Fairs and festivals abound

From large events like a jazz festival, a food truck festival, the St. Johns Mint Festival and Michigan State University’s Bee Palooza to smaller events like a CD launch party, a daylily sale and a sketchbook-decorating workshop, residents of Greater Lansing have no shortage of opportunities for a fun-filled weekend.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have Alex Mendenall at East Lansing’s Ann Street Plaza at 6; Darin Larner Jr. at One North Kitchen & Bar at 6:30; Chente Barrera and Grupo Dezeo at UrbanBeat, The Frog King at Lake Lansing Park South and Frog & Koop of Frog and the Beeftones at Red Cedar Spirits, all at 7; Justin Holcomb at Lansing Shuffle, Mark Grinnell at The Peanut Barrel and the Los Angeles-based indie-pop duo Finkel at the Robin Theatre, all at 8; and The Further Adventures of FatBoy and JiveTurkey at The Green Door and La La Delivery, Kindness Texas and Leisure McCorkle at The Avenue, both at 9. Saturday evening, we have The Drifter Kings at Lansing Shuffle at 8 and Twin Stars, Mindguards and LoLo at The Avenue at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday is Chris Muethel at Lansing Shuffle at noon, Chris Bathgate at the Robin Theatre at 3 p.m. and Orquesta Ritmo at University Lutheran Church in East Lansing and Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show, both at 6 p.m.

For even more live music, visit the Marshall Street Armory 2:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday for the return of saxophonist Phil Denny’s Armory Smooth Jazz Fête, featuring performances by a variety of cross-genre jazz musicians, including West Coast guitarist Adam Hawley, Grammy-nominated trombonist Hank Bilal, pianist Gino Rosaria, saxophonist Kyle Schroeder, gospel and R&B vocalist Bobbi Storm and, of course, Denny himself. There will also be food vendors, beer and wine and booths from local artists, plus an afterglow social event at Cask & Co. Kitchen and Bar.

This weekend, enjoy three new art exhibitions around Greater Lansing: “Photography: NOW!” at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center on West Maple Street, which is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; Joel Ellis’ oil and acrylic paintings at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday; and “Color Me Plaster,” by Yvette Robinson, at the Hannah Community Center’s Public Art Gallery, which is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Additional art displays include “Shouldn’t You Be Working? 100 Years of Working from Home” and “As we dwell in the fold” at MSU’s Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday; “Let the Paintings Talk” at the Okemos Library, which is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday; Brian Snyder’s “The Journey Continues: American Aboriginal Art” at the Lansing Art Gallery, which is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; and En Plein Air’s “Alluring Nature” 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.

If you’d like to make some art of your own, the Lansing Art Gallery is holding a sketchbook-decorating workshop 10 a.m. Saturday, the first part of its "Storybook Art: A Cosmic Smashbook Journey" series. Attendees can put their decorated sketchbooks to use during the next workshops in September.

If you haven’t seen “Be Here Now” at the Williamston Theatre yet, it continues 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

 For the kids, Lansing Area Littles is hosting a Stroller Walk and Splash Pad Playdate 3 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at Hawk Island Park, and the Eaton Rapids Library is holding its End of Summer Reading Foam Party, with inflatables, a foam machine and free popcorn, 3 to 5 p.m. Friday at the Playground of Dreams in Eaton Rapids.

MSU’s Bee Palooza returns 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the school’s Horticulture Gardens, featuring eight stations offering games, activities and information about various types of bees and ways humans can help them thrive in the wild. There will also be a bee-themed story time at 2:30 p.m. and a giveaway at 3:30 p.m. If you’d like to learn even more about bees, Harris Nature Center is hosting a Fantastic Bees and Facts About Thempresentation 1 p.m. Saturday.

If you’re running low on groceries or just don’t feel like cooking, visit Cristo Rey Church 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday or Saturday for the Knights of Columbus Food Truck Festival, featuring food from Brewitt Café & Bakery, Jay’s Dogs Food Truck, Two Guys Nomadic Grill and Taqueria Monarca, plus live music, a cruise-in on Friday and a car show on Saturday.

The Lansing Area Safety Council is hosting a Community Resource & Safety Fair 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Lansing Community College’s Gannon Building and Mall, featuring booths from local schools and universities as well as a variety of organizations that support people struggling with homelessness or housing insecurity, unemployment and underemployment, food insecurity, financial hardship, medical or mental health conditions and other challenges.

Brighten up your home with a fresh bouquet of daylilies from the Mason Sycamore Creek Garden Club’s annual Daylily Sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Mason Farmers Market in Lee Austin Park. The flowers are $6 each or five for $25, and all proceeds directly support the garden club’s projects.

Jan Bidwell, a psychotherapist and mindfulness meditation teacher, is hosting a launch party for her new CD, “Tactical Mindfulness,” 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art in Old Town. She will guide attendees through a series of mindfulness exercises, such as chocolate savoring, that are designed to melt away stress and foster a sense of inner peace. Attendees can also view the art on display at the gallery and enjoy music and light refreshments.

Finally, the St. Johns Mint Festival runs 2 to 8 p.m. Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Clinton County Fairgrounds and downtown St. Johns, featuring arts and crafts shows, flea markets, food trucks, mint ice cream booths, bounce houses, live music, cornhole tournaments, rodeos and more. For a full schedule of events, 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.)