THU 3.31

Passport to Pasta @ WGBH Studios

Ok, let’s be honest with each other. An event dedicated to pasta, the history of pasta, and, of course, eating pasta is a carbo-loading dream. We could tell you all about the host, Dan Whalen, and his blog The Food in My Beard, as well as who the vendors are and what it is that you get for your $35, but it’s a goddamn pasta fest. So do we really need to say anything more? WGBH does a decent job of putting on these smallish boutique events without screwing them up, so it’s safe to say that Passport to Pasta is not going to be a letdown. There will be wine there too, so that’s a bonus, and if the pasta sucks, which it won’t, and the host rambles on incoherently, which he won’t, you can still get drunk and pretend it was all worth it.

WGBH Studios. 1 Guest St., Brighton. 7pm/21+/$35-40. wgbh.org

FRI 4.01

Stella Starsky @ OBERON

The American Repertory Theater’s little sister, OBERON, has partnered with the fine folks at the Afterglow Festival in Provincetown to create a series of solo performances that bend the mind and soul of a theater experience. If you haven’t had a chance to see any of them yet—there have been three so far—this is your last chance, and it might be the best yet. Birth of the American Baroness is the brainchild of Stella Starsky, who is also the genius behind the website americanbaroness.com, and is a celebration of snark and wit within modern motherless “womandom.”  Written and performed by Starsky, the one-woman show promises to be enlightening, funny, thought-provoking, and personal.

OBERON. 2 Arrow St., Cambridge. 7:30pm/21+/$25. cluboberon.com

SAT 4.02

Boston LGBT Film Festival

Now in its 32nd year and one of the premier LGBT festivals in the country, this annual party celebrating the culture of the LGBT community through the medium of cinema has become an important part of the queer evolution. Every year it pokes the eye of mainstream thought, and the slanted view the world has on what’s perceived to be still on the fringe by many comes front and center and takes yet another step forward. The festival begins March 31 and runs through April 10, but the Saturday showings may be the strongest and most diverse. With 11 showings throughout the day, you can literally move from one theater to another, soaking in cinematic art and community, and still find time for a cocktail and conversation in between. We can’t list them all, so check out their website and set aside some time to be extra gay for the day.

Boston LGBT Film Festival. Complete schedule of venues and showings @ wickedqueer.org

SUN 4.03

2016 Rock & Roll Rumble @ Once Ballroom

The Rumble has been around for like a thousand years now, and every year there’s a bevy of local talents that take the stage and own it, even if they don’t win it all. And that’s the point. While it’s great to walk away with the coveted Kick Ass Winner Award for the Rumble, the point is to celebrate local music and the local scene as much as it is to push that final band over the top. The lineup is thick with worthy again this year (no surprise!), so check out the schedule online and make a date to catch as many nights as you can.

Once Ballroom. 156 Highland St., Somerville. 8pm/18+/$10. wzlx.cbslocal.com/category/rock-and-roll-rumble

MON 4.04

Gogol Bordello @ Paradise Rock Club

Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike is an album every respectful music lover should own or at least be familiar with. Sadly, most don’t and aren’t. If you choose to ignore everything else we offer up in these pages every week, I’m OK with it, as long as that means you buy tickets now and see this band live. Celebrating the 10th anniversary of this seminal album’s release, the band is in town for two nights, Monday and Tuesday, so there’s no excuse not to catch this show. While listening to this album in the comfort of your home, squarely on your ass, is one thing, seeing them play it live is another experience altogether, a non-stop musical mind-fuck of beats and bravado.

Paradise Rock Club. 967 Comm. Ave., Boston. 7pm/18+/$35. crossroadspresents.com/paradise-rock-club

TUE 4.05

Nathalia Holt @ Brookline Booksmith

Boston-based author Nathalia Holt’s career was bound to take off beyond the academic stratosphere in which so many science writers hover. Forgive us for the aeronautics analogies, but she is, after all, the force behind the new essential technology narrative Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us From Missiles to the Moon to Mars (Little, Brown, 2016). In her latest, Holt writes for a popular audience—anyone, in fact, who is interested in learning about the unsung women whose heroics helped launch Americans into space half a century ago. Get to the Booksmith early, as Holt has cred with an impressive number of prestigious Greater Boston institutions.

Brookline Booksmith. 279 Harvard St., Coolidge Cor., Brookline. 7pm/all ages/FREE. brooklinebooksmith.com