Sunday, Oct. 23

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.

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.

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Monday, Oct. 24

Fresh Pond nature walk from 10:15 to 11 a.m. Free. Meet in the courtyard of the Cambridge Public Library Collins Branch, 64 Aberdeen Ave., West Cambridge, from which park ranger Tim Puopolo walks and talks about what’s growing, changing and blooming in the neighborhood. Information is here.

Margaret Sullivan reads from “Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. Sullivan, the longest-serving public editor of The New York Times before leaving for The Washington Post, goes behind the scenes of the nation’s most influential news outlets to explore how Americans lost trust in the news and what it will take to regain it. She’ll be in conversation with Joan Donovan of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Well-fitting masks are required. Information is here.

“Harry Potter and the Sacred Text” podcast live at 8 p.m. at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. Tickets are $30. Podcast hosts Vanessa Zoltan and Matt Potts examine the Harry Potter books as if they were sacred “to unearth the hidden gifts within even the most mundane sentences.” Proof of vaccination is required and masking is encouraged. Information is here.

Ensemble Uncaged, or “The Ensemble Who Played Everything” at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. Free, though donations are welcomed. Music by Alex Temple, Wolfgang Fortner, Beth Wiemann, Alvin Singleton, Morton Feldman, Alex Burtzos and others. Information is here.

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Tuesday, Oct. 25

The Emerald Tutu: A New Method to Protect Urban Coastlines from Flooding from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free, but registration is required. Coastal engineering and hydrodynamics scientist Julia Hopkins and architect Gabriel Cira present their project for a new type of nature-based coastal infrastructure for flood protection – an interconnected biomass-based network of floating mini-islands that uses living plant ecosystems to buffer shorelines from incoming waves and influxes of storm surge. The work is being done in a garage in Cambridge. Information is here.

The Moth Story Slam from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Tickets are $15. This open-mic storytelling competition on the fourth Tuesday of each month is open to anyone who can share a five-minute story on the night’s theme – this time, “costumes,” about “playing the part. Holidays, parties or the school play. Stories of wearing the clothes to conform or stand out. Imposter syndrome or uniforms that itch. From ComiCon to Mardi Gras – Santa Clause to Spock, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to Sexy Zombie Cat. Reveal yourself!” Information is here.

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Wednesday, Oct. 26

Bird watching walk from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. Free, but registration is required. Learn about the urban outdoors and its birds and get birdwatching tips, including how to identify an unfamiliar species. A limited supply of binoculars will be available. The event meets in the courtyard of the Cambridge Public Library Collins Branch, 64 Aberdeen Ave., West Cambridge. Information is here.

Tarot card and pendulum readings over burgers from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at R.F. O’Sullivan & Son, 282 Beacon St., Somerville. The revived restaurant brings in Veronica Keddy, a Somerville self-proclaimed green witch and fortuneteller, to try to tell what’s in the cards. Draw a single card to see if things start looking up this year or let the sway of the pendulum give clarity to a looming question for $20; get personal over a 20-minute session for $35.

Poets Suzanne Frischkorn, Susan Rich, Soren Stockman and Jon Woodward read at 7 p.m. at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square. Admission is $10, and registration is required. A night of poetry introduced by January Gill O’Neil. Masks are required to be worn. Information is here.

GennaRose Nethercott reads from “Thistlefoot” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square. Free. Nethercott brings Eastern European folklore to a modern fairy tale that owes a debt to Neil Gaiman and has Lemony Snickett enthusing, “I have never found use for the word ’rollicking’ until I dove into ’Thistlefoot.’ This is a genuinely rollicking adventure.” Masks are required. 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 making a rideable broom and “The Craft,” the 1996 film starring the coven of Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True. Information is here.

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Thursday, Oct. 27

Somerville Truck or Treat from 5 to 7 p.m. at Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Ave., in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville. Costumes are encouraged at a family-friendly event with safe trick-or-treating, a visit from a decorated City of Somerville truck, refreshments and more. Information is here.

Harvard Art Museums at Night from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Free, but reserving a visit is suggested. Celebrate Halloween by coming dressed in macabre red and enjoy fright-themed activities for a chance to win a prize. Browse the galleries, mingle in the Calderwood Courtyard, and enjoy the sounds of DJ C-Zone. There’s food and drink available for purchase. Information is here.

“Here Lies Darby Vassall: Rendering the obscured and concealed history of slavery at Christ Church Cambridge” discussion from 6 to 7 p.m. at Longfellow House and the Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle St., West Cambridge. Free. Artist Nicole Piepenbrink talks about her installation examining the perceived invisibility of slavery in New England through the lens of Christ Church, the final resting place of former enslaved person and abolitionist Darby Vassall. Information is here.

Stacy Schiff reads from “The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams” at 6 p.m. at the Brattle Theatre. Tickets are $37.25, which includes a hardcover copy of the book, or $6 for admission only. The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer returns Adams to prominence, introducing us to the shrewd, eloquent and disciplined man who rallied the American Revolution into being after an aimless upbringing in a well-off family. Schiff will be in conversation with historian and author Catherine Grace Katz. Information is here.

Poets David Blair, Daisy Fried, Irina Mashinski and Dennis Nurske with an introduction by Adam Judah Krasnoff read at 7 p.m. at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square. Admission is $10, and registration is required. The authors will be introduced by Adam Judah Krasnoff. Information is here.

New music by Longy composers at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. Free, though donations are welcomed. All works on the program are world premieres – never-before-heard music composed and completed this year, written by and performed by Longy artists Arson Fahim, Christina J. George, Jiashu He, Cyrus Heidary, Zhining Hu, Innocent Okechukwu, Emzie Roberts (aka Sink Pool), Ben Russman, Jaeyoon Shim and Hsiu-Ping (Patrick) Wu. Information is here.

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Friday, Oct. 28

Greg Melville reads from “Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. Cemeteries have given birth to landscaping methods, influenced architectural styles and inspired poets and authors. Melville considers their history and future at a time our practices around death are being questioned and changing. He will be in conversation with Matthew Stephens, president of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Well-fitting masks are required. Information is here.

Vapors of Morphine at 7 p.m. at The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood between Harvard and Porter squares. Tickets are $20 in advance for this 21-plus show; the late show has already sold out, and so has the $25 tier for this show. The band’s use of electric baritone sax, drums and two-string slide bass is reminiscent of the great Cambridge band Morphine for the best of reasons: It’s led by Morphine’s Dana Colley. Muddy Ruckus opens. Information is here.

“Before, During and After” dance at 8 p.m. at The Dance Complex@Canal, 650 E. Kendall St., Kendall Square (and continuing through Sunday). General admission is $25. Tony Rizzi and the Bad Habits give an unconventional lecture-performance about the Ballet Frankfurt and its legendary director, William Forsythe – who once said, “I have a company of comedians who can dance really well.” Information is here.

Devilish Disco from 8 p.m. to midnight at Lamplighter CX, 110 North First St., North Point. Tickets are $10 for this 21-plus event. Jackson DJs disco from 1970s giants Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, ABBA and more for dancers dressed for the era or for Halloween. (Not into the 1970s? The 1980s arrive Saturday in a listing below.) Information is here.

ComedyxHorror from 9:30 to 11 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville . Admission is $25 for this 21-plus event. Caroline Moore, Josh Mandl, Ms. Adventure, Meredith Brandt and others perform in a night of laughs and gore hosted by Deby Xiadani. Masks are required. Information is here.

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Saturday, Oct. 29

Day of the Dead Family Fiesta from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, 11 Divinity Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood near Harvard Square. Admission to the museum is $15 for adults, or $10 for kids. There are three floors of activities including crafts, scent stations, traditional decorations, Nahuatl stories, decorating a sugar skull (for an extra $7), painting demonstrations, folk dances and live music. Outside the museum, visitors can buy Mexican hot chocolate and other sweet or savory foods. Information is here.

Exhibition reception for horror artist Eliezer Velez from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Free. Horror movie and comic themes splatter the work of “Eli the Art Guy,” who says he aims for “a kind of beauty that is simultaneously romantic, alluring, powerful and playful.” Information is here.

Once Presents the Halloween Cover Extravaganza at 7 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Tickets are $18.03 for this all-ages event. dance to A Lad Insane (as David Bowie), Staring At The Sea (as The Cure), Grechen and the Banshees (as Siouxsie and the Banshees) and Bikini Whale (as The B-52’s). There’s a costume contest to show off 1980s styles or Halloween costumes and a photo booth to capture the look. (Not into the 1980s? The 1970s have their night Friday, in a listing above.) Information is here.

Pumpkin Spice burlesque and drag at 8 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. General admission is $14. The Slaughterhouse Society presents a Halloween-themed revue with custom cocktails and mocktails, a costume content with a $200 prize, drag by Throb Zombie, Jarvis Hammer, Complete Destruction, Sherman, Whorey Feldman, Hal Apenyo and Celia Smokinbutts and burlesque by Kimmy Moore, Reina Gold, Mary Widow, Dahlia Strack, Jolie Lavie, Jane Doe, Pinky Mink. Information is here.

“Before, During and After” dance (continuing) at 8 p.m. at The Dance Complex@Canal, 650 E. Kendall St., Kendall Square (and continuing through Sunday). General admission is $25. Information is here.

Fly Together dance showcase from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Admission is $30 for this 21-plus event. Pole dance, burlesque, twerking and other performance styles are combined in a revue by staff and students of the Somerville dance school. Information is here.

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Sunday, Oct. 30

SomerStreets: Monster Mash from 2 to 6 p.m. on Somerville Avenue from Union Square to Park Street. Free. A fun, themed take on the international Open Streets concept, which closes busy city streets to vehicles and opens them up for cycling, walking, dancing, running and other activities. Activities include dancing to live music, a costumed parade led by the School of Honk, street performers doing magic and acrobatics, pumpkin carving, games and more. Information is here.

“Before, During and After” dance (continuing) at 7 p.m. at The Dance Complex@Canal, 650 E. Kendall St., Kendall Square. General admission is $25. Information is here.

Wizard Fest interactive fantasy-themed party at 7 p.m. at The Middle East Downstairs, 480 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $15. This all-ages event features wizard-themed drinks, a costume contest, trivia and games as well as DJ’d dancing. Information is here.

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This post was updated Oct. 24, 2022, to remove an item delayed by illness.