Monday

Tasty Winter Soups & Stews from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Library’s Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge St., Wellington-Harrington. Free. If you resolved to cook more in the new year, chef J.J. Gonson has some recipes for soups that are quick, healthy and hearty. Information is here.

Science by the Pint: Coral Reefs in a Changing World from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Saloon, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Free. Experts present the alarming in a casual setting to a lay audience that has comfort available – namely beer, wine or a cocktail. In this event, Dr. Sarah Davies, assistant professor of biology at Boston University, talks about a threat to natural ecosystems worldwide. Gulp. Information is here.

Tuesday

Make Your Own Video Valentine from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Cambridge Community Television, 438 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. It costs $35 for non-members, and advance registration is required. Bring a Valentine message of two or three sentences to record for a loved one, and let the pros film, edit and export it for you. Information is here.

Gish Jen reads from “The Resisters” from 7 to 8 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. The author returns with a science-fictional take on a divided America, half underwater, where a lower-class kid heads to the Olympics while her parents challenge the system that gets her there. Stephen King is already asking for a sequel. Information is here.

Wednesday

DateMyFriend.ppt from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, comedians and locals pitch their favorite single friends to the crowd in the form of brief PowerPoint presentations, followed by audience Q&A. Information is here.

Tatiana M.R. Johnson at the Boston Poetry Slam, from 8 p.m. to midnight at The Cantab Lounge, 738 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. There’s a $3 cover for this 18-plus show. Johnson, an MFA candidate in poetry at Emerson College and poetry editor for Redivider, reads works exploring identity and trauma and what it means to heal. She features after two hours of open mic. Information is here.

Jonathan Katz and Friends benefit against MS from 8 to 10 p.m. at The Comedy Studio, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Tickets are $25. Some of Boston’s greatest comedy talents raise funds for multiple sclerosis research, treatment and advocacy: Jonathan Katz (Comedy Central ’s “Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist”), Chloe Cunha, Tooky Kavanagh, Anthony Scibelli, Dan Boulger and special guest Carmen Lynch. Information is here.

Thursday

The Songs of 1980 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square. General admission is $15. Forty years ago, the songs coming from our radios included “Call Me” by Blondie, “Another Brick in the Wall, Part II” by Pink Floyd and “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John – and that’s just the start of the cover options for local folkers Max Shakun, Visiting Wine, Bob Bradshaw, Kim Moberg with Heather Swanson, Ric Allendorf, Louise Mosrie (pictured), Grace Givertz, Dave Richardson, Dave Dersham, Prateek, Mark Stepakoff, Matt Minigell, Lindsay Straw & Jordan Santiago, Beane, Hank Wonder, Jim Trick, Bella White, Rob Siegel, Tom Bianchi and Monica Rizzio. Information is here.

Glue Factory Comedy Hour from 7:30 to 9 p.m. (doors are at 7:30 p.m.) at The Dark Horse Public House, 499 Broadway, Magoun Square, Somerville. Free, but register here because seating is limited. Eric John Krug headlines with Julia Corsetti, Austin McCloud, Gloria Rose, James Huessy, Jack Hall. Information is here.

Friday

Noor Ensemble from 7 to 9 p.m. at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. Free. A program of North African, Middle Eastern and Islamic music from the 14-player music group, which has long held an annual concert at the university mixing religious tunes with pop culture. Information is here.

Patricia Cleary Miller reads from 7 to 9 p.m. at Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square. Admission is $10. A return by Radcliffe grad and eight-year poet laureate of the Harvard Alumni Association Miller – also professor emerita of English at Rockhurst University, founder and editor of its Rockhurst Review and author of “Starting a Swan Dive” and other titles. Information is here.

Saturday

Let’s talk about a Poem with Lloyd Schwartz from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Somerville Public Library East Branch, 115 Broadway. Free. Somerville’s poet laureate, Lloyd Schwartz, brings two poems by Emily Dickinson – “The Soul Selects Her Own Society” and
“One Need Not Be a Chamber to Be Haunted” – and invites participants to bring their favorites to talk about. Information is here.

Weekend matinee: “Whisper of the Heart” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Harvard Film Archive at The Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $5, or free with a current Cambridge Public Library card, and available starting at 3:15 p.m. outside the screening room. The crew at the Archive calls this coming-of-age story by Aoi Hiiragi (adapted for the screen by Hayao Miyazaki) “unjustly little-known.” In it, 12-year-old bookworm Shizuku seeks her soulmate with the help of some peculiar companions, with a surprising number of renditions of John Denver’s “Take me Home, Country Roads” along the way. A Information is here.

The complete Bach cello suites from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. General admission is $20. Grammy-award winning violinist Johnny Gandelsman brings his new project to town: performing Bach’s complete Cello Suites … but on violin. Information is here.

8-Bit Art Night from 7 to 9 p.m. at Comicazi, 407 Highland Ave., Davis Square, Somerville. Admission is $10, with the proceeds going to keep the annual LadiesCon free. Use Perler beads to craft an image that can be turned it into a magnet, pin or key chain. Information is here.

Sunday

Tufts Youth Philharmonic family concert from 1 to 2 p.m. at Granoff Music Center at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. Free. Music from Beethoven to John Williams’ “Star Wars,” performed under the direction of John Page. Information is here.

Pindrop Sessions’ “Nevertheless” from 7 to 10 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. General admission is $20 (with fees, $22.85). The Phoenix orchestra performs music curated by composer Marti Epstein, accompanied by texts curated by author Jen Deaderick (“She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women’s Equality”). Information is here.

Music for the Sun King from 4 to 6 p.m. at Tufts University, 20 Talbot Ave., near Powder House Square, Somerville. Free. The regal aesthetic of the French Baroque is shown off in works by Philidor, Marais, Boismortier and Jacquet de la Guerre, played by Tufts Early Music faculty Héloïse Degrugillier on flute; Jane Hershey on viola da gamba; and Frances Conover Fitch on harpsichord. Information is here.