Briefly speaking: Free activities for your visit

The economy may have your wallet pinched, but don’t let it hamper your fun when you visit the campus on spring weekends. Aggie Family Pack has some great suggestions for free activities — from enjoying art and nature to people watching and getting your groove on.

One of UC Davis’ most popular events is the Whole Earth Festival, to be held May 8 to 10 on the Quad. In addition to showing the hip side of wearing hemp, the festival features crafts, workshops and musical entertainment. The weekend demonstrates today’s environmental spirit by using solar energy to power entertainment stages and other equipment and capturing most of the festival’s waste for recycling or composting.

Black Family Week from May 11 to 16 celebrates the cultures of people of African descent. It presents programs that promote awareness and understanding of the educational, social and artistic achievements of the African people.

UC Davis students will offer tours of the campus Dairy Teaching and Research Facility at 3 p.m. Saturdays during May and June. The dairy is located on Dairy Road, just south of Hutchison Drive. If you’d like to take the tour, please RSVP to UCDdairytours@gmail.com.

Always special

The UC Davis Arboretum is a lovely spot to bring a picnic and visit the new ducklings, turtles, herons and other wildlife that frequent this campus jewel. The loop of approximately three miles also makes for a nice run or walk through a variety of gardens and settings. Check out the calendar listings for poetry readings, guided tours and more.

Bird lovers won’t want to miss a visit to the California Raptor Center where you can enjoy close-up views of a bald eagle and numerous species of hawks and owls. The center is open Saturday mornings.

Numerous museums and galleries dot the campus and feature Native American art to modern installation exhibits. Most are open on Sunday afternoons, but check the individual galleries’ Web sites for their hours.

For art you can climb on and touch, see if you can find the Eggheads created by Robert Arneson. These are a favorite for visitor photographs, and, if you have young children in tow, they present a few variations on Humpty Dumpty. One of the five installations is in storage during construction at King Hall.

Around town

You are invited to pull up a chair at free Friday evening concerts in Davis from May 22 to Sept. 4. The Davis Downtown Business Association offers music of different genres from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in E Street Plaza, Downtown Davis.

Saturday mornings are perfect for browsing the ever-popular Davis Farmers Market located in Central Park at Fourth and C streets in Davis. From fresh produce to local gourmet cheeses, wines, olive oil and nuts, there’s something yummy for everyone’s palate. On Saturdays, the market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.