Monday
Ice cream social from noon to 4 p.m. at The Garment District, 200 Broadway, The Port near Kendall Square. Free. The used clothing emporium offers tastings of dairy and vegan ice cream from FoMu and Christina’s. Information is here.
Chamber Music of Brahms and Muczynski from 7 to 9 p.m. at Killian Hall in the Hayden Library Building at 160 Memorial Drive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Free. Four works ranging from 1891 to 1984 are undertaken by Blake McGee on clarinet, Chi-Chen Wu on piano and Sam Ou on cello. Information is here.
Tuesday
Mushroom identification walk from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. General admission is $12. Former president of the Boston Mycological Club Ron Trial leads a walk based around identifying and collecting mushrooms – participants should bring a small collecting basket and a pocket knife. Information is here.
Love Embraces All hip-hop dance talk and demonstration from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Hip-hop dancer, choreographer and teacher Amirah Sackett (in residence at The Dance Complex) discusses her work combating Islamophobia and her love of hip-hop culture and, of course, shares some moves. Information is here.
Wednesday
Central Square BID Launch Party from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Green Street Garage, 260 Green St., Central Square. (Delayed from last Thursday.) Free. The square’s business improvement district gets a formal rollout, with music, the unveiling of a mural by Silvia López Chavez and more. Information is here.
A Provocation: Poetry by Joyelle McSweeney, Urayoán Noel and Ronaldo V. Wilson from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Lamont Library, 11 Quincy St. in Harvard Yard, Harvard Square. Free. Works from three dynamic and provocative poets: McSweeney (author of “Toxicon”), Noel (author of “Buzzing Hemisphere/Rumor Hemisférico”) and Wilson (author of “Farther Traveler”). Information is here.
GennaRose Nethercott 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. Itinerant Vermonter and wielder of a 1952 Hermes Rocket typewriter, former writer-in-residence at the Shakespeare & Company bookstore, Art Farm Nebraska and The Vermont Studio Center and author of “The Lumberjack’s Dove” (selected by Louise Glück as a winner of the National Poetry Series for 2017) features after two hours of open mic starting at 8 p.m. Information is here.
Singer-Songwriter Night XXIII from 8:30 to 11:35 p.m. at ZuZu, 474 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. Admission is $7 for this 21-plus show. Four local acts perform 35-minute sets, this time including Liam Anastasia-Murphy, Meaghan Collins, leisure (featuring Collins) and Callum MacKenzie and Jack Byrne. Information is here.
Thursday
Gail Collins talks about “No Stopping Us Now: The Adventures of Older Women in American History” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Admission is $34.59 with a copy of the book, or $7.29 without. The first of two Harvard Book Store event of the evening features the New York Times columnist’s lively social history of American women and aging. Information is here.
Pico Iyer talks about “A Beginner’s Guide to Japan” and “Autumn Light” from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. The author and travel writer, who splits his time between California and Nara, Japan, has two new works about his sometime home, one a playful and profound guidebook full of surprising, brief, incisive glimpses into Japanese culture, the other focused through aging, loss and grieving. Information is here.
Mozart, Bartok and Brahms from 7 to 9 p.m. (and repeating Sunday) at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Tickets are $25 to $100. The Boston Philharmonic and conductor Benjamin Zander find good excuses to bring “revelatory” Persian-Italian pianist Alessandro Deljavan to town: Mozart’s “Overture to The Magic Flute”; Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2; and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. Information is here.
“Mamma Mia!” from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (and repeating Friday and Saturday) at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $10 (with fees, $12). The music of pop group Abba in the crazily popular theater experience about a wedding or something. Information is here.
“The Lighthouse” screening at 8 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Free, but download a first-come, first-served ticket here. The theater and Independent Film Festival Boston screen Robert Eggers’ hotly anticipated followup to the arthouse horror hit “The Witch,” which beguiled onlookers back in 2015. The film stars Robert Patterson and Willem Dafoe as keepers of the flame in the late 1890s. As one can guess, given Eggers’ earlier work, weirdness ensues. The director will be on hand. Information is here.
GoreFest XVII: “Maul of America” from 8 to 9:15 p.m. at ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect St., Central Square. General admission is $25 (or, with ponchos that are also $5 at the door, $29). A new original Halloween musical with plenty of spurting blood, a local tradition that plays through Oct. 31. Information is here.
“Fun Home” from 7:30 to 9 p.m. (and repeating Friday, Saturday and Sunday) at the Agassiz Theater at Agassiz House, 5 James St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel, set at the family funeral home (the “fun home” of the title) and exploring the impact of her late father’s sexual secrets, comes to the stage with script and songs by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori. It’s directed at Harvard by Angel Hoyang and Nick Fahy. Information is here.
“Mamma Mia!” from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (and repeating Friday and Saturday) at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $10 (with fees, $12). Information is here.
Friday
Party Under the Harvest Moon from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Building 50, also known as Morss Hall, at 142 Memorial Drive. Tickets are $75. This annual fundraiser for Food For Free features live music and a silent auction, but the main draw (aside from the good cause) is the beer, wine, nibbles and desserts from Bandit Wines, Bisq, Buenas, Cambridge Brewing, the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, Dave’s Fresh Pasta, Effie’s Homemade, Harvard University Dining Services, Henrietta’s Table, iCater, La Brasa, Mainely Burgers, The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub, Nubar, Q’s Nuts, Russell House Tavern, Something Savory Catering, Spindler Confections,Trina’s Starlight Lounge and Viale. Information is here.
Cirque of the Dead from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (repeating Saturday and with performances through Oct. 31) at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $30 to $55 to this 18-plus experience. This freaky, immersive circus show offers guests a lot to explore (and, with the nerd-nostalgia band Minusworld, to dance to). Come dressed for Halloween. Information is here.
BUFF-o-Ween films at various times through Sunday at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square. Tickets to individual movies are $11. The Boston Underground Film Festival’s four-day creepshow includes classic cult Velveeta such as “Tammy and the T-Rex” (1994) starring a very young Denise Richards and Paul Walker (“The Fast and Furious”). There are also newly minted chillers such as “Daniel Isn’t Real,” in which an imaginary childhood friend is summoned forth years later in the wake of a tragedy and “The Golden Glove,” about a serial killer roaming the streets of Hamburg, Germany, in the early 1970s. Information is here and here.
Routes & Roots dance from 8 to 9 p.m. (and repeating Saturday and Sunday) at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $29.21. Dancers and choreographers from throughout New England consider the geographic and creative journey of the artist, and how their own roots contribute to their paths, spiritual and otherwise. Artists include Amirah Sackett, Jean Appolon, Aysha Upchurch, Michael Winward and Soumaya MaRose in rotating repertory. Information is here.
Poets’ Theatre Benefit for The Lunar Calendar from 8 to 10 p.m. at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. There is a suggested donation of $10. Sarah Fuhro, Beatrice Greene, Dori Hale, Elizabeth McKim, Diana Rowan and Cathy Weaver Taylor read poetry for the Lunar Press, followed by an open mic. Information is here.
The Kerfuffle: “A Dark and Stormy Night” from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $14.36. A variety show “for all things absurd, hilarious, poignant, perilous, stupid, unpredictable, filthy and brilliant” has a bunch of sketches planned, with titles such as “A Tale of Woe and Intrigue and Mystery and Knives Going Where They Shouldn’t,” “Forrest Hump” and “Hot Girl Midsommar.” Information is here.
“Fun Home” from 7:30 to 9 p.m. (and repeating Saturday and Sunday) at the Agassiz Theater at Agassiz House, 5 James St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. Information is here.
“Mamma Mia!” from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (and repeating Saturday) at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $10 (with fees, $12). Information is here.
Saturday
Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (and continuing Sunday) at Lesley University’s second floor University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Free. The 10th annual all-ages showcase for artists and writers of comics, with an exhibition area; panel discussions; and workshops with techniques, tips and tricks for all skill levels. Special guests include Jaime Hernandez (of “Love and Rockets” fame), Diane Noomin (of “Twisted Sisters” anthologies fame), Ronald Wimberly, Ellen Crenshaw and Colleen A.F. Venable and locals Kurt Ankeny, Cathy G. Johnson and Erica Henderson. Information is here.
Tales of Audio Horror at 3:30 p.m. at Sonia, 10 Brookline St., Central Square. Tickets are $15 for this event with stories intended for mature audiences. A spooky podcast experience – associated with Sunday’s PodTales conference – from the makers of “White Vault” and “Liberty: Tales from the Tower.” Information is here.
Local Craft Spirits Festival from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Landsdowne Quad, 38 Sidney St., University Park near Central Square. General admission is $50. The Sustainable Business Network’s fourth annual chance to sample New England craft gins, vodkas, rums, bourbons, whiskeys, beers and more. (Food dishes sell for $7 or less.) Information is here.
19th Annual Comicazi Halloweeniversary Party from 6 p.m. to midnight at the George Dilboy VFW Post 529, 371 Summer St., Davis Square, Somerville. Free. There’s a costume contest, music and dancing, food and drinks, raffle and prizes and giveaways for all ages. Information is here.
“Mamma Mia!” from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Loeb Mainstage, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $10 (with fees, $12). Information is here.
Cirque of the Dead from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (and with six more performances through Oct. 31 starting next week) at Oberon, 2 Arrow St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $30 to $55 to this 18-plus experience. Information is here.
“Fun Home” from 7:30 to 9 p.m. (and repeating Saturday and Sunday) at the Agassiz Theater at Agassiz House, 5 James St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. Information is here.
Routes & Roots dance from 8 to 9 p.m. (and repeating Sunday) at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $29.21. Information is here.
Sunday
PodTales from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Lesley University’s Lunder Arts Center, 1801 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Free. An inaugural festival of audio drama and fiction podcasting, held in conjunction with the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo with guests famous and otherwise, workshops and panel discussions, and kid-friendly activities. Information is here.
African American Legacies from 1 to 2:30 a.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. General admission is $12. Docent Rosemarie Smurzynski explores the cemetery’s residents, black and white, who resisted slavery, including Ruffin family members, Maria White Lowell and Harriet Jacobs family members. Information is here.
SomerStreets: Monster Mashed Up 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 giant chainsaw pumpkin carving with Artisan’s Asylum and a “Ghosts of Somerville” tour of Milk Row Cemetery. Information is here.
“It Started as a Joke” screening from 7 to 8:15 p.m. The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. General admission is $12. This feature documentary chronicles the decade-long run of the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (versions of which The Brattle hosted) and features Mirman himself and stars such as Michael Ian Black, Kristen Schaal, Wyatt Cenac, Ira Glass, John Hodgman, Kumail Nanjiani, Reggie Watts, Michael Showalter, Janeane Garofalo, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Glaser, Mike Birbiglia and Bobcat Goldthwait, though it’d be too much to expect a lot of these people to be the special guests expected as this screening for the soft opening of The Film and … Festival (launching officially in 2020). Maybe Mirman and directors Julie Smith Clem and Ken Druckerman? Information is here.
“Pick a Side, Stupid!” live comedy debate podcast from 8 to 10 p.m. at The Comedy Studio, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville. Tickets are $11.30. Host Shawn Carter’s long-running show, featuring local standup comedians engaging in lively but cerebral debate totally worthy of NPR, gets “spooky Halloween” as topic of the week. Information is here.
Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lesley University’s second floor University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Free. Information is here.
Mozart, Bartok and Brahms from 3 to 5 p.m. at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Tickets are $30 to $115. Information is here.
Routes & Roots dance from 7 to 8 p.m. (and repeating Sunday) at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. General admission is $29.21. Information is here.
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