As to what to do during down time, East Lansing and Lansing have a plethora of festivals and activities lined up for the summer.

Music festivals

The East Lansing and Lansing areas play host to a variety of music festivals over the summer, from rock to jazz to folk music.

The first of these is the Summer Solstice Jazz Festival, which will be held in downtown East Lansing from June 19-20.

The event is free and will feature local and national artists.

The festival draws a mix of people from community members to students, but they try to cater to students’ tastes, said Ami Van Antwerp, spokeswoman for the festival.

“Usually toward the end of the festival we try to book bands that have big sounds and (can be danced to) so we end up getting a lot of young people there for that,” Van Antwerp said.

East Lansing also will be hosting an 18-part concert series starting June 12. Concerts will be on Fridays and Saturdays in downtown East Lansing.

East Lansing isn’t the only site for live music during the summer. Adado Riverfront Park in Lansing will host the Common Ground Music Festival July 6-12.

The 10th year of the festival brings with it some changes, said Common Ground spokeswoman Melinda Barr.

“There’s no longer any entertainment or stages on the east side (of the Grand River) — it’s all on the west side,” she said.

Performers this year range from American Idol winner David Cook to rock band Red to Huey Lewis and the News.

Tickets prices are $26 for any single day from July 6-10. Single-day prices haven’t been announced for July 11 or 12 yet. A Common Card seven-day pass is $85 if purchased by June 30 and $95 after, according to the Common Ground Web site.

Common Ground is self-sustaining, meaning it pays for itself. Any profit generated is donated to endeavours like improving Adado Riverfront Park, Barr said.

Students and community members can take the bus from East Lansing or park for free in the city lots in Lansing, Barr said.

“You can park in any city ramps and take the shuttle that takes you to the gates,” Barr said. “So it’s very hard to not get to downtown.”

Old Town Lansing will also host a jazz festival on Aug. 7-8. JazzFest is a free event and takes place at the intersection of Turner Street and E. Grand River Ave., in Lansing.

The MSU Museum is hosting the Great Lakes Folk Festival from Aug. 7-9 in downtown East Lansing, an event that has drawn around 90,000 people in the past.

“It’s an event that celebrates culture, tradition and community through music, food, children’s activities and handmade crafts,” said Lora Helou, spokeswoman for the festival.

This year’s theme is “Fiesta” and will showcase Latino music, food and traditions, Helou said. Other cultures will be represented too, she added.

“We’ll have music from Canada, blues, Cajun, always Polka, Irish and Celtic — we always have a really diverse program, but this year is a Fiesta theme,” she said. “I think that’s one of the things that makes this special. We’re a festival-rich area … This is unique because it’s a blend of all those (different types of music) and people can experience that.”

In addition to attending the festival, students and community members can volunteer. Most of the volunteers are from the East Lansing community, but Helou said she would like to see more students involved.

“It literally transforms the downtown,” she said. “We have about 24 hours to do that — there’s just a huge production behind it.”

Giving back

In addition to working and classes, psychology senior Allison Wertheimer volunteers at Ele’s Place in Lansing, which provides support for children who have lost a family member.

“Everyone (in East Lansing) is just happier — they’re just motivated because it’s nice out,” she said. “You just want to be doing something.”

Channeling that motivation into volunteering is the case for many MSU students.

One source of information is the Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, which helps connect students with community service and volunteering opportunities.

Kevin Schwemmin, senior student services coordinator for the CSLCE, said there are about 500 students signed up to volunteer so far this summer. Last summer, the number plateaued around 800 students, but there were more than 13,000 students who volunteered during the academic year, Schwemmin said.

Students can find opportunities through the CSLCE Web site (servicelearning.msu.edu), or stop at the office in Student Services.

Volunteering opportunities are also available elsewhere, like the Capital Area Humane Society or the Greater Lansing Food Bank.

CAHS requires all volunteers to go through an orientation, which includes a tour of the shelter, training on how to work with the animals and safety tips, said Samantha Eburne, president and CEO of CAHS.

Volunteers can choose which facet of the shelter they want to help out in, whether its walking dogs, socializing the cats or helping off-site with fundraising, she said.

The next orientation is 10:30 a.m. June 20 at CAHS, 7095 W. Grand River Ave., in Lansing.

The Greater Lansing Food Bank also provides volunteer opportunities. One of these is the Food Movers, which picks food from places like bakeries, grocery stores and catered events and take it to community kitchens or shelters in the community, said Phyllis Handley, director of Food Movers.

Food Movers collects about 500,000 pounds of food annually, according to the Food Bank’s Web site.

“We’re always looking for volunteers,” Handley said. “It’s always a good thing to make where you live a better place.”

Events

At 5 p.m. June 5, the scent of chili from 50 different vendors is set to waft across Adado Riverfront Park in Lansing as part of the 14th Annual Board of Water and Light Chili Cook-off.

This year’s cook-off will feature around 30 more chili vendors than last year and about 10,000 attendees, up from around 7,000 last year, said Calvin Jones, chairman of the 2009 BWL Chili Cook-off.

Admission is $5 in advance from the BWL Customer Service Center, 1232 Haco Drive in Lansing, or $8 at the gate, according to the Cook-off Web site.

Jones said the proceeds will go to Impression 5 Science Center, the Sparrow Foundation and the H.O.P.E. Scholarship Program.

“It’s an opportunity to shine and to give back to the community,” he said.

In addition to the Chili Cook-off, Adado Riverfront Park will host the Michigan Pride Diversity Festival from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 13.

Michigan Pride is a celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, according to the event’s Web site.

There will be music, food and other activities including a Youth Area and a Pet Pampering Parlor, according to the Web site.

Lansing will also host the 16th Annual Lansing Juneteenth Celebration from June 18-20. The Capitol Kick-Off is June 18. The last two days will be held at St. Joseph Park in Lansing.

Juneteenth is a commemorative celebration of the end of slavery.

The Capitol Kick-Off will have Yvonne White, the state president of the Michigan NAACP as the keynote speaker, according to the event’s Web site.

The last two days will feature baseball, music and food.

Staff writer Daniel Luscombe contributed to this story.