Many local scenesters will likely trek to Kansas City this weekend for the music portion of KC’s massive Middle of the Map Fest, but it’s also a diverse festival weekend right here in LFK, with at least three festivals delivering comedy, film and music. Mix in a wealth of Final Friday activities and the Farmers’ Ball finals, and there’s surely enough close at hand to keep any culture-seeking citizen well-satisfied.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/apr/17/290229/

Riptide Comedy Festival, Thursday-Sunday, multiple locations

“It’s not about us.” That’s the first thing that local comedy collective Harpoon Presents wants you to know about its second annual Riptide Comedy Festival. Sure, you can and will see plenty of familiar faces from the local scene, but the festival itself is bringing in talent from all over the country, including high-profile comics like Daniel Kibblesmith and collectives such as Denver’s Fine Gentleman’s Club. Expect more than just stand-up too, as these events will range from the debate format of the “Arguments & Grievances” event at the Taproom to the bizarre, sleepover-themed affair “Joe Pera Talks You To Sleep,” a late-night Final Friday offering on Wonder Fair’s not-so-secret “secret patio.”

This is our TOP festival pick of the weekend if you are looking for booze-fueled vulgarity. Visit the official website here for info on festival passes, individual prices, participating venues and info on the performers and schedule. You can read more about this event in this LJWorld article, and check out the Facebook page here for handy links to individual event pages for all the varied showcases.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/apr/19/290301/

Final Friday, all over LFK

The most high-profile event of this month’s Final Friday is almost certainly the Lawrence Inside Out project compiled by local photographer/artist Rachael Perry. These excellent large black-and-white photographs of local artists and art advocates of all stripes have likely been prominent in your Facebook feed for months, and have started popping up in various locations around town over the past few weeks.

The official Final Friday opening for this cool project is listed as the Percolator (visit the FB event page here), but you’ll also encounter some of the portraits at the Lawrence Arts Center, Watkins Museum, the Warehouse Arts District, and elsewhere as you make the rounds tonight. Where will YOUR face be hanging? Read a nice LJWorld article on the project here.

Other events that intrigue us include an evening of music plus “live print making and live blacksmithing and live rock carving” at Art Emergency in the Warehouse Arts District (details here) and Ann Dean’s photography exhibit “365: From Kansas to the Caribbean” at the Arts Center (details here).

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/apr/19/290300/

See/Saw Film Festival, Friday-Sunday, Lawrence Public Library plus one screening at KU’s Woodruff Auditorium

You’ll find a festival of a very different kind at the Lawrence Public Library this weekend as the first See/Saw Film Festival offers up a well-curated selection of films from a variety of genres that “focus particular attention on children and youth whose experiences are under-considered or not considered at all.” Among the highlights of the festival are “Rich Hill,” a terrific documentary set in small-town Missouri (this one screens on Friday evening in Woodruff Auditorium on campus and is accompanied by a panel discussion) and the Oscar-nominated animated film “Song of the Sea” (the “Family Night” selection on Friday at LPL).

This is our TOP festival pick for educational value as well as a great choice for budget-minded film buffs: the festival is free but donations are encouraged. Visit the official website here and the Facebook event page here, and read Eric Melin’s great LJWorld interview with festival founders Sorcha Hyland and Maggie Beneke here.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/apr/17/290225/

Rockin Red Music Fest, 3-7 p.m. Saturday, South Park

How about a family festival with music, food (including LFK’s new BBQ food truck), beer for the grown folks, and a lot of activities for the kids? Stop by South Park on Saturday for the annual concert fundraiser for the Lawrence Community Nursery School (AKA “The Little Red Schoolhouse,” hence the name of the festival). Visit the Facebook event page here for more info.

This is our TOP festival pick for exhausted adults looking for an excuse to drink beer in a park in the middle of the day while the kids hop around in a bounce house.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2015/apr/19/290302/

Farmers’ Ball Finals, doors at 9 p.m., bands at 10 p.m. Saturday, the Bottleneck

On Saturday, one worthy band (or possibly the band who has convinced the most friends to attend and vote) will win this year’s Farmers’ Ball along with $2,000. After last weekend’s semifinals, the four remaining bands are No Cave, Maybe Not, Toughies, and Via Luna. Click the links and study up before the finals.

Our prediction (based on very little research aside from their Facebook sound descriptions) is that the “dark bandicoot jazz” of No Cave will win the day. We’ll predict that the “chandelier shakers” of Maybe Not take second. But does the “Tap-Happy/Twinkle” band Via Luna stand a chance? Perhaps. And it’s also entirely possible that the Toughies could tough it out.

Do your scenester duty and stick around and vote.

Tweet us @LarryvilleLife and let us know what’s on tap for next weekend.