A merry and musical Mother’s Day weekend

With Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday, Greater Lansing offers a range of events this weekend to celebrate, including the Peace Education Center’s annual Mother’s Day for Peace concert, a mother-daughter tea party and a craft and vendor show to find last-minute gifts. There’s also a music festival, two new art exhibits, a drag brunch, a comedy show, a genealogical seminar and much more.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have rock musician Mark Grinnell at Harrison Roadhouse at 6; cover band Atomic Annie at UrbanBeat and cover musician Ben Awrey at Mash Bar, both at 7; the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s final concert of the season at the Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall at 7:30; Dave Matthews Band tribute group Trippin’ Billies at Grewal Hall at 224, JP Peters of pop and rock cover band JP & the Energy at the Peanut Barrel and metal bands Absolute, Means of Entry, One with the Riverbed and Blue Waffle Syrup at Mac’s Bar, all at 8; hip-hop artist Caskey at Green Dot Stables at 9:30; and ‘90s and early 2000s grunge, pop and rock cover band Off the Ledge at Mash Bar at 10. Saturday evening, we have metal bands Krocophile, Nociception, Mouthful of Locusts and Archthrone at Mac’s Bar at 6:30; rock band Jimmy Likes Pie at Lansing Brewing Co. and the Mason Philharmonic and Symphony orchestras at Okemos High School, both at 7; and Latin music group Orquesta Ritmo at UrbanBeat at 8. Ending the weekend on Sunday is Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show at 6 p.m.

Stoopfest, an annual DIY music and arts festival, will fill Lansing’s Eastside Neighborhood with even more live music of a multitude of genres Friday evening and all day Saturday. It will also host its inaugural parade 11:30 a.m. Saturday, starting at the Allen Neighborhood Center and finishing at Hunter Park. For a schedule of performances and venues, visit the website.

Two new art exhibits will celebrate openings this weekend: the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s volunteer art show at the Okemos Library, with a reception 3:30 to 5 p.m. Friday, and “Figuring It All Out: An Artistic Study of the Human Figure” at the Art Williamston gallery, with a reception 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Other art displays on view include the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s “Artistic Visions” exhibit at REACH Studio Art Center, which is open by appointment; the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s Spring Member Show at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, which is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; “The LGBTQ+ Artist in Michigan” and “Transitory: A Study Of Human Anatomy & Our Own Impermanence” at the Lansing Art Gallery, which is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; ART/5’s “Painterly Dialogues” exhibition at Framer’s Edge in Okemos, which is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday; “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection,” “DOOMSCROLLING,”  the 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibitionand the 2024 Art, Art History, and Design Faculty Triennial at the Michigan State University Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday; and “Corazón por La Justicia” at Casa de Rosado Galeria & Cultural Center, which is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Ixion Ensemble Theatre begins its two-weekend run of “Let’s Fight,” a collection of nine short plays themed around conflict, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Stage One at Sycamore Creek Eastwood. Additionally, Williamston Theatre continues its run of “Bright Half Life” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and the six finalists of the Wharton Center and Michigan State Department of Theatre’s annual Young Playwrights Festival will debut their original one-act plays, produced by Department of Theatre students, beginning 2 p.m. Saturday (May 11) at the Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre.

Events for the kids this weekend include the weekly story time and parkour workshop 10 a.m. Friday at AL!VE health park in Charlotte; a LEGO-building workshop 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Impression 5 Science Center; and a World Migratory Bird Day celebration with bird-focused education stations 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Potter Park Zoo.

The Peace Education Center’s Mother’s Day for Peace fundraiser, 7 p.m. Friday at the Allen Market Place, will include a performance by Lansing band the Dangling Participles, a speech by a representative of the Palestinian American Medical Association, complimentary snacks, Mother’s Day cards and flowers for purchase and more. Saturday brings more Mother’s Day events, including a craft and vendor show 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Meridian Mall; a mother-daughter tea party 11 a.m. Saturday at Laylin Park in Mason; and a Mother’s Day tea and luncheon 11 a.m. Saturday at the Okemos Masonic Center, with proceeds benefiting Haven House and Eli’s Project. In addition, all mothers will receive free admission to Potter Park Zoo on Sunday.

The Wild Ones Red Cedar Chapter will hold a native plant sale at this week’s Meridian Farmers Market, which runs 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Marketplace on the Green in Okemos. Additionally, the Eastern Ingham Farmers Market will celebrate its opening day 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at McCormick Park in Williamston.

The Archives of Michigan and Michigan Genealogical Council will host their annual Barbara J. Brown Family History Seminar 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Michigan History Center. The sessions will also be available online via Zoom. For a list of speakers and session topics, visit the website.

Local artists and crafters will sell their wares at a maker sale 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Candy’s Wild Wood in Bath.

Harris Nature Center in Okemos will hold an edible plants walk 1 p.m. Saturday, led by MSU Beal Botanical Garden curator Peter Carrington. Attendees will learn to identify common edible plants and poisonous lookalikes found in the wild.

Ben Bailey, former host of the Emmy-winning game show “Cash Cab,” will headline Q106 and Pure Options’ comedy show 8 p.m. Saturday at Grewal Hall at 224. The show will also feature a performance by nationally touring comedian John Bush.

MI Drag Brunch, which brings drag entertainment to restaurants all over the state, will host shows 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday at Lansing Brewing Co.

Finally, Lansing Restaurant Week, a self-guided dining tour of 36 area restaurants, begins Friday and runs through May 17. Each restaurant will offer a special dish for $7, and participants can visit as many or as few of the restaurants as they’d like. For a list of restaurants and dishes, visit the website.

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of weekends.

(Have an event? Be sure to list it free at lansingcitypulse.com/calendar. Think it’s worth at least a short story? Send a news release to nicole@lansingcitypulse.com for consideration.)