A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville: Bob Moses MathTrail, ‘Emotive Land’ and more

Sunday, Sept. 25

“Yellow Bird Chase” from 1 to 3 p.m. at Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Central Square. Free. Making up for a performance canceled during the extreme heat of July, the Liars & Believers troupe brings back the tale of a clownish maintenance crew finding a magical bird. The discovery leads to a mad chase over land and sea and through the air in battles with pirates and monsters in this imaginative, family-friendly theater piece. Information is here.

Kardemimmit plays at 7 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $20. Music lovers looking for something new can still enjoy the sound of four Finnish sisters touring behind their sixth album, “Sister, Do You Recall?” They specialize in the kantele, a stringed box like the zither that’s their national instrument but has been little adopted in the United States, and feature a reki-singing style with a foundation in Finnish, Eastern European and Scandinavian tradition. Patrons and staff must wear masks at Passim unless actively eating or drinking.Information is here.

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Monday, Sept. 26

“Dance of Arrival” performance from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. Admission is $15, with sales ending Monday. Dancer and choreographer Liz Walker guides visitors to historic graves speaking to the theme of motherhood, performing with violinist Beth Bahia Cohen in response to each site. For the second half of the event, guests sit in Asa Gray Garden for a meditative ballet to Beethoven’s “Spring” sonata. Walker, now a new mother, choreographed and performed the same ballet at Mount Auburn during her third trimester of pregnancy. Information is here.

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Tuesday, Sept. 27

Margaret A. Burnham reads from “By Hands Now Known: Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners” at 6 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $32, which includes a hardcover copy of the book, or $6 for admission only. Civil-rights lawyer, defense attorney, judge and Northeastern University educator Burnham presents her findings from a database of more than 1,000 cases of racial violence from 1920 to 1960. She’ll be in conversation with Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Institutional Antiracism and Accountability Project at the Harvard Kennedy School. Well-fitting masks are required. 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, “outlaws,” about “a lawless moment from your life. Rebels with a cause, readers of banned books, questioners of authority … entering the restricted section or the forbidden forest.” Information is here.

Jeannie Zusy reads from “The Frederick Sisters Are Living The Dream” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 25 White St., Porter Square. Free. In this debut novel, a woman’s life is turned upside-down when she becomes caregiver to a sister with special needs that include diapers, a sugar addiction, a porn habit and a refusal to cooperate. The book is called “funny but sad and complex, crushing and uplifting.” Zusy will be in conversation with her literary agent, Stephanie Cabot. Masks are required. Information is here.

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Wednesday, Sept. 28

Family Game Night from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Cambridge Library O’Neill Branch, 70 Rindge Ave., North Cambridge. Free. Play your family or meet new friends over board games and puzzles supplied by the library at this all-ages event. Information is here.

“Writing in Cambridge” reading and discussion from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Local novelists Donna Gordon and Rishi Reddi read from their debut works – “What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me” and“Passage West,” respectively – and talk about their experiences. Information is here.

Michael Pedersen reads from “Boy Friends” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. Pedersen began writing about the loss of a single friend and wound up addressing friendship in general in a book called “heart-wrenching but hilarious.” He will be in conversation with fellow Scottish poet Hollie McNish. Well-fitting masks are required. Information is here.

Palaver Strings’ behind-the-curtain “very open rehearsal” at 7:30 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. Free. Get a peek behind the process of preparations for the ensemble’s Thursday show, with plenty of music played along the way. Information is here.

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Thursday, Sept. 29

Kate Beaton reads from “Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands” at 6 p.m. at The Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $42.50, which includes a hardcover copy of the book. The New York Times bestselling webcomic artist behind “Hark! A Vagrant” recalls when she headed to Cape Breton to help pay off her student loans. Her first full-length graphic narrative explores Canada as “a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people.” She’s in conversation with Joanna Rakoff, bestselling author of “My Salinger Year,” and features a performance by Cape Breton musician Peter MacInnis. Well-fitting masks are required. Information is here.

“Shrek” pop-up outdoor movie screening at 7 p.m. at Summer Shack Harvard Square, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square. The seafood chain offers this series of free, mainly family-friendly movies every Thursday and Saturday through Oct. 29. 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.

Infinity Dance Collective’s “Transmute” dance show from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge (and continuing Friday). General admission is $20. The collective comes together with artists across different ages and styles of dance as well as live music, poetry and voice. Guests include Erica Cornejo, Carlos Molina and preprofessional dancers with Integrarte, Emily Jones and Leticia Prieto Álvarez. “Transmute is about the energy that connects us all and the soul expansion and transformation that can happen with universal love of community,” organizers say. Information is here.

“A Brilliant Escape” by Palaver Strings at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. Free. Early music classics and lesser-known works were chosen for the launch of Palaver Strings’ ninth season, joined by harpsichordist John McKean. Information is here.

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Friday, Sept. 30

Dar Williams master class on “How to Write a Song That Matters” at 2 to 5 p.m. at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square. Tickets are $75, including a copy of Williams’ new book of the same name. The pop folk singer-songwriter will deconstruct one of her songs and pull names out of a hat for others that class members are working on. 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.

Flamenco at Starlight 2022 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Central Square. Free. A show produced by Laura Sanchez Flamenco with dancers, students, musicians and guest artists. Information is here.

Infinity Dance Collective Transmute dance show (continued) from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. General admission is $20. Information is here.

Altan performs at 8 p.m. at Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square. Tickets are $40. What some consider “the world’s finest traditional Irish band” plays a repertoire that comes primarily from County Donegal. Information is here.

“T: An MBTA Musical” from 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Tickets start at $22.50. 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. Information is here.

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Saturday, Oct. 1

The Bob Moses MathTrail Launch and Parade from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting at Sennott Park (Broadway at Norfolk Street, near Central Square). Free. This mile path in The Port neighborhood is named after the late Robert Moses, a Cambridge educator, founder of The Algebra Project and civil rights activist, and encourages people to find the fun in math through activities along the way. The parade will be led by the Hot 8 Brass Band, and food and other fun will be offered. (The event is followed by the 25 Years of YPP: Celebrate Our Past, Value Our Future Gala held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at District Hall in Boston, a Young People’s Project event with a keynote address by actor Alfre Woodard.) Information on the MathTrail launch is here.

Queer Arts in Parks from noon to 4 p.m. at Longfellow House and the Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, 105 Brattle St., West Cambridge. Free. On the first day of LGBT History Month, the historic site offers outdoor queer history games, themed arts and crafts activities for kids and adults, a queer history interactive pop-up and “queer history deep-dive tours” of the house at 12:30, 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Information is here.

Cambridge Residents Day from noon to 5 p.m. at The MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Kendall Square. An open-house sneak peek of the museum before it opens to the public Sunday. There will be complimentary refreshments, access to exhibits, gallery tours, drop-in activities such as “thermal selfies” and workshop programs including a viewing of objects collected from major firms that have made their home in Cambridge since 1916. We wrote about this in-depth here; basic information is here.

“Emotive Land” augmented-reality performance, starting at 1 p.m. at 15 Broad Canal Way, Kendall Square (near PaddleBoston) and following the Charles River for several stops that takes about 15 minutes to complete. A live performance kicks off an app-based experience incorporating dance, music, film and technology “to investigate the need for harmony among art, culture, innovation and nature in Kendall Square,” says the art collective known as The Click of its inaugural effort. Information is here.

Discover Mount Auburn walking tour from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St., West Cambridge. Tickets are $10. Mount Auburn is a National Historic Landmark and certainly one of the most famous cemeteries in the country, the final resting place of nearly 100,000 people – including famous ones such as poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter and cookbook author Fannie Farmer – 700 species and varieties of trees, beautiful sculpture and landscaping and gloriously gloomy tombs and mausoleums. This 1.5-mile walking tour focuses on history, monuments and the lives of the buried. Information is here.

Ignite! Global Street Food and Fire Festival from 6 to 10 p.m. at Union Square Plaza, 90 Union Square, Somerville. Free. In addition to selections from local food vendors, there will be interactive light installations, fire throwers and other illuminated performers. Information is here.

“The Goonies” pop-up outdoor movie screening at 7 p.m. at Summer Shack Harvard Square, 1 Bennett St., Harvard Square. Free. 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.

The Bridgeside Cypher from 7 to 9 p.m. at Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Central Square. Free. Artists and musicians – rappers, singers and a band – perform in an often improvised format; there’s an open mic part of the evening too. Information is here.

“Reflections” musical performance at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. General admission is $25. Radius opens its 24th season with selections such as Kaija Saariaho’s “Mirrors” (1997) for flute and cello; Alyssa Morris’ “Collision Etudes” (2017) for oboe, inspired by paintings by contemporary U.S. women; and Peter Child’s “Occasions” (2018) for violin and viola. The evening closes with a quintet for clarinet, horn, violin, cello and piano by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Information is here.

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Sunday, Oct. 2

Bow Tie Community Bicycle Ride from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., beginning and ending at Joan Lorentz Park at 457 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge (in front of the Cambridge Main Library). Free. A relaxed, scenic ride tracing the bow-tie-shaped boundaries of the city. (Actual bow ties not required.) Information is here.

Tufts Community Day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Tufts University’s Academic Quad, 419 Boston Ave., Medford. Free. This Somerville-Medford school offers live performances, children’s activities, a raffle and free refreshments, as well as a peek at research projects by faculty. Information is here.

The “Smoke This” Rib Fest from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 2 on Cambridge Street between Fulkerson and Fifth streets, East Cambridge. Free, but 10-rib Taste Tickets are $27.50 (ribs are also available individually). For its 13th annual rib culinary showdown of pit master vs. pit master for the title of best ribs around, the East Cambridge Business Association goes back to a one-day gathering with live music. We wrote about this in-depth here; basic information is here.

Celebrasians Benefit Fashion Show from 3 to 6 p.m. at Starlight Square, 84 Bishop Allen Drive, Central Square. Free. Celebrate Asian Women for Health’s 10th anniversary and hear inspiring stories from Asian cancer and trauma survivors, cheering those walking the runway in outfits that “best represent their authentic selves.” Information is here.

Learn how to make a New York Times crossword from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Lamplighter Brewing, 284 Broadway, The Port. Free, but participants must be 21-plus. Times crossword constructor (and Lamplighter regular) Ross Trudeau shows how to generate a crossword theme, build and fill a grid and write clues. Information is here.

“Traka” dance performance at 7:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge. Free, with limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis; a recording will be available starting Oct. 13. Cambridge-based Haitian choreographer Jean Appolon unveils a dance in collaboration with composer, turntablist and Afro-futurist Val Jeanty about healing from traumatic events – inspired by Appolon’s healing process after his father was murdered in Haiti’s 1991 coup. (The dance’s name means “troubles” in Haitian Creole.) Information is here.