Doesn’t it suck when something really cool is happening, but you have to pay to do it? Luckily, every so often in Boston, something pretty sweet is going on that even that smelly bum who always yells at you outside of Tedeschi’s could afford to attend. In the next week, there are a solid handful of these happenings, and they appeal to a wide range of attendees as well. Check it out, and save that cash for beer or charity or something kind of like that.
| Best Bad Idea: |
Johnny Appleseed Hard Cider: The World’s Tallest Ice Luge
Thursday, June 19
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA
A 25,000 pound, 25-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide ice luge is coming to the Seaport Thursday, in commemoration of—summer and alcohol, I guess? Sponsored by Johnny Appleseed Hard Cider, the event promises tons of giveaways and a special set from Chromeo, who could put on a sucky show and it still wouldn’t matter because there’s still a 12-ton ice luge in the room to keep spirits high and the crowd sufficiently distracted. The event will mark the conclusion of Boston Idea Week, and beginning of Boston “That-Was-A-Bad-Idea” Friday. RSVP here.
Thursday, June 19
Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA
A 25,000 pound, 25-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide ice luge is coming to the Seaport Thursday, in commemoration of—summer and alcohol, I guess? Sponsored by Johnny Appleseed Hard Cider, the event promises tons of giveaways and a special set from Chromeo, who could put on a sucky show and it still wouldn’t matter because there’s still a 12-ton ice luge in the room to keep spirits high and the crowd sufficiently distracted. The event will mark the conclusion of Boston Idea Week, and beginning of Boston “That-Was-A-Bad-Idea” Friday. RSVP here.
| Best Chance to Hear It Before It Was Cool: |
Fresh Air: Ringer Park
Saturday, June 21, 12pm to 6pm
Ringer Park, Allston, MA
Looking for something free in Boston that doesn’t feel like a corporate advertisement? Might be tough. Fortunately, independent music blog Boston Hassle is offering one of the last truly free lunches in town this Saturday (metaphorically, of course—there’s no such thing as free lunch in Boston). Fresh Air: Ringer Park is an all-day band showcase, featuring 12 of the city’s up-and-coming independent music acts. The event is open to all ages, so bring the whole family for Free Pizza (full disclosure: the band, not the food), Candy Truck (not food), Frozen Corn (again, not food), and plenty more of the most colorful names in Boston music.
Full Line-up: Candy Truck, Fistful of Nipples, Free Pizza, Frank Hurricane, Frozen Corn, Homeshopper, IAN, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Pancho The Kid, Rob Noyes, Sophie Dickinson, and Tomboy
Saturday, June 21, 12pm to 6pm
Ringer Park, Allston, MA
Looking for something free in Boston that doesn’t feel like a corporate advertisement? Might be tough. Fortunately, independent music blog Boston Hassle is offering one of the last truly free lunches in town this Saturday (metaphorically, of course—there’s no such thing as free lunch in Boston). Fresh Air: Ringer Park is an all-day band showcase, featuring 12 of the city’s up-and-coming independent music acts. The event is open to all ages, so bring the whole family for Free Pizza (full disclosure: the band, not the food), Candy Truck (not food), Frozen Corn (again, not food), and plenty more of the most colorful names in Boston music.
Full Line-up: Candy Truck, Fistful of Nipples, Free Pizza, Frank Hurricane, Frozen Corn, Homeshopper, IAN, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Pancho The Kid, Rob Noyes, Sophie Dickinson, and Tomboy
| Best Place to Hear Free Music (And Potentially Make an Impulse Buy?): |
7th Annual Make Music Harvard Square
Saturday, June 21, 2pm to 10pm
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
If there’s a genre you can’t find at the 7th Annual Make Music Harvard Square, good luck convincing anyone it exists. With 12 venues and 70 plus artists involved, the festival is one of the city’s most extensive, free music offerings. The central location also makes the event ideal for checking out local businesses, as well as four of Cambridge’s museums, which will be free to the public on Saturday.
Saturday, June 21, 2pm to 10pm
Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA
If there’s a genre you can’t find at the 7th Annual Make Music Harvard Square, good luck convincing anyone it exists. With 12 venues and 70 plus artists involved, the festival is one of the city’s most extensive, free music offerings. The central location also makes the event ideal for checking out local businesses, as well as four of Cambridge’s museums, which will be free to the public on Saturday.
| Best Nudist-Alternative Event: |
Elements EcoFashion Show
Saturday, June 21, 6pm to 9pm
Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston, MA
An evening of fashion inspired by nature? No worries—this is not a nudist gathering. Elements EcoFashion Show is an environmentally-conscious runway event, bringing together the work of four designers. Each designer will showcase work representative of a different element. The styles of Emma Anderson (Anderson Designs / earth), Martha Jackson (Restored by design / air), Valentina Opezza and Maryanne Meservey (Installa / water), and U-Meleni (Urban Thriftologee / fire) will be featured on the Greenway event.
Saturday, June 21, 6pm to 9pm
Rose Kennedy Greenway, Boston, MA
An evening of fashion inspired by nature? No worries—this is not a nudist gathering. Elements EcoFashion Show is an environmentally-conscious runway event, bringing together the work of four designers. Each designer will showcase work representative of a different element. The styles of Emma Anderson (Anderson Designs / earth), Martha Jackson (Restored by design / air), Valentina Opezza and Maryanne Meservey (Installa / water), and U-Meleni (Urban Thriftologee / fire) will be featured on the Greenway event.
| Best Place to Test Out River-Related Pickup Line: |
Into the Mystic Art and Film Festival
Thursday through Sunday, June 19 to 22
Medford Square, Medford, MA
Bringing together music, films, art, and activism, the Into the Mystic Environmental Art & Film Festival is probably what Woodstock would have been like had conservation, rather than hallucinogenic drugs, been the focus of the summer of ’69. Thursday evening, 4pm to 5:30pm, will be a sneak preview of the artwork to be featuring in the festival. Friday evening, 6pm to 9pm, will be a screening of three river-related short films. The festival’s feature film “The Mystic Herring Run: The Return of 2012 and Beyond” will premiere at 7pm Saturday at the Hyatt. An art exhibition will run in Medford Square all weekend.
Thursday through Sunday, June 19 to 22
Medford Square, Medford, MA
Bringing together music, films, art, and activism, the Into the Mystic Environmental Art & Film Festival is probably what Woodstock would have been like had conservation, rather than hallucinogenic drugs, been the focus of the summer of ’69. Thursday evening, 4pm to 5:30pm, will be a sneak preview of the artwork to be featuring in the festival. Friday evening, 6pm to 9pm, will be a screening of three river-related short films. The festival’s feature film “The Mystic Herring Run: The Return of 2012 and Beyond” will premiere at 7pm Saturday at the Hyatt. An art exhibition will run in Medford Square all weekend.