Picking up the pace

This weekend, the Lansing area comes alive after the holiday break with three new art exhibitions, an abundance of concerts, the return of the Travelogue series, a comedy show, a Wild Game Dinner and more.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have solo artist Mark Collins at Harrison Roadhouse at 6; Saxophonist Walter Blanding and jazz quintet Cypress playing the music of jazz saxophonist Jackie McClean at UrbanBeat at 7; the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s MasterWorks 3 concert at the Wharton Center and blues artists Cedric Watson and Corey Harris at University United Methodist Church in East Lansing, both at 7:30; rock and metal bands Pit, Prometon, Cold Joys, Snakes in the Gatehouse and Dead Hour Noise at Mac’s Bar at 8; cover band Soulstice at the Green Door at 8:30; and rock and indie artists Tangelo, SugarFang and Olivia Hoover at the Avenue at 9. Saturday evening, we have cover band Mix Pack at Lansing Brewing Co. and indie and alt-rock bands Four More Shapes and Bicycle Thief at UrbanBeat, both at 7; blues musician Deacon Earlat the Peanut Barrel and Phish tribute band Kids Under the Carpet at Mac’s Bar, both at 8; and cover band Geech at the Green Door at 8:30. Additionally, Q106 is hosting the first shows of its annual battle of the bands contest, featuring performances by five local bands each evening, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Grewal Hall at 224. Ending the weekend on Sunday is the Capital Area Blues Society’s Beale Street Bound fundraiser concert at the Green Door at 4 p.m., hammered dulcimer player Ted Yoder at UrbanBeat at 5 p.m., Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show at 6 p.m. and folk artists the Aimcriers and Monte Pride at the Avenue at 7 p.m.

The MSU Residential College of Arts and Humanities’ LookOut! Gallery will host an opening reception for its annual “Perspectives in Black: Emerging Visions” exhibition 5:30 p.m. Friday. This year’s featured artists are Sam Modder and Elijah Hamilton-Wray, who “contemplate the Black portrait and Black form through space, place and time.”

Other art displays on view this weekend include “Colors of Celebration: An Artistic Tribute to Global Holidays” 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; “As we dwell in the fold,” “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection” and “Resistance Training: Arts, Sports, and Civil Rights” at the MSU Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday; “Space Between,” by Gerald Collins, at the Lansing Art Gallery, which is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and “Layers,” by Robert Park, at Struk Studio in north Lansing, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.

AL!VE, a health park in Charlotte, will host its weekly story time and parkour workshop 10 a.m. Friday for children ages 2 to 6 and their caregivers. Also at 10 a.m. Friday, REACH Studio Art Center will begin its four-week Storytime for Tots class, and Impression 5 Science Center will host its weekly Sparking Science workshop for ages 2 to 4. This week’s theme is “Water, Water, Everywhere!” The science center will also offer a three-hour chemistry workshop 9:30 a.m. Saturday for ages 5 to 9.

Wacousta-Dewitt Masonic Lodge’s monthly fundraiser fish fry runs 4 to 6:30 p.m. Friday or until food runs out. If you’re in the mood for dessert afterward, there will be a bake sale on the lodge’s main floor.

The annual Travelogue series returns to Foster Community Center 7 p.m. Friday. This week, veteran presenter Bob Sheap will discuss California’s Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas. 

DeWitt’s Looking Glass Brewing Co. is hosting a comedy show 8:30 p.m. Saturday, featuring performances by Michigan comedians Andrew Yang, Alex Bozinovic and Sam Rager.

Knights of Columbus Richard Council #788’s annual Wild Game Dinner begins 4:30 p.m. Friday at St. Gerard Catholic Church. Tickets are available at the council’s office at 5300 N. Grand River Ave. in Lansing.

Pet parents and their furry friends can visit Harris Nature Center 7 p.m. Friday for a 3-mile dog walk through the nighttime woods. Dogs need to be on a 6-foot, non-retractable leash. 

Finally, MSU is holding a few pre-Martin Luther King Jr. Day events this weekend, including its annual MLK Student Leadership Conference 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at the MSU Union, a wellness fair with free roller skating 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday at IM Sports East, the annual MLK Holiday Ecumenical Service 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the MSU Chapel and the annual “Jazz: Spirituals, Prayer and Protest” concert 3 p.m. Sunday at the Fairchild Theatre.

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.)