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A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, from a bike tour of art to Nice, a Fest, and jazz – Cambridge Day

A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, from a bike tour of art to Nice, a Fest, and jazz - Cambridge Day

Monday

Patio Project: Light & Shadow from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Cambridge Library Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge St., Wellington-Harrington. Free. The plan is to harness the power of the sun to create art, making sun prints and shadow boxes. Information is here. 

Ellie’s One-Woman Wine-Tasting performance from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Bonde, 54 Church St., Harvard Square. Admission is $100. As Ellie Brelis performs her “Driver’s Seat,” sommelier Bertil Jean-Chronberg serves four wines to accompany the action – a fundraiser to get Brelis’ show to Los Angeles in the fall and to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year. For her true story of a mid-pandemic mental health crisis and coming out, directed by Kymberly Harris, the blurb is: “Didn’t think mental illness was funny? Think again.” Information is here.


Tuesday

Naomi Westwater. (Photo: Olivia Moon)

Danehy Park Concert Series from 6 to 8 p.m. at Danehy Park, 99 Sherman St., in Neighborhood 9 just east of Fresh Pond. Free. The performer is Naomi Westwater, whose work “weaves in and out of folk music, flirting with rock and jazz.” Information is here.

Free Bike Tour of Public Art from 6:30 to 8 p.m., starting and ending at the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza at 237 Franklin St., just outside the Central Square branch library. Free, but registration is requested. A roughly 3.5-mile ride with stops to see and talk about art and meet some creators, including poet Benjamin Tolkin and artists William Reimann and David Fichter. Refreshments will be served at the end. 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, “time” itself. (“It passes like molasses or flies like a jet. Mark an era, tell us about a phase. Stuck in the ’80s, chronically late, ahead of the trend or pressing the snooze alarm on your biological clock. Tell of time bombs and time zones, perfect timing or The Time Warp.”) Masks are required for entry and must be worn when not seated. Information is here.

Now Listen Here! A Night of Live True Stories from 7 to 9 p.m. at Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Central Square. Free. A mix of curated stories from award-winning tellers and community members with some open-mic opportunities, with names pulled throughout the event. (Organizers’ advice: Stories should be told within five or so minutes without notes; have a beginning, middle and solid ending; and some serious stakes.) Information is here.


Wednesday

Poets Christie Towers and Aly Pierce read at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square. Free. Here selections from debut collections: “And Again I Heard the Stars” by Towers, of Somerville, who’s also got an ear cocked to the medieval prophet Hildegard; and “The Visible Planets” by Pierce, of Beverly, an “exploration of universal joy and the mourning of a lost sister.” Information is here.

Screen on the Green showing of “Raya and The Last Dragon” from 7:15 to 9:30 p.m. at Greene-Rose Heritage Park, 155 Harvard St., The Port. Free. This city-sponsored event travels from park to park over the summer showing popular films – in this case, a Disney tale from 2021 with voice acting by Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina. Reviewer Allyson Johnson gave it three out of four stars, saying “It’s a feast for the eyes and, especially in its third act, a true fantasy that sweeps us up alongside its heroine, creating an emotive and immersive story.” Information is here.

Hubbub Comedy from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at Lamplighter CX, 110 North First St., North Point. Tickets are $12.60 (with a $2.40 fee) online or $20 at the door for this 21-plus show. Comics Zenobia Del Mar, Isabel Johnson and Kevin Turner (with DJ Chill Nye) perform, with some time given to riffing onstage from questions asked by customers at the door. Information is here. 


Thursday

A Harvard Art Museums at Night event. (Photo: Harvard Art Museums)

Harvard Art Museums at Night from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Free. Celebrate the launch of the book “Madame de Pompadour: Painted Pink” at an evening with pink-themed activities (including giveaways to those wearing their best pink outfit) and pink-inspired food and drink available for purchase. DJ C-Zone supplies the soundtrack for wandering the galleries, mingling in the Calderwood Courtyard, chatting over a snack or drink and browsing the shop. Information is here. 

Lauren Aguirre reads from “The Memory Thief and the Secrets Behind How We Remember” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square. Free. Researchers believe that a treatment for Alzheimer’s is within reach, and science journalist Aguirre – in conversation with author Pagan Kennedy – explains the connection with a rare and devastating amnesia doctors first identified in a cluster of fentanyl overdose survivors. Information is here.

Nice, a Fest, from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square (and continuing through Sunday). Tickets start at $20. This music festival is now four days and indoors, with 49 bands, a local vendor market and midnight screenings of “Wayne’s World.” Information is here.

SomerMovieFest presents “Encanto” at 8:40 p.m. at Lincoln Park at the Albert F. Argenziano School, 290 Washington St., Ward Two, Somerville. Free. A simultaneous screening in North Point is sold out, but fortunately that’s not the only place for an open-air screening of last year’s Disney film about a Colombian teen frustrated by being the only member of her family without magical powers. It may be best known as the source of the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” Information is here.


Friday

Maneka performs Friday at Nice, a Fest. (Photo: Maneka via Facebook)

Nice, a Fest continues, from 5:45 p.m. to midnight at the Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square and The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville (and continuing through Sunday). Tickets start at $24. On day two of four, this music festival continues to roll out its 49 bands at two venues, host a local vendor market and hold midnight screenings of “Wayne’s World.” Information is here. 

One Voice: A Summer Celebration with the Harvard Summer Chorus and Cambridge Common Voices from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at the Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Free. The choirs perform repertoire from across the centuries under conductor Andrew Clark. Information is here.

Lady Gaga Little Monsters Ball from 8 p.m. to midnight at Lamplighter CX, 110 North First St., North Point. Tickets are $10 for this 21-plus party. Come to listen and dance to Lady Gaga while dressed like her (and maybe win a prize for it) and commemorate the moment in the event’s photo booth. Information is here. 

Kelly Buchanan and The Dimestore Dolls open for Lonely Leesa and the Lost Cowboys at 7 p.m. at The Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Lonely Leesa and The Lost Cowboys mix Fleetwood Mac, Lucinda Williams and Big Star with a touch of old Rolling Stones, but it’s the return of Bostonian riot grrrl Buchanan that’s the draw here. In 2005 she released “Bastard Daughter” and got critical praise, an opening slot touring with Mike Doughty and was heard on MTV, A&E and The CW – but in 2008, on the cusp of releasing her next album, suffered a traumatic brain injury playing street hockey in New York. She’s had to relearn how to walk, speak, sing and play instruments, but with the Pennsylvania-based Dimestore Dolls she’s finally making an exuberant return to music. Information is here.


Saturday

Zahili Zamora performs Saturday at the Seventh Annual Cambridge Jazz Festival. (Photo: Zahili Zamora via Facebook)

Seventh Annual Cambridge Jazz Festival from noon to 6 p.m. at Danehy Park, 99 Sherman St., in Neighborhood 9 just east of Fresh Pond (and continuing Sunday). Free, though there are guaranteed seats for $20 (and a $2.85 fee). Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend the festival and see headliner Eguie Castrillo and his orchestra, as well as Anna Borges and Bill Ward; Zahili Gonzalez Zamora; and David Rivera y la Bambula. The weekend includes a jazz museum, music therapy, an interactive pop-up exhibit around the science of sound from the MIT Museum, the presentation of a college scholarship and the Cambridge Jazz Foundation’s Cammy Awards. There will be food trucks, a kids’ area with face painting and a market where jazz fans can shop the works of local artists, crafters and other vendors. Information is here.

Nice, a Fest continues, from 1 p.m. to midnight at the Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square and The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville (and continuing through Sunday). Tickets start at $28. On day three of four this music festival gets serious, rolling out 28 of its 49 bands, hosting a local vendor market and holding a final midnight screening of “Wayne’s World.” Information is here.

Festival of Us, You, We & Them artist and student dance concert from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Central Square. Free. A five-act showcase with Laura Sánchez Flamenco, SambaViva, Johara Boston and Snake Dance Theater, and Les Enfants du Soleil African Dance Theater serves as the centerpiece for a festival celebrating art and movement with free performances, classes and conversation. Information is here.


Sunday

An exhibit on Anneliese Hager and her camera-less photography ends this month at the Harvard Art Museums. (Photo: Harvard Art Museums)

Exhibition tour of “White Shadows: Anneliese Hager and the Camera-less Photograph” from noon to 1 p.m. at the Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., near Harvard Square. Free, but space must be reserved starting at 10 a.m. Curators give an in-depth tour of an exhibition devoted to Hager, a master of photography without a camera and noted European surrealist – on the exhibition’s final day. Information is here.

Seventh Annual Cambridge Jazz Festival continues from noon to 6 p.m. at Danehy Park, 99 Sherman St., in Neighborhood 9 just east of Fresh Pond (and continuing Sunday). Free, though there are guaranteed seats for $20 (and a $2.85 fee). Up to 10,000 people are expected to attend the festival and see headliner Chelsey Green and The Green Project, as well as the Ron Savage Trio with Bill Pierce and Bobby Broom; Gabrielle Goodman celebrating Aretha Franklin; El Eco with Guillermo Nojechowicz; and Zeke Martin and Oracle. The weekend includes a jazz museum, music therapy, an interactive pop-up exhibit around the science of sound from the MIT Museum, the presentation of a college scholarship and the Cambridge Jazz Foundation’s Cammy Awards. There will be food trucks, a kids’ area with face painting and a market where jazz fans can shop the works of local artists, crafters and other vendors. Information is here.

Donut Villa Diner day party from 2 to 8 p.m. at 20 Prospect St., Central Square. Tickets are $10, but entry is free before 3 p.m. The diner – which specializes in doughnuts and food served on them – hosts a weekly party with music from DJ Huski, Dj FranQ and guest DJs. Information is here.

Nice, a Fest continues, from 7 to 10 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets start at $15. This “afterparty” has the final four of 49 bands: Black Beach, Anna Fox Rochinski, Doll Spirit Vessel and Gut Health. Information is here.