PICK OF THE DAY
The debut of the Boston International Children's Film Festival offers cinematic treats including Saturday's award-winning, animated feature "Ernest & Celestine." The story about a friendship between a mouse and a bear is recommended for ages 7 and older. Sunday's offering for 8 and older is "The Zigzag Kid."
2:30 p.m. (through April 21). $10. Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston. 800-440-6975. www.mfa.org/film
SATURDAY
Light bulbs and more Nine days of science and technology is right up MIT Museum’s alley, presenter of the Cambridge Science Festival. Saturday’s kick-off welcomes video and board game designers, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the exhibit “Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things” (hint: light bulbs, paper clips, and clothespins).
Daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (see website for additional hours; festival runs through April 21 at MIT Museum and other Cambridge locations). $8.50; $4 under 18, students, seniors; free under 5, Sun 10 a.m.-noon. MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. 617-253-5927. www.cambridgesciencefestival.org
What a difference a day makes The last track on “Move,” the new release by Hiromi Uehara, is “11:49 PM,” an 11-minute tune about the end of one day and start of another. The pianist and composer describes the album’s theme as “like a soundtrack for a day.” The Hiromi Trio Project features bassist Anthony Jackson and drummer Simon Phillips.
April 13 (8 and 10 p.m.) and 14 (4 and 7 p.m.). $40. Scullers Jazz Club at the DoubleTreeGuest Suites, 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston. 617-562-4111. www.scullersjazz.com
Happily ever after, or not
Brush up on a few opera stories and put the singers through their paces at OperaHub’s “Choose Your Own Opera.” You decide how you want an opera to end, which characters you want to know more about, and any plot twist you can think of. April 13 (7 and 9 p.m.) and 14 (8 p.m.). Free (donations welcomed). Fort Point TheatreChannel,
10 Channel Center St., Boston.
www.operahub.org
Sunny days
Leslie Carrara Rudolph is used to entertaining viewers of “Sesame Street,” but the Emmy-nominated handler of the show’s Abby Cadabby performs for adults at “Entertaining Thoughts.” Rudolph brings her saucy sock puppet sidekick, Lolly Lardpop, to the comedy concert and puppet cabarets.
8 p.m. $22. Puppet Showplace Theatre, 32 Station St., Brookline. 617-731-6400. www.puppetshowplace.org
Swamped
What’s an average day like in a swamp? If this question keeps you up at night (or if it doesn’t), take in “Smile Swamp Princess: A Rock Opera” by three Berklee alums. Through magical rock ballads and upbeat love songs, the Swamp Princess and her Space Cowboy “skim slowly into love, while dragging mounds of swamp scum up their equally deranged mountains.” 8 p.m. $12. The Red Room @ Cafe 939, 939 Boylston St., Boston. 617-747-2261. www.cafe939.com
SUNDAY
Rediscovering Courtney Lewis and pianist Michael McHale grew up together in Belfast and played chamber music when Lewis was a clarinetist. The Discovery Ensemble conductor welcomes his former music partner to “A Spring Afternoon Concert,” a program of Schoenberg, Beethoven, and Schumann. April 14 at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. conversation). $20-$40, discounts available. Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge. 617-496-2222. www.discoveryensemble.com