Monday

Kathryn D. Sullivan reads from “Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut’s Story of Invention” from 6 to 7 p.m. at the MIT Press Bookstore, 301 Massachusetts Ave., The Port. The first American woman to walk in space tells her experience as part of the team that launched, rescued and repaired the Hubble Telescope, including inventing the tools and processes that made on-orbit maintenance possible. Information is here.

Tuesday

Nibble Kitchen grand opening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Bow Market, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Expect music and dancing as chefs offer bite-size samplings of Venezuelan arepas, Brazilian acarajé, Ethiopian fir fir and a Bengali ghugni salad, as well as serving a hot Bolivian peanut drink called Chicha de Maní. Information is here.

Robert Black’s “Insomniac Dos and Don’ts” from 8 to 10 p.m. at Granoff Music Center at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. Free. Double bass virtuoso Black presents a recital featuring Philip Glass’ seven-part “The Not Doings of an Insomniac” – which Black commissioned – while reciting poetry by Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, David Byrne, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith and Arthur Russell. Black will also spotlight works written for him by Tufts composers, improvising a dialogue with guest bassist Andrew Blickendorfer. Information is here.

Wednesday

Wiretap Wednesday Open Stage from 7 to 9:30 p.m. (with sign-ups at 6:30 p.m.; repeating monthly) at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. An open mic that founders Ben Quick and Nate Taylor say supports virtually any type of performance, taking advantage of the space’s stage, free parking, piano, many microphones and liquor license. Information is here.

Raych Jackson at the Boston Poetry Slam, from 7:15 p.m. to midnight at The Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. There’s a $3 cover for this 18-plus show. Jackson, a Chicago writer, playwright, educator and performer – among other accomplishments, her poems have been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube, she voiced DJ Raych in the Jackbox game “Mad Verse City,” her debut collection “Even the Saints Audition” was published recently and her play “Emotions & Bots” premiered recently at the Woerdz Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland – is featured after an hour of open mic starting at 8 p.m. Information is here.

Grrl Haus Cinema from 8 to 11 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. This end-of-the-year event screens around 10 shorts curated from more than 500 submissions of short films and video art made by women, with an emphasis on the low budget and DIY. A handful of vendors will be on hand with stuff for holiday shopping. Information is here.

Thursday

Ice Sculpture Stroll from 6 to 8 p.m. at Assembly Row, 300 Grand Union Blvd., Somerville. Free. There are 10 sculptures to discover at this third annual event, with live music, treats and retailer giveaways (all while supplies last). Visitors are invited to donate $5 gift cards from coffee, convenience or grocery stores along with paper products (paper plates, napkins and toilet paper, for instance) for the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, which offers cancer patients a free place to stay during their treatment. Information is here.

Reading with Somerville’s poets laureate from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave., in the Winter Hill neighborhood. Hear works by Nicole Terez Dutton (poet laureate from 2015 to 2017 and author of “If One Of Us Should Fall”), Gloria Mindock (poet laureate in 2017 and last year, founding editor of Cervena Barva Press and author of “I wish Francisco Franco Would Love Me”) and Lloyd Schwartz (third and current poet laureate, a Pulitzer Prize winner and classical music critic for NPR’s “Fresh Air”). Information is here.

Flotilla TV improv comedy from 8 to 9 p.m. at the Somerville Media Center, 90 Union Square, Somerville. Free. The Naffy Improv troupe listens to a brave soul from the audience dish their worst ex-relationship story, then spins it into a long-form comedy scene for broadcast on Somerville Community Access TV. A Union Comedy student group opens. Information is here.

Music Box Sessions concert from 8 to 10 p.m. at Granoff Music Center at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. The New Music Ensemble performs Stockhausen, McDonald, Brahms, Petty, Sur, Bartók, Stravinsky and Schubert under the direction of Donald Berman. Information is here.

Friday

American Hardcore Fest at 6 p.m. at The Middle East Downstairs, 480 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Tickets are $30. Your feet may ache at the end and your ears may bleed (probably not), but you’ll have have heard Incendiary, Mindforce, Buried Dreams, Day By Day, Division of Mind, Never Ending Game, Three Knee Deep, Nosebleed, Fuming Mouth, Maniac and Antagonize and paid less than $3 each to do it. Information is here.

“The Slutcracker” from 8 to 10:30 p.m. (and repeating Saturday and Sunday and 15 more times through Dec. 31) at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square. General admission is $30. This burlesque event retelling Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic with a sex-positive (to put it mildly) message has been selling out shows since 2008. Information is here.

Fifth Annual Prism Concert from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. General admission is $10. The MIT Wind Ensemble performs Holst’s rarely heard masterpiece, “Hammersmith,” the Boston premiere of “Apotheosis” by Kathryn Salfelder, Bach’s “Contrapunctus 7” from “The Art of Fugue” transcribed by Amis, and the wind ensemble classic “Mannin Veen,” a tone poem by English composer Haydn Wood under the direction of Frederick Harris Jr. and Kenneth Amis. Information is here.

Saturday

Drunk Opera History: Handel’s “Messiah” from noon to 2 p.m. at The Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. There is a suggested donation of $20. The iconic oratorio premiered in Dublin in 1742, and there’s plenty of dirty history around it to catch up on during brunch. Ugly sweaters recommended, but not required. Information is here.

Kamishibai storytelling with Yumi Izuyama from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Stories are told with illustrations in a technique most popular during the 1930s and the postwar period in Japan. Information is here.

Snow globe workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. at Comicazi, 407 Highland Ave., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $20 for this adult event. Bring your own small figures or use our provided toys and decorations to craft the winter wonderland of your dreams or nightmares. Information is here.

Trashion Show from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Building 50, also known as Walker Memorial, at 142 Memorial Drive, Area II. General admission is $7. Outfits by student designers and models are shown off in an annual event combining fashion, design and sustainable innovations, drawing awareness to waste produced by the fashion industry and the promotion of better solutions. Information is here.

Somerville Songwriter Sessions from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Admission is $10. Jim Infantino, Danielle Miraglia and Terry Kitchen roll out a wild (and wide-ranging) night of songs, from conceptual folk-pop to gut-bucket blues rock to personal and political musical statements. The evening begins with a short open mic. Information is here.

Mediterranean concert and loft party from at 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at Accurate Records, 343 Medford St., Winter Hill, Somerville. Admission starts at $20 (with fees, $21.99) live Southern Italian/Mediterranean music from Newpoli with homemade Southern Italian food. There will be some wine and beer, but BYOB to help the bar. Information is here.

Sunday

Brain Market Flea from noon to 6 p.m. at Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St., Riverside. VIP tickets, with a hot drink upon arrival, raffle tickets, gift wrapping and a personalized selfie from intern Claire are $10. The bimonthly flea market features handmade artwork, prints, patches, records, tees, pins, ceramics, jewelry, zines, body care, tea, fiber art, vintage clothing, accessories and books, as well as tarot readings, haircuts, live drawings and more! Information is here.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 from 3 to 4 p.m. at Granoff Music Center at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. Free. The Tufts Chamber Orchestra has performed the Third, the Sixth – and now presents the Seventh, exploding with energy and positivity. The program opens with another set of dances: the “Romanian Folk Dances” by Bartok, short pieces that conjure up images of the Eastern European countryside, its humble villages and the deep-rooted folk traditions of the people living there. Information is here.

New Poetry & Open Mic from 3 to 5 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. New England Poetry Club members Toni Bee, Jennifer Martelli and Chris O’Carroll read, followed by an open pic and a book signing. Information is here.

Steve Livernash tribute and screening of “Rules of the Game” at 4:30 p.m. (tribute) and 7 p.m. (film) at the Harvard Film Archive at The Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square. Free. Longtime projectionist Livernash, who died this year, is honored with testimony from friends and colleagues, and of course with film clips. Then comes his favorite movie, Jean Renoir’s 1939 look at life on a French bourgeois estate at the onset of World War II. The saga of class and privilege is hauntingly relevant to today’s have-and-have-not divisions. Information is here.

Club Drosselmeyer 1942 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square. An immersive variety show with more variety than usual, disguised as a 1942 war bond rally: Join dancers, divas, acrobats, magicians, sugarplums, dandies, robot soldiers, rat kings and spies as they all race to stay ahead of a military technology known as Project Nutcracker. The show offers the chance to crack codes, join factions, save the day or just look your vintage best and dance. Information is here.

Small Jazz Concert from 8 to 10 p.m. at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. Free. Tufts small jazz ensembles under the direction of Nando Michelin and Paul Ahlstrand perform an evening of works for smaller combos, including vocals. Information is here.