5 things to do this weekend, including music from a Puerto Rican luminary and a festival celebrating musicians of color

Art helps us expand our world views. It also serves as an expression of culture, exposing us to traditions and ways of life from around the globe. This weekend, you’ll have an opportunity to watch dance performances from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and, at a different event, you might sample international cuisine to learn more about dishes from other countries. See these options and more in our weekend guide.

The third annual Feet Keep the Beat Festival offers a showcase production called “LINEAGE,” on stage at the Center for Arts at the Armory. The multicultural percussive dance celebration brings together styles of global dance, regaling audiences with West African, flamenco, step, tap, and Kathak performances. The festival presents works from six dancers and five musicians, including Ariaki Dandawate, Lekisha Limage, Akili Jamal Haynes, Antonio Tran, and others. After spectators have experienced LINEAGE, they’re invited to return to the Armory on Sunday for free community workshops. Tickets to LINEAGE are $39.25 if purchased in advance and $44.50 the day of the show.

Somerville is rolling out another local arts fiesta, right on the heels of ArtBeat. Somer Fest is a community festival organized by the Somerville Arts Council and Citixen Joy, an organization that aims "to create equitable experiences for performers while simultaneously growing local business ties to the community,” according to founder Stephond Goler. Arrive at Seven Hills Park near the Davis Square T Station for this free event, where you’ll enjoy live music, games, and other entertainment. Somer Fest highlights the work of performers of color, including Grand Choice Records’ Billie, DJ Eliot Ness, singer-songwriter Mada Silva, and the band Further Notice, a “funky, soulful instrumental band.”

The 2025 World Music concert series offer opportunities to hear international music — for free — outdoors across Massachusetts. When you bring a blanket or lawn chair to the gazebo at Ell Pond in Melrose, you’ll hear the melodies of Fabiola Méndez, a Puerto Rican singer, composer, and cuatrista who plays a traditional Puerto Rican instrument from the lute family. Méndez is an Emmy-nominated composer, and her music melds “Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Puerto Rican folk traditions, and jazz,” according to the event’s listing. She has also performed in renowned  spaces, including at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and NPR’s Tiny Desk.

This long running Cape Cod film festival honors the work of emerging and New England filmmakers, especially independent ones who have a connection to the Cape. Before the event wraps things up, audiences will be able to view movies such as “Anxiety Club,” a study of anxiety as seen through the eyes of comedians, and “Etched in Pavement,” a documentary about two young men from South West Detroit. The film explores what legacy means to them when it comes to the world of combat sports. Other film screenings include “Folktales,” about high schoolers in Arctic Norway learning to navigate adulthood, and “Motherland,” about an alternate society where state-run children’s centers rear young citizens, rather than their families.

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Twice a year, Dine Out Boston offers diners special prix-fixe menus at select restaurants. This summer, more than 175 establishments in Boston and beyond are participating, and starting Sunday, you can visit a range of spots. Head over to Batifol in the Kendall Square area, a French food destination that serves up moules frites and quiche. Or make your way to The Elephant Walk in the South End to feast on Cambodian-French dishes. At Nirvana Taste of India, treat yourself to butter chicken, tandoori shrimp, and gulab jamun for dessert.