A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville: MLK Jr. Day, Celtic Music Festival, ‘Wonder’ Theater

MLK day of service event

Editor’s note: You’ll notice a more streamlined set of listings this week. Now that we have a searchable events calendar we’re picking a few highlights from each day. Because scrolling for pages is a bore.

Thursday, Jan. 15

Boston Celtic Music Festival from 7 to 9 p.m. (and continuing through Sunday). $25 to $35. This twice-annual homegrown celebration marks its 23rd anniversary of showcasing Greater Boston’s tradition of music, song and dance from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, Quebecois and other Celtic communities. The event includes musicians, workshops and participatory musical sessions and dances over the course of a weekend at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge; Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square; The Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville; and Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville.

Legends of Mary Live from 8 to 11:30 p.m. at The Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave., in the Baldwin neighborhood between Harvard and Porter squares, Cambridge. $15 to $20. This all-star tribute to the Jerry Garcia side project brings together some of the foremost Grateful Dead musicians in the Boston music scene including David Rubin of Diamond Blues, Dan Crea of the Garcia Project, Justin Lopes of Dead Ahead and formerly of Bearly Dead, Kade Parkin of Bella’s Bartok and Chris Belden of Diamond Blues.

Friday, Jan. 16

Cynthia Zarin reads from “Estate” at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. Free, $25 with book. Caroline, separated from her husband, finds herself drawn to Lorenzo, who has not one but two other lovers. Fantasizing of a summer full of romance, she concocts make-believe stories she and Lorenzo tell each other. Author and Harvard University professor James Wood joins.

Boston Celtic Music Festival (continued) from 7 to 10 p.m. (and continuing through Sunday). $25 to $35. Tonight: Roots & Branches at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Harvard Square, Cambridge and Old Blind Dogs at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville.

Three Percent performs at 7:30 p.m. at The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $20. Indie jam rock band that helped make the Boston scene in the ‘90s and the aughts headlines a show including Johnny Trama & The B3 Kings, Mary McAvoy, DJ J-Wall, DJ Ryan Brown and Elvi$. Each ticket sold will give 25 cents to The Shout Syndicate to support youth-led arts programs in Boston.

Saturday, Jan. 17

Boston Celtic Music Festival (continued) from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (and continuing through Sunday). $25 to $35. Today: Dayfest at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square; The Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville; and The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. Also, Nightcap at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square.

“Wonder” theater at 2 and 7 p.m. at Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge (continuing through Feb. 15). $35 to $129. An American Repertory Theater presentation from the novel by R.J. Palacio and the 2017 film: Auggie Pullman, a kid with facial deformities, has been homeschooled his entire life. He must navigate a world filled with kindness and cruelty when his family decides it’s time for him to start going to school.

Sunday, Jan. 18

Boston Celtic Music Festival (continued) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. $25 to $35. Today: Live Music Brunch at The Burren, 247 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville.

Worship: “From Our Mountain of Despair, a Stone of Hope” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Sunday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at First Parish Cambridge Unitarian Universalist, 3 Church St./1446 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Rev. Rob Hardies discusses King’s “I Have A Dream” speech and how it can bring hope today.

“Ju Dou” film showing at 2 p.m. at Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $17. The 1990 film directed by Zhang Yimou and Gong Li, who played the title character, has become known as one of the greatest Chinese movies ever made. This version is a restoration for its 35th anniversary.

Monday, Jan. 19

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Commemoration and Remembrance from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 838 Massachussetts Ave., Riverside near Central Square, Cambridge. Free. The City of Cambridge honors King and his legacy with members of the Cambridge community sharing readings of King’s words calling for peace, justice and transformation. This year’s program features musical selection by the Millennium Gospel Choir and a keynote address by Roeshana Moore-Evans. The Cambridge Peace Commission organizes the event.

Sixteenth Annual Cambridge MLK Day of Service and Learning from 2 to 5 p.m. at various public spaces in Central Square with the welcome gathering at Central Square Church, 5 Magazine St., Cambridge. Free and all ages, but register. The event includes a 2 p.m. presentation at the church where King spoke Jan. 10, 1960, followed by a band of musicians leading attendees to the Senior Center, YWCA and City Hall to work in groups making blankets and scarves for those in need, valentines for vets and lonely elders or the homeless, and sorting clothing and books for local shelters. All are encouraged to bring nonperishable food, gently used winter clothing, children’s books or new warm socks to donate.

Tuesday, Jan. 20

Dr. Ashely Alker reads from “99 Ways to Die: And How to Avoid Them” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. The emergency medical doctor and adjunct professor at George Washington Medical School offers a guide that includes stories of her patients pertaining to the chapter’s subject, as well as her related experiences in life and medicine. Sections include categories on sex, poison, drugs, biological warfare, disease, animals, crime, the elements and more. Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Alister Martin joins.

Isabelle Engle book release from 7 to 9 p.m. Lovestruck Books, 44 Brattle St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. Free. Engle reads from her newest release, “Most Eligible,” a reality show rom-com about an investigative journalist who sneaks onto the show only to fall for the wrong guy. Joined by Betty Cayouette, author and creator of “Betty’s Book List.”

Wednesday, Jan. 21

Poets Catherine Corbett Bresner, Danny Shot and Ryan Skrabalak from 7 to 8 p.m. at Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square, Cambridge. $5 to $10, but register.

Songwriters in the Round from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Rooted café at Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Spring Hill, Somerville (every first and third Wednesday). Free. Four songwriters share the stage, taking turns performing and occasionally joining in on harmonies or guitar. Inspired by Nashville’s Bluebird Café “guitar pulls,” the event encourages conversation and collaboration.

Thursday, Jan. 22

The First President and the First People: Washington in the Native Northeast from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. RSVP. To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, this program traces how diplomacy, collaboration and conflict shaped the early republic through Washington’s relationships with Native Americans. Features Colin Gordon Calloway, author of “The Indian World of George Washington: The First President, the First Americans, and the Birth of the Nation” and Kabl Wilkerson, enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and doctoral candidate in the History Department at Harvard University.

J.S. Ondara performs at 8 p.m. at Warehouse XI, 11 Sanborn Court, Union Square, Somerville. $27. The Grammy Award-nominated Kenyan and American singer-songwriter brings his “Jet Stone Conspiracy” tour to the Somerville stage featuring his folk and Americana harmonies.

For a full range of options, see our searchable Events Calendar.