A laid-back long weekend

Due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, this weekend’s schedule of events isn’t as packed as usual, but those staying in the area can still enjoy a mix of festivals, a handful of farmers markets, a bike scavenger hunt, a drum circle, a free comedy show and more.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have variety cover band North of Five at Harrison Roadhouse at 6; country musician Cooper Johnson at Mash Bar and soft-rock duo the Brothers Ralph at Lansing Shuffle, both at 7; saxophonist Walter Blanding, guest trumpeter Dwight Adams and local jazz artists performing the music of jazz trumpeter and vocalist Donald Byrd at UrbanBeat at 7:30; country and rock cover musician Carl Pawluk at the Peanut Barrel and a nu-metal dance party at Grewal Hall at 224 both at 8; and country musician Keegan Jacko at Mash Bar at 10. Saturday evening, we have the Tomás Esparza Blues Band at UrbanBeat at 8 and Tejano band Jr Aldaco and the Midwest Allstars with conjunto band Los Estrellas De Oro at Green Dot Stables at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday is the Jazz Alliance of Mid-Michigan’s memorial concert for late Lansing jazz vocalist Betty Baxter at the Michigan State University Community Music School at 1:30 p.m.

Art displays on view this weekend include the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s Spring Member Show at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, which is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s volunteer art show at the Okemos Library, which is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; an exhibit by local watercolor and acrylic painter Melissa Salyer at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday; “Figuring It All Out: An Artistic Study of the Human Figure” at the Art Williamston gallery, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 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 and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday; and “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection,” “DOOMSCROLLING,”  the 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition and 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.

Riverwalk Theatre wraps up its production of “James and the Giant Peach” 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Theater reviewer Dana DeMink wrote that the musical will have audience members “grinning from ear to ear.”

The Sexton High School Garden Club will hold a cash-only plant sale 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the school, offering a range of succulents, garden plants and flowering plants.

If you’re looking to get a broader range of shopping done, Lansing Shuffle’s first Afterglow Market runs 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, featuring a range of local artisans, startups and businesses; the Meridian Township Farmers Market runs 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Marketplace on the Green in Okemos; the Holt Farmers Market runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at its building on Cedar Street; and the weekly Eastern Ingham Farmers Market runs 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at McCormick Park in Williamston.

The Lansing Bike Co-op will host its monthly alley cat scavenger hunt Saturday afternoon. Check-in starts at 12:30, the ride starts at 1, and participants must return to the co-op by 2:15.

Greater Lansing Area Drummers invites people of all ages and experience levels to participate in its weekly drum circle 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Lake Lansing Park South. Attendees should bring chairs and percussion instruments if they have them.

Visit Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing 9:30 a.m. Sunday for a presentation and discussion on creative expression through filmmaking.

One North Kitchen and Bar will host its weekly comedy show with Three Sparks Comedy 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday.       

Three annual festivals will offer an eclectic mix of events this weekend: The Cristo Rey Fiesta, running Friday through Sunday at Cristo Rey Church, will feature authentic Mexican cuisine, traditional music and dance performances, a Latin American marketplace and more; the Laingsburg Lions Club’s Springtime Festival, running Friday through Monday in downtown Laingsburg, will feature a carnival, an arts and crafts show, a parade, a raffle and more; and the Memorial Freedom Festival, running Friday through Monday in downtown Dansville, will feature karaoke, kids’ activities, a cornhole tournament, live music, a screening of the Disney film “Encanto,” 5 and 8K races, a parade and more.

There will also be many remembrance services and parades this weekend in honor of Memorial Day — make sure to check out City Pulse’s events guide for more information.

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.)