Welcome to the Big To-Do: Short Cuts, our guide highlighting the top things to do in and around Boston each weekend, as curated by Globe critics, editors, and writers.

On tap this weekend: the Big E is back, plus celebrate all things Fluff. — Matt Juul

Things to do in and around Boston this weekend

THE BIG E The popular fair is back for another year of music, games, food, and more. Enjoy classic attractions like the giant slide and the Avenue of States, featuring entertainment, food, and more from each New England state. This year’s musical guests include Alice Cooper, The Beach Boys, Great White, and Twisted Sister. Featured programming also includes celebrations of America’s 250th, an authentic Mardi Gras recreation, and plenty of food vendors offering bites ranging from tater tots to Korean corn dogs. Sept. 18-Oct. 4. Tickets start at $11.50. 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield. thebige.com — Daisy Levine

BREAK’N THE ICE This weekend, the Department of Conservation and Recreation invites Bruins fans to break in the freshly-laid ice at TD Garden ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season. The experience, which the Garden hosts annually in support of the DCR’s Conservation Trust and Urban Parks Trust Fund, includes a 45-minute skate session and a tour of the Sports Museum. Sept. 18, 5-6:45 p.m. Tickets for skaters are $40, tickets for spectators are $15. Skates are not provided. TD Garden, 100 Legends Way. tdgarden.com/events/detail/breakn-the-ice-26-27 — Janira Skrbkova

JAY LARSON “My mother had toxic masculinity,” says the Stoneham native. “That’s how bad it was. I was the youngest of four and she’d always say, ‘You know, your sister Kristen was the only one conceived out of love.’ I’m like, ‘Mom, I’m 11, you cool if I blow the candles out, then we’ll get into the divorce again?’” Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $39.90. Laugh Boston, 425 Summer St. 617-725-2844, laughboston.com — Nick A. Zaino III

TODD GLASS He’s a skilled writer, but the real magic of watching Glass live is how in the moment he is onstage, whether he is interacting with musical accompaniment or keeping tabs on everything happening around him in the room, Glass isn’t just reciting bits, he’s directing an experience. Sept. 18-19, 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. $39. Off Cabot Comedy and Events, 9 Wallis St., Beverly. thecabot.org — NZ

SOUTH BOSTON STREET FEST This free, family-friendly festival returns to South Boston with live entertainment and dance performances, offerings from merchants and food vendors, plus children’s activities. Organized by the South Boston Chamber of Commerce and the South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation, the event is designed to bring new and existing neighbors together. Sept. 19. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. East Broadway, between I and L streets. southbostonstreetfest.com — DL

BERKLEE BLOCK PARTY Berklee College of Music’s inaugural homecoming party offers a day of live music, community, and celebration. This year’s lineup includes Grammy-winning singer Susan Tedeschi, internationally acclaimed Afrobeats singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage, and more Berklee alums. Sept. 19, 1-6 p.m. Tickets start at $24 for children ages 3-12, $134 for adults. Berklee Lot at 73 Brookline Ave. mlb.com/redsox/tickets/events/berklee-homecoming-block-party — JS

WHAT THE FLUFF? The festival honoring the invention of Marshmallow Fluff returns to Union Square this weekend for its 21st year. Visitors can enjoy performances across three stages, plus check out robots, live graffiti art, and parkour in the “Innovation Alley.” Other activities range from boardwalk-style games to Fluff-themed fun, including musical chairs, limbo, a hair-do contest, and more. Sept. 19, 1-5 p.m. Free. Union Square, Somerville. flufffestival.com — JS

CAT STROLL No dogs allowed at Lower Allston’s first-official “Cat Stroll” taking place this weekend. This parade-style walk will stop around the neighborhood at participating spots with felines in their windows or on their porches. Adoption info is available from animal welfare nonprofit MSPCA-Angell. Restaurants in the area will also be serving up special deals or event-specific menu items. Sept. 19. Festivities begin at 2 p.m. Walk begins at 2:30 p.m. Rain date Sept. 26. Smith Playground, 235 Western Ave. lowerallstoncatstroll.carrd.co — DL

JOSH GONDELMAN In his “Positive Reinforcement” special, Gondelman tries to explain how his generation thought clocks were going to bring down society for Y2K. “It was down to the wire,” he says. “December 31, 1999, as the clock struck midnight, I was standing in my kitchen, trembling, pointing a gun at the microwave. Just like, ‘Try something, clock! That’s what I thought. 12:01.’” Seven o’clock show is sold out. Sept. 19, 4:30 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. $29.95. The Comedy Studio, 5 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge. thecomedystudio.com — NZ

BOSTON LOCAL FOOD FESTIVAL Head to the Greenway to enjoy offerings from nearly 100 vendors, serving up everything from popsicles to Mexican-style street corn. The festivities will also include activities like cooking demonstrations, a “Seafood Throwdown,” and family fun zone. Sept. 20. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Rain date Sept. 27. Rose Kennedy Greenway, Atlantic Ave. bostonlocalfood.org/bostonlocalfoodfestival — DL

Critics’ picks for this weekend and beyond

A.Z. Madonna’s picks

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Music director Andris Nelsons is on the podium as Emanuel Ax takes the spotlight in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22, a calling-card piece for the acclaimed pianist; after intermission, it’s Berlioz’s vivid and obsessive “Symphonie fantastique” (Sept. 18 and 19). Next week, Nelsons leads the BSO through Mahler’s Symphony No. 7, the only one of the composer’s symphonies he hasn’t yet conducted with the orchestra (Sept. 24-26). Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Ave. 617-266-1200, bso.org

BOSTON BAROQUE Marc Minkowski leads his inaugural concert as Boston Baroque’s second-ever music director, welcoming the autumn equinox by leading the Boston Baroque Orchestra and Chorus in Haydn’s “The Seasons” with soloists Lauren Snouffer, Andrew Turner, and Brandon Cedel. Sept. 20, 2 p.m. New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St. 617-987-8600, baroque.boston

STRANGE LAND Boston-based Nightingale Vocal Ensemble and Juventas New Music Ensemble join forces for the world premiere of “Strange Land,” a new piece by composer Gregory W. Brown and poet Todd Hearon, which juxtaposes the ancient text of the Bible’s Book of Revelation with our tech-driven present. The performance is accompanied by large-scale projections of “De Profundis,” etchings on copper plate by artist Brian D. Cohen. Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m. Mugar Omni Theater, Boston Museum of Science, 1 Science Park. mos.org/events

Don Aucoin’s picks

ALL MY SONS Arthur Miller’s 1947 drama of guilt and complicity stars Bill Mootos and Laura Marie Duncan as Joe and Kate Keller, whose comfortable life is rocked when a secret about Joe’s actions during World War II starts to bubble to the surface. Also featuring Mark Souza as their son, Chris, and Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Ann Deever, the former girlfriend of the Kellers’ other son, Larry, who hasn’t been seen since he went missing in action several years earlier. Directed by Scott Edmiston. Sept. 18-Oct. 18. Lyric Stage Boston, 140 Clarendon St. 617-585-5678, lyricstage.com

COVENANT When a once-struggling musician named Johnny “Honeycomb” James (Anthony T. Goss) returns to his Georgia hometown in the 1930s, he’s been transformed into a famous blues performer, prompting rumors that he sold his soul to the devil in return for the gift of musical genius. York Walker’s gothic drama, inspired by the myth that surrounded legendary blues pioneer Robert Johnson, blends the elements of faith, family, horror, and suspense. Featuring Deannah “DRIPP” Blemur as Avery, the young woman Johnny wants to persuade to run away with him; Crystin Gilmore as Avery’s mother; Sydney Alicia Jackson as Violet, Avery’s sister; and Kayla Sessoms as Ruthie, Violet’s friend. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Sept. 25-Oct. 17. SpeakEasy Stage Company. At Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St. 617-933-8600, speakeasystage.com

BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL A campy horror-musical-comedy, set in a fictional West Virginia community, about a half-bat, half-boy struggling to fit in (and curb his thirst for blood). Starring as Edgar is Johnny Shea, whose performance in “tick, tick...BOOM!” earned him this year’s Elliot Norton Award for outstanding lead performance in a musical from the Boston Theater Critics Association. The pop-rock score is by Laurence O’Keefe, and the book is by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming. Directed by Jeremy Johnson, who did superb work earlier this year at the helm of SpeakEasy Stage Company’s “Swept Away.” Sept. 25-Nov. 8. Umbrella Stage Company. At Umbrella Arts Center, 40 Stow St., Concord. 978-371-0820 x309, umbrellaarts.org

Murray Whyte’s picks

ISAMU NOGUCHI: I AM NOT A DESIGNER Opening this weekend: In the title of this exhibition, Noguchi protests just enough. Of course he was a designer — of wildly popular Akari light sculptures beloved by mid-century aesthetes everywhere, and maybe the most knocked-off coffee table of all time. But notice how the Akaris, in which delicate rice paper is wound around a barely-there slim wooden armature and then fitted with a light bulb, aren’t called ”light fixtures.” They’re sculpture — testament to Noguchi’s guiding ethos that utility did not strip an object of artistic intent or social purpose, but augmented it instead. Through Jan. 3. Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, 161 Essex St., Salem. 978-745-9500, pem.org

SPATIAL POEMS: CECILIA VICUÑA, SAM FRÉSQUEZ, LOLA AYISHA OGBARA Renowned Chilean artist Vicuña is the touchstone for this three-artist exhibition of sculptural works of wide-ranging material and formal concern. What they share — and what Vicuña exemplifies — is the deep personal care each of her works embodies and carries forth into the world. Through April 4. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams. 413-662-2111, massmoca.org

LUCY RAVEN: ROUNDS Closing soon: It’s the end of summer, or almost, which means the end of the Watershed, the ICA’s seasonal annex on the East Boston side of the harbor, for another year. This summer’s feature has been a work by Lucy Raven, known for her meditative film installations that set the heroic landscapes of the American West on a collision course with the historic exploitation and extraction economies that have left it heavily scarred. Case in point: “Murderers Bar,” her 2025 film at the Watershed that witnesses the removal of a colossal concrete dam in northern California, and the cathartic, destructive deluge of release. Through Sept. 27 . 256 Marginal St., East Boston. 617-478-3100, icaboston.org/ica-watershed

Last chance

BOSTON BALLET FALL EXPERIENCE Don’t miss out on the final days of Boston Ballet’s “Fall experience,” which marks both the season opening and art director Mikko Nissinen’s 25th year with the institution. Programming includes Alexander Ekman’s “Cacti” and Akram Khan’s “Vertical Road (Reimagined) 2023.” Through Sept. 20. Tickets start at $36. Citizens Opera House, 539 Washington St. bostonballet.org/performances/fall-experience — JS

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