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Though May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Austin’s premier Asian American Film Festival serves up AAPI cinematic talent through June, too.

Dance doesn’t have to be stuffy or restrictive. Movement is a world language, and Borderless is here to remind us of that fact. With a scant two nights of performances, you can experience music, theatre, and dance from a multicultural crew of collaborators. Local talents Anuradha Naimpally, Luis Ordaz Gutiérrez, Jun “Sunny” Shen, and Ciceley Fullylove each created works designed to break choreography barriers. Accompanied by live music composed by members of Frederico7 y Los Primes and Son y No Son, Borderless stands as a testament to the limitless power of stories. – Cat McCarrey

Everyone’s welcome at the library – a place where knowledge is free and fun – so it makes sense for our good ol’ APL to throw a pretty packed Pride party. This nighttime shindig features tons to do: a poisonous plant workshop, a pride runway walk, a panel with drag performers, screenings of queer films Changing the Game and But I’m a Cheerleader, Pride button making, a “Hoppy Hour” pet-cuddling session by Tiny Tails, and much more. Pro tip: If the Tiny Tails people bring a chinchilla, pet that chinchilla! Softest fur in the whole world, I swear. – James Scott

Eager to watch a tragic, thought-provoking, sociopolitical tragedy? Experience the student-performed, professionally directed classic (which feels like an understatement), in a replica Elizabethan theatre space by Lake Austin.

We’re in that liminal space of summer, where life is lush and blooming, right before it succumbs to death by heat. Big Medium’s curator Coka Treviño has collected an exhibit full of garden scenes representing that magical explosion of garden growth. In her own words, it’s a way “to forget how heavy it feels to be a human.” There’s constant discovery in the wide variety of works, from dozens of artists like the established Dawn Okoro and up-and-comers MuthaGoose. Join the opening reception this Friday to view interpretations of glorious greenery. – Cat McCarrey

School’s out for summer! And out forever, at least in Beyond August Productions’ Exit Strategy. The story of a run-down high school finishing up its final year before eradication, Exit Strategy follows students and staff on the edge of displacement. Education is a hellscape in the best of times. One can only imagine the anarchy within a school on the brink of annihilation. In cases like that, does anything matter? Get ready to test those limits with Exit Strategy, showing the humor and madness in dire circumstances. – Cat McCarrey

For the rest of this month and into the next, Flatbed Press, local bastion of multiple originals, is putting you on to the next gen of Austin printmakers. For the third year in a row, this annual exhibition features work from students receiving a printmaking degree from any college in the Austin area, including UT, ACC, St. Edward’s, Texas State, and Southwestern. The work ranges from traditional to experimental, both in form and process. Hot tip: While you’re there, make sure to step out of the gallery and check out the working press portion of the building. – Lina Fisher

It’s the second coming of surrealism at Ivester Contemporary. Josias Figueirido aptly updates the legacy of Dalí and Chagall with his vivid dreamscapes. His exhibit presents spirit guides Piri the Dreamer and Flying Coyote in increasingly absurd settings, smoothly bubbled characters possessing hypnotic shininess. Paintings of them hang in eerily vivid flashe paint, existing harmoniously beside their animated counterpoints in an immersive, interactive reality. It’s the wondrous love child of Cartoon Network and modernism. You don’t want to miss it.: – Cat McCarrey

Nine years ago, a Supreme Court ruling made same-sex marriage legal in the U.S. of A. While progress has been up and down since then – oof, actually it’s been more down than up – the historic moment marked a turning point for the queer community legislatively. As the office who issued Texas’ first gay marriage license, the Travis County Clerk’s Office celebrates the 2015 ruling with a whole week of free wedding ceremonies. Check countyclerk.traviscountytx.gov for further details on marriage license deadlines, specific locations, and other bureaucratic minutiae – and I’ll bring the rice! – James Scott

When Ethio-soul songstress Mélat released her most ethereal offering to date, last year’s Canon Metis: Wiser Than Gods and Mortal Men, there was no question that she was about to be an artist in demand. With lead single “The Now (Sweet Love No.9),” she channeled classic soprano icons such as Minnie Riperton and Amel Larrieux (for the lovers of lesser-known neo-soul out there). As with the soaring soprano whistle of the crowd favorite, Mélat has risen in notoriety, moving ever closer to the pantheon of Austin’s musical legends. With her solo show at Pershing Hall, she proudly represents her Eritrean heritage, her bold vulnerability, and proclaims that she belongs here. – Cy White

Prepare to sing your lungs out, you aging emo kids: Say Anything is a real band again. Max Bemis packed away his sardonic-romantic, Queen-loving, indie-pop-punk experimenters in 2018 after Oliver Appropriate, a quasi-sequel to 2004’s breakout …Is a Real Boy. Out of nowhere, Bemis has got back together with founding drummer Coby Linder, filled out the roster with a lineup that includes ex-Taking Back Sunday guitarist Fred Mascherino, unleashed a whole new album (the wittily aggressive …Is Committed) and is bringing the gang to town to wrap up a tour that celebrates 20 years of …Is a Real Boy. – Richard Whittaker

In Link & Pin’s Summer Exposure series, they’re presenting three artists for two weeks each. Kicking it off are Jan Pomeroy, Denise Elliott Jones, and Kristy Battani. Their work perfectly complements each other, exhibiting worlds full of vibrant colors and rich, evocative texturing. Play along with their vivid sightscapes this Thursday, in conjunction with East Austin Arts District’s Third Thursday walks. Or wait for the artist reception on Saturday, for wining and dining and art aplenty. – Cat McCarrey

Calling all lovers of intergenerational family tales – maybe a niche crowd, but definitely a good one. Zach presents to you The Lehman Trilogy, winner of five Tony Awards. One of those Tonys? Best Play. Decide whether it deserved the honors, all while following the infamous Lehman family from their arrival in America through the 1900s until their infamous financial firm (spoiler alert) collapsed in 2008. If you miss Succession but wished it had just a smidgen more early 20th century immigration struggle and concrete financial crisis, you’ve got to check this out. – Cat McCarrey

Hoo-wee! Does anything feel better than a dip in the pool during a hot Texas summer? While some among us may be privileged to own private watering holes, most of us get to enjoy the great Austin PARD’s work at the 44 public aquatic facilities to choose from this summer. You’ve got regional, neighborhood, and community pools; a wading pool; splash pads; and the crown jewel: Barton Springs. Check austintexas.gov/pools-splashpads for up-to-date info on which pools are open, what their entry fee is, and whether you have what it takes to be a public pool lifeguard. Now, outta the way if you don’t wanna get wet: I’m gonna do a cannonball! – James Scott

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