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One of the things that attracts me to Troy the most is the diversity of culture, thought, gender and generally, the open-minded vibe I get hanging out downtown. The diversity spans socio-economic and age demographics. This is seen in many of the downtown residents and also the city government. Downtown Troy is a great combination of small and medium independent, entrepreneurial businesses and has strong arts and creative destinations. Troy arguably has the most robust farmers market in the region, having been in operation for over 20 years, it attracts tens of thousands of attendees per year to the downtown area. Many of the downtown businesses also have strong identities, not just programmatically and aesthetically but also in the groups of people that they attract, kind of like mini cultural micro-climates to borrow a landscape architecture term. Speaking of architecture, the architecture and rich industrial and cultural history of Troy are a significant player in the experience you have here.

As a creative freelance professional, this environment is supportive and stimulating. In a simple trip for morning coffee its possible to run into musicians, PHD students, architects, film people, gaming programmers, coders, makers, fashion designers, stylists, photographers, engineers, lawyers, poets, philosophers, producers, urban farmers, historic preservation professionals, professors and retirees…the list goes on. It’s not uncommon for us to have film crews from independent and major studios location scouting here from all over the country (HBO is currently working on a series here called ‘The Gilded Age‘). Troy is a current darling in that way and is increasingly providing quality freelance work for people in our region. Additionally, we have 2 important campuses in downtown including RPI and SAGE College which help contribute to an intellectually stimulating scene.

What also makes the downtown great is the scale. Like many well designed older cities, it’s walkable. It’s best to just park your car and enjoy strolling the various blocks to get to all the rich opportunities there are to experience. For the long term, my fear is that we will jump the shark and allow development that will gentrify our city overmuch. I am hoping however that we can hold the beautiful balance we currently have and spread new development interest out from the city center into contiguous neighborhoods, keeping the rich diversity that we hold so dear downtown while spreading investment dollars further out from the city center. This would create a positive impact on a greater number of citizens, thereby increasing the value of the city as a relocation destination. So much to say but suffice it to say, here are a few of my top pics for a day in the life of a downtown Trojan.

FAVORITE ENTERTAINMENT

EMPAC’s ongoing FREE lecture series.

FAVORITE COFFEE SPOT(S)

Little Pecks with Superior Merchandise a close second!

BEST DATE SPOT

The Charles Lucas Confectionary

BEST ART HANGOUT

Troy Night Out Exhibition Openings at the Arts Center of the Capital Region (Shameless plug: ARTS BAR!)

FAVORITE BARTENDERS

Amanda at Nighthawks | Scott at The Berlin Lounge

BEST PLACE TO BE OVERSTIMULATED

Franklin Alley Social Club (Shuffle Board league and old school arcade games in an old basement bowling alley!)

MOST INTERACTIVE SOCIAL SPACES

Troy Kitchen an ethnic food court | Bard and Baker over 750 board games!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Ryan’s Wake (Locals Happy Hour Hang), Sunhees Farm and Kitchen,
Troy Music Hall and Rare Form Brewing. 

The Hill at Muza, not downtown but walkable in the summer and worth the trip!

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Corey Aldrich currently lives and works out of Troy New York where he has an experiential design and events company called 2440 Design Studio.

The #CreativeEconomyMixer at Frog Alley Brewing was a hit! We enjoyed food tastings by Bountiful Bread, drink tastings by Frog Alley Brewing, an espresso bar by Storied Coffee, and much more! Local vendors included Unconventional Medium, Tough Traveler Ltd., and Theresa With Intention.

Music was provided by Olivia Quillio, and we enjoyed an interesting painting activity courtesy of Create Community Studios. It was a great night for sure, with over 350 in attendance.

Our largest mixer yet!

Special thanks to our sponsors MVP Health Care and Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, Center for Economic Growth and partners The Collaborative, Create Community Studios, CapGirls NY, Discover Schenectady, Redburn Development, Ellis Medicine, and Bear and Bird Boutique + Gallery.

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C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios is dedicated to providing a space where the benefits of art-making impact both the individual and the community as a whole. They offer low-cost art workshops and groups, community wellness activities, and open studios to promote art-making and the creative process as a vehicle for personal growth, communication, and social change. 

They believe that the beneficial experience of art-making should be affordable and accessible to everyone, and their goal is to use expressive arts as an equalizer across cultural and economic barriers, and for participants to learn how to use art as an expressive medium to increase their general well-being.

At C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, the focus is the process of the art-making, not the product. Unlike other art studios, expectations are not rooted in a product or an image. The focus is on the evolution of a piece and encouraging conversation about its meaning.

For more information or to take a class, please check out their Events Calendar.