18th Annual Friday After Thanksgiving (F.A.T.) Chain Reaction Event from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Rockwell Cage Gymnasium, 120 Vassar St., Area II. Tickets are $15 at the door, or $5 for children ages 5 to 17, students, seniors and card-holding members of the MIT community.

The MIT Museum host this 18th annual event (theme: “the 18th Century”) in which more than 20 teams from around the country, ranging from Girl Scout troops and school groups to artists and engineers, put together a massive, room-filling Rube Goldberg machine over about an hour and a half and get to watch it all go off. Artists Arthur Ganson and Jeff Lieberman mastermind the choreography. Information is here.

“Arabian Nights” at 2 and 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Tickets are  $24 to $64.

The Central Square Theater brings back its award-winning adaptation of “One Thousand and One Nights.” This all-ages adaptation by Dominic Cooke, directed by Daniel Gidron, brings the collection of folk tales from the Middle East and Asia to life through theater and puppetry. Put on by the resident Nora Theatre Company and Underground Railway Theater, the show plays up suspense, romance and humor and, in the words of The Boston Globe, “transports us to another world that reminds us of the power of storytelling.” Information is here.

Charles Hotel tree lighting from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday at The Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square. Free.

This family event includes complimentary Shake Shack hot chocolate and Henrietta’s Table cookies as children help decorate trees with ornaments and bow ties. The band performs at 5 p.m. and the trees will be lit at 5:30 p.m., followed by an hourlong visit from Santa.

This year’s event, made possible with the help of the Harvard Square Business Association, benefits Cradles to Crayons and participants are asked to bring new hats, gloves and baby coats to donate. Information is here.

Post-Thanksgiving Throwdown rock show at 8 p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m. Sunday at Cuisine en Locale, 156 Highland Ave., Somerville. Tickets are $10 (or $11.34 with the online service fee).

Cuisine En Locale’s Once lounge suggests Thanksgiving Day overindulgers dance away their calories with the music of The Blue Ribbons (formed by singer/songwriter/keyboardist James Rohr and described as “Ray Charles and Tom Waits on a pirate ship with Sun Ra and Captain Beefheart”), Somerville soul and blues singer Julie Rhodes, blues performer Sugar Blood Jinx and Allston rock band Dead Elect. Information is here.

Scharpling & Wurster live at 9 p.m. Sunday at The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $25.

Tom Scharpling wasn’t broadcasting “The Best Show” on New Jersey’s WFMU-FM for long before Jon Wurster (drummer for The Mountain Goats and Superchunk, among many others) would call in to spar with Tom as one of many inexplicable citizens or passers-through of the fictional town of Newbridge, N.J. Their exchanges have developed a devoted following, and Scharpling & Wurster started performing live this year. Get ready to meet Philly Boy Roy (the physical embodiment of all things Philadelphia), Timmy Von Trimble (a two-inch racist) and Gene Simmons (the leader of the rock brand KISS). Information is here.