Thursday / School’s out. Not: The Hi-Ho Lounge (2239 St. Claude Ave.) runs a summer edition of its Thursday Trivia Night weekly through June. Sign-up is at 7 p.m.; trivia starts at 7:30. Knowledge tested runs from general to multimedia, tie-breakers are settled with a physical challenge, and the winning team gets a $20 bar tab.
Friday / Daddy knows best: Dad gets his due come Sunday — and 40 others theirs, a little early. The New Orleans Fatherhood Consortium and Ashé Cultural Arts Center confer the praise with Favorite Father Celebration: Honoring 40 Fathers Under 40, spotlighting men across New Orleans who model positive fatherhood. A reception and recognition ceremony takes place at 6 p.m. Friday at Landry-Walker High School, 1200 L.B. Landry Avenue, followed at 8 p.m. by a performance of Taken, a choreographic work inspired by the historical epidemic of absentee fathers in African American families and communities. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and $10 for students with ID.
Friday / Get with the beat: Jazz music will play as jazz musicians are feted at the Preservation Resource Center’s 14th annual Ladies in Red Gala. This year’s event salutes both players and institutions of jazz, including Dave Bartholomew, Wendell Brunious, Ronnie Kole, The New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, The Prime Example, and Don Vappi. On the bandstand for the evening will be Shamarr Allen and the Underdawgs, and cocktails, cuisine and dancing all are on the itinerary. Tickets are $75 and the gala takes place at 8 p.m. Friday at the Cannery. Reserve tickets by calling 504.581.7032 or visiting www.prcno.org.
Saturday / Get drenched: Here’s a great way to do a summer 5K: under water. The new-to-New Orleans Drenched 5K combines the requisite run with fire hoses, water slides, foam stations and “the biggest water balloon fight on the planet.” Runners and walkers are invited to team up, don costumes and bring out the water guns. And it’s all for a good cause, too (The Mission to Hear Foundation). The fun starts at 10 a.m. Sunday at Zephyr Stadium in Metairie. Day-of registration is $50, or check out the pre-event packet pickup and registration at the Big Easy Sportsplex in Elmwood from 2-7 p.m. Friday. And for those who don’t want to work up a sweat? There’s a party pass for after-run fun. More info/register at www.rundrenched.com.
Saturday & Sunday / Time to two-step: The Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival has a new location. This year’s event takes place Saturday and Sunday at Armstrong Park, with fiddling and accordion playing by the likes of BeauSoleil, Buckwheat Zydeco, Rosie Ledet and Bruce Daigrepont. If your toes don’t quite know where to go, then take a free lesson between sessions from the dance team of Glenn Laigast and Lori Bertaut, of Zydeco-Cajun Dance Productions.
Saturday / Last call: This week is your final opportunity to catch 30 Americans at the Contemporary Arts Center. The exhibit showcasing works by African American artists closes this weekend with A Conversation with (journalist) Joy Reid and (artist) Hank Willis Thomas, who will talk about the historical and persistent stereotypes that affect people of color in the media. Admission to the talk, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the CAC, is $10 (free to members) and includes gallery admission. A cocktail reception sponsored by MSNBC follows from 5 to 7 p.m.; admission to the after-hours event is $30 and includes wine and hors d’oeuvres.