28 awesome things to do this weekend

The long weekend is here and with it comes festivals galore. There's Shanghai Strawberry Festival featuring the likes of Charli XCX, The Drums and The Vaccines, Midi Taihu Festival including Second Hand Rose and Dragon Force to name but two, the final of the China International Comedy Festival, the madness of Crazy Lotus, and even Plantopia - China's largest vegan festival. See below for our top picks.

FRIDAY

China International Comedy Festival 2017

The stand-up comedy competition at CICF comes to a close at the Jiadu Theatre, with a host of international comedy talent battling it out for first place. The lineup Storm Xu, Byron Murphy and Scott Mitchell. See comedyfestival.cn for more details. 

Kung Fu Comedy Club 1 Xiangyang Bei Lu. Apr 24-29. 50RMB-200RMB for individual events; festival pass 350RMB (300RMB early bird).

Gate to the Otherside

Maybe Mars-signed Beijing trio Gate to Otherside sound like Carsick Cars playing Chui Wan songs (psychedelic noise-rock basically) - a combination that has gotten them a lot of buzz in the capital. They're celebrating the release of their new, Ricky Maymi-produced album with a China-wide tour.

Yuyintang 851 Kaixuan Lu. Apr 28. 9pm. 80RMB; 60RMB (presale). 

Shanghorrorfest 2

Following the success of their first Shanghorrorfest, Inferno present another horror film + metal bands combo with a screening of The Omen followed by music from Alpaca, Theory of Convergence, Must be Red and Bonesinner.

Inferno 658 Longhua Dong Lu. Apr 28. 8pm. Free. 

Teen Daze + Mozart's Sister

Vancouver-based artist Jamison Isaak initially came to prominence as Teen Daze in the now-derided 'chillwave' scene, but formulaic synthy nostalgia only gets you so far and he has since expanded into lusher, more nuanced areas of electronic ambient production. 

M64 141 South Shaanxi Rd. Apr 28. 9.30pm. 120RMB; 80RMB (presale).

La Chouffe Party Vol .3

One of the fundamental truths of Shanghai is thus: One Chouffe is good, two Chouffes is too much, three Chouffes is not enough. Le Cafe des Stagiaires on Dagu Lu celebrate the dangerously drinkable Belgian beer with this party.

Cafe de Stagiaires 386 Dagu Lu. Apr 28. 8pm. Free. 

Shiny Shoes presents Ripperton

Shiny Shoes brings in their biggest guest to date. Raphael Gros has remixed Laurent Garnier and Radiohead, he's worked with Steve Bug and Joris Voorn and been released on countless labels under names like Headless Ghost and Lazy Fat People. These days though, he goes by the name of Ripperton and tours the world as a DJ who favours the soulful and introspective ends of house, minimal and techno. 

Elevator 218 Xinle Lu. Apr 28. 10pm. 80RMB. 

Italian Dance Wave presents Francesco

Italian Dance Wave traces a line of continuity through the years where the dancefloor exploded in Italy. Francesco de Bellis' sound could be described as advanced Italo disco, groovy Chicago house and old school funk, and he's known for being a great collector and throwing all sorts into his mix.

DADA 115 Xingfu Lu. Apr 28. 10pm. Free. 

90s to Naughties

It's just what it sounds like - a party of all '90s and 2000s music. All night bangers. Banger after banger. Think J-Lo, Britney, Baby Bash, Aaliyah, Destiny's Child, Nelly, you get the picture. Frau, PCJ and friends doing the honours. Pure house party vibes. No filler.

Smash 685 Dingxi Lu. Apr 28. 9pm. Free. 

Flower Power 

Flower Power is back at the Bar Rouge Garden in collaboration with MVP Shanghai. Time to dig your flowery shirt out the wardrobe, pick your favourite patterns and gather on the 'grass'. '70s music to go with the floral vibes.

Bar Rouge 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu. Apr 28. 9.30pm. 100RMB; Free before Midnight with RSVP.  

SATURDAY

Magnum Pleasure Store pop-up

Good news for all foodies, dessert addicts and pleasure seekers, the Magnum Pleasure Store pop-up has returned to Shanghai. This year, beat the heat by designing your own unique Magnum ice cream bars at the outdoor terrace on the rooftop of K11.

K11 Art Mall 300 Huaihai Zhong Lu. Until May 26. 11am. 

Midi Taihu Festival 2017

Midi Festival returns to its lakeside park on the outskirts of Suzhou for the 2017 May holiday with a mix of international and domestic rock, metal and folk bands, plus a host of DJs

Taihu Midi Camp Qiduzhen. Apr 29-May 1. 1pm. 180RMB a day, 450RMB for three days; 150RMB a day, 400RMB for three days (presale).

Shanghai Strawberry Festival 2017

Modern Sky's Strawberry Festival returns to Shanghai once more for the May holiday with The Vaccines, The Drums, KSHMR, Charli XCX, Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg and lots more.

Expo Garden Park Shibo Dadao. Apr 29-May 1. 11am. 780RMB (three-day pass); 320RMB (day pass). 

Crazy Lotus Experience & SMART Lotus Conference

This festival, organised by the people behind The Mansion and Yingyang Music Festival, promises to combine musical performances, workshops, an art and technology conference, networking, a pillow fight and more into one weekend event at the Cool Docks.

Cool Docks 505 Zhongshan Nan Lu. Apr 29-30. 1pm. 240-450RMB.

Meridian: Recurrent But Not Repetitive

Beijing sound artist thruoutin joins Anita L Pan at Anfu Lu's Capsule Gallery for a special performance based around Gao Yuan's short film Lunar Dial. Pan's performance will use two bicycles as instruments, one of which you may have noticed in Capsule's lovely garden if you've visited their current exhibition.

Capsule Gallery Lane 275 Anfu Lu. Apr 29. 4pm. Free. 

Hugh Reed and the Electric Shadows

Scottish rocker Hugh Reed - who once opened for Debbie Harry and The Fall - hits Yuyintang for a night of old-school rock 'n' roll with Shanghai-based bands Round Eye and Pinball City.

Yuyintang 851 Kaixuan Lu. Apr 29. 9.30pm. 40RMB. 

696 Reopening Party

696 rises from the dead once more having taken over the old Yuncai Cafe spot inside Changshou Park. They've given the space a bit of a refit and named it Tivoli by 696 Live. 696 - for those who don't remember - started life at 696 Weihai Lu, which was an organic arts hub until everyone was kicked out to eventually make way for a shared office space that carries the slogan 'creatives welcome'. 696 has since had a couple of spaces up in Hongkou/Yangpu but has been homeless since the end of 2014.

Tivoli by 696 Live 260 Changshou Lu. Apr 29. 8pm. Free. 

SVBKVLT present Swimful Pearls EP Release Party

Returning after a four-month hiatus since the closure of The Shelter, SVBKVLT return with this launch party for Pearls, the new EP from Qinpu-based producer Swimful. The EP collects four of the best tracks made by Swimful in the past year and sees the producer going deeper into his sound of nostalgic sino melodies and melancholic atmospheres that he established on 2016’s PM2.5.

DADA 115 Xingfu Lu. Apr 29. 10pm. 50RMB. 

Heaven White Party With Sin Morera

Angel Shanghai kicks off the new party season with HEAVEN White Party. Music by DJ Sin Morera (NYC) and DJ Orange (Shanghai), plus 'sexy boy angels' wearing wings and butterfly wings representing Victoria’s Secret.

Bandai Namco Shanghai Base 179 Yichang Lu. Apr 29. 10pm. 100RMB.

Wicked

This musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the critically acclaimed hit show Wicked looks at what happened in the Land of Oz from a different angle. It tells the story of the witches of Oz, whose initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships until the world decides to call one 'good' and the other one 'wicked'.

Shanghai Culture Square 36 Yongjia Lu. Until May 14. 7.15pm. 200-780RMB.

SUNDAY

Co:Motion x Discosmic Adventure: Intergalactic Gary

Described as ‘a quiet master behind the decks’, Intergalactic Gary has been DJing for over three decades and is renowned for his flawless mixing. This is a show to get the DJ nerds excited - expect a masterclass in Detroit techno, Italo and electro.

Elevator 218 Xinle Lu. Apr 30. 10pm. 80RMB.

JZ Spring 2017

JZ Spring is back for 2017 as part of the city's celebrations of International Jazz Day. This three-day, largely free event from the JZ people will feature performances from locally-based musicians in a variety of locations around Jingan - Jingan Park, Réel Plaza, Jingan Kerry Centre and Crystal Galleria.

Shanghai Centre Theatre 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu. Sun 30-May 2. 10.30am. Free.

The Best Pessimist

One-man Ukrainian electronic post-rock act The Best Pessimist returns to Shanghai for a show at On Stage.

On Stage 570 Huaihai Xi Lu. Apr 30. 8.30pm. 100RMB; 80RMB (presale). 

thruoutin

Brilliant Beijing-based artists thruoutin celebrates the release of his excellent new EP Contingent of Outlying Territory. Joining him in the Pingwu Lu basement will be husband and wife ambient duo Peng Zhuang and experimentalist Laughing Ears.

Basement6 115 Pingwu Lu. Apr 30. 7pm. 50RMB. 

Freiburger Barockorchester: Cosi Fan Tutte

Conductor René Jacobs leads Freiburger Barockorchester in a semi-staged Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart’s classic about men who to try to test their women’s loyalty, and see the experiment run off the rails (but wraps up neatly nonetheless).

Shanghai Grand Theatre 300 People's Avenue. Apr 30. 7.15pm. 80-800RMB. 

Please fasten your seatbelt as we are experiencing some turbulence

In an exhibition examining the state of the world today, Leo Xu Projects presents their latest collaborative group show, featuring two new art pieces by Yale educated Iranian artist Tala Madini, whose older work was featured in recent MoMA exhibition in NYC, in which the museum boldly replaced major works by Picasso and Matisse with artists from countries affected by Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’. 

Leo Xu Projects Lane 49 Fuxing Xi Lu. Mar 18-Apr 30. Free.

Sha Sha Sha

Sha Sha Sha by Liang Shaoji presents the unique and thought provoking work of an artist dubbed a recluse for residing in a remote mountain, and spending his time creating large-scale ecological installations.

ShanghART Gallery West Bund 2555 Longteng Avenue. Until May 6. Free.

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