Boston Events Insider - Overview: December 2005 Archives

December 2005 Archives

Boston Events Insider: Johnny's List of Quirky Boston Events: 12/30/05

The big event of the week is First Night Boston, which is one of the big regional events similar to the Boston Pops 4th of July Fireworks, the Boston Marathon, and the Big E. It all happens around Back Bay, with about 40 different venues. Buy a single ticket and then choose from a wide program of music, dance, and comedy performance, and parties. I don't want to hear any whining about how it's too cold! It's supposed to be a warm night and if you don't do First Night this year you'll really be missing out.
Also it might be a good time to check out an Arcade Hall. I suggest Felt, which has everything. Boston, MA. 533 Washington St. (617) 350-5555. "Best of Boston", or Flat Top Johnny's, which is in Kendall Square Cambridge, all they have is pool, but it's a good place to not have to wait too long for a pool table. Cambridge. 1 Kendall Square. Billarids & bar. M-F 12-1am, SS 3pm-1am. 617-494-9565. King's is supposed to be good, but I haven't been there. Boston, MA. 10 Scotia St. "Best of Boston". (617) 266-2695. My favorite for a date location would be The Rack. They have pool tables, enough for everyone if you wait 5 minutes, and a dance floor and a bar. The dance music isn't too loud so you can have a real conversation which is a BIG improvement over most nightclubs. Boston, MA. 24 Clinton St. 617-725-1051. Daily 11:30-2am. Restaurant to 10pm. DJ dance 9pm-2am.
I haven't been, but am looking forward to trying Lazer Zone, which is an indoor laser tag place. Marlborough, MA. 416 Boston Post Road East. (508) 303-9900. T-R 10:30-9, FS 10-12, Sun 10-9 except July-Aug 12-6.
Finally, you really need to check out Good Time Emporium, New England's largest indoor arcade. Somerville. 30 Assembly Square Drive. 617.628.5559. They have laser tag, race cars, bumper cars, video machines of all sizes, pool tables, the works. And it's right next to the Assembly Square movie theater.
Also, the Starland Sports & Fun Park is open year round, it's basically the only real amusement park open year-round. Hanover, MA. 645 Washington St. 781-826-3083. Year round. Minigolf, go carts, climbing walls, laser tag. Outdoor activities are closed for the winter, so basically laser tag and arcade for the winter.

By Johnny Monsarrat on December 30, 2005 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: Johnny's List of Quirky Boston Events: 12/21/05

Hi everyone,

There isn't much happening in way of events this week, because of the holidays.

However, I can quickly recommend that Chinese and Jewish restaurants are often open on Xmas, movie theaters and movie rental places are always open on holidays.

And if it snows, there is a great place to go sledding in North Cambridge, at Danehy Park. You'll see it on the map next to Fresh Pond.

You can still do the Somerville Houses with Holiday Lighting tour I mentioned earlier, as a self-guided tour, but you have to pick up a map from the town office.

Also one suggestion about holiday letters. Holiday letters have two goals (1) bring people up to speed on your life (2) make your friends feel warm, like you're saying "I'm thinking of you!". Getting CC'd on a general email makes me feel like I'm getting a form letter and generally turns me off. It's good for goal 1 but sucky for goal 2. I recommend taking an afternoon and writing out some cards longhand. It doesn't take much longer but really, what's the point of keeping up with friends if you don't communicate warmth.

That's just my opinion.

Also my opinion, I went to the Milky Way Bar in Jamaica Plain which I recommended a while ago for bowling, and it was sucky. They only have a few lanes and a couple of pool tables, so your chances of getting to play (and then playing 2 games in a row) are marginal, unless you want to wait 2 hours. Lanes n Games is much better, they have both duckpin and candlepin bowling.

Also, I've just seen The Twelfth Night, the Shakespeare play, at the Cambridge Multicultural Center, and it was awesome. Runs to January 8th, check it out.

Hmm, what else. I dunno, don't forget that First Night Boston is coming up Dec 31st! Happy Holidays.

By Johnny Monsarrat on December 21, 2005 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: Johnny's List of Quirky Boston Events: 12/15/05

Ho ho ho. This week, there's Christmas Caroling, Dec 18 & 21, with the Loose Canon Chorale. Dec. 18, 3:00-5:00 PM, for Downtown Crossing & Harvard Square. Dec. 21, 7:00-9:00 PM, Jamaica Plain. They have caroling booklets available for download if you want to make up your own caroling parade, too.
A few months ago I picked up an adult education coursebook, and this was the big event that stood out. It's Art Weekend for Beginners, Dec 17 & 18, with the Boston Center for Adult Education. In just 2 days you get to try a variety of art projects and what better way to spend a weekend with a buddy. $159 for 2 days, register in advance. 617-267-4430. Classes in Arlington. Class # YBAI 09. There are a variety of other courses as well.
Another alternative activity for the holidays is to Leave Boston Entirely. I have to confess, I've always been one of those people who thought traveling was so expensive that I had to do it the BIG way, or no way at all. Recently, I've been getting advice that package deals -- if they come from a good source such as AAA or Budget Travel Online (which is Frommers) -- are worth the gamble. Even if you only have $500 to spend (each), you can do something fun domestically. If you have $1500, you can go anywhere in the world. Personally I managed to get train & hotel to NYC for $500 for about 5 days. Now let's see how much I can spend on Broadway. :)
Actually, while I have your attention here's the trick to cheap NYC show tickets. Also see this link. I've never done this myself but insiders swear by it. Go to the TKTS booth in Times Square on the day of the show. Ask your hotel when they open, because you want to be there when they open. The line is really long, but it moves quickly - and it shouldn't take much more than half an hour tops. When you get to the counter, there's a LED screen showing which shows have tickets available, and they're usually good seats at half price. If you have your heart set on one particular show, you may want to buy tix in advance, but if you just want to see a good show and are flexible as to which, it's the only way to go. Note: cash only!
Also coming up is the Illuminations Tour (Xmas Lights in Somerville), Sunday Dec 17th. This is a trolley tour for 45 minutes around to Somerville's most decked out holiday houses. At first I felt this was just an excuse for some rich Somervillians to show off their mansions. But it's one of the few outdoorsy things going on this weekend, it's happening all day from 4:30pm to 9:30pm, and they have chorus music and cookies. Can't beat that!
Another fun thing to try this weekend would be Skiing at Wachusett Mountain. It's the best combination of close to Boston and yet not sucky. The Blue Hills is closer but it's just too short. Nashoba Valley I haven't tried. And definitely get yourself up to New Hampshire -- the White Mountains has Wildcat Mountain, Canon Mountain, and tons of alternatives to choose from. If you've never tried it before, skiing is easier to learn than snowboarding, and go to a place that also offers snow tubing. Snow tubing is when you sit on your butt on a big inner tube and just go for a sledding ride. Anyone can do it, and it saved me a couple of years ago when I went skiing with a first-timer who tried skiing and didn't like it. No, people do not break their legs. The snow is soft! More on skiing next week.

By Johnny Monsarrat on December 15, 2005 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: Johnny's List of Quirky Boston Events: 12/08/05

The only real festival this week of note is The Boston Tea Party, Old South Meeting House. They re-enact the Boston Tea Party that helped kick off the Revolutionary War in the 1700s. Boston. 310 Washington Street. Corner of Washington & Milk. 5:30pm. Ends with a fife and drum concert. It should be fun.
I'm not going to run out of museums to recommend, which I'll be doing all winter. Check out the Boston Children's Museum. I haven't been in ages, but someone told me recently that if you're a big kid at heart, it's worth going. A few times a year they have family overnights, sort of a huge slumber party.
Performing this weekend is Ten's The Limit, Dec 9-10, 7 and 9pm, in Cambridge. It's a showcase of short 10-minute dance pieces meant to give a broad exposure to styles, like an appetizer sampler at your favorite restaurant. It looks pretty cool, recommended. Of course, I was wrong about UnPossessed a couple of weeks ago, which was overly arty, weird with no purpose, and inaccessible. Also the Mikado is playing at MIT, the Gilbert & Sullivan classic.
Also there is a Cubism Exhibit at the MFA. Now to April 16th, so there's no hurry. A great time to visit the MFA by the way is on First Fridays. On the first Friday of the month, 5:30-9:30 when they have social gatherings. It's a 21+ activity. The MFA is free on Wednesdays 4-9:45pm, and they show films most evenings Wed-Sat.
Bored and it's too cold to even think about leaving the house? Well, the 4th season of "24" just came out on DVD, so you're all set for 72 hours of viewing pleasure. Or, how about Learning to Tie Animal Balloons. Oh come on, like you've never want to try this. Or learn some origami. It's fun and you can entertain kids in the airport using a scrap of paper.
If that's not serious enough for you, how about making your own pottery, at The Clayroom, 1406 Beacon Brookline, or Made By Me, 1154 Mass Ave in Cambridge, which used to be also called The Clayroom. There are a bunch around other locations, too. Basically you walk in and pick up a pre-made piece of pottery with no decoration. It looks and feels like a scritchy bone. You paint it and they fire it in the kiln. You keep it or make it a "gift" that I'm sure your family will "love".

By Johnny Monsarrat on December 8, 2005 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: Johnny's List of Quirky Boston Events: 12/01/05

Last night I went to see White Christmas, to Dec 31st at the Wang Center in Boston. It was pretty good, surprisingly. It's outdated, kinda too mainstream, but hearty, like steak & potatos for breakfast. And it was written by Irving Berlin. Plus snow falls on the audience. No, really.
Looking for something to do in the performance world? One of the mainstays of Boston is Blue Man Group, which is going to run forever and ever. Like in White Christmas, they dump stuff on the audience and it's kinda fun. Unlike White Christmas, Blue Man Group is trendy and on the edge. It's not a theater event: there is no plot and no story. But it's a bunch of performance skits involving tricks of the senses and intellectual jokes. It's really worth seeing, and one secret is that if you volunteer to usher (sign up 2-4 weeks in advance) you get free seats, typically the worst seats in the house, but hey, still free.
A couple of holiday shopping activities dressed up as art shows are going on as well. Sounds corny, but the art at these things is usually inexpensive, and sometimes it's really good. Like shopping at Filene's Basement, if you trust your sense of taste, you can find some good bargains. Check out the Brookline Art Center Annual Showcase, Dec 1-18 in Brookline, and Mass Art's Holiday Sale, Dec 5-10 in Boston.
The big event of the week is Kevin Pollack, at the Comedy Connection, Dec 2-3, in Fanueil Hall. He's that movie star from The Usual Suspects, and comedian famous for doing impressions, like Captain Kirk on Star Trek on Saturday Night Live. What's interesting is that the Comedy Connection website hasn't got him listed. But they put at an in the Weekly Dig, so it must be real.
Also what looks interesting this weekend is The Great Scientific Breakthroughs of the 20th Century, Dec 2nd at 7pm at the Museum of Science, Boston. It's free and I'm sure it'll be interesting to learn what they chose as the Top 25 breakthroughs. Check out the Star Wars exhibit while you're there, too.
Also check out The Great Marlborough Train Show, Dec 3-4, Marlborough, MA. It's the biggest event I could find when I was wondering, where are the model train nuts in New England and how can I stop by one of their events? At the Best Western, 181 Boston Post Rd (Rt 20), 10-5 S, 10-4 S. 781-862-0388. Cheaper than buying your own set, and way bigger.
Also, Brown University's Handel Messiah this year is simply a concert, not a sing-along. Wait to next year, I guess. Will someone please email me to tell me about Christmas Caroling opportunities? You know, like a chorus or community group that lets you tag along with them, you go to a hospital or an elderly care center, and you end up at someone's house at the end drinking alcoholic cider, kissing under the mistletoe, and wearing a hat with felt reindeer horns. I really want to do a lot of this in December! (I found one and will announce it later)

By Johnny Monsarrat on December 1, 2005 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.