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An ATX Sketch Fest pass may be the best bargain for a guaranteed good time over Memorial Day weekend. Celebrating its 15th year, ATX Sketch Fest provides audiences with five days of scripted comedy acts from Austin, Portland, L.A., NYC, D.C., and Toronto. Headliners include Chris Grace of Superstore, PEN15, and Broad City, and Joan & Raft, who’ve written for Netflix, HBO Max, and Comedy Central. In addition to performing, Grace, Joan & Raft, and Woody Fu will lead workshops on musical improv, writing, and character development. Local favorites performing include Clara Blackstone, Juicebox, Big Fart, and The Floor Is Lava. Single-show tickets are available, but for this much talent, why not spring for the $69 (heh heh) pass? Check – or sketch – it out at atxsketchfest.com. – Valerie Lopez

Theatre by any other name would be as sweet, but … there’s just something about the name “Shakespeare” that screams all the world’s a stage and we’re just living in it. And nothing screams Shakespeare more than Romeo and Juliet. Submerge yourself in a true Shakespearean experience with his famous star-crossed lovers. Tickets are free, but make sure to snap up a reservation before you head out. Feel the romance, the tension, the sorrow, in person. Besides, the Curtain Theatre’s outdoor setting is the perfect place to bask in the bard. Shakespeare and starlight?: A winning combo. – Cat McCarrey

Thanks to Seventies funk band War, the word “lowrider” often calls to mind the unforgettable sax riff of the band’s 1975 No. 1 single. But lowrider can mean a snazzy customized car with hydraulics or a person who works on such a vehicle, and the culture around these cars has strengthened Mexican American communities in the Southwest since the Forties. Learn more about them at this exhibit featuring an interactive touchscreen mural, cars and bikes on display, and stories about the people who make lowriding a community. A member reception takes place May 18. – Kat McNevins

Vessel: a container that holds things. Vessel: a person infused with a quality. What quality? Any. Feel free to interpret it yourself when basking in Diane Chiyon Hong’s exhibit “Vessels – Handle with Care.” Her architectural sketches, part function, part form, part object, part person, part humor but all thought-provoking, currently grace the halls of the Asian American Resource Center. It’s Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month, so why not pay the AARC a visit. I mean, if not now, when? – Cat McCarrey

I’m a bona fide sandwich lover and a staunch believer in prison reform, so Clyde’s sounds just delectable. Ground Floor presents the story of a truck stop shop that employs former prisoners in the kitchen. The owner might not believe in them, but will they find a way to believe in themselves? First, anything set around food is guaranteed to be aces in my book. But finding a way to integrate human kindness with edible delicacies? Irresistible. Check it out, and discover just how delicious hope can be. – Cat McCarrey

Anyone who’s lost a loved one can testify to the unfamiliar pain of fresh grief. It really is an emotional roller coaster, full of shocking joy and debilitating sorrow, always appearing at unexpected moments. After losing her grandfather, artist Monica Martinez-Diaz channeled her pain into art. Her latest exhibit covers her journey using photography, books, and video work. It tackles the opposing forces of grief through bold colors and small details. Its loving appreciation of the people who travel through our lives is guaranteed to resonate. – Cat McCarrey

This sweet opportunity comes to us from the Downtown Austin Alliance, the Pease Park Conservancy, and Ride Bikes Austin – so we know it's a damned good thing indeed. Take the self-guided Art & Parks Tour to explore the best of what Downtown Austin art and parks have to offer through this selection of curated murals, artworks, and green spaces. You can sign up anytime, so click that URL and get ready to learn the most vibrantly visual parts of your city soon – live and in person.

The local powerhouse of figurative painting, the art school that's the smart school for artists of all kinds, they've got a painting-along-at-home series going to help you keep your skills honed in these socially restrictive times, featuring live costumed models posing on camera and a thriving community of creatives rendering that lovely human biotecture from their separate studios. "Join us for a three-hour costumed-model drawing session. Use any supplies you wish, listen to music, share your work, chat with others. It’s a great way to stay connected with your art community!"

That's right: Cap City Comedy Club, the longtime cornerstone of Austin's comedy scene for nearly four decades is at a new venue in the Domain. And here's Valerie Lopez with a closer look at what's in store for the scene via the venue. Click for details!

ColdTowne's new brick-and-mortar place is totally open, and who knows what they'll shake this city with next? But one truth remains: ColdTowne is a designated den of gold, baby, sweet comedy gold.

Traveling in Mexico, you frequently encounter changarritos – portable food carts or tienditas run by hardworking entrepreneurs. The carts usually operate outside of any formal regulation and, in that way, mirror the resilience and creativity of Mexican culture. In 2005, artist Máximo González appropriated the concept of the changarrito as a way for artists to take their work directly to the people. The idea came to Austin’s venerable Mexic-Arte Museum in 2012, with dozens of artists displaying art and interacting with the public outside the Downtown gallery. The concept is back and will run through August. – Brant Bingamon

Founded by comedians Raza Jafri and Andre Ricks, this club that operates out of Tiger Den on the Eastside is the city's only BIPOC-owned comedy venue.

Esther's Follies – Austin's not-so-secret weapon in the fight against ennui – the comedy gem that still dazzles this growing urban hub – returns to the weekly live and in-person stage of their club on Dirty Sixth, the whole troupe bringing back old favorites and debuting a new program of hilarity with topical, ripped-from-the-headlines sketches and musical numbers. And you do need a laugh or two, right about this time, don't you, citizen? (And how about a margarita to go with that?) We'd add that the mind-boggling illusions of magician Ray Anderson are a bonus in the night's clever spectacle … but, the way that arch maestro conjures mystery and delight, "bonus" would be an insult.

This hotbed of local performance is carrying on even more than usual, with an eclectic mix of live, mind-rocking comedy from some of Austin's best, all week long. Hey! The place is our cover story, as reported by Valerie Lopez! And, srsly, who would ever disagree with the sentiment of Monday night's Fuck This Week show? Check the website for details.

Art conservation can be a contradiction: to destroy to preserve. Thus it is with the HRC and its efforts to restore the Clarkson Stanfield album, one of the most remarkable volumes in the history of art photography. More correctly known as “100 Calotypes by D. O. Hill, R.S.A., and R. Adamson,” the collection of over 100 salted paper prints was collated by the photographers for landscape artist Stanfield and depicts the lords, laborers, clergy, and scientists of 19th-century Scotland and the landscapes in which they lived. Currently undergoing repairs, the center staff are using its deconstructed state to display 39 plates, along with more works from Hill and Adamson, as separate works since the first time they were bound. – Richard Whittaker

Tusa, Sicily, in addition to being a beautiful seaside Italian village, was also birthplace to artist Jeffrey Dell’s newest monotypes. He created the works during an artist’s residency, utilizing traditional printmaking materials to capture the vertical nature of his surroundings. In his artist’s statement, Dell explains his goal with the monotypes as interrogating what happens between seeing and understanding images. “The mind wants and expects to see certain things and is capable of leaping ahead,” Dell writes. “Mostly those leaps are amazingly correct, but sometimes they’re wrong. I’m trying to make work that creates a moment when it’s possible to notice such dynamics while also avoiding the ‘punchline’ of an optical illusion – that is, to deny a moment of ‘getting it.’” – James Scott

This local treasure of a venue, run by those Contemporary Austin folks who also bring us the Jones Center shows Downtown, is all about the outdoors – which is perfect for these trickily navigated times of ours, n'est-ce pas? Recommended: Stop by and breathe in the air, enjoy the lawns and gardens and the many examples of world-class sculpture arrayed across the property, and (as Frankie used to say) r-e-l-a-x.

Use your smartphone to access self-guided tours of the outdoor public art sited by UT's award-winning Landmarks program any time you feel like it. BONUS: There's also a free, docent-led tour starting at Marc Quinn's "Spiral of the Galaxy" (1501 Red River) on Sun., Jan. 8, 11am.

Here's a two-person exhibition that features painting, installation, videography, and sculpture by Moll Brau and Wes Thompson. It's a deep dive into a pool of loneliness, triumph, and rebirth. It's a forest of mazes where fireflies provide the light. It's a show of creations from a pair of terrific, hardworking local artists and you don't want to miss it.

Enter the fascinating world of illusions in this new venue that boasts a stunning array of intriguing visual, sensory, and educational experiences among new, unexplored optical wonderments.

This multimedia exhibition is a comprehensive exploration of the beauty of botanical forms, expressed realistically and in the abstract, featuring the work of local artist Francine Funke.

This is a weekly stand-up comedy showcase to help you pregame your Friday night on the town. (Snail Haven also features music shows, film screenings, and general hangs. Best bet: Follow @SnailHavenShows on Instagram and DM them for event details.)

South Austin’s first dedicated comedy venue is spearheaded by local comics Martin Henn, Andre Ricks, and Raza Jafri, and brings top-notch acts to South Austin every Wednesday through Saturday. Note: The upcoming comics – including nationally touring acts, local sweethearts, and everyone in between – will be listed on Instagram each night.

This exhibition of new work by Kate Breakey showcases hand-colored photography of the natural world, particularly of Texan and Australian landscapes, animals, and insects.

The opportunity to witness, in person, the creative expression of different times and diverse cultures is one of the perks of city-dwellers everywhere – and exemplified by the collections and traveling exhibitions hosted by UT’s acclaimed Blanton Museum of Art. The Blanton’s newest show displays masterpieces from Edo-period Japan, on loan from the Worcester Art Museum through June 30. These “pictures of the floating world” depict the lifestyle, pleasures, and interests of the urban population – samurais, geishas, kabuki actors, boat parties, palaces, and lush landscapes. As then, so now: Much of who we are is what we do with our lives. – Wayne Alan Brenner

This snazzy spot for local and national stand-up acts has shows almost every night of the week.

The diverse lineup of hilarious, always surprising improv shows continues, with Pgraph and Maestro and the Big Bash and more, for the most unexpected delights of in-person entertainment.

The legend of Ronnie Velveeta lives on at this storied 'stablishment of a stand-up stage, where some of the country's hottest comics come to make the floorboards quake with laughter every weekend on Dirty Sixth. Brandie Posey: Sat., May 20, 8 & 10pm. Jake Flores: Sat., May 27, 8 & 10pm.

Minneapolis-born and -raised, Elizabeth Olds lived to a sturdy 94 but didn’t get the attention she deserved in her lifetime. The Harry Ransom Center’s new exhibit, which opened Feb. 3 and runs through July 14, aims to rectify that with a first-of-its-kind look back at more than 100 of her prints, paintings, drawings, and illustrations from the 1920s to the 1960s. Of particular note: her depictions of social and political change from her time as a Works Progress Administration printmaker. Want to go deeper? Drop in for one of the daily docent tours. – Kimberley Jones

This is Ray Donley's gallery of art by Native Americans, located in that company of artistic glory called Canopy and resplendent with creations from the original people of our struggling country.

Accenting soft, blurred pastels with sharp acrylics, Yamin Li’s “Gnortsma” exhibit reflects the uncertainty of life as an immigrant. Nothing is quite right in the series’ 20 paintings; the Chinese artist blends “habitual objects” – houses, trees, toys – with more unexpected ones, like a figure rendered with childlike collage bearing a medieval spear and sword. Li debuts her works at a May 2 opening ceremony, which runs from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Afterward, the Central Library will display the exhibit until July 14. – Carys Anderson

Yard Dog presents the vibrant works of Paul Rodriguez, a printmaker from San Miguel de Allende. "And some very cool new paintings by Harry Underwood."