A healthy handful of happenings

This weekend offers an eclectic mix of events, from benefit concerts, new theater productions and a poetry showcase to a lumberjack festival, a craft supply sale, Michigan State University Science Festival activities and much more.

For Friday evening’s live music, we have country and rock cover musician Carl Pawluk at Harrison Roadhouse at 6; jazz-fusion group the Pickle Mafia at UrbanBeat and live-looping musician Mark Collins at Mash Bar in East Lansing, both at 7; hot-jazz and Western-swing trio Hot Club of Cowtown at University United Methodist Church at 7:30; MSU’s University Chorale and State Singers at the Fairchild Theatre and cover musician Ben Awrey at the Peanut Barrel, both at 8; cover band Electric Flower Co. at the Green Door at 8:30; and blues band the Further Adventures of FatBoy and JiveTurkey at Mash Bar at 10. Saturday evening, we have MSU’s Barbara Wagner Chamber Music Competition Showcase at Cook Recital Hall and a benefit show for the Capital Area Humane Society at Mac’s Bar, featuring performances by five local bands and two local comedians, both at 6; cover band Mix Pack at Lansing Brewing Co., an acoustic version of singer-songwriter Kanin Wren’s Taylor Swift Experience tribute show at UrbanBeat and a benefit show for the Greater Lansing Care Foundation with ‘80s cover band Starfarm, all at 7; AC/DC tribute band ICY/DICEY and rock cover band Stereo Shop Boys at the Green Door at 8:30; and the bimonthly A Night at the Soul Lounge at the Avenue at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday is singer-songwriter Kitty Donohoe at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 3 p.m., the Ingham Festival Chorale at University United Methodist Church at 4 p.m., Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly Sunday Jazz show at 6 p.m. and folk-rock duo Wilderhoney with singer-songwriter RyneShyne at the Avenue at 7 p.m.

The MSU Broad Art Museum will host its monthly Family Day 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and an opening reception for its 2024 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday. The museum will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday so you can check out all the exhibitions, including “Seeing in 360 Degrees: The Zaha Hadid Design Collection,” “DOOMSCROLLING,” and the 2024 Art, Art History, and Design Faculty Triennial.

Other art displays on view this weekend include the annual Ingham Student Art Exhibit at the Lansing Art Gallery, which is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; an exhibition by engineer and retired physics teacher Jack Hetherington at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and noon to 2 p.m. 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.

Two shows will take the stage at the Wharton Center this weekend: the national tour of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” which runs 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Cobb Great Hall, and the MSU Department of Theatre’s production of “Spring Awakening,” which runs 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Pasant Theatre. Additionally, Lansing Community College’s production of “My Emperor’s New Clothes” runs 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Dart Auditorium.

Performance poet Neil Hilborn will headline an evening of poetry readings 7 p.m. Friday at Grewal Hall at 224, featuring additional performances by seven local poets, including Lansing Poet Laureate Masaki Takahashi. The event “promises to be a poignant exploration of mental health and human emotion through the medium of poetry,” Takahashi said.

Local crafter collective Village Crafters will host a craft supply sale 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Mason VFW. The group will collect donations of personal care items for veterans, and lunch will be available for purchase.

Those 21 and older can visit Turner Street in Old Town noon to 5 p.m. Saturday for the annual lumberjack festival, featuring feats of strength competitions, a beard competition, street games, vendors, music and a bevy of beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic.

The Ten Pound Fiddle will extend its biweekly dance on Saturday to include an English country dance from 2 to 5 p.m., a potluck at 5:30 p.m., a beginner square dance workshop at 6:30 p.m. and the standard contra and square dance from 7 to 10 p.m., all at Central United Methodist Church. If that’s not enough dancing, the Grand Ledge Area District Library will also host a square dance workshop 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

ShesUnCovered, a local nonprofit that supports women and girls impacted by hair loss, will hold its annual fundraising gala 7 p.m. Saturday at the Turner-Dodge House. The event will be hosted by Ebony Jean, an alopecia advocate and beauty influencer, and will include live music, dancing, hors d’oeuvres and a chance to dress up in your most glamorous cocktail attire.

Visit East Lansing’s Hannah Community Center 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday for a community-supported agriculture fair, featuring chances to meet local farmers, door prizes and a performance by folk band Whoa, Nelly.

Finally, the MSU Science Festival offers a free evening of animal-themed activities 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Potter Park Zoo and a range of events on Saturday, including a volunteer opportunity to remove invasive plants from Baker Woodlot at 10 a.m. For a full schedule of events and locations, 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.)