5 things to do this weekend, including 'Reimagining Lilith Fair' and a sci-fi musical production

If you’re looking to experience compelling art this weekend, there are a number of events that fit the bill. “White Raven, Black Dove” is a sci-fi fantasy music theater work about life after extinction produced by activist opera company White Snake Projects. Violinist Adrian Anantawan stars in a concert that honors disability in music. And “Reimagining Lilith Fair” at Club Passim draws inspiration from the feminist music scene of the 1990s. All this and more, below.

Catch a film that offers a new perspective at CineFest Latino Boston, an annual showcase of stories by and about Latinos. On Thursday, watch “Uvalde Mom,” a documentary about Angeli Rose Gomez who rushed into Robb Elementary School during a mass shooting to save her children. Friday presents “Paquito D’Rivera: From Carne y Frijol to Carnegie Hall,” the story of a Grammy and Latin Grammy winner who represents both an immigrant success narrative and a musical luminary. And film fanatics won’t want to miss Saturday’s “Street Smart: Lessons From a TV Icon,” which celebrates the life of Sonia Manzano, known as “Maria” from “Sesame Street.” Buy a pass to the festival for $100. [Check out our fall guide for more film festival recommendations.]

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White Snake Projects, an organization that champions opera-based activism, is producing “White Raven, Black Dove,” a work of science fiction with music by composer Jacinth Greywoode and a libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs. Integrating live performance, animation and computer-generated images, the show grapples with race and climate change. Centering around two birds with mythological meaning in multiple cultures, “White Raven, Black Dove” takes us through a dystopian world following a natural disaster and explores the ways that we rebuild and repair. The show will be staged at the Strand Theatre. [For more classical music performances, read our fall guide.]

At Arlington Street Church, violinist Adrian Anantawan and pianist Jennifer Hsiao present the free concert “Featuring the Power of Disability and Adaptation,” presented by Celebrity Series of Boston and Ágora Cultural Architects. Originally from Canada and now based in Boston, Anantawan performs with an adaptive device on his bow arm and co-founded the Music Inclusion Ensemble at Berklee, bringing together other disabled artists to perform the works of disabled composers. At this performance, he will play pieces by Florence Price, Clarice Assad, Reena Esmail and Claude Debussy.

Visit Club Passim in Harvard Square for a chance to reignite the passion of the feminist music scene of the 1990s. At “Reimagining Lilith Fair,” singer-songwriter and 2024 WBUR Maker Naomi Westwater has curated an evening honoring women, queer and gender expansive musicians from the region. Performers include spoken word artist Amanda Shea, musician and activist Evan Greer, and alternative/indie songwriter Analise. This is the third iteration of the event, and it is an outgrowth of The Folk Collective, a program that aims to celebrate artists who have shaped folk music and will continue to influence its many paths. Tickets are $20.

If you’ve ever longed to meet the visual artists behind works you’ve seen exhibited, your chance arrives this weekend. Attend Jamaica Plain Open Studios to walk into the workspaces of creatives, encountering the printmakers, jewelers, ceramicists, sculptors, photographers and other masters behind pieces on view. This year, the event includes over 200 artists at over 60 spaces across Jamaica Plain, including mixed media artist Erin Sutton, painter Nancy Marks and candle-maker Rhonda Champagnie. Jamaica Plain Studios is free and open to the public, and artwork can be purchased on site.