Fundraisers, festivals and much more

This weekend, you’ll find a host of fall festivals around Greater Lansing, plus a variety of fundraising events, art events, theater productions and even a fall-themed race.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have DownRiver Dan at Lansing Brewing Co. and Mark Grinnell at Lansing Shuffle, both at 7, and Soulstice at The Green Door at 8:30. Saturday evening, we have Russ Holcomb at Lansing Shuffle at 7, Hidden Agenda at DeWitt’s Knob Hill Tavern at 8, Medusa at The Green Door at 8:30 and a Halloween Kickoff Party with the Spooky Newcomers and the Louderthans at The Avenue at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday are Taylor Taylor at Lansing Shuffle at noon; singer/songwriter Sadie Bass at Laingsburg’s McClintock Park Amphitheater at 2 p.m.; Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show at 6 p.m.; and Stars of South Korea, a piano-and-violin duo, joined by Michigan State University cellist Suren Bagratuni at MSU’s Cook Recital Hall at 7 p.m.

Visit Old Town 5 to 8 p.m. Friday for the Arts Council of Greater Lansing’s Arts Night Out, featuring a variety of activities at more than 15 local businesses, including art exhibitions, demos, live performances and crafts.

The MSU Broad Art Museum is also hosting two events this weekend: a Family Day 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, where guests can connect with the museum’s exhibitions through hands-on and interactive family activities, including making a family mascot, and an interactive tour of “Shouldn’t You Be Working? 100 Years of Working from Home” 1 p.m. Sunday. While you’re at the museum, be sure to check out all the exhibitions on display, including “As we dwell in the fold,” “Resistance Training: Arts, Sports, and Civil Rights,” “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection” and “Beal Botanical Garden: Celebrating 150 Years of People, Plants, and Place.”

Other art displays on view this weekend include the Shiawassee Artists’ Guild’s “Potpourri” exhibition at Framer’s Edge in Okemos, which is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday; “Wholly Integrated” 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; the Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s Fall Member Art Show at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, which is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; The Mid-Michigan Art Guild’s Small Works Art Exhibit at the Haslett Library, which is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday;

Chance Liscomb’s “Where ART Thou?? Playful Reflections on Religion and Scripture” at The Peoples Church of East Lansing, which is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday; and impressionistic Michoacan landscape paintings by Mexican artist Jaime Vanegas Castro and a collection of calaveras, whimsical art figures of skeletons joyously living life, made by Michigan-based Hispanic and Latinx artists at Casa de Rosado Galeria & Cultural Center, which is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

For theater buffs, both MSU and Lansing Community College are opening shows this weekend. “Isaac’s Eye”runs 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at LCC’s Black Box Theatre, and “Clue” runs 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre. Additionally, “On the Market”continues at the Williamston Theatre 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” finishes its five-day run at the Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

St Michael’s Episcopal Church is hosting its 2^nd annual Gun Buyback 11 a.m. Saturday until cash runs out. Community members may bring up to two guns, which must be unloaded, in working condition and in the trunk of the vehicle. Cash awards are $100 for pistols and shotguns and $200 for rifles. The guns will be collected and destroyed by police.

Fundraising events abound this weekend, including a “Think Pink” Ballroom Dance Social 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Friday at the Michigan Athletic Club, with proceeds benefiting breast cancer research; a dinner and auction 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Cristo Rey Church, with proceeds benefiting the church and its ministries; the Sneaker Ball Gala 5:30 p.m. Saturday at The Venue by Eleven 11 Events in the Lansing Mall, with proceeds benefiting Footprints of Michigan; and a Queer and Trans Joy Celebration noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hannah Community Center, with proceeds benefiting the Salus Center and the Gender Affirmation Project.

There are also plenty of festivals and other large-scale events to enjoy on Saturday, including the Grand Ledge Fall Festival 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. throughout downtown Grand Ledge, featuring crafters and vendors, food trucks, free pumpkins for kids, a fall photo booth, pony rides, a petting zoo, history demonstrations, a mobile planetarium and more; the Grand Ledge Beer Fest 3 to 8 p.m. at Fitzgerald Memorial Field, where attendees can sample craft beer and cider from a variety of breweries; the Meridian Township Heritage Festival 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Meridian Historical Village, celebrating the township’s history with reenactments, demonstrations, sports, games, crafts, food and more; How-To Halloween 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Impression 5 Science Center, featuring interactive exhibits, hands-on activities and demonstrations, vendors, food, live entertainment, kids’ trick-or-treating, costume contests, cosplay characters and more, plus a Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk beginning at 4 p.m.; a Pre-Solar Eclipse Fest 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Grand Ledge Area District Library, featuring an inflatable planetarium, eclipse glasses giveaways, crafts and more; a Fire Prevention Open House 1 to 4 p.m. at Central Fire Station #91 in Okemos, featuring fire truck tours, giveaways, kids’ activities, fire extinguisher training, home safety inspection sign-ups, free donuts and cider and more; and a Family Mental Health Fun Day noon to 4 p.m. at Schmidt Community Center, featuring mental health resources, activities, games, a silent auction, a free raffle and more.

The Harris Nature Center is holding a Fall Native Plant Sale 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, offering Michigan-native shrubs, sedges, grasses, wildflowers, ferns and complete garden kits. All proceeds benefit the nature center.

Finally, enjoy a run in the fall weather with the Lansing Hot Cider Hustle 7 a.m. Saturday at Hawk Island Park. Choose between a half-marathon, 5K or 10K, and receive hot cider and a caramel apple when you cross the finish line.

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.)