A weekend full of festivities

Festival season is in full force this weekend, with four different celebrations throughout the Lansing area, including the Turner-Dodge Fairytale Festival, East Lansing Pride, the Celebrate Meridian Festival and Summer Fest at Dimondale’s County Creek Reception Hall. There’s also plenty of live music, new theater productions, a car show, a film screening and more.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have rock musician Mark Grinnell at Harrison Roadhouse at 6; singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist Matthew Shannon at Mash Bar, Mike Shuptar and Michelle Frederick of rock band Jimmy Likes Pie at Lansing Shuffle, Tejano bands Los Garcia Bros. and La Corporacion at Grewal Hall at 224 and the Meridian Community Band at Lake Lansing Park South, all at 7; Dixon’s Violin at the Howell Opera House at 7:30; singer-songwriter Henry Herig at the Peanut Barrel at 8; variety cover band Electric Flower Co. at the Green Door at 9; and rock cover band Smokey Bear at Mash Bar at 10. Saturday evening, we have classic-rock cover band Medusa at Lansing Brewing Co. at 7; Ukrainian band Kommuna Luxat UrbanBeat and punk band the Menzingers with country-rock band Lucero and rock band the Dirty Nil at Grewal Hall at 224, both at 7:30; rapper King Iso at Green Dot Stables at 8; and AC/DC tribute band ICY/DICEY with ‘90s cover band Bad Mother Lover at the Green Door at 8:30. Ending the weekend on Sunday is Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show at 6 p.m., folk musician Jack Straw and friends at the Avenue at 7 p.m. and Amy Winehouse tribute ensemble Lioness at UrbanBeat at 7:30 p.m.

An exhibition by Palestinian American artist and Michigan State University alumna Samia Halaby will open at the Broad Art Museum on Saturday. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday to view all the artwork on display, including “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection,”“DOOMSCROLLING” and the 2024 Art, Art History, and Design Faculty Triennial.

Other art displays on view this weekend include “Foreign Bodies” and “The LGBTQ+ Artist in Michigan” at the Lansing Art Gallery, which is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; a mixed-media exhibition by local artist Juanita Baldwin at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday; Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing’s Passion of the Creative Mind art and photography gallery, which is open 3 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday; and “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, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. 

If you’d like to do some crafting of your own, the MSU Surplus Store will host a drop-in textile-upcycling event 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, where attendees can repurpose unwanted clothing and scrap fabric into apparel or non-apparel items. 

Lansing Community College will present the first show of its Summer Stage Under the Stars series, Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday at its Outdoor Amphitheater. Additionally, Williamston Theatre will present preview performances of its last show of the season, “Predictor,” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Kids can visit the Eaton Rapids Area District Library 10 a.m. Friday for a bubble magic show.

The two-day Celebrate Meridian Festival will kick off with a teen night 6 to 10 p.m. Friday at the Marketplace on the Green, featuring a performance by School of Rock East Lansing, laser tag, crafts, a video game trailer, gaga ball and Connect 4 tournaments, jigsaw puzzle competitions and food trucks. Saturday’s all-ages block party, running from 4 to 11 p.m. at both the Marketplace on the Green and Central Park, will offer food vendors, beer gardens, carnival rides and games, inflatables, live music, a pet parade and a fireworks display. Additionally, the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the Meridian Historical Village will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. For a full schedule of events, visit the website.

R.E. Olds Transportation Museum will host its annual Car Capital Auto Show 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The show is open to all makes and years, and entrants will receive free museum admission for two. There will also be food trucks, a DJ and door prizes.

Weavers of the Web will lead a tour of labyrinths around mid-Michigan beginning at noon Saturday. Participants should meet at Keys to Manifestation and bring $15 to cover gas for the carpool as well as a sack lunch and beverages.

Visit the Turner-Dodge House noon to 6 p.m. Saturday for its Fairytale Festival, featuring fairytale characters, arts & crafts, vendors, children’s activities and live performances. Festivities on the lawn are free, and entry into the house is $5 for ages 5 and up.

East Lansing’s Pride festival runs 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Albert EL Fresco, featuring a drag show, live music, local vendors, art activities, giveaways and more.

Dimondale’s Country Creek Reception Hall will host its inaugural Summer Fest 2 to 10 p.m. Saturday, offering live music, karaoke, door prizes and a silent auction. Hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches and beverages will be available for purchase from 3 to 7 p.m. The event aims to raise money to purchase self-care gift baskets for local cancer patients and survivors.

Finally, Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing will hold a screening of “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” about a down-and-out golfer who attempts to recover his career with the help of a mystical caddie, at noon Sunday. Pizza will be provided.

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.)