Friday, May 5
Celebrate MN’s Legacy of Immigration
What: Festival of Nations
When: 4:30–10 p.m.
Where: Festival of Nations, 1694 Como Ave., St. Paul
For 85 years, this festival has hosted the largest multicultural gathering in the Midwest. More than 90 ethnic groups meet this weekend to celebrate one another’s cuisine, put on performances, and showcase exhibits. On Friday, Minneapolis’ Gypsy Lumberjacks dip into flamenco and bluegrass. Learn more
What Our Graduating Artists Have Made
What: Message Pending Exhibit
When: 5:30 p.m.
Where: Regis Center for Art, 405 21st Ave. S., Minneapolis
The U of M’s nationally recognized art program showcases works from 25 art students about to graduate—ranging from paintings that play with form to collages to photography to an cast-iron sculpture to installations to a troll doll soaking in a milky solution to Chuck Close-esque photorealism. Learn more
Saturday, May 6
Psychedelic St. Paul
What: Heads Talk
When: Noon–2 p.m.
Where: Workhouse Coffee Bar, 2399 University Ave., St. Paul
Jesse Jarnow, author of Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America, joins St. Paul music writer Michaelangelo Matos for a symposium looking into the sojourn that ’70s artist and New York icon Keith Haring made in St. Paul selling his now-famous T-shirts and catching a Grateful Dead concert. Learn more
Fancy Hats with Purpose
What: Derby for a Cure
When: 2 p.m.
Where: The Loop–West End, 5331 West 16th St., St. Louis Park
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation holds its fifth annual Kentucky Derby viewing party, where you can dress in seersucker suits and big hats, sip mint juleps from an open bar, win prizes, root for your favorite horse, and raise money to fund research into a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Learn more
Sunday, May 7
A Brisk Cinco de Mayo
What: Cinco de Mayo 5K Run/Walk
When: 8:45 a.m.–Noon
Where: Bielenberg Sports Center, 4200 Pioneer Drive, Woodbury
Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (Our Little Brothers and Sisters) USA helps provide healthcare and education to orphaned and disadvantaged children in Latin America and the Caribbean. Take on the 5K course; raise funds. Two kids’ races kick off the morning—plus outdoor family activities. Learn more
Embarking upon MayDay
What: MayDay Parade & Festival
When: Noon
Where: Powderhorn Park, 3400 15th Ave. S., Minneapolis
For its 43rd year, the MayDay Parade—a little frightening, very fantastical—invades Bloomington Avenue for a day, 2,000 participants winding in and out of team-managed puppets toward a Powderhorn Park festival, where a steady drumbeat ushers the Sun Flotilla boat along to the Tree of Life. Learn more
