Boston Events Insider - Overview: July 2011 Archives

July 2011 Archives

Boston Events Insider: Jul 26-Aug 2, 2011: Meteor Shower, Harry Potter Festival, Homecoming Days, Bat Hunting, Outdoor Night Dancing, and More!

Don't pout about the warm weather this week. More than half the US states have had an official drought and have faced 100 degree temperatures! We are doing just peachy here. Next week I am traveling up to Maine. Please send all your best Maine ideas!

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.

Sun 7/31Boston MetroTix Giveaway - House of David.. Delaria + Bowie = JAZZ
Club Oberon is known for its edgy, wonderful performance that take existing themes and reinvent them. This time, David Bowie gets the treatment, performed by Lea DeLaria, a local talent gone Broadway and revisiting Boston. I have two pairs of tickets to give away! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com. Oberon, 2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/30Boston MetroMunch Around Cambridge Watson Adventures Scavenger Hunt tix giveaway
I'm also giving away two pairs of tickets for this scavenger hunt around Cambridge, where you will learn some history, see tourist sites, and sample from local businesses. Email johnny@eventsinsider.com. Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 7/29 - Sun 7/31Northern MassLowell Folk Festival
The event of the week is the Lowell Folk Festival: the largest free folk festival in the US. I've been and it's surprisingly rich, with a parade on Friday, 6 performance stages, a yo-yo performance, and the ubiquitous "vendors". Downtown Lowell, Lowell, MA.978-970-5000. see details on the complete Events Insider
Thu 7/28Boston MetroDancing on the Dock
I love this! It's an outdoor dance by the water on the Esplanade. 7-10pm. Community Boating Dock, Esplanade, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Thu 7/28AnywhereSouth Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower
There are only 9 major meteor showers a year, but if you discount the ones that are too cold to watch, or that are cloudy... you are left with few opportunities! Here is one. A field or lake without city lights, Anywhere. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 7/31Boston MetroDay of Triumph at the Larz Anderson Museum
Of course I can't resist the Museum of Transportation, again. I'm just going to keep posting these until you go! So don't fight it! This car show highlights people who own Triumph cars, with a lawn show featuring dozens of automobiles. 15 Newton Street, Brookline, MA.617-522-6547. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 7/29 - Sun 8/7North ShoreBeverly Homecoming Days
Beverly's homecoming celebration go for an entire week, with dozens of events, the highlights being "Spiral Glyphics" (8/5), which seems to be fire-spinning, an outdoor movie (8/6), and fireworks (8/7)! Various, Beverly, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Wed 7/27Boston MetroHogwarts at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
If you can't live without Harry Potter... why aren't you dead yet? Well, The Harvard Museum of Natural History is trying to help. All summer, during the day, you can pick up a "Marauder's Map" and search for Harry Potter-related curiosities around the museum. Free with museum admission. And July 27, 5-8pm, will be their special Harry Potter night, a party to celebrate the release of the final movie. Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St, 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:

The Best Harry Potter Party EVER Part 2, New England Haunter's Gathering, The Big Lebowski Annual Bowling Party, Matchmaker Matchmaker I'm Willing to Settle, Red Bones Annual Pig Pickin', Bumpkin Island Art Encampment, St. Joseph Feast Celebration, Summer Shack's Iron Chef, Abigail Adams Meets Captain William Smith, Bats at Audubon, Yankee Homecoming Festival, Woolly Fair, George Wein's Newport Folk Festival, Stargazing at Notchview, ZooMoon at Capron Park Zoo, Stories in the Stars, Swim with luminous jellyfish off the Cape, Olde Ipswich Days, Green Meadows Farm Summer Festival, Carnival: Oakland Beach, Sunday Parkland Games, Christmas in July, Circus Smirkus in Waltham, North Haverhill Fair, Canterbury Fair, Air Force Band of Liberty, BridgeFest, Nantucket Comedy Festival, Roxbury International Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, Picnic in the Park at Hayes Park, MassBike Summer Century & Family Ride, Tonya and Nancy: A Rock Opera - our review!, Sherlock Holmes Festival, Marathon reading of Herman Melville's classic novel "Moby-Dick", The Battle at Fort Knox Civil War reenactment, Bucksport Bay Festival and the Battle at Fort Knox, Bangor State Fair, Stellafane Astronomy Convention, Champlain Valley Folk Festival, Ferrisburgh Day, Americana Days, Anniversary of the Battle of Bennington

And more than 300 Outdoor Movie, Theatre, and Music Series in New England plus dozens of one-shot outdoor arts events!

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 July 25, 2011 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: July 18-26, 2011: Puerto Rican, Dinosaur, Renaissance, Balloon, DIY Fests, Shrekfest, Zombie LARP, Monster Sharks

Have you heard the news about the heat wave? In the USA, 20 different states have had a heat emergency this week. Of course in New England we have not. Remember this! We get a lot of crap about our weather in New England but it's actually awesome as my New England Manifesto proves. I hope you are having an awesome week, and make sure to scroll to the bottom to check out the outdoor theatre, movie, and music series. Now get out there and do something fun!

-Johnny

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

Wed 7/20Boston MetroTaking Back Sunday tix giveaway
This week I've got 2 pairs of tickets to giveaway for the Taking Back Sunday concert on July 20th at the House of Blues, 6:30pm. You might also want to visit concert sponsors Coca-Cola for a chance to win tickets to a private soundcheck or a trip to NYC! Email johnny@eventsinsider.com to enter. House of Blues, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sat 7/23Boston MetroShrekfest & free movie preview giveaways
Did you know that I write about more outdoor movies than anyone, following 62 summer series? This one in JP features free ice cream for the first 100 attendees, flickering lanterns, and two Shrek movies (3 and 4) back to back. See below for a bunch more. Also, I have free movie preview tickets to give away! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com to win 30 Minutes or Less, a comedy by the director of Zombieland, TOMORROW Tue 7/19, 7pm in Revere; Friends with Benefits, the formulaic romantic comedy with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, Wed 7/20, 7pm at Boston Common; Crazy Stupid Love, Thu 7/21, 7:30pm at Boston Common, the comedy with Steve Carell and Julianne Moore; and Sarah's Key, TOMORROW Tue 7/19, 7pm at Boston Common. 18 Nira Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 7/24Boston MetroSomerStreets: Seize the Summer
Somerville throws creative events, so this street festival with live music, circus, community drum circle, art vendors, etc. is probably more than it seems. Broadway from Sullivan Square to Temple St, Somerville, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 7/22 - Sat 7/23Boston MetroPuerto Rican Festival
This festival's got a traveling carnival with tons of vendors, sort of corny but lots of ethnic pride and happy kids. Rain or shine, but it will be so muddy that if it rains, skip it. Playstead Field, Franklin Park, Boston, MA.866-481-0695 or 617-635-3911 or 617-210-5547 . see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 7/22 - Sun 7/24Rhode IslandSouth County Hot Air Balloon Festival
I love balloon festivals! Fireworks, petting zoo, pony rides, and call in advance to reserve your balloon ride. Rt 95S to ex 9. Rt 4S, 10.4mi joins Rt 1, then Rt 138W. 3 Keaney Road, Kingston, RI. see details on the complete Events Insider
Wed 7/20Boston MetroArt Zestival
Ooo! This is a sidewalk chalk festival with a "flash mob" to dance the Bunny Hop, on the sidewalk in front of South Station and in Dewey Square Plaza, which is the bit of the Rose Kennedy Greeway directly across the street from South Station. 12-6pm. Rain date 7/22. Dewey Square Plaza, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Sat 7/23 - Sun 7/24North ShoreAbbadia Mare Festival
This "Abbey by the Sea" festival is one of the smaller Renfaires in the area, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in atmosphere. It's at an honest-to-goodness castle, shipped over brick-by-brick from Europe, with a gorgeous ocean view, no less! Hammond Castle, Gloucester, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 7/22 - Sun 7/24Northern MassFranklin County's 200 Year Celebration
Franklin County is nowhere near Franklin, Massachusetts or Franklin Park. But they are having an anniversary celebration that includes a fossil workshop, a beard competition, live music, and an outdoor movie! Greenfield, 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:

Jurassic Roadshow, Zombie LARP, Family Day at Yirrell Beach, The Great American Car Show at Larz Anderson Museum, Allston DIY Fest, ZooARTyssey, Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament, Runaway Runway: Clothing of the Colonial Lower Class, Verrill Farm Blueberry Pancake & Pie Eating Contest, Stratham Fair, Summer Evening Party at the Peabody Essex Museum, Free Fun Fridays, Who Wants to Perform in the Publick Theatre?, Be Our Guest: Free Summer Evenings at the Concord Museum, Concord: Annual Ice Cream Bike Tour (Tour de Glaces), Free Clinic: How to Fix a Flat Bicycle Tire, Dublin Day, Lego Playland at Reading, Sunday Fun in the Park, Salem CultureFest, Literary Firsts, Boston Poetry Slam - Send Off to Nationals, Revels Boston Harbor Cruise & Sing, Greek Night, ArtROX! Summer Festival, Overnight at Roger Williams Park Zoo, Paddle the Floodplain Forest, Olde Fashioned Family Fair, Lexington Arts and Crafts Society Artisans Market and Sale, Shakespeare Under the Stars, Music for Movies: A Celebration of Bernard Herrmann and Nino Rota, Á la Jeunesse du Monde: Myth, Music, and Dance, Jazz Under the Stars, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Ray Gonzalez Latin Jazz & Salsa Festival, Pittsfield Kiwanis Carnival, Old Orchard Beach Annual Arts and Crafts Fair, Soldiers Atop the Mount, Revolutionary War Soldiers on the Mount Commemoratio

And more than 300 Outdoor Movie, Theatre, and Music Series in New England plus dozens of one-shot outdoor arts events!

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 July 18, 2011 5:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: July 12-19, 2011: Lantern, Sand Sculpting, Scottish, African, Balloon Fests, ArtBeat, Civil War, Japanese Black Ships, a Giant Forest of Glass at the MFA, and 300 Outdoor Music, Movie, Theatre Series

Last week I visited the Chihuly exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I'm generally uncomfortable with arts museums, because I rarely "get" what is going on, and suspect often that there is nothing! But the Chihuly exhibit is a rare exception, sort of the "Harvard Glass Flower Exhibit" blown up 10 feet tall for the 21st century, with exhibits you can walk through like a giant forest! 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.

Thu 7/14Boston MetroForest Hills Lantern Festival
The event of the week is the Forest Hills Lantern Festival. It's simply amazing, one of my favorite events of the year. You write a message or japanese character on rice paper, wrap it around a wooden float with a candle, and they all get floated on a lake as the sun sets and music plays in this cemetery. 6-9pm. Rain date 7 days later. Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, MA.617-524-0128. see details on the complete Events Insider
Thu 7/14 - Sun 7/17Boston MetroRevere Beach Sand Sculpting Festival
Also not to be missed is this beach festival I've been to three times! Professionals come to make enormous sand sculptures during the week, and there are sculpting lessons, vendors, and live music Fri-Sun. Fireworks Saturday night! Revere Beach, 1 Beach Street, Revere, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Fri 7/15 - Sat 7/16Boston MetroSomerville ArtBeat
Also also the event of the week!! Somerville is having their annual art festival with over 100 arts booths and two performance stages. Davis Square, Somerville, MA.617 625 6600. see details on the complete Events Insider
Thu 7/14 - Sat 7/16Boston MetroMoonlight Paddle on the Charles River
Or take this canoe tour of the Charles River, the nation's purest urban waterway, during the time of the full moon. Charles River Canoe & Kayak, Boston, MA.617-267-4430. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/16Western MassGlasgow Lands Scottish Festival
I'm a big fan of Scottish festivals -- so much energy and crazy competitions like throwing stones and hammers. 9am-9:30pm. Rain or shine. Look Park, 300 North Main St., Northampton, MA.413-862-8095. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/16Boston MetroAfrican Festival of Boston
Sure, they'll have live music and the ubiquitous vendors and food. But the parade at 10am from Boston Common is the real draw to this festival, and African-themed fests are rare. 9am-9pm. Boston City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA.857-249-3831. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/16Northwest MassGreen River Festival (Balloon Festival)
Did you miss the one last week? Here's another festival with hot air balloons! And they have three live music stages but no fireworks. Off Rt 91 exit 26. Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA.413-773-9393. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sun 7/17Boston MetroCivil War Soldiers Send Off
Of course, the Civil War was not fought in Massachusetts, but plenty of our citizens went away to go fight. This is a re-enactment of a speech and send-off on Boston Common, with a march through the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Boston, 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:

Civil War Tour on Georges Island, Festival Betances (Latino Festival), Newport Black Ships Festival, Annual Antique Auto Show, Old Fashioned Family Day at Winthrop Beach, Model Rocket Launch at Amesbury, Annual Wacky Cardboard Race (The Fourth Annual Race to the Bottom), Town Meeting Re-Enactment from 1774, Worcester Big Dipper All-You-Can-Eat Ice Cream Festival, Bastille Day Festivities in Harvard Square, Bastille Day Party & Dance in Boston, Readercon, American Independence Festival, Chihuly: Glass Sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts, Arts on the Arcade, Agganis Special Olympics, Boom Town Festival, Boston Harbor Swim, SkateBoston, Family Fun Night Under the Canopy Tent, St. Mary Society Festival, Newport Music Festival, Monadnock Music Festival, Newburyport Riverfront Festival - WXRV free concert, Artists Weekend at the Fells, Warren Quahog, Abington Lions Club, Brimfield Antiques Festival (Summer), Country Folk Art Craft Show, Barnstable County Fair, OBA Illumination, Colonial Day at Bourne Historical Society, Matt & Ben" at the Central Square Theatre, Shakespeare on Love & A Shakespearean Cabaret, Tonya and Nancy: A Rock Opera, Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival & Mass MOCA, Sandra Bernhard: I Love My Life, Don't You?, Rhode Island Pirate Players, Colombian Festival, Celebrate East Lyme Festival & Sandcastle Competition, Tattoos & Tallships Weekend, The Music of Michael Jackson - by the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Christmas in July, White's Beach & Campground Bluegrass Fest, Yarmouth Clam Festival, Pirate Festival, North Atlantic Blues Festival, Middlebury Festival on the Green, French Heritage Days in Vermont, Solarfest

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 July 11, 2011 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.

Boston Events Insider: July 5-12, 2011: Balloon, Sand Sculpture, Kite, & Car Fests, WWII & 1776 Re-enactments, & Over 300 Outdoor Summer Movies, Theatre, and Music Series

The Events INSIDER Summer 2011 Guide is out, listing 700 permanent New England attractions like museums and zoos that you won't find in my weekly blog! See where to find real dinosaur tracks or a park full of sculptures. It is free and you can get it just by telling a few friends about the website at www.eventsINSIDER.com/s/.

If you don't click through to the main website, you are really missing out. Believe me, the fun doesn't stop with the top 9 listings (especially if you don't have a car) and you really need to check out the outdoor music, theatre, and movies from all over 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.

Fri 7/8Boston MetroSomerville in Shorts
Did you know that Events INSIDER has the largest list of outdoor movies, theatre, and music in New England? You just need to scroll ALL the way to the bottom of each issue! This one in Somerville is an evening of experimental and animated short films projected on a large outdoor screen in the heart of Union Square. Films will be screened at nightfall, with live music to start during the early evening. Rain date next day. Union Square, Somerville, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Wed 7/6Boston MetroFree Movie preview tix: Another Earth, Zookeeper
I've got free movie preview tickets for Another Earth, TODAY July 6 in Brookline at 7pm, where they discover a duplicate planet Earth, and Zookeeper, TODAY July 6 in Boston at the Boston Common theatre, the new Kevin James comedy. To win just email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com. Various. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Fri 7/8 - Sun 7/10Cape CodMashpee Commons Sand Sculpting Festival
This one has me scratching my head. Masphee has beaches, but they're just not close enough to downtown where the Chamber of Commerce wants you to shop shop shop! So they're trucking in 25 tons of sand to Mashpee Common. There will be live music, a pro will sculpt something great, and amateurs get to play around in the sand, too. Mashpee Commons, Mashpee, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider more
Thu 7/7 - Sun 7/10New HampshireHillsboro Balloon Festival
This event, which is 1.7 hrs from Boston, draws 30,000 people and looks pretty serious. They'll have a lawn tractor pull, a carnival, tons of music and dance, and fireworks on Saturday. Oh, and balloons! It's always a good idea at these things to call and reserve your balloon ride in advance! I'm going to go so I can tell you all about it in 2012. Hillsboro, NH. see details on the complete Events Insider
Thu 7/7 - 7/.10Metro WestThoreau Society Annual Gathering
This week has a ton of historical re-enactments, too! Just when you thought the 19th century was going out of style: Thoreau. Loved nature, but lived at Walden Pond just two miles from bustling Concord center. Hated taxes. Bit of an over-idealist. But he's ours. Go meet some people who like Thoreau way too much. Hope they aren't preachy about utopia. Various, Concord, MA. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/9North ShoreWenham Museum's World War II Living History Day
This is one of only a few World War II re-enactments I've ever seen in New England! Re-enactors come and vehicles including a M35 Deuce & a half, an DUKW (duck) amphibious truck, vintage Jeep and an ambulance. A D-Day Veteran will share stories and there will be period songs. The Wenham is an amazing example of a world-class museum in the middle of 'nowhere'. A true New England gem. Rt 1A, Wenham, MA.978-468-2377. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/9 - Sun 7/10North ShoreGlover's Regiment (Revolutionary War re-enactment)
This one's also small but well worth a visit as an excuse to head to the North Shore. They have a re-enacted military camp from the 1700s, with tents, cooking, craft areas, sea shanties, costumed militia and camp followers. Fort Sewall, Marblehead, MA.781-631-5967. see details on the complete Events Insider
Sat 7/9Fort Warren150th Anniversary of the Civil War
Have you ever been to the Boston Harbor Islands? Here's an excuse to go! From 11-6 today there will be re-enactments, music, crafts, and lectures to commemorate the Civil War. Suitable for all ages. Georges Island, Boston, 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:

Civil War Living History Weekend, Newport Kite Festival, Whaling City Festival, The Long Arm of the Law, Micro Mini Car Day@ Larz Anderson Museum, Miata Day at Larz Anderson Museum, Heritage Gardens Annual Auto Show, Model airplanes - CRRC Hand-Launch Classic, Brockton Fair, NERF Zombie Overnight Camp, Independence Day Celebration, Archaeology Field School, Powwow at Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum, July Free Fun Friday, Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven, Free Grounds Tour at Gore Place, Be in a Movie with Mark Wahlberg, Science After Dark at the Museum of Science, Hogwarts at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, Chelsea City Festival, Winthrop Town Festival, Arts on the Arcade, Civil War Music Lecture, Boom Town Festival, Greek Festival and Clambake at Ipswich, Newport Music Festival, Greenfield Rockfest, Plymouth Harbor Folk Festival, Hoop City Jazz & Art Festival, 19th Century Childrens Circus, North Attleboro Kids Day, Butterflies of Summer, French Film Festival, Magnolia Library and Community Center Art Show, Oh! You Pretty Things - Burlesque Show, Matt & Ben" at the Central Square Theatre, Poppin' Big Band Celebration, ConnectiCon, Sailfest, FBRA Sand Sculpting Festival, Sandblast - Sand Sculpting Festival, Colombian Festival, Great Northeastern War - Medievial Re-enactment, Scottish Tattoo, Monadnock Music Festival, Ride in a WWII Vehicle on Family Day, Stoweflake Hot Air Balloon Festival, Basin Bluegrass Festival, Revolutionary War Battle of Hubbardton Commemoration, Middlebury Festival on the Green, Great Barrington Parade

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 July 5, 2011 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) Content by Jon Monsarrat.