E-Mail This Article to a Friend Black is back Plus the Boston Folk Festival and more Star Wars

" STAR WARS: WHERE SCIENCE MEETS IMAGINATION "

The Museum of Science’s blockbuster exhibit collects art and artifacts from the Lucasfilm vaults, ostensibly to argue for their influence on hard science and " as a gateway to examining technologies of today and tomorrow. " Frankly, we had hoped never to hear about SDI again. But we’ll endure — so long as we get to ogle Leia’s iron bikini. The exhibit gets its world premiere at the Museum on October 27 and runs through April 30. Tickets are $20 and go on sale Monday | 617.723.2500.

BOSTON INTERNATIONAL FILM AND COMEDY FESTIVAL

Back for another year, the Boston International Film and Comedy Festival revolves around a head-to-head stand-up comedy competition, with stops along the way for sketch and improv showcases, tryouts for David Letterman, and themed gigs including " The Gay Show, " " The Woman’s Show, " " The Dirty Show, " and " The Marijuanalogues. " The Daily Show’s Lewis Black delivers the opening invocation with a two-night stand at the Cutler Majestic Theatre on September 9 and 10; the festival runs through September 17 at the Comedy Connection, the Charles Playhouse, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and other locations. Tickets to Black’s performances are $35; call 800.233.3123. For other festival info, visit http://www.bostoncomedyfestival.com/.

BOSTON FOLK FESTIVAL

With headliners like the Pixies and Bright Eyes, perhaps the Newport Folk Festival ought to change its name. " Coachella, " maybe? Meanwhile, New England singer-songwriters can still count on WUMB’s annual Boston Folk Festival to stick to folk’s roots: this year’s two-day event, September 24 and 25 at UMass-Boston, features Suzanne Vega, Chris Smither, Ollabelle, Guy Davis, Patty Griffin, Redbird, and Lori McKenna, among others. Tickets are $35 each day, $60 for a two-day pass | 617.931.2000 or http://www.bostonfolkfestival.org./

WORLD MUSIC 15TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON

The numbers say this is World Music’s biggest fall: 23 concerts by 34 ensembles from as far afield as Mali, India, and China. And though there are numerous Boston premieres in store — by South African choreographer Vincent Mantsoe, Benin’s Gangbe Brass Band, and Portuguese fado star Dulce Pontes, to name three — the most exciting notation on the calendar is an appearance by Konono N°1, a Congolese group who combine elements of traditional Bazombo trance music, Afrofunk, and primitive electronica on recordings that they make with thumb pianos and amplifiers constructed out of used auto parts and 30-year-old public-address systems. They’re at the Somerville Theatre on November 18 | $25 | 617.876.4275 or http://www.worldmusic.org/.