By bERNIE pETIT

The best spring festivals give us reason to pause and celebrate.

Celebrate the diversity of our neighborhoods, the creativity found throughout our community, the longer days and the warmer weather that allow us to gather outdoors, and everything we have accomplished and built together.

Plus, there’s always plenty of music, food and fun for festivalgoers of all ages.

So, plan to take time over the next several weeks and head out to a community festival to experience what make Charlotte-Mecklenburg an incredible place to live and visit.

Here’s a look at upcoming festivals to look forward to in April and May, several which feature individual creatives and organizations supported by your investment in ASC.

Charlotte SHOUT!: Insert Jonah Hill excited gif here because words don’t do justice describing the return of SHOUT!, the multi-week festival designed to showcase our community by celebrating Charlotte’s creativity and innovation through art, music, food and ideas. The event features a dazzling array of local creative individuals and organizations, several of whom have been supported by ASC.
Through Sunday, April 17, multiple locations (primarily in Uptown Charlotte). Most events are free; some require ticket purchase.

LAVAGEM Festival! A Celebration of African Brazilian and Indigenous Cultures: This inaugural celebration of Indigenous, African-Brazilian and African diaspora arts and culture will include free dance and music performances and workshops and the community Lavagem ritual, or “cleansing of the city.” Master teachers and performers will share in drums circles, traditional African-Brazilian dances, Indigenous (Caboclos) dances, Samba Afro, Samba reggae, Samba roots and capoeira.  An ASC Cultural Vision Grant is supporting this festival.
Thursday, April 7-Sunday, April 10, Mint Museum Uptown at Levine Center for the Arts (500 S. Tryon St., Charlotte). Free admission; participants asked to provide a contribution for musicians and the local Indigenous community.

Loch Norman Highland Games: The weekend includes Highland dancing, bagpipe bands, Highland athletics, a giant kid’s zone, Scottish merchants, haggis, Celtic rock and traditional performers, historic reenactments, Scottish country dancing, Sunday church service, hearth cooking, NC beer and wine, whisky tastings, kilted running events, Scottish clan societies, shoot long bows and blowguns, battle axe throwing and more.
5 p.m. Friday, April 8 – 4 p.m. Sunday, April 10, Historic Rural Hill (4431 Neck Rd. Huntersville). Admission $5-$25.

BOOM Festival: BOOM is back with the return of the annual in-person fringe art festival Charlotte has come to know. Expect experimental original art performed in intimate settings, a broad range of art performed on a central stage for all to enjoy and various types of art experiences that people happen upon as they walk around the festival.
Friday and Saturday, April 22-23, Camp North End (300 Camp Rd., Charlotte). Ticket details and schedule of performances to be announced soon.

Art on the Green: The enormously popular event brings thousands of people to Davidson to enjoy art, live music and food. The juried art festival features booths filled with artworks from artists throughout the region. The weekend includes musical performances by a variety of local talents and a host of food choices from both onsite vendors and area restaurants.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 23, and noon-4 p.m. Sunday, April 24, The Village Green (downtown Davidson). Free admission.

Charlotte African-American Festival: The 9th annual event will include exhibits, musical performances, art, literature, food, dancers, drummers, a pageant, speakers, vendors and special awards and recognition. Special features will be The Brooklyn Showcase, Reunion and Celebration Concert, and The Black Wall Street Exhibit.
10 a.m. Saturday, April 23, Spirit Square (345 N. College St., Charlotte). Free admission.

Kings Drive Art Walk: The annual Midtown Charlotte tradition returns with a weekend of arts, crafts, music and family entertainment. The festival will feature numerous fine and emerging artists. ASC is a longtime supporter of this festival.
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, April 30 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, May 1, Little Sugar Creek Greenway (600 South Kings Dr., Charlotte). Free admission.

Cinco de Mayo Festival Plaza Midwood: Cinco de Mayo hits the streets of Charlotte’s Plaza Midwood neighborhood with live mariachis, a Cumbia for a cause and a doggie costume contest, a piñata and maraca-making station with storytelling, a sonidero dance showcase, Mexican cumbia, ska, electrunic-banda fusion and Latin reggae bands on the stage, beer and taco stations and fun for everyone.
Noon Sunday, May 1, Plaza Midwood neighborhood (Thomas and Commonwealth avenues, Charlotte). Free admission.

Dozen Years of Digging Festival: The first-time festival will commemorate Winterfield Community Garden in East Charlotte with a celebration of science, art, music and literature – all around the theme of sustainability. The event is supported by an ASC Cultural Vision Grant.
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 14, Winterfield Community Garden (3105 Winterfield Place, Charlotte). Free admission.

International Circus & Dance Celebration: Join Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center for a celebration of dance and circus from around the globe. Inside the Studio Theater, artists will perform a variety of dances from different cultures and offer workshops. Outside, try out circus fun and visit vendor booths featuring local businesses.
5-8 p.m. Saturday, April 30, Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center (9315 Monroe Rd. Ste. E, Charlotte). Free admission.