Put some spring in your step

This first weekend of spring offers nature-themed activities such as a meditative walk through Lake Lansing Park North, a mushroom cultivation workshop and Fenner Nature Center’s annual Maple Syrup Festival. For those waiting for the weather to warm up a bit more, however, there are also plenty of indoor events, like dance parties, concerts, a comedy show and an arts and crafts sale.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have experimental music ensemble Electronic Music Workshop at Michigan State University’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at 5:30; rock musician Mark Grinnell at Harrison Roadhouse at 6; multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Aaron Johnson at East Lansing’s Mash Bar at 7; acoustic guitar duo Capo the Second at the Peanut Barrel and the Asamu Johnson Band performing songs by Wilson Pickett and James Brown at UrbanBeat, both at 8; punk bands Pancho Villa’s Skull, Nunya and Crawl Spacesat the Avenue at 9; and power-rock band Nitro Jen at Mash Bar at 10. Saturday evening, we have the Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s fourth MasterWorks concert of the season at the Wharton Center’s Cobb Great Hall at 7:30; rock bands Ten Peso Version and Moscow Mexico at Mac’s Bar and Latin music group Orquesta Ritmoat UrbanBeat, both at 8; and hip-hop artist James Gardin’s album release show at the Avenue at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday are guitarists Kyran Daniel, Yeman Al- Rawi and Nicholas Martin at UrbanBeat and indie-pop duo Twin Stars with singer-songwriter Dyzioek at the Avenue, both at 7 p.m.

Brian Oberlin returns to Elderly Instruments to lead a beginner mandolin workshop 11 a.m. Saturday and a workshop for more veteran players 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Maeve Bassett, an applied ethnobotanist and education program director of Michigan State University’s Beal Botanical Garden, will lead a tour of MSU’s Broad Art Museum 1 p.m. Sunday, part of a series of tours co-hosted by the Broad and the botanical garden. While you’re at the museum, make sure to check out all the exhibitions on display, including “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection,”“DOOMSCROLLING,” the 2024 Art, Art History, and Design Faculty Triennial and the 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition.

Other art displays on view this weekend include the Lansing Area Printmakers’ Collective’s “A Windfall of Linocuts” exhibition 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; the Lansing Women’s Art Collective’s mixed-media art show at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday; Art Scholarship Alert, a juried exhibition of work by Michigan high school students and participants of young-adult special education programs, at the Lansing Art Gallery, which is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and “Realm of Daydreams - The Wonders of Fantasy Art” 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.

Riverwalk Theatre wraps up its production of “Amadeus,” a fictional account of the lives of composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Additionally, Ixion Ensemble Theatre begins its two-weekend run of “Playing for Real,” about an acting troupe desperate to impress a visiting producer, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Stage One at Sycamore Creek Eastwood, and MSU Opera Theatre presents Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Fairchild Theatre.

Events for the kids this weekend include a day camp exploring Chinese inventions 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at Impression 5 Science Center; a Night Out in Nature 5:30 p.m. Friday at Harris Nature Center; the East Lansing Public Library’s Bug Day 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday; and a mother-daughter tea party 11 a.m. Sunday at Laylin Park in Mason.

The Meridian Historical Village will hold an open house for those interested in becoming volunteers 10 a.m. Friday at the Village Chapel.

At the final Travelogue of the season, 7 p.m. Friday at Foster Community Center, guests will journey to Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia, then head south to the vibrant Spanish city of Barcelona.

Enjoy a guided meditative walk 9 a.m. Saturday at Lake Lansing Park North, designed to open attendees’ senses to the natural world and bring them into the present moment.

Chris Swanson of Mycophile’s Garden in Grand Rapids will lead an introductory course on mushroom cultivation 10 a.m. Saturday at the Hunter Park GardenHouse.

Shop for art, art supplies and craft materials at the Artisan Alcove’s Odds & Ends Sale, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Keller’s Plaza in Williamston.

The Grand Ledge Area District Library will host a writing workshop 2 p.m. Saturday, focusing on effective usage and placement of conversations and backstories.

Visit Fenner Nature Center 11 am. to 5 p.m. Saturday for its 49^th annual Maple Syrup Festival, featuring an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, interactive demonstrations and activities, maple syrup displays and maple-themed gifts and souvenirs.

Dimondale’s Country Creek Reception Hall will host a comedy show 8 p.m. Saturday, featuring sets by 10 local comedians.

Finally, if you’re in the mood to dance, Green Dot Stables will host a masquerade-themed rave 9 p.m. Friday, and Grewal Hall at 224 will host a disco dance party 8 p.m. Saturday.

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.)