The main performances will take place at Center City, where the Octavo Singers are scheduled to sing at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. and the a cappella group Didynimous will perform at 5:15 p.m.
    Outdoor performances at the Circle include fire spinning at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., jazz dancers from the high school at 5:15 p.m., traditional Greek and Cyprus dances from the Fotia Hellenic Society at 6:15 p.m. and carols from the AEG Tabernacle Choir at 6:45 p.m.
    For those who prefer indoor entertainment, ballet students will perform selections from “The Nutcracker” at Myers Dance Studios, 440 State St.
    Most of the festivities will come to an end when the annual fundraiser for Albany Med’s Centers for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders begins at 7 p.m. at Proctors. Tickets for Thursday’s Melodies of Christmas show are $15.
    But those who aren’t going to the show can attend a free improv workshop at 7 p.m. at Proctors, followed by.........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01200