Tastings, Music Festivals, Street Fairs, and More Events This Weekend

Abraham Isaac Goldberg didn’t have the luxury of making a living as an artist, or even living off his trust fund in a cool Williamsburg loft. After moving from a Lithuanian shtetl to Montreal in 1929, he worked long hours in a factory (since converted into cool artists’ lofts, probably) and in his free time created hundreds of drawings, sketches, and paintings reflecting on the Great Depression and World War II. Example: a caricature of Hitler and Stalin depicted as birds with human faces, kissing each other. See a collection of Goldberg’s works at the opening reception for the Chandler Gallery’s exhibition titled From My Father’s Hand: The Art of Abraham Isaac Goldberg. (6 p.m., FREE, all ages)

The Ridiculous Project (not to be confused with that dumb MTV show your bros watch while pregaming) is a new collaborative effort in the Boston theatre community. Its inaugural production of ”The Birds” by Aristophanes challenges the audience to live a more vibrant life through the story of Pisthetairos, who seeks a free existence with a group of vagabond gypsies who have dropped out of mainstream society. Trigger warning: CLOWNS. (8 p.m., $15, all ages)

Southie’s GrandTen Distilling launches its new Friday Night Flights tasting series just in time for those chilly nights where you need a hoodie, light jacket, or just the comforting warmth of hard liquor in your belly. After touring the distillery, sit down for a laid-back tasting of each of GrandTen’s products, along with special, limited-run spirits not available anywhere else. You’ll leave with a souvenir tasting glass, which is nice because it saves you the trouble of stealing a souvenir tasting glass. (6:30 p.m., $20, 21+)

Sure, Boston Calling gets all the press as the big music festival in town this weekend, because yeah it is pretty sweet and I’m going and I know you’re jealous so here’s another option: Boston Hassle’s second annual New England Underground Music Festival brings together music and arts communities from all over Massachusetts and those other states that we lump together and allow to root for the Patriots. The festival’s goal is to celebrate all that makes New England weird, insane, beautiful, and just plain awesome, so yeah, Lorde won’t be there. But it’s cheap, all-ages, and the beers won’t cost $7. (6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday, $12-15, all ages)

Boston Calling festival alternative, part two: The JP Music Festival boasts seven hours of music and more than 20 bands featuring at least one member who still lives in JP before inevitably moving to Somerville to gracefully age into their 30s while still feeling like cool urban types. The festival at Pinebank Field will showcase everything from surf-punk to tin whistles to gospel to bagpipes, culminating in headliner Streight Angular’s psychedelic garage pop. (12 p.m., FREE, all ages)

You might be familiar with Pemberton Farms as that store on Mass Ave in Cambridge with the creepy animal statues that deeply frightened me at 3 a.m. that one time. But they’re not nearly as terrifying during the daylight hours, and luckily that’s when the annual PemberFest hyperlocal craft brew fest goes down. Tastings from more than 15 local brewers will taste even tastier because they’re basically free: you get an $8 voucher to the store with every $8 ticket. (2 p.m., $8, 21+)

Chris and Jennifer Daltry of Providence’s What Cheer? bring their annual Rock and Roll Yard Sale to Union Square, featuring vintage goods and vinyl from some of New England’s best record sellers, none of whom will care that you collect vinyl just to hang the album covers on your wall and don’t own or even really understand record players. Enjoy live music while you sort through piles and crates of vinyl, all of which are legally required to contain at least one copy of the “Man of La Mancha” original cast recording. (11 a.m., FREE, all ages)

Cambridge’s largest street festival, the Cambridge Carnival returns to Kendall Square with thousands of attendees enjoying ethnic food vendors, live music, and a grand costume parade. Rooted in African traditions, the free festival’s rhythmic musicality celebrates the Cambridge’s diversity and just generally reminds Harvard and MIT students that other people live here. (12 p.m., FREE, all ages)

Photo credit: Andrew/Creative Commons

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This article was provided by our content partner, The Boston Calendar.