Boston Events Insider - Overview: May 2011 Archives

May 2011 Archives

Boston Events Insider: June 1-7, 2011: Art & River Fests, Tons o' Parades, Soapbox Derby, Fireworks, Quilt Show, and 3 Awesome Giveaways

Oh my god! Oh my god! Guys guys guys! This week I'm giving away must-have tickets to 3 different places, and finally, we have tons of awesome summer stuff. I know your secret. You read the top 8 listings and don't click through to the main page. YOU ARE TOTALLY MISSING OUT. Please click through and see all the awesome. I list more outdoor music, theatre, and movies than anyone else by a factor of five. I hope you are having an awesome week. Now get out there and do something fun!

-Johnny

p.s. Love this blog? Subscribe to email, , or and if you help get the word out, I'll put you on my priority list to win free stuff and send you the FREE 27-page Spring 2011 Guide, with over 720 off-beat attractions you won't find in the blog!

This week's top items are below, or see the complete Boston Events Insider.

Wed 6/1 - Thu 9/1New HampshireCanobie Lake Park - tix giveaway
Canobie Lake Park is my favorite amusement park in New England. It's not as big as Six Flags New England but it's a real park with trees and shady spots to relax as well as the thrill rides. You can take a boat ride around their lake or get the birds eye view from the gondola. And I have ANOTHER two pairs of tickets to give away this week for Canobie Lake Park! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com to win and let me know if a pair works of you need more. 85 N. Policy Street, Salem, NH.603.893.3506. see details on the complete Events Insider
Wed 6/1 - Thu 9/1New HampshireWhitewater Rafting Giveaway
Are you totally sad to have missed the giveaway last month for whitewater rafting? I have 4 tickets to give away for a different provider, RaftNH! Their prices are lower and they have dog sledding in the summer (think "sleds" with wheels.) It sounds fantastic and I hope to go there myself and do a review. Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com to win. Gorham, NH. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 6/5Boston MetroRock and Blues Concert Cruise: Carbon Leaf and Enter the Haggis
Check this out! It's a music concert on a boat that sails around Boston hahbah. I'm giving away 4 tickets for this cool concert cruise! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com. It boards at 2 PM and departs at 3 PM. Ticket holders must be 21+. World Trade Center Pier in the Seaport District at 200 Seaport Blvd, Boston., Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 6/4Boston MetroCambridge River Festival
Definitely the highlight of the week, this is an arts fest that's got everything: A parade kicking off from Harvard Square at 11:30, puppets, street performers, food, music, performances by local theatres, dance, demonstrations, artists, and more. 12-6 PM, rain or shine. I've been twice and it's GINORMOUS. Along Memorial Drive, between JFK Street and Western Avenue., Cambridge, MA.617-349-4380. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 6/4 - Sun 6/5Boston MetroFIGMENT Festival
So... this is some kind of poorly described art festival, but it's not a row of vendors selling merchandise. Instead it's more like 80 participatory art activities. The event is free & family friendly, and you're invited to bring something to share. Features a "wandering carnival" of sculptures. It sounds like summer! 11 AM- 7 PM Saturday and 11 AM- 6 PM Sunday. Rose Kennedy Greeway, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Mon 6/6Boston MetroAncient and Honorable June Day Parade
What is June Day? I really don't know! It's like something important happened once long ago in June, and they forgot what it was, but still call it June Day! Anyway, it's celebrated with a big parade with re-enactors starting at 12 PM from Boston City Hall. Features the National Lancers and the Salem Zouaves. City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 6/4Boston MetroArlington Soapbox Derby Race Day
OMG! I really want to see this! They'll be racing homemade cars in Arlington, old-timey style! Starts at 9 AM, when normal people are sleeping. Eastern Avenue, Arlington, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sun 6/5Boston MetroDay of Portugal Parade
The season-long Boston Portuguese Festival continues with its annual parade, held a few weeks early this year. Starts at 2:0 PM in Somerville and ends up with a block party in Cambridge. Church, Cambridge St at Cardinal Medeiros Ave, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider

And a lot more this week at Boston Events Insider, the most popular events blog in New England, including:

Dorchester Day Parade, SomerStreets June Event- Carnaval!, Winchester Town Day, Taunton River Festival, Swampscott Parade, Quilters' Connection Annual Quilt Show, Boston Pride Week, WUMB Music Fest, World Oceans Day Festival, Antique Car Rally at Old Sturbridge Village, Charles River One Mile Swim, Saint Athanasius Greek Festival, Flash Mob Anniversary, Southbridge Fest, 29th Annual Festival of Historic Houses, Concord Garden Affairs Tour, Lowell Carnival, Old Home Days Family Fair, Hazelwood Park Fair, Historic New England Open House and Ice Cream Social, Salem Arts Festival, Coolidge Corner Arts Festival & Brookline Food Festival, Fort Adams Family Day, Chowder Cook-off, Chowder Fest, Shear Fun Fest at Davis Farmland, Goffstown Old Home Day, Traditional Early American Music, Springfield Jerkfest, Statewide Free Fishing Weekend, A Conversation with Judge Nancy Gertner, Annual Spring Antique Show and Sale, AIDS Walk Boston, Western Mass Kidney Walk, Berkshire International Film Festival, Boston Circus Guild presents Reign of Revelry, JAMN 94.5 FM Summer Jam, Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival, Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, 10th Annual Strolling of the Heiffers, Blacksmith Hammer-In

Love this blog? Subscribe to email, Facebook, or Twitter and please tell your friends and get the FREE 27-page Spring 2011 Guide, with over 720 off-beat attractions you won't find in the blog!

By Johnny Monsarrat on May 31, 2011 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: May 23-31, 2011: Canobie Lake Park, Scottish Games, Zombie March, Memorial Day Fireworks, Re-enactments, Native American Fest

Outdoor music series are slowly starting to get going this week, but you'll see more than 200 that I track by August. Make Memorial Day an excuse to travel out of town to someplace foreign and check out how they parade. It's also a great time to go hiking because it's not too hot. Tomorrow I head out to experience High 5's hot air ballooning and will tell you all about it! I hope you are having an awesome week. Now get out there and do something fun!

-Johnny

This week's top items are below, or see the complete Boston Events Insider.

Fri 5/27 - Fri 7/1New HampshireCanobie Lake Park - tix giveaway
Canobie Lake Park is my favorite amusement park in New England. It's not as big as Six Flags New England but it's a real park with trees and shady spots to relax as well as the thrill rides. You can take a boat ride around their lake or get the birds eye view from the gondola. And I have 4 tickets to give away this week for Canobie Lake Park! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com to win. 85 N. Policy Street, Salem, NH.603.893.3506. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/28New HampshireSouthern New Hampshire Scottish Games & Celtic Festival
I've seen Scottish Games and I expect this to be a fantastic event! Even though I couldn't find a real website, you'll discover -- most likely -- dance, live music, "clans" with booths, a parade of bagpipes, and all manner of weird sports, like throwing poles. 2011:. Oak Park, Greenfield, NH. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 5/27 - Mon 5/30Northern MassSteam & Cinders 3-Day Weekend
What is live roleplaying? It's like a theatre show you get to improvise. This weekend LARP group Steam & Cinders hosts one of its semi-annual 3-day games. Bring your top hats, goggles, modded nerf guns, petticoats, corsets, tail coats, and anything with brass buttons. 1031 Erickson Rd., Ashby, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/28 - Sun 5/29Boston MetroZombie March VII
A zombie march is exactly what you think it is! You dress up as something scary -- preferrably a zombie -- and join a legion of ghouls pretending to march on Boston, entertaining passersby. Starts at South Station at 3:30 PM and ends around 8:30 PM. South Station, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sun 5/29New HampshireMemorial Day Fireworks at Hampton Beach
Of course the big event of the week is really Memorial Day. It's not hard to find Memorial Day events. I suggest traveling to some small town and catching the enthusiasm of the event organizers. Below are a select few of the dozens of towns that will be celebrating. Let's start with: fireworks in New Hampshire! Hampton Beach, Hampton Beach, NH. see details on the complete Events Insider
Mon 5/30Boston MetroHorn Pond Memorial Lantern Walk
If you're looking for a more poignant way to commemorate the holiday, join the Memorial Lantern Walk in Woburn. If you haven't got your own lantern, you can buy one at the event for a small donation. You can also go to the lantern-making workshop at the local Whole Foods on May 27th. 7 PM. Horn Pond, Woburn, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Tue 5/31Metro WestMemorial Day re-enactment in Concord
Concord, which is known for its re-enactments, is having a parade and other observances featuring re-enactors from 9 AM to noon. From Rideout Field to Ash Street, Concord, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/28 - Sun 5/29South ShoreSpring Planting Moon Pow-Wow & Crafts Festival
I've been to Native American festivals and they're always intriguing, with great people who can show you dancing, demonstrations, and crafts. Marshfield Fairgrounds, 140 Main St., Marshfield, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider

And a lot more this week at Boston Events Insider, the most popular events blog in New England, including:

Street Performer Festival at Faneuil Hall, Bayou N' Boogie Fest, Marshfield's YesterDays, Gravity Grand Prix, Newburyport Spring Fest, Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival, Find a Memorial Day Parade Near You!, Memorial Day Parade: Somerville, Memorial Day Concert featuring the USAF Band of Liberty, Sudbury Memorial Day Parade, Memorial Day Parade - Falmouth, Memorial Day Parade: Greenfield, Memorial Day Parade: Dunstable, Tyngsboro Memorial Day Parade, Memorial Day Parade at Old Orchard Beach, MFA Free Community Day, Writing the Civil War, Discovery Day in Lexington, Asparagus Festival at Verrill Farm, Lakeside Family Festival, Lowell Carnival, North River Festival of the Arts, Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Show, Wildquack Duck River Festival, A Conversation with Judge Nancy Gertner, A Conversation with Boston Globe Pulitzer Prize-winners, A Conversation With Steve Martin -- Providence, RI, Harvard "Patios in Bloom" Kickoff, Virtu Art Festival, Artisans Fair and Flea Market, Rock n' Roll 'R Coaster Laser Light Show, Medieval Fair on Thetford Hill, Vermont Open Studios Weekend

Love this blog? Subscribe to email, Facebook, or Twitter and please tell your friends and get the FREE 27-page Spring 2011 Guide, with over 720 off-beat attractions you won't find in the blog!

By Johnny Monsarrat on May 23, 2011 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: May 17-24, 2011: Star Wars, Airplane, Native Am, & Chalk Art Fests, Open Studios, Re-enactments, and Naked Girls Reading

Last weekend I made it out to Springfield for their pancake festival, parade, and fireworks. It wasn't the hugest festival ever, but a good excuse to check out a new city. Try it! Make this weekend an excuse to go to some out of the way tiny New England location and see what the locals are cooking up. I hope you are having an awesome week. Now get out there and do something fun!

-Johnny

This week's top items are below, or see the complete Boston Events Insider.

Sat 5/21WorcesterStar Wars Day at the Higgins Armory
Here's a great way to start the week. My favorite museum in Worcester is the Higgins Armory, where they have all manner of medeival suits of armor and weapons. But this week, they add Star Wars re-enactors, and you can meet costumed "stormtroopers" from Star Wars and learn about ancient knights. 100 Barber Ave, Worcester, MA.508-853-6015. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sat 5/21Southeast MassGeneral Aviation Fun Day
Slightly more grounded, it's helicopters! And airplanes! And trains! And they're free! 10 AM- 4 PM. New Bedford Regional Airport, New Bedford, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 5/22Metro WestWonderful Wellesley Annual Veterans Parade
It's not memorial day yet, but I couldn't resist putting this veteran's parade up top. After the 1pm parade, they have fireworks at dusk! Washington Street, Wellesley, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 5/20 - Sun 5/22Metro WestStow SpringFest Celebration
Festivals come and go, but how many have a silent movie with live music, a lego contest, hayrides, a Revolutionary War re-enactment, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show? Wow! Now that's creative. Center School, Stow, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/21 - Sun 5/22Boston MetroNative American Cultural Awareness (NACA) 1st Annual Spring Powwow
And here's one of only a very few Native American events that you can get to by subway each year. In addition to the opportunity to learn about Native culture, pow wows offer great traditional music, dancing, vendors, and food. There's always fun stuff for kids, too. 10 AM - 5 PM at the National Guard Armory. 70 Victory Rd., Dorchester, MA.617-364-3718. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/21Boston MetroWBOS Earthfest
Although this is is not exactly obscure -- it is well advertised everywhere -- this belated Earth Day festival is always fun. WBOS sponsors this free concert outdoors on the Esplanade (one stage for mainstream rock bands, one stage for kids music) with lots of exhibitors and cool stuff to do. This year's lineup features OK Go, Sponge, Atomic Tom, and Ed Kowalczyk. 10 AM- 1 PM. Hatch Shell, Esplanade, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sat 5/21Boston MetroSomerville Porch Fest
This is a cool grassroots project where all kinds of Somerville musicians will give free performances all day on their front porches. Check the website for a map of locations. A Somervillian porch near you, Somerville, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider

And a lot more this week at Boston Events Insider, the most popular events blog in New England, including:

Cambridge Open Studios - North/West, Lexington Open Studios, East Boston Open Studios, NERO Roleplaying Weekend, Full Moon Canoe Trip, Acton Minute Man Day, The Battle for Needham, Naked Girls Reading: Fang Fiction, Mayor Menino's Bike Fesitval, Northeast Geocache Bash, Observatory Night at Harvard, Spring Observatory Open House, Patio opening day at Noir, Charles Sumner & Civil Rights, Artist's Plein Air Day, MSCPA Equestrian Trail Ride and Fundraiser, Winchester En Ka Fair, A Taste of Blacksmithing, Woburn Spring Carnival, My Perestroika, a THANG: Music and Dance at The Nave Gallery, The Segway Experience, Boats, Birds, and BBQ, Pittsfield 3rd Thursdays Downtown - Opening Weekend, Motif #1 Days, Play-Jurisms! a weekend of creativity! copyright! ethics! appropriation!, Bluegrass On The Bogs, Hoppin' Mad Mud Run, Annual Beacon Hill Hidden Gardens Tour, Arts at the Armory's Spring Fever Market, Downtown Crossing Art Fridays, Culinary Historians of Boston Banquet, Nantucket Wine Festival, Hammonasset Kite Festival, Hotel Cassiopeia, Boston Handbell Festival, Popular Music of the Gaslight Era, Wayfaring Strange: An Offbeat Song-Swap at the Armory, Boston Typewriter Orchestra, The Vagina Monologues, Opera Project Light and Power, Brookline Puppet Slam, Boston Theater Marathon XIII

Love this blog? Subscribe to email, Facebook, or Twitter and please tell your friends and get the FREE 27-page Spring 2011 Guide, with over 720 off-beat attractions you won't find in the blog!

By Johnny Monsarrat on May 16, 2011 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: May 10-17, 2011: Open Studios, Astronomy Day, Car Fest, Haitian Parade, Night Canoeing, & Springfield Anniversary Parade & Fireworks!

Greetings to everyone I gave a card to at last weekend's Steampunk Festival! Please send me your photos. I walked around offering people a peek inside my Victorian Era Mystery Box. Slowly, slowly lift the lid of the coffin shaped box with skeleton designs. Inside... the eerie, dangerous mystery... was candy! I hope you are having an awesome week. Now get out there and do something fun!

-Johnny

This week's top items are below, or see the complete Boston Events Insider.

Fri 5/6 - Sat 6/4Boston MetroThe Drowsy Chaperone - ticket giveaway
Winner of five 2006 Tony Awards, The Drowsy Chaperone is about a die-hard musical fan whose favorite 1928 show magically bursts to life when he plays his cast record. We're giving away 4 tickets to the 5/14, the 4pm show! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com to win. BCA, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 5/15Boston MetroHaitian Parade
Last weekend was a huge blowout of events, but this weekend is perhaps the last "quiet" weekend until November. Let's start with the Haitian parade, which starts from Mattapan Square. 1pm. Mattapan Square, 1614 Blue Hill Ave, Mattapan, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sun 5/15Boston MetroCadillac Day at Larz Anderson Museum
Just across the river in Brookline is the Larz Anderson Museum of Transporation. Throughout the summer they'll have numerous lawn festivals, for various types of car enthusiast. This week it's Cadillacs! 10am-3pm. 15 Newton Street, Brookline, MA.(617)-522-6547. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/14Boston MetroNational Astronomy Day & Kite Fly
What's better than cars? Rockets! Are you glim about missing Rocket Day last weekend? You are saved! This special astronomy day begins with rockets, kites, and solar telesciopes and ends with viewings of the full moon and Saturn. 4-10pm. Clay Center Observatory, 20 Newton Street, Brookline, MA.(617)-522-5544. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/14 - Sun 5/15Boston MetroCambridge Open Studios - Central
Open studios are a great excuse to walk around the city. Meet interesting artists in their homes or work studios, and buy their art! I mean, AHHT. 12pm-6pm. Get a map, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/14 - Sun 5/15Boston MetroNewton Open Studios
Newton is an even better place to walk around because there are so many mansions! And you get to meet local artists, not just their vendors, see their work and possibly buy something. 11am-5pm. Various locations, Newton, MA.(617)-332-9967. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 5/13Boston MetroCharles River Moonlight Canoe
Also in Newton, the local canoe rental place has regular night events, for 3 days every full moon. They start this week and go all summer. Newton Boathouse, Commonwealth Ave., Newton, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/14Western MassSpringfield's 375th Birthday Festival, Parade, & Fireworks
This would be a great weekend to zip out to Springfield! They are celebrating their 375th birthday with a number of events, like a parade, fireworks, live music, a road race, and museum events like a scavenger hunt! All over...., Springfield, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider

And a lot more this week at Boston Events Insider, the most popular events blog in New England, including:

World's Largest Pancake Breakfast, Armory Day, Emily Dickinson Museum Open House & Poetry Walk, Emerging Americal Festival & Parade, A Loyalist Perspective on the Revolution, Tour: Charles Sumner: From Cradle to Grave, Full Moon Canoe Trip, Audubon Society Birdathon, Annual Scrimshaw Weekend, Rhode Island Folk Festival, Hampton Beach Tow Rodeo, Granite State Comicon, Salt Pond Visitor Center Exhibit Dedication, WFNX Downtown Crossing Block Party, Downtown Crossing Art Fridays, Apple Blossom Festival, Derry Carnival, St Louis Church Festival, Saturn and Other Celestial Wonders, Massachusetts Poetry Festival at the PEM, Other Poetry Festival Events, Phantom Gourmet Safari, Bike Week Kickoff Party in the Fenway, Bicycle Parade, The Hub Crawl, 7th Annual National Arab American Service Day, Earth Day Clean Up at Wachusett Mountain, Bug Light Kite Festival, Annual Boston LGBT Film Festival, The Boston 48 Hour Film Project, Annual Coolidge Award, Once Upon a Time: Art Exhibit by Ricardo Passos, Plastic + Film: An Exhibition of Toy Camera Photography, Brimfield Antiques Show (Spring), Revels: Pub Sing at Doyle's Cafe, Jazz Fest in the Garden, Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Boston Kidney Walk, A Conversation with President Jimmy Carter, Banjo Extravaganza & Banjo Camp, Boston Handbell Festival, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Peter Pansy -- our review, Antony and Cleopatra, Hotel Cassiopeia, 2011 Opening Night for the Boston Pops, The Bach Experience

Love this blog? Subscribe to email, Facebook, or Twitter and please tell your friends and get the FREE 27-page Spring 2011 Guide, with over 720 off-beat attractions you won't find in the blog!

By Johnny Monsarrat on May 9, 2011 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: May 2-10, 2011: Steampunk Fest, Science Fest, Open Studios, Lilac Sunday, Mother's Day, Circus Ticket Giveaway, Parades & Carnivals

There are two conflicting events that you really MUST see this week: the Cambridge Science Festival, which is the largest science festival in the world (and it's all free) and the International Steampunk City, where downtown Waltham is transformed into a Victorian Age techno-fantasy. Next week -- see the very bottom of the issue -- I start with the first few concerts from the more than 200 outdoor summer music series in New England. It is by far the largest list of outdoor music events in New England. I hope you are having an awesome week. Now get out there and do something fun!

-Johnny

This week's top items are below, or see the complete Boston Events Insider.

Sat 4/2 - Sun 5/15Boston MetroBig Apple Circus - ticket giveaway
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! The Big Apple Circus is in town and we're giving away a family 4-pack of tickets for the Thursday May 5 show at 6:30pm. City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 4/30 - Sun 5/8Boston MetroCambridge Science Festival
It's the event of the week! The Cambridge Science Festival is FREE and they say it's the largest science festival in North America. There's so much happening this week! Various venues, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 5/8Boston MetroRocket Day
For example: Rockets!!! They'll be shooting model rockets! I love you, Science Festival. Come run away with me and let's be happy forever. 10 AM-4 PM. Danehy Park, 99 Sherman Street, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/7Boston MetroFree Science Carnival w/ Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream Making!
Also for example, this carnival with 89 booths of demonstrations and participatory science experiments. Have you ever tried to make home-made ice cream? Takes forever, and you get tasty but gunk-looking sludge at the end. Well, here's technology to the rescue with liquid nitrogen. Yum! They'll have the MIT Formula SAE Rae Car there, too. 12pm-4pm. Cambridge Public Library & CRLS Field House, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/7 - Sun 5/8Boston MetroCambridge Open Studios - East
As if the science festival weren't enough to bring you to Cambridge, they are holding open studios. I write about two dozen open studios every year. Local artists open their private homes and work studios to the public, and it's a nice excuse to walk around a new city and meet the actual artists -- not just the merchants -- and of course buy something and help support the arts. Cambridge is large enough that they need more than one open studios. This one's for East Cambridge! 12-6 PM. Various (get a map online), Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/7 - Sun 5/8Boston MetroThe International Steampunk City
I've been waiting for this for so long. Steampunk is a subgenre of scifi that combines Victorian aesthetics with futuristic technology, and has now become a fashion-driven subculture in its own right. Grab a top hat and some goggles and learn more about it at this weekend festival, which takes over Waltham's downtown area, with 5 performance stages, 3 mansions, and 2 museums all dressed up techo-fantasy 18th century style. See a Civil War re-enactment, fire eaters, Morris dancers, blacksmithing, and oh, tons more!! Townwide, Waltham, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sun 5/8Boston MetroLilac Sunday at the Arnold Arboretum
Also with Morris dancing, Lilac Sunday is the perfect way to celebrate the start of Spring. And celebrate Mom, too! What is it? Well, performers dance all folksy waving handkerchiefs or knocking sticks together. It involves a lot of hopping, and although it's not participatory, it makes a nice offset to sitting and enjoying the Spring. The Arnold Arboretum, run by Harvard, is not just a park but a botanical zoo, including bonsais. Or is that just bonsai. Bonsai is a fun word to say. Bonsai! Bonsai! Activities take place between 10 AM and 4 PM. The Arboretum strongly advises you to take public transportation. There are a bunch more Mother's Day events below, too. Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA.617-524-1718 ext- 176. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 5/7Boston MetroWake Up the Earth Festival & Parade
Moving on to Jamaica Plain, here's another street festival and looks to be a great one. It's a parade and street festival with participatory dancing & lessons. Parade at 11am. Festival 12-6pm. Rain date is the next day. Bands, dancers, puppet show, pageant. Rain date the next day. Jamaica Plain, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider

And a lot more this week at Boston Events Insider, the most popular events blog in New England, including:

Needham Open Studios, Fort Point Spring Art Walk, Fresh Pond Day, William Diamond, Jr. Fife and Drum Muster, TJ O'Grady Annual Skate Park Festival, Kettle of Fish" Ale, New England Bicycle Expo, Science Trivia Challenge, Moonwalk Mashup, Nerdnite Boston Nerdtacular, FAST Light Show, Science Swing with Boston Lindy Bomb Squad, Electric Origami, Women United for a Free Libya, National Public Gardens Day & Mother's Day at Garden in the Woods, History's Moms at the Manse, Mother's Day Concert, Mother's Day Weekend Jane Austen Tours, Free Mother's Day at Old Sturbridge Village, Mother's Day Buffet at Verrill Farm, Brockton Spring Carnival, Haverhill Spring Carnival, Lawrence Spring Carnival, Boston Cyberarts Festival, Artist Demonstration: The Alluring Art of Glassmaking, Intrepid Travel Twitter Treasure Hunt, Annual Boston LGBT Film Festival, Juan Downey: Invisible Architect, Spring Ceramics Show and Sale, SMFA Spring Sidewalk Sale, Taste of the North End, arsenalARTS Open Arts Day, Downtown Crossing Art Fridays, Free Comic Book Day, Norton 300th Anniversary Motorcycle Run, Sheep Shearing Day, Dance Complex Free Day of Classes, Memories of Mothers - a walking tour, Annual Coolidge Award, Duckling Day Parade, Return of the Swans 2011, The Boston 48 Hour Film Project, Brimfield Antiques Show (Spring), SoWa Open Market, Eastern Haunters Convention, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Boston Baroque presents Les Indes Galantes, David Sedaris at Sanders Theatre, North Shore Folk Festival, Snapshots: Glimpses of America in Change

Love this blog? Subscribe to email, Facebook, or Twitter and please tell your friends and get the FREE 27-page Spring 2011 Guide, with over 720 off-beat attractions you won't find in the blog!

By Johnny Monsarrat on May 2, 2011 1:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.