For a searchable calendar of events with your choice of list or map view, or to submit an event of your own, go to the main calendar.
Thursday, Sept. 17
6 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square.
Exhibition Opening Program for “On Location: Drawing the Outdoors”
Free but register. Celebrating the opening of “On Location: Drawing the Outdoors,” featuring drawings by J. M. W. Turner, John Constable, Gustave Courbet, Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh, exhibition curators will lead a talk about drawing outside the studio.
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Somerville Museum, 1 Westwood Road, in the Spring Hill neighborhood.
Common Ground: Photography, Place and Community Opening Reception
Free but register. This exhibition brings together 15 photographers who call Somerville home, presenting work that ranges from documentary to conceptual and reflects on the city’s evolving identity.
8 p.m.
Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square.
Otis Shanty
$25. The Somerville-based band Otis Shanty blends the experimental noise-folk tendencies of Yo La Tengo, the jangly pop hooks of Real Estate, and the lush atmospheric textures of Cocteau Twins. This show marks the release of their third album “Shadow Of Doubt.”
Friday, Sept. 18
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Somerville Bouldering Project, 12A Tyler St., Ward Two.
Boston Boulderfest
$85. This all-levels climbing competition offers a chance to test your bouldering skills for a cash prize and a chance to move onto final competition in Minnesota. You don’t have to climb to enjoy – there will be a live DJ, local vendors, and food available.
6:30 p.m.
The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square.
Fall Into Dance
Free, but register. “Fall Into Dance” is a preview of Greater Boston’s upcoming dance season, in collaboration with Boston Dance Alliance and ArtsBoston.
7 p.m.
Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square.
Passim presents An Evening with Bettye LaVette
$60. Bettye LaVette, an American soul singer, will perform songs and stories from her 64-year career. LaVette was nominated for a Grammy for her 2016 album, “Worthy” and won a Blues Music Award as the Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year the same year.
Saturday, Sept. 19
Noon
Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square in Ward 2.
Lamplighter CX, 110 N. First St., North Point.
Portico Brewing, 101 South St., Boynton Yards, Ward 2.
Oktoberfest
Free to $40, depending on venue. Don your lederhosen and celebrate the biggest beer holiday of the year with Aeronaut Brewing’s event, Lamplighter CX’s event or Portico Brewing’s event.
1 to 5 p.m.
Union Square Plaza.
What the Fluff? Festival
Free. This year’s theme, “Legally Fluff: A Toast to Union Square,” celebrates the festival’s 21st year. Community members of all ages are invited to join the free festivities honoring the invention of Marshmallow Fluff and the neighborhood’s creative spirit.
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The Rooted Café at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill.
Commonwealth Pen Show
$25, cash only. Vintage and new pens for sale as well inks and paper and a pen-repair station. Show runs through Sunday, Sept. 20.
Sunday, Sept. 20
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square.
Clown Workshop
$200 to $300 and 18-plus. This “Clown Intensive” with Gemma Soldati, a performing and teaching artist, will use everything from physical games and improvisation to explore imagination, pleasure, and audience engagement. All skill levels are welcome.
8 p.m.
Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square.
Esther Rose
$33. Esther Rose is a Nashville-based singer songwriter who released her fifth album, “Want” in May 2025. Emily Hines and Noble Dust join her at the Crystal Ballroom.
Monday, Sept. 21
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Somerville Public Library West Branch, 40 College Ave., near Davis Square.
Until Help Arrives with Somerville Emergency Management
Free but register. September is National Preparedness Month. As part of Somerville’s Year of the Neighbor initiative, neighbors are invited to learn about responding to everyday emergencies with Somerville Emergency Management.
7 p.m.
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge.
Tan, Redwine discuss “Against Tech Oligarchy: Worker Resistance in the World’s Most Powerful Industry”
Free but register. JS Tan, a writer and PhD candidate at MIT, and union organizer Clarissa Redwine discuss their new book focused on the tech worker’s movement against their bosses and the political right. Technologist and author Ben Tarnoff joins.
Tuesday, Sept. 22
Noon to 1 p.m.
Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square.
Exhibition Tour: “The Way We Never Were: The American Professional Photographers Collection”
Free. The exhibition, “The Way We Never Were: The American Professional Photographers Collection” examines the idyllic image of American life post-World War. II. The museum will lead a tour on Sept. 22 and the exhibition is on view through May 9, 2027.
6 p.m.
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square.
Alex Wagner in conversation with Indira Lakshmanan on “The Steal”
$12 to $40. Alex Wagner, host of the podcast “Runaway Country” and senior political analyst at MS NOW, wrote “The Steal: Four Right-Wing Hard-Liners, One Republican Presidency, and the Raid on America’s Courts” to examine the origins of the conservative takeover of the American judiciary. Co-host of NPR and WBUR’s “Here & Now” Indira Lakshmanan joins. Presented by Harvard Book Store.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
7 p.m.
Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge.
Create Habitat to Support Biodiversity Year-Round
Free. Learn how to garden to support pollinators, birds and other species so they can overwinter, reproduce and thrive year-round. This is a hybrid event that is on Zoom and in person, in the Learning Lab.
7:30 p.m.
The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square.
Comedian Kellen Erskine
$29. Kellen Erskine has appeared on “Conan,” Comedy Central’s “Next Up,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” He has two comedy specials with DryBar Comedy, “Negative Comments” and “Composed,” and has garnered over 300 million views across social media.
7 p.m.
Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge.
Cemetery Cinema: “The Straight Story” & “Wings of Desire”
$40. The Coolidge Corner Theater comes to Cambridge to host a graveside double feature of David Lynch’s “The Straight Story” and Wim Wenders’s “Wings of Desire.” Screenings of these films will begin at dusk. Parking will be available at the cemetery, and light concessions will be sold. Chairs, blankets, and snacks are encouraged, but no alcohol.
Thursday, Sept. 24
6 to 8 p.m.
Cambridge Main Library, Rossi Room, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge.
Overdose Prevention Kit Assembly event
Free. In honor of Save a Life Day and Recovery Month and part of the You Can Initiative, which addresses overdose deaths by increasing access to lifesaving skills and resources statewide, volunteers put together overdose prevention kits that they can then take home. Each kit contains naloxone (also known as Narcan), fentanyl test strips and other vital resources.
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge.
Valeria Luiselli reads from “Beginning Middle End”
Free but register. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Valeria Luiselli, recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the winner of two Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, an American Book Award, the Rathbones Folio Prize and the 2021 Dublin Literary Award will read from her latest. Poet Eloisa Amezcua joins.
Friday, Sept. 25
5 to 8 p.m.
Statue Park in Davis Square.
Dolly Parton tribute
Free. Hosted by Evan Greer, this event features the city’s best musicians singing Dolly Parton’s songs with you.
9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Remnant Satellite, 877 Cambridge St., Wellington-Harrington.
Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square.
Cambridge NITES
Free. The Cambridge NITES grant is intended to highlight the success of Cambridge’s nightlife and entertainment industry. At Remnant Satellite, this event highlights the power of women through their SheRocks the Local Scene. At Lilypad, celebrate its 20th anniversary. Continues on Saturday, Sept. 26.
Saturday, Sept. 26
2 p.m.
Dana Park, 70 Magazine St., Cambridgeport.
Cambridge 2026 Cat Tour & Meowfest
Free. Hosted by Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and co-produced by Rayna Jhaveri, this is a walking tour of the city’s porch greeters, the professional loafers, the one who lets everybody pet them and the one who never has. Cosponsored by the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association and the Cambridge Peace Commission as part of Meet Your Neighbor Month this September.
6 to 8 p.m.
Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge.
Rencontres Poétiques: Poetic Encounters Concert Series
$15 to $20. This poetry-focused international concert series was created by composer and former Mount Auburn Artist-in-Residence Mary Bichner and Christina Goh . The series features musical settings composed by Bichner and Goh for classic poems in both French and English; inspired by the works of Phillis Wheatley, Ovid, Edgar Allan Poe, Benjamin Franklin, Emily Dickinson and more.
Sunday, Sept. 27
1 to 4 p.m.
Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St., in the Baldwin neighborhood near Harvard Square.
¡Celebremos Puerto Rico!
Free. Jorge Arce & Humano deliver bomba and plena music to get you dancing. Expert carver Carlos Santiago introduces you to traditional carvings of saints. Explore a variety of activities, including listening to coqui calls, learning about the island’s native birds and making simple crafts to take home. Test your skills preparing cassava and dive into the history of coffee production. Enjoy delicious Puerto Rican food, available for purchase.
5 to 7 p.m.
Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square.
“Your Voice is Your Vote” workshop
Free but RSVP. Porter Square Books’ September Be the Change event is a “Your Voice is Your Vote” workshop led by The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. This is an interactive workshop meant to help attendees gain a deeper understanding of their ballot. Attendees will get a chance to learn about what offices are on the ballot, how to utilize Vote411.org to make a voting plan and compare candidates.
Monday, Sept. 28
8 p.m.
Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square.
almost olive performs
$30. The alternative folk duo, fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Jacqui Armbruster and multi-style cellist Karl Henry, debut their EP, “almost album” which is out now.
10:30 p.m. to midnight
Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave.
Midnight Release Party: “Threshing Day”
$27, includes admission and book. This special midnight release party event is for “Threshing Day,” the next book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series, containing 13 stories. Enjoy Empyrean-themed activities, including photo opportunities, a costume contest, and more. Come dressed as your favorite character.
Tuesday, Sept. 29
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Cambridge Public Library’s Central Square Branch, 45 Pearl St.
Polyam Education Discussion with The Queer Neighborhood Council
Register. Facilitated by The Queer Neighborhood Council, Poly Talk is an intimate discussion dedicated to the complexities of polyamory and consensual non-monogamy through the queer lens.
7 p.m.
First Parish Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church St./1446 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square.
Jill Lepore on “The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State”
$39, includes book. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jill Lepore discusses AI and its effect on global democracy. MIT Technology Review journalist James O’Donnell joins.
Wednesday, Sept. 30
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Kendall Square.
Museum Exhibit: Crochet Coral Reef
$10 to $20. Centered on the work of Margaret and Christine Wertheim and the Institute For Figuring, the Crochet Coral Reef exhibition presents hand-crocheted explorations of the complex geometries hidden within nature’s most delicate sea creatures. Exhibit runs through Feb. 14, 2027.
6 p.m.
Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square.
Anthony Scaramucci at The Brattle Theatre
$13, $40 with book. Anthony Scaramucci, host of the podcast “The Rest Is Politics: US,” discusses his new book, “All the Wrong Moves: How Three Catastrophic Decisions Led to the Rise of Trump.” Harvard University’s Kenneth Rogoff joins.
Thursday, Oct. 1
7:30 p.m.
The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Harvard Square.
Comedian Hassan Phills
$29. One of Canada’s fastest rising comedians, he has made appearances on the original series “The Office Movers,” “Just For Laughs” and at the Moontower Comedy Festival.
8 p.m.
Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge.
Lift Every Voice Play Festival
$35. Lift Every Voice amplifies the work of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) playwrights, poets, and spoken word artists through staged readings and performances. This year’s features six new works by emerging and established playwrights: “Sibling Rivalry” by Jamie Lin; “Love & Hair” by Ciera-Sadé Wade; “Conditions of Readiness” by Hortense Gerardo; “In the Aftermath” by Michelle M. Aguillon; “Peace Plan” by Shay McQueenie; and “Sunflowers and George” by Kori Alston. Runs through Friday, Oct. 2.
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