This week’s installment gets artsy with film screenings, classical music and “Mr. Sweet Potato Head decorating.”

Japan Foundation Film Festival

Various showtimes Saturday and Sunday, Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.

The Japan Foundation, Lawrence Public Library, Kansas University Center for East Asian Studies and the KU department of film and media studies are teaming up to screen four contemporary Japanese documentaries this weekend.

Topics explored through this free and open-to-the-public festival include ethnicity, immigration, politics and child development.

The festival kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday with a showing of 2012’s “Lonely Swallows,” which documents the struggles of Japanese-Brazilian children and their immigrant parents.

Other screenings include “Hafu” at 3 p.m. Saturday, “Children of the Woods” at 1 p.m. Sunday and “Campaign” at 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit lawrence.lib.ks.us.

‘From the Old World to the New World’

3 p.m. Sunday, Lawrence High School, 1901 Louisiana St.

The Lawrence Community Orchestra and the Lawrence Youth Symphony will share the stage this weekend with a celebration of Czech composers.

Sunday’s program includes “The Moldau” from “Má vlast” (translation: “My Homeland” by Bedrich Smetana, aka the father of modern Czech music. Rounding out the afternoon are selections from Antonín Dvorák (including his Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” and “Slavonic Dance #1”), who followed in Smetana’s footsteps and drew inspiration from the folk tunes of Moravia and his native Bohemia.

Tickets cost $10-$15, and can be purchased at the door or online at lawrenceorchestra.org.

Sweet Potato Community Potluck

6 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Carnegie Building, 200 W. Ninth St.

To cap off October’s second annual Sweet Potato Month in Lawrence, the city is hosting a potato party, and everyone’s invited.

Organizers are encouraging guests to bring their favorite sweet potato dish to share with fellow attendees. Also on the roster: prizes for the tastiest dishes, plus trivia and Mr. Sweet Potato Head decorating.

For more information, visit the Celebrate Sweet Potatoes Facebook page.

‘Galaxy Quest’ screening

8 p.m. Sunday, Liberty Hall, 644 Massachusetts St.

Kids and adults alike should get a kick out of this cult gem starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman as the aging actors of a once-popular “Star Trek”-like sci-fi show who suddenly find themselves in a very real intergalactic emergency.

The 1999 film is a love letter to genre classics like “Star Trek” and the fandom surrounding them, though you don’t have to be a sci-fi buff to enjoy the flick’s geeky, family friendly humor.

Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the Liberty Hall box office. Visit libertyhall.net for more information.