Chill weekend ahead

This weekend is less busy than usual, but we still have plenty of concerts, art exhibits and theater productions to enjoy, plus a soccer match, a hot sauce trivia contest and more. 

For Friday evening’s live music, we have Twelve above at East Lansing’s Ann Street Plaza at 6, Tony Thompson & Friends at Lake Lansing Park South at 7, Twyla Birdsong at UrbanBeat at 7:30, Sam Jesh & the Bees at Lansing Shuffle at 8 and the Corzo Effect at The Green Door at 8:30. Saturday evening, we have Dirty Laundry at Williamston Roadhouse and the Swift Brothers at Lansing Brewing Co., both at 7; Summer of Sol at The Green Door at 8:30; and A Damn Shame, Powder Burns and Otho Roi at The Avenue at 9. Ending the weekend on Sunday is Keala Venema at Lansing Shuffle from noon to 4 p.m. and Red Cedar Spirits’ weekly jazz show from 6 to 9 p.m.

This is the last weekend to view “Blind Spot” at Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum, which is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Also on display is “Shouldn’t You Be Working? 100 Years of Working from Home.” Other local art exhibits include “Let the Paintings Talk” at the Okemos Library, which is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday; Brian Snyder’s “The Journey Continues: American Aboriginal Art” 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; and local artist Jane Cloutier’s mixed-media art display at the Haslett Library’s Bookend Gallery, which is open noon to 4 p.m. Friday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

If you’d like to make some crafts of your own, the Grand Ledge Area District Library is handing out free Moroccan paper lantern craft kits 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday while supplies last, and Lansing Makers Network is hosting a wooden cutting board-making workshop 9 a.m. Saturday.

For theater buffs, “Be Here Now” continues at the Williamston Theatre 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, and Audio Air Force is producing  “The Adventures of Nick Danger,” a spoof of the detective noir genre, 7 p.m. Friday at East Lansing’s Hannah Community Center.

Think you can handle the heat? Charlotte Community Library is hosting a “Hot Ones”-style trivia contest 7 p.m. Friday for ages 13 and up. Participants will answer trivia questions between rounds of hot sauce samples. Those who can make it through all 10 rounds win a gift certificate to Whistlepig BBQ. There will also be a concurrent three-round contest for ages 8 through 12.

Enjoy a dine-in or takeout surf-and-turf dinner 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Grand River Avenue in Lansing. Meals are $18 per person and include a ribeye sizzler, a 7-ounce piece of walleye, a baked potato, mixed vegetables, a dinner roll and coffee. For more information, call 517-321-2209.

Have a child who loves nature? They can visit with live animals at the Charlotte Community Library 10 a.m., 11 a.m. or noon Saturday. Register by calling the library at 517-543-8859.

Finally, Lansing Common Football Club plays its last game of the season against Livonia City Football Club 6 p.m. Saturday at Eastern Stadium. There will be drinks from Strange Matter Coffee and food from Stacks Barbecue and La India Mexicana Cocina food trucks available for purchase, plus regular concessions.

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you the best of weekends.