Fall fun for all

This weekend is jam-packed with activities to enjoy, from a book and paper show, a theater awards gala and a range of concerts to early Halloween events, a golf outing and a gun buyback, plus the annual Olive Burger Festival, a beer festival, several fall-themed festivals and much more.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have pianist Sergei Kvitko performing works by Schubert at MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at 5:30; vocal jazz duo Clique Vocals opening for singer-songwriter Julianne Ankley at UrbanBeat at 6; cover duo The Townsmen at Lansing Shuffle and the Men of Orpheus chorus at Central United Methodist Church, both at 7; Grammy-winning jazz artists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap at the Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre and folk icon  Tom Paxton with Grammy-winning singer-songwriter duo The Don Juans at University Lutheran Church, both at 7:30; and blues band The Further Adventures of FatBoy and JiveTurkey at the Green Door at 9. Saturday evening, we have folk-rock band Cold Leather Seats at Lansing Brewing Co. and jazz trombonist Michael Dease at UrbanBeat, both at 7; DJs McCoy and Cutt-Nice of local DJ collective Scratch Pilots at the Green Door at 8:30; and hyperpop groups Twin Stars and Velvet Dreaming at the Avenue at 9, followed by an electronic music dance party. Ending the weekend on Sunday is the Livingston Lamplighters barbershop chorus’ 25^th-anniversary concert at the Howell Opera House at 2 p.m.; MSU’s annual Pass a Good Time concert at Cook Recital Hall at 3 p.m.; a Rolling Stones tribute night at UrbanBeat and Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show, both at 6 p.m.; Billy Joel tribute band Allentown with Bob Seger tribute band Lookin’ Back at Grewal Hall at 224, singer-songwriter Matthew James Adkins at the Avenue and the South Korean Hearts of Vision Chamber Orchestra at MSU’s Fairchild Theatre, all at 7 p.m.; and Mac’s Bar’s Harmony Sundays show at 9 p.m., which will feature local rappers instead of DJs this week.

Local artist Kathie Kuhn is displaying her art at 27 local businesses that she calls “Refugee Development Center superstars” for their contributions to her silent auctions in support of the center. The art will be up through Friday.

Other art displays on view this weekend include an exhibition by local painter Joel Ellis 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; watercolor paintings by East Lansing artist Sarah Eubanks 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; “Complex Dreams,”“Diasporic Collage: Puerto Rico and the Survival of a People,” “Eye Witness” and “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection” at the MSU Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday; and “Extinct: An Artistic Study of Animals Loved and Lost” 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 get creative yourself, Dear Ollie & Co. will host a brush lettering workshop 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and Casa De Rosado Galeria and Cultural Center continues its series of drop-in sugar-skull-decorating workshops 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The MSU Department of Theatre begins its production of “Inherit the Wind,” a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes Trial, with performances 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the school’s Arena Theatre. Additionally, “Thirst” continues at Williamston Theatre 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Theater buffs may also be interested in celebrating the artists who performed during Stage One’s first season at the venue’s red-carpet awards gala 7 p.m. Saturday, which will also offer live music, drinks, appetizers and karaoke. Stage One will also host a youth talent festival 12:30 p.m. Sunday, featuring performances by up-and-coming singers, dancers and musicians as well as free pizza while supply lasts.

Events for the kids this weekend include the weekly story reading and parkour workshop 10 a.m. Friday at AL!VE health park in Charlotte and a children’s fall festival 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Courthouse Square in Charlotte, featuring a “troll stroll” scavenger hunt, a petting zoo, pumpkin decorating, cider, donuts and more.

Charlotte isn’t the only town taking part in fall-themed festivities this weekend — Williamstown Township will hold its annual Harvest Festival 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at its Community Park, featuring live folk music, art activities, games, hayrides, live animals, geocaching, face painting and more, and Grand Ledge will host its annual Fall Festival 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday on East River Street, featuring crafters and vendors, free pumpkins for kids, a fall photo booth, pony rides, a petting zoo, food trucks, reenactions and live art demonstrations. After the Grand Ledge festival, adults can head to Fitzgerald Field for the town’s Beer Fest, offering samples of beer, cider and spirits from more than 25 breweries from 3 to 8 p.m.

How-To Halloween, a free festival featuring interactive attractions, a dinosaur adventure, trick-or-treating, live entertainment, make-and-take crafts, character meet-and-greets, costume contests and more, runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday outside Impression 5 Science Center. The festival concludes with the Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk, which starts with a “best zombie” costume contest at 4 p.m., followed by a group walk to the Capitol for a photo shoot. Zombies who bring donations for the Greater Lansing Food Bank will be entered into a drawing for a prize pack valued at $100.

For even more Halloween fun, R.E. Olds Transportation Museum will offer a skeleton scavenger hunt and free candy, cider and donuts for guests 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and four Charlotte businesses — Barrett's Books, Botany Boutique, Keller's Plaza and Niko's Taverna — will team up for a Ghost Walk 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, featuring tours of the Victorian-era buildings, a macabre art show, spooky vendors, visits from local authors and more.

The Kiwanis Club of East Lansing will host an 18-hole golf outing 2 to 7 p.m. Friday at Little Hawk Putting Course in Bath to raise funds for its book vending machine project. The event is open to the public, but registration for a tee time is required.

Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing’s monthly euchre tournament begins 7 p.m. Friday, with an optional potluck at 6:30 p.m.

The Friends of Charlotte Community Library will hold a book sale 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Lawrence Avenue United Methodist Church, offering deals on print materials, CDs, DVDs, puzzles and more.

The Williamston Band Boosters Organization will hold a scrap metal drive 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Williamston High School. Community members can support the Williamston Middle and High School bands by dropping off items such as old lawnmowers, bicycles, trampoline frames and appliances.

Southwest Lansing residents are invited to participate in a two-hour community clean-up beginning 10 a.m. Saturday at Pleasant Grove Town Square.

Visit the Michigan History Museum 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday for the annual Michigan Archaeology Day celebration, featuring hands-on educational activities like a scavenger hunt, spear throwing, a clay pinch-pot craft, a flintknapping demonstration and an “archaeology petting zoo,” where guests can touch artifacts and tools of the trade. There will also be in-depth archaeological presentations, an opportunity for hobbyists to have their artifacts assessed by experts and archaeologists stationed throughout the museum to share information on their research, show off artifacts and answer questions.

Visit the Meridian Historical Village 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday for the township’s Heritage Festival, featuring historical demonstrations and exhibits, a children’s game area, catch-and-release fishing, food trucks and a vintage baseball game. The Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center and most village buildings will be open.

St Michael’s Episcopal Church will host its annual drive-thru gun buyback beginning 11 a.m. Sunday until funds run out. Participants will receive $100 for pistols, shotguns and .22 caliber rifles and $200 for other rifles. Guns must be unloaded, in working condition and in the trunk of the vehicle.

The Olive Burger Festival returns for its second year noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Jackson Field, featuring a plethora of olive burger creations from local restaurants and food trucks, plus alcoholic beverages, a kids’ area, and live entertainment by Riverwalk Theatre, Shelby & Jake, JP & the Energy and more.

The Michigan Antiquarian Book & Paper Show, running 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Causeway Bay Hotel, will welcome a slew of book and ephemera dealers from all over the Midwest offering vintage, antiquarian and collectible books, magazines, autographs, postcards, trading cards, posters, art prints, photographs, sports and movie memorabilia, sheet music and more.

Finally, college students with a valid school ID will receive free admission to Potter Park Zoo 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

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.)