A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, from Halloween film score concert to fungi tour
Sunday, Oct. 16
Artist Kate Bresnahan at a Flea held Oct. 13, 2019, at the Cambridge Community Center in Riverside. (Photo: Marc Levy)
Hassle Flea from 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Community Center, 5 Callender St., Riverside. Admission is $1. Cider, coffee and live music are the backdrop to a flea market featuring handmade artwork, prints, patches, records, tees, pins, ceramics, jewelry, zines, body care, tea, fiber art, vintage clothing, accessories, books as well as tarot readings, haircuts, live drawings and more. Masks are requested. Information is here.
Pumpkin carving in hourlong slots from 1 to 5 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Admission is $15. A pumpkin from Wilson Farm and access to tools are included in the entry price. (The brewery’s craft beer is not.) Information is here.
Harvest festival from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. There will be harvest activities and games, pumpkin decorating and a “celebration of the bounty nature shares with us” at this event called a “gathering in gratitude.” Information is here.
“Small Mouth Sounds” (continued) at 2 and 6 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Kresge Little Theater in Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Ave. Free, but people with reservations will get priority in being seated. Information is here.
Regie Gibson & Atlas Soul Trio at 3 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. Free. Poet and musicians team up for covers and originals with Gibson’s resonant, dazzling and thought-provoking wordplay. Information is here.
Monday, Oct. 17
Artwork by Lori Lander goes on display at the Cambridge Main Library. (Image: Lori Lander)
Lori Lander’s “Morning Market: The Work of Women” exhibition at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. A dozen oil paintings celebrate women at work in daily markets across several continents; there’s an opening reception planned for 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday and Lander plans a lecture for 5 to 6 p.m. Nov. 7. The paintings can be seen during various hours through Nov. 15. Information is here.
Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan read from “Mad Honey: A Novel” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Memorial Church, 1 Harvard Yard, Harvard Square. Tickets are $32, which includes a hardcover copy of the book. Picoult and Boylan’s suspenseful novel follows a Boston woman and her son seeking refuge in New Hampshire, where things go bad again – this time because of her son’s dangerous temper. Well-fitting masks are required at this Harvard Book Store event. The authors will be in conversation with Tim Ehrenberg, a Nantucket book expert. Information is here.
Tuesday, Oct. 18
In-person pub sing from 6 to 8 p.m. at Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. This event is based on a traditional English pub sing and encourages chorus-based songs that are easy to learn and fun to do as a group; this outdoor event includes a propane fire pit and offers marshmallows to toast. Other snacks are welcome. Information is here.
Sacha Lamb. (Photo: Sacha Lamb via Audible)
Sacha Lamb reads from “When the Angels Left the Old Country” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square. Free. Lamb, a former writer-in-residence at the store, has a debut novel described by the publisher as the “queer love child of Sholem Aleichem and Philip Roth.” They’ll be in conversation with Rebecca Podos, author of the novel “From Dust, a Flame.” Masks are required. Information is here.
First and Last Word Poetry from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Tickets are $4. This series founded in 2010 happens the third Tuesday of every month with hosts Harris Gardner and Gloria Mindock. This session includes David Blair’s “True Figures,” and there’s always an open mic at the end. Information is here.
Wednesday, Oct. 19
Anand Giridharadas. (Photo: Michael Lionstar)
Anand Giridharadas reads from “The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds and Democracy” at 6 p.m. at the Brattle Theatre. Tickets are $32, which includes a hardcover copy of the book. In exploring the danger America faces when people no longer try to persuade each other, the internationally bestselling author talks with everyone from a leader of Black Lives Matter, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to an ex-cult member turned QAnon deprogrammer. Giridharadas will be in conversation with former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Information is here.
Performance by the Lilly Jazz Project from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cambridge library’s O’Neill Branch, 70 Rindge Ave., North Cambridge. Free. Darr Lilly’s band perform music that speaks to social justice issues such as mental health and mass incarceration through a blend of styles including bossa nova, funk, blues, rock and modern jazz. Information is here.
Witchcrafting at West from 7 to 8:45 p.m. at the Somerville Public Library West Branch, 40 College Ave., near Davis Square. Free. Each Wednesday this month the library offers crafts, snacks and the watching of witchy favorites, this time candle making and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” the updating of the Archie Comics character brought to life by Kiernan Shipka. Information is here.
Thursday, Oct. 20
Halloween Yappy Hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Lamplighter CX, 110 North First St., North Point. Free, but register for this 21-plus event. The brewery teams with Polkadog for an outdoor dog costume contest with snacks for pets and humans. Information is here.
Nour Mobarak’s “Reproductive Logistics” from the “Symbionts” exhibit. (Photo: Stephen Faught)
“Symbionts: Contemporary Artists and the Biosphere” art exhibit opening reception from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the MIT List Visual Arts Center, 20 Ames St., Kendall Square. Free. This exhibition brings together more than a dozen international artists whose work prompts a reexamination of humans’ relationship with the planet. (“Symbionts” are organisms of different species that thrive through interdependency, such as the bee and apple blossom.) Artists and exhibition curators will attend, and light refreshments will be served. Information is here.
Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville (and continuing Friday and Saturday). Tickets are $30. It’s the immortal tale of star-crossed lovers but with one actor selected at random every night to drink for the four hours before showtime, leaving the remaining sober cast to fight their way through the show while incorporating, rectifying, justifying and generally improvising around the drunkenness. Versions of this show have been running since 2010 using various Shakespearean works. Masks are required. Information is here.
Third Thursdays jazz series at 8 p.m. at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Admission is $10. This harmolodic jazz series begun in April by Dave Bryant, a keyboardist and composer who worked with Ornette Coleman, brings in Indian Carnatic vocalist Srinivasan Raghuraman, saxophonist George Garzone of The Fringe, bassist Jacob William and percussionist Jerry Leake. Information is here.
Friday, Oct. 21
Poet Stephanie Burt reads at 7 p.m. at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square. Admission is $10, and registration is required. This year’s “We Are Mermaids” is the latest from a writer that The New York Times called “one of the most influential poetry critics of [her] generation” in 2012. She will be introduced by Christopher Spaide. Information is here.
Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (continued) from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville (and continuing Saturday). Tickets are $30. Masks are required. Information is here.
New England Film Orchestra Halloween Concert at 8 p.m. at First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St., Harvard Square. General admission is $30. Pipe organ, harpsichord and celeste set the tone for music from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” “Casper,” “Maleficent,” “Stranger Things,” “Alien” and much more. Information is here.
The Horszowski Trio.
“War and Peace” concert at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. Free, with donations welcome and registration required. The Horszowski Trio, an ensemble-in-residence, responds to the Russian invasion of Ukraine with Francis Poulenc’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano,” Arvo Pärt’s “Mozart-Adagio for Piano Trio” (1992) and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Trio #2 in e minor, Op.67. Information is here.
“T: An MBTA Musical” from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Ticket pricing is flexible; add $3 for a link to a subway scavenger hunt. There’s new relevancy for this snarky play by John Michael Manship (book) and Melissa Carubia (music and lyrics), in which three 20-somethings whose lives have been derailed by the MBTA’s incompetency discover a secret map that will enable them to overthrow the transit system’s corruption. Songs include “The Shuttle Bus Song (We Can’t Handle It),” “The People on the T” and “The Bro Song.” All aboard, with masks. Information is here.
Saturday, Oct. 22
Head of the Charles from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Charles River south of Harvard Square (and continuing Sunday). Free. This 57-year-old, two-day rowing competition won’t be hard to find, since it involves more than 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of spectators. Follow the crowd and try to get a view of the river races to see what it’s all about. Information is here.
Diwali Festival from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. South Asian-themed performances, activities, food and fun celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Information is here.
Fresh Pond fungi tour from 2 to 4:30 p.m., starting from the Cambridge Public Library Collins Branch, 64 Aberdeen Ave., West Cambridge. Free, but registration is mandatory. Mycologist Lawrence Millman, author of “Fascinating Fungi of New England,” leads a walking tour of Fresh Pond Reservation to learn about its species and their history and role in our ecosystem. Information is here.
Nature in the City Festival from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Magazine Beach Park Nature Center, at the river end of Magazine Street in the Cambridgeport neighborhood. Free. The latest in a series of monthly festivals timed to coincide with the full moon that celebrate the community, connect with the nature of the park and offer meals from a food truck and live music. Nature-based games and activities, art-making and community workshops are suitable for all ages. Information is here.
Somerville Reads After-Hours Costume Party from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Somerville Public Library, 79 Highland Ave., in the Winter Hill neighborhood. Free. All ages are welcome to take part in this event and its costume contest, face painting, selfie stations, indoor cornhole, karaoke, refreshments and more. Information is here.
“Shit-Faced Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” (continued) from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $30. Masks are required. Information is here.
Outdoor movie night at 7 p.m. in Palmer Street, Harvard Square. Free. The title to be screened can’t be divulged for legal reasons, but it sounds a lot like Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), which reviewer Tom Meek called “full of what made movies fun back when ‘Jaws’ and ‘Star Wars’ were igniting the genre.” Bring your own blanket and get chairs and freshly popped popcorn from The Harvard Square Business Association and Harvard Coop. Information is here.
Conspiracy Live! comedy show from 9:30 to 11 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. General admission is $15. Sketch comedy with guests Hannah Breen, standup comic Kevin Turner and musical guest Winkler. Information is here.
Sunday, Oct. 23
The Radcliffe team competes in the 2021 Head of the Charles regatta. (Photo: Tyler Motes)
Head of the Charles (continued) from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Charles River south of Harvard Square). Free. Information is here.
Boston League of Wicked Wrestlers Presents “Blowwloween V: Heelraiser” from 7 to 10 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. General admission is $25. Wrestling and performers of all persuasions in “amazing feats of violence, burlesque, drag and circus spectacle.” Information is here.
Sofar Sounds Concert from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Lamplighter Brewing, 284 Broadway, The Port. Tickets are $24. Expect two or three short sets by performers from all musical genres and sometimes even spoken word, comedy or dance. (The curators try to preserve an element of mystery to make each event feel like … an event.) Information is here.
“Cactus” concert at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $25. A Far Cry, an ensemble-in-residence, explores pieces inspired by the American West and Latin America, including works from Becenti, Ginastera and a string adaptation of the theme from “Once Upon a Time in the West.” Masks are required. Information is here.
Kate Bush drag show at 8 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. General admission is $20 to $40. Full Spin Drag performs a visual album set to “Hounds of Love,” the 1985 album that returned to become the soundtrack of 2022 after playing a key role in the most recent season of “Stranger Things” on Netflix. Performers include Jarvis Hammer of Atlanta; Iodine Quartz, Civilization and Linda Felcher of New York; and Bostonians Violencia!, Georgia Flu, Zad Gravebone, Raquel Surpreeze and Hal Apenyo. Hosted by Majenta With a J. Information is here.
