5 things to do this weekend, including a block party in New Bedford and Rockport Celtic Festival

Capturing a portrait seems so simple now. You snap a quick selfie on your phone or your friend takes a photo of you smiling at dinner. Preserving your likeness for future generations used to be a luxury, and people with money and access were the ones who got to be remembered. What histories were lost in this process and how does this affect the stories we tell? The Concord Museum’s “Portrait Mode” delves into 19th-century portraiture and recorded individual histories as well as those that faded away. If historical photography doesn’t pique your interest, there’s also a huge block party, a Celtic music festival and more in Greater Boston this weekend.

AHA! (Art, History, Architecture) has been hosting arts and culture events in downtown New Bedford for 25 years, and it’s ready to “party like it’s 1999” — a well-timed and earned Prince reference. The organization holds free events on the second Thursday of the month, February to December. This Thursday, AHA! will open up downtown to guests of all ages for dancing in the streets, live music, a 1990s costume contest, kids activities, a pub crawl, circus arts and a lot of birthday cake. The party will weave around the Seaport Cultural District, the New Bedford Whaling Museum plaza and parking lot, the Fiber Optic Center’s loading dock, and front and lower Union Street with festivities beginning at 4 p.m.

Ship up to Rockport to celebrate Celtic music for a four-day festival at the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Harpist and composer Maeve Gilchrist — based in Brookline but from Edinburgh — will manage and direct the 5th annual event with music traversing from Scotland to Scandinavia. A Berklee alum, Gilchrist will also host a salon session, discussing traditional music, techniques and collaborations with performers. Other artists include fiddler and artist-in-residence Jeremy Kittel and Maine-based quartet Pine Tree Flyers. Along with performances, there will be an informal night of music and dancing on Saturday with Pine Tree Flyers’ fiddler Katie McNally and accordionist Emily Troll, as well as pianist Neil Pearlman. Admission ranges from free to $76 per event.

Who gets to be memorialized by portraiture? The Concord Museum investigates this question through 40 historical portraits in the exhibition “Portrait Mode.” Portraits used to only be accessible for the wealthy, but that changed in the 19th century with silhouettes and photographs. “Portrait Mode” explores memory preservation, individual visibility and the loss of many people’s stories. Notably, the exhibition includes a photograph of Jack Garrison, a Concord resident and free African American man who assisted the anti-slavery movement in the mid-19th century.

In conversation with Northeastern University English and Africana studies professor Nicole Aljoe, artists Dell Marie Hamilton and Angela Counts will investigate historical trauma “and how we can work to remember difficult histories by acknowledging their realities while transforming them with love, empathy, and imagination.” The event is part of the city’s "Un-monument | Re-monument | De-monument: Transforming Boston" program, an effort to reevaluate who should be memorialized and put up temporary monuments and free programming around Boston. Hamilton is a multidisciplinary artist, Northeastern and Tufts grad, and a winner of the ICA’s James and Audrey Foster Prize. Counts is a playwright and filmmaker, Northeastern and USC alum and professor at Emerson College.

Wishing to waltz with the Red Queen? The Footwork & Frolick Society is sending guests down the rabbit hole to a historical dance on the theme of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” The event at Andover Old Town Hall’s ballroom draws from Lewis Carroll’s lifetime with mid-19th century dancing, music and teatime delectables. The society invites guests to wear historical costumes or clothing inspired by the zany world of Wonderland. Guests will be taught dances throughout the night, but the society will also host an afternoon workshop. Tickets are $35 for students, $45 for standard admission and $65 for supporters wishing to donate to the nonprofit organization.