This weekend is packed with things to do, from drag and comedy shows to author visits, new art exhibitions and a handful of opportunities for board gaming. There’s also a fancy four-course seafood dinner, a gardening workshop, a cat yoga class, trivia, free roller skating and much more.
For Friday evening’s live music, we have blues/funk/rock/soul band Generator at UrbanBeat at 7; Van Halen tribute band Jump at Grewal Hall, country singer-songwriter Evan James at the Peanut Barrel and a trio of active and retired MSU College of Music faculty performing romantic works for the clarinet, cello and piano at the Music Building’s Cook Recital Hall, all at 8; and pop band JP & the Energy at Mash Bar at 9. Saturday evening, we have R&B/funk/soul band Big L & Code Blü at UrbanBeat, Chicago tribute band Brass Metropolis at the Charlotte Performing Arts Center and the fourth round of Q106’s Homegrown Throwdown battle of the bands contest at Grewal Hall, all at 7; New York City-based singer-songwriter and composer Gabriel Kahaneat the Wharton Center’s Jackson Lounge and Venezuelan-Appalachian folk-fusion duo Larry & Joe at the Robin Theatre, both at 7:30; punk-rock bands The Classic Blunders, Commitment Issues, First Aid Spray, and The New Models at Mac’s Bar at 8; funk/R&B/jazz/rock band Mixed Flavors at the Green Door at 8:30; and an Erykah Badu-themed A Night at the Soul Lounge at the Avenue at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday is MSU’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day “Jazz: Spirituals, Prayer and Protest” concert at the Fairchild Theatre at 3 p.m., country group Matthew James Adkins Band at the Avenue at 7:30 p.m. and Mac’s Bar’s weekly Harmony Sundays DJ show at 9 p.m.
If you’d like to make some music of your own, Elderly Instruments will host an open Irish jam session 5:30 p.m. Friday, and Riverbend Voices, winner of Best Choral Group in City Pulse’s 2024 Top of the Town contest, will hold auditions for all sections 5 p.m. Sunday at Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing.
Art displays on view this weekend include Quilting Divas’ “Eras of Women in U.S. History” exhibit at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday; “Light Through the Darkness” 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; and “Complex Dreams,” “Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People,” “Freedom in the Automation Age” “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection” and “Farmland: Food, Justice and Sovereignty” at the Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
Riverwalk Theatre wraps up its production of “Lustful Youth” this weekend, with final performances 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Those looking to do some gaming this weekend are in luck, with a Family Board Game Day noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at Charlotte Community Library, Keys to Manifestation’s monthly Game Night 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday and Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing’s monthly Euchre and Game Day noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.
For MSU sports fans, the ice hockey team will face off against the University of Michigan 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Munn Ice Arena, the men’s basketball team will play the University of Illinois at noon Sunday at the Breslin Center, and the wrestling team will take on the University at Buffalo 3 p.m. Sunday at Jenison Field House.
AL!VE health park in Charlotte will offer its weekly story time and parkour workshop 10 a.m. Friday for children ages 2 to 6 and their caregivers.
As part of its weeklong Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration, MSU will offer a free wellness event Friday evening at IM East Fitness Center, featuring family roller skating from 5 to 7 p.m., an informational health and wellness fair from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and late-night skating from 8 p.m. to midnight. Skates will be provided, as will food and giveaways.
Okemos pop-up restaurant Red Haven will host a four-course New England seafood dinner 7 p.m. Friday. The menu includes anadama toast, Rhode Island clam cakes, lobster-stuffed haddock and a maple pudding cake.
Visit Foster Community Center 7 p.m. Friday for Lansing Parks and Recreation’s weekly travelogue presentation, which will focus on Ian Broughton’s family trip to Croatia, Turkey, Slovenia and Greece.
The biweekly TGIF dance party begins 8 p.m. Friday at Eagle Eye Golf & Banquet Center in Bath, with an optional line dance lesson at 7:15 p.m. On top of dancing, attendees can enjoy a dinner buffet, complimentary coffee and water, and a cash/credit bar.
The Dark Art of Michigan will host an open drag and burlesque show 10 p.m. Friday at the Avenue. Sign-up begins at 9 p.m., and performers must bring their own music on a USB.
Lansing Community College kicks off an eight-week welding class for adults 1 p.m. Saturday at its West Campus. Participants don’t need to have previous welding or metalwork experience. To register, visit lcc.edu/keeplearning.
Poet Anita Skeen and printmaker Laura B. DeLind will visit the East Lansing Public Library 2:30 p.m. Saturday to discuss and sign copies of their recently published book, “Even the Least of These.”
Downtown Lansing businesses A Novel Concept and Veg Head have teamed up to host a vegan-focused literary event 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday featuring Matthew C. Halteman, author of “Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan.” From 3 to 5:30 p.m., attendees can browse a curated selection of vegan books at A Novel Concept. At 6 p.m., the group will head to Veg Head for a plant-based dinner. Halteman will be present at both businesses for meet-and-greets and to sign copies of his book.
Charlotte Community Library will hold a trivia night 6 p.m. Saturday at Charlotte’s Acapulco Mexican Grill. Interested participants should call (517) 543-8859 or stop by the library prior to the day of the event to register their teams.
Dimondale’s Country Creek Reception Hall will host a stand-up comedy show 6 p.m. Saturday, featuring performances by 10 Michigan comedians. Additionally, Ann Arbor-area comedian Brady Keene and Lansing comedian Pat Sievert will take the stage at DeWitt’s Looking Glass Brewing Co. 8 p.m. Saturday.
MI Drag Brunch returns to Lansing Brewing Co. for ‘80s-themed shows 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Wild Ones Red Cedar chapter will host a native wildflower winter sowing workshop 11 a.m. Sunday at Haslett Community Church. Attendees will create and take home a gallon jug of winter-sown wildflower seeds.
Finally, local cat rescue Cat Connection will host a cat yoga class 4 p.m. Sunday at 621 S. Grand Ave in Fowlerville.
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.)
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