Head down to Lowell City Hall this evening for the 6:40 pm Ethnic Parade that is the opening ceremony of this year’s Lowell Folk Festival. The procession of costumed residents bearing the flags of their native countries and the native countries of their ancestors will leave JFK Plaza, proceed down Merrimack Street, taking a left on Kirk and passing by Lowell High School and then a right on Father Morissette Boulevard to Boarding House Park where the music will begin.

Check out the Festival’s official website for a full schedule of events through the weekend.

Besides partaking in plenty of music and ethnic food, I plan to spend much of the weekend at the “Elizabeth Warren for Senate” table in the “Free Speech” area near the front steps of City Hall. Please stop by and say hello as you wander through downtown.

And to help you decide what to wear, here’s the latest forecast from the National Weather Service:

Today Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming northwest around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before midnight. Patchy fog after 2am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11am. Patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. East wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Night Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 3am, then isolated showers. Patchy fog after 9pm. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Light north wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Sunday Isolated showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Patchy fog before 10am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 79. North wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.