Sept. 4: ASWB Presents: Author K.S. Shay (All She Wrote Books, Somerville)
All She Wrote Books hosts fantasy author K.S. Shay as she celebrates the release of her debut novel, “Portrait of a Witch Undone.” “Portrait” promises to be an eerie and enchanting adventure for history-loving readers interested in New England witch fables and the mysterious 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist. The Boston-based author of “Spells to Forget Us,” Aislinn Brophy, joins Shay in conversation and an audience Q&A, with signings by both authors.
Sept. 5: Somerville Nepali Street Food Festival (Somerville City Hall, Somerville)
Come celebrate a welcoming and vibrant culture at the Somerville Nepali Street Food Festival. Eleven food vendors provide a selection of their signature cuisine while attendees enjoy cultural music, dance performances and a DJ from Nepal. Given the recent flooding in the Himalayas, the festival is an opportunity to celebrate our Somerville Nepali community during a difficult time. We are all in this together. Free, all-ages and open to the public. (Update on Sept. 2, 2026: Somerville says the festival is postponed and a new date will be shared here.)
Sept. 5: Les Vedettes: Las Exóticas (Crystal Ballroom, Somerville)
“Les Vedettes: Las Exóticas” is a burlesque and drag show with an all Latine cast featuring local and national performers, including Lopez La Lopez, Enzo Benzo and Rebelle Banks. There will be live music by Boston’s Los Mambiseros, a traditional Cuban fusion band. Les Vedettes’ IG describes the show as “a commentary on the historic othering and fetishization of Latine performers. Artists who were, and still are, often marked as ‘exotic’ for the consumption of white audiences … This show reclaims and turns that label into a celebration of identity and culture.”
Sept. 8: Smut Slam Boston: Learning Curves (Arts at the Armory, Somerville)
Smut Slam is an international, queer-friendly, kink-friendly, vanilla-friendly, fat-friendly and polyam-friendly event series. People with all types and amounts of sexual experience are welcome. The Boston edition is an open-mic featuring naughty storytelling dedicated to real-life, autobiographical, first-person sex stories. This month’s theme is “Learning Curves.” Hosted by local drag artist and emcee Viktor Viktrola, participants are encouraged to bring their finest between-the-sheets and true-to-life tales of erotic adventure to the mic. This is a judged event that requires sign-up to participate. (You can sign up at doors.)
Sept. 9: Antonio Ochoa and Soham Patel Poetry Reading (Grolier Poetry Book Shop, Cambridge)
A new school year brings new poets to the city, and they should know about the Grolier Poetry Book Shop in Harvard Square. It’s the “oldest continuously operated bookshop dedicated solely to the sale of poetry books” and regularly hosts readings by poets, famous and emerging alike. This event features readings with Antonio Ochoa and Soham Patel. Ochoa’s most recent poetry collection, “Small Sargasso Mountains/Pequeñas cordilleras de sargazo” was released this year by Nightboat Books. Patel’s latest, “all one in the end – water” was released in 2023 by Delete. The Grolier is a small space with limited seating, so grab a ticket if you want to attend in person. All events are hybrid, providing attendance options via Zoom and in-person.
