Throwback Tales: A Retro Spectacle from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Friday at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $25 to $45.

Boston Circus Guild has mashed up flashbacks to its artists’ experiences growing up in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s with the feats of incredible skills they’ve learned since. But it’s not all about seeing how aerialists, acrobats and jugglers mix circus arts with funny, poignant, cringe-worthy or triumphant memories – there’s also comedy from writer and storyteller Wes Hazard, who serves as master of ceremonies and two intermission retro dance parties led by DJ A.C. Wiley. Come dressed in Jordans, double belts and acid-wash jeans, if you have them. Information is here.

See dance come together at Fresh Dance Friday from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday at Green Street Studios, 185 Green St., Central Square or “Songs for a New World” from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday at the Baxter Park Amphitheater, 340 Canal St., Assembly Row at Assembly Square, Somerville. Both are free.

Fresh Dance Fridays are family-friendly, informal performances that give choreographers and dancers – this time Liana C. Percoco and Tara Lynch – the chance to show work in progress and get feedback from audiences at daytime performances. Later Friday, the Brown Box Theatre Project and Jason Robert Brown give the kickoff performance of “Songs for a New World,” a song cycle weaving together “the stories and voices of a diverse cast of characters in a musical journey that transcends time and space.” The event begins with set construction and a pre-show talk; the show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Somerville Open Studios from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday throughout Somerville. Free.

Explore the work of nearly 350 artists of all sorts at more than 90 locations all over Somerville in this 19th year of open studios, a look at the city’s vibrant and diverse art scene. Look for trolleys, volunteers and map-filled kiosks around the city to help with the experience. A kids’ art show is up at the Center for Arts at the Armory, and a Cinema Somerville Outdoor Film Fest is being held Saturday evening in Union Square. (A unique don’t-miss: The Nave Gallery Annex’s “Under Primping,” an installation where people labor over a petticoat sculpture while being read to from texts written by women discussing art, studio practice, feminist theory, queer theory, race and a history of handwork. The public is welcome to sit with their own handwork and listen, or just watch.) Complete Open Studio information is here.

34th Annual MayFair from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in Harvard Square and Mayfair After Party from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Grendel’s Den Restaurant & Bar, 89 Winthrop St., Harvard Square. Both are free.

This annual spring tradition draws more than 100,000 to enjoy its three stages of music, more than 35 dance troupes, food, crafts, a chalk art gallery, Roaming Railroad train rides, four beer gardens, a Victorian children’s activity area, more than 60 artisans and merchants selling arts and crafts and jewelry and more than 50 food vendors serving up international fare and local favorites. Information is here. (The “after party” at Grendel’s Den in Harvard Square overlaps with and extends the event with food bargains and live music. Information is here.)

Comedy Roast Battle from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville.

No blood is shed as comedians go head to head and face to face via their own form of hand-to-hand combat, but the carnage is expected to be significant. This bracket-style concept began in Los Angeles and has spread to New York, Atlanta, Toronto and now here. See who emerges alive from the bills of Eric Taylor vs. Jack Burke; Ian Barton vs. Ray Bryant; Nick Stevens vs. Tony Capobianco; Steve Hubbard vs. David McLaughlin; Jesse Miles vs. Caleb Kempf; and Ben Davis vs. Matt Landry. The host is Matt Kona. Information is here.