Studebakers come home, Cinco de Mayo celebrated and more to do in and near South Bend

Studebakers come home for the Studebaker Drivers Club International Meeting this week. First Fridays features a special cruise-in. Plus, it's Cinco de Mayo, and SpongeBob Squarepants has an adventure at The Lerner in Elkhart. For more events, visit southbendtribune.com or see Joseph Dits' Outdoors Extras column.

Studebakers come home for May First Fridays in South Bend

SOUTH BEND — Downtown South Bend Inc.’s May First Fridays features a giant Studebaker Car Show and other events from 5 to 9 p.m. May 6 in downtown.

In conjunction with the Studebaker Drivers Club’s 58th International Meet from May 4-7 in South Bend, the theme for May’s First Fridays event is “Studebaker Homecoming.”

Approximately 200 Studebaker cars will process onto Michigan Street at 5:30 p.m. and be on display from Colfax Avenue to Wayne Street until approximately 8:30 p.m. The SDC holds its International Meet every five years in South Bend, where the wagon and automobile manufacturer was founded in 1852 and produced vehicles until December 1963.

The Studebaker Drivers Club Band performs at 6 p.m. in Studebaker Plaza. The Valleyaires also will provide entertainment with barbershop quartets roving through the streets, as will the The Go Figure! men’s quartet.

The Valleyaires and two members of Go Figure! and their wives also will perform in Studebaker Plaza, starting at 7:15 p.m.

​The St. Joseph County Public Library also plans a “Studebaker Scavenger Hunt” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Children’s Area at 304 S. Main St. The prize for completing the scavenger hunt is a car sticker and a Studebaker window cling. Books about Studebaker also will be on display in the Local and Family History Department.

Note: Temporary closures will occur during the Studebaker Procession on Wayne Street, Jefferson Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between 5:30 and 6 p.m., with police staggering the procession to allow traffic to pass through occasionally. Expect delays.

Other highlights of First Fridays include the following:

• Guided Architectural Walking Tours of Downtown, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.: Meet at 101 N. Michigan St. to see more than 20 landmark buildings and explore their history; $5, and reservations are required.

• The South Bend Museum of Art, 120 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., from 5 to 8 p.m.: Opening receptions for the museum’s 75th anniversary exhibit, “Around the Bend,” and for the exhibits “Eli Kahn: How Are You? No, Really … How Are You?” and “The 2021 College Residency Exhibition.” Artists will be on hand, and Kahn, a visual artist and musician, will give a short live performance at 6:30 p.m.; free.

• A reception for the ceramics exhibit “Mud Buds: Ann Drake and Michelle Schafer,” from 5 to 8 p.m. at Fire Arts Inc., 305 E. Colfax Ave.: The exhibit continues through June 24; free. For more information, call 574-282-2787 or visit fireartsinc.com.

For more information about First Fridays, call 574-282-1110 or visit downtownsouthbend.com/may.

Premier Arts presents ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ at The Lerner Theatre in Elkhart

ELKHART — Premier Arts presents “The SpongeBob Musical” from May 6 to 8 at The Lerner Theatre, 410 S. Main St.

Based on the cartoon “SpongeBob Squarepants,” the musical features original songs by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Sara Bareilles, The Flaming Lips, Lady A, Cydni Lauper, John Legend, Panic! At the Disco, Plain White T’s, They Might Be Giants and T.I., and songs by David Bowie.

The plot finds SpongeBob and all of Bikini Bottom facing the total annihilation of their undersea world — but just when all hope seems lost, a most unexpected hero rises up and takes center stage.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. May 6 and 7 and at 3 p.m. May 8. An all-youth cast perform at 3 p.m. May 7.

Tickets are $25-$12.

For more information, call 574-293-4469 or visit premierarts.org.

Beckwith opens ‘Five Women Wearing the Same Dress’

DOWAGIAC — “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” opens May 6 and continues through May 15 at Beckwith Theatre Company, 100 New York Ave.

Written by Alan Ball, the 1993 play takes place at an ostentatious wedding reception at a Knoxville, Tenn., estate, where five reluctant, identically clad bridesmaids hide out in an upstairs bedroom, each with her own reason to avoid the proceedings below.

As the afternoon wears on, these five very different women joyously discover a common bond in this funny, irreverent and touching celebration of the women’s spirit.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. May 6-7 and 13-14 and at 2 p.m. May 8 and 15.

Tickets are $15.

For more information, call 269-782-7653 or visit beckwiththeatre.com.

Cinco de Mayo festival May 7 features Los de San Rafael, Trike Theater and more at LaSalle Park

SOUTH BEND — St. Adalbert Parish presents a Cinco de Mayo celebration from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 7 at LaSalle Park at North Falcon Street.

Activities include Horses by Rancho 3 Luceros, a bounce house, a singing competition, a Zumba class by Carlos Centellas, the soccer show “Futboleros.”

Trike Theater presents “Mariposa” (“Butterfly”) at 2 p.m.

The South Bend-based band Los de San Rafael, which recently competed on Estrella TV’s “Tengo Talento Mucho Talento,” performs at noon.

National attention: South Bend band rises on national TV talent show, like 'America's Got Talent' in Spanish

Food and beverages also will be available for purchase on a cash-only basis.

According to indianahistory.org, Cinco de Mayo, or the Fifth of May, commemorates the Battle of Puebla in 1862, where Mexico defeated the French. It does not celebrate Mexican independence, which the country earned in 1810 from Spain. That’s celebrated on Sept. 16, known as Mexican Independence Day or Fiestas Patrias.

Admission is free.

‘Burning Down the Prairie’ hike and talked given at Chikaming Township Park & Preserve

THREE OAKS — Buffy Dunham will talk about the role of controlled prairie fires on a hike with the Harbor Country Hikers at 2 p.m. May 7 at Chikaming Township Park & Preserve.

Dunham has years of experience with controlled burns and monitoring post-burn vegetation. The technique is used to naturally spur the regrowth of prairies.

She’ll lead a walk through the park’s recently burned prairie and will talk about the when, how and why of burns.

Afterward, Harbor Country Hikers President Pat Fisher will follow with a hike in other parts of the park, a total of two miles hiking.

Nature's healing power: How the outdoors kept us healthy and sane through 2020 in Michiana

The preserve consists of just over 263 acres, hosts at least eight distinct types of ecosystems and is a popular destination for birding, hiking, biking, dog walking, fishing, gardening or just reflecting on nature.

Wear long pants (preferably tucked in), a sun hat, sturdy shoes or boots and insect repellent, and bring plenty of water. Depending on the weather, there may be some muddy areas. The Hikers observes federal and state COVID guidelines, and face masks are currently optional.

The park is north of U.S. 12 on Warren Woods Road and just east of Interstate 94 and 1.4 miles east of Red Arrow Highway.

For more information, visit harborcountryhikers.com/events.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Cinco de Mayo in South Bend and more to do this weekend