Start your weekend festivities early in the Twin Cities with the Festival de las Calaveras, where live Mexican music meets lucha libre wrestling at The Hook and Ladder Theater. On Saturday, Grammy-winning vocalist Jamecia Bennett pays tribute to Black female musicians who shaped soul and gospel. And throughout the weekend, the State Capitol grounds will come alive with monk blessings, fashion shows and Southeast Asian performances during the annual Minnesota Songkran Festival.

Tex-Mex punk and lucha libre

The annual Festival de las Calaveras takes over The Hook and Ladder Theater for an evening of live punk and rock, local art and Mexican cuisine. Texas-based punk band Piñata Protest headlines the lineup, joined by Twin Cities acts America Ortiz y Los Sentimientos and Xawaro. 

The event also features Mexican-style wrestling from Rudos Lucha Libre, a folk art activity with artist Gustavo Boada, face painting, and rounds of the traditional Mexican game Lotería. Vendors will be selling jewelry, wellness products, Oaxacan clothing, and flowers, with food from Rosa Frida’s Food Truck, Lonchería Los Amigos, and La Michoacana.

Jamecia Bennett honors the mothers of soul

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Jamecia Bennett will celebrate Mother’s Day at the Dakota with a tribute to Black women in music who helped define the sound of soul, R&B and gospel. 

Bennett is known for her work as the lead singer of the Twin Cities ensemble Sounds of Blackness, as well as for her background vocals with artists like Prince, Janet Jackson, Erykah Badu, and Luther Vandross. During Saturday’s performance, she’ll honor musical icons such as Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, and Angie Stone, who was a pivotal source of support in her own career, Bennett has said.

Celebrate Thai New Year with food, prayers, art

The Thai Cultural Council of Minnesota will host its annual Minnesota Songkran Festival this weekend on Capitol Grounds to celebrate Thai New Year with musical performances, Muay Thai demonstrations, two fashion shows, a spicy papaya salad eating contest, and more than 70 vendors, representing the local Southeast Asian community.

For Aeola Lu, the festival’s stage coordinator, celebrating Songkran — traditionally observed on April 13 — began with her involvement in JTR Dance Team, a Thai dance troupe that performed at the festival when it was still held at a Buddhist temple in St. Louis Park.

“We’re no longer an active team, but that’s kind of where we started — performing at these local community events,” Lu said. “It [the Songkran Festival] was always a really small community get-together — maybe 100 to 200 people — but now we’re in the thousands, which is pretty amazing.”

Lu said one of the most meaningful aspects of the festival is the monks’ blessing ceremony, taking place this Saturday. VIP guests will receive a formal blessing — monks pouring water over their hands to symbolize “prosperity and wealth and good wishes for the new year.” Attendees can also take part in the tradition at a nearby booth next to the Wat Thai food booth.

The weekend lineup features more than 30 live performances ranging from EDM and hip-hop to Northeastern Thai folk and traditional Laotian ensembles. 

Though Lu is Taiwanese American and grew up celebrating Lunar New Year, she said many of the values carry over to Songkran. “A lot of it has to do with just bringing the community together and sharing stories over a great meal,” she said.

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