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10 things to do in Boston this weekend
BosTen is your weekly guide to the best events and coolest things to do in Boston.
Welcome to BosTen, your weekly guide to the coolest events and best things to do in Boston this weekend. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter here. Have an idea about what we should cover? Leave us a comment on this article or in the BosTen Facebook group, or email us at [email protected].
Enjoy live music at CX Summer Nights
If you haven’t stopped by the somewhat newly formed Cambridge neighborhood known as Cambridge Crossing, this Thursday is the perfect opportunity to see what the reimagined community has to offer. The development will hold the final of three CX Summer Nights programs this Thursday from 5:30-8:30 p.m., giving visitors a chance to enjoy the CX green spaces with live music, food trucks, lawn games, and beverages from nearby local breweries. This Thursday’s lineup has the 10-piece local pop band Hill House and North Carolina funk project Boulevards. (Thursday, Aug. 15 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.; 320 Morgan Ave., Cambridge; free) — Kevin Slane
Enjoy a North End tradition at Fisherman’s Feast
The 114th annual Fisherman’s Feast returns to the North End this weekend, honoring the long fishing tradition of Boston’s Italian-American population. The four-day festival, running from Thursday through Sunday, will see streets packed with food vendors and live entertainment — shutting down North, Fleet, and Lewis Streets to car traffic. While Boston’s Fisherman’s Feast is well over 100 years old, it remains largely the same today as when it was first celebrated, with street food, music, lights strung from the buildings, and a procession of the Madonna through the streets of the North End. Food vendors will sell Italian favorites like sausages, calamari, pasta, pizza, and arancini, and live entertainment will include cover bands playing old rock favorites and newer pop hits, along with some traditional Italian music. The feast culminates on Sunday with a seven-hour procession of the Madonna through the streets, and finally the grand “Flight of the Angel,” where two girls dressed as angels recite an Italian devotion and a third angel flies down from a third-story window to meet the Madonna. (August 15-18 at various North End locations; free) — Natalie Gale
Enjoy free admission to 4 museums
In previous years, the Highland Street Foundation hosted Free Fun Fridays, a summer-long program that provided free admission to dozens of the state’s museums every Friday. This year, the nonprofit is taking a different approach, offering free admission to a new museum or cultural institution each day during the month of August in what it’s calling August Adventures. This weekend’s participating locations are the Louisa May Alcott House in Concord (Thursday), Jacob’s Pillow dance center in Becket (Friday), the Museum of African American History Boston (Friday), the Hull Lifesaving Museum (Saturday), and the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum (Sunday). To see a full calendar for the month of August, visit the Highland Street Foundation’s website. (Daily through August 31 at various times and locations) — Kevin Slane
Catch a free outdoor movie (or two)
With the sweltering heat we’ve been experiencing this summer, watching a movie in an air-conditioned theater sounds like a perfect activity. But for those who prefer to see their movies for free while breathing fresh air, the Boston area will once again offer a robust number of free outdoor movies. All summer long, you’ll be able to catch a mix of fairly recent films and certified classics at pop-up outdoor movie screenings — free of charge. On Thursday, catch ’80s classic “The Outsiders” at Seven Hills Park in Somerville at 8 p.m., or last year’s undersea superhero film “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” at Revere Beach at 8 p.m. Or you can wait until Saturday, when the Prudential Center will screen the animated film “Migration” on its lawn at dusk. (Various times and locations) — Kevin Slane
Catch a not-free indoor movie (or two)
With the free repertory movies out of the way, allow us to recommend a few movies arriving in theaters this weekend as well. First up is “Good One,” one of the best movies to debut at IFFBoston earlier this year, which arrives at Coolidge Corner Theatre this weekend. The film follows 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) as she takes a backpacking trip with her father and his oldest and somewhat troubled friend while on a backpacking trip in the Catskills. It’s a film about seeing adults as the flawed figures they are and growing into womanhood — and all of the pitfalls that accompany that journey. Also opening wide this weekend is “Alien Romulus,” the latest entry in the sci-fi/horror franchise directed by Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead”). Taking place between the first (“Alien”) and second (“Aliens”) films in the series, a group of young wage laborers attempt to escape their smog-choked planet by hijacking a seemingly abandoned ship. “Alien Romulus” checks all the boxes for fans of the franchise — a claustrophobic ship, morally ambivalent AI, a requisite number of jump scares, and action sequences that find new and inventive ways to make the aliens terrifying. There’s a fine line between homage and fan service, and “Alien Romulus” doesn’t always land on the right side of that line. But you should leave the theater relatively satisfied, even if the film doesn’t reinvent the wheel. (Various times and locations) — Kevin Slane
Grab a bite on a budget during Dine Out Boston
This weekend is the final one for Dine Out Boston, which gives Boston diners an annual taste of some of the most acclaimed, newest, or neighborhood staple restaurants in the metro area for two weeks. In its 24th year, the summer program of Dine Out stretches across every Boston neighborhood, several suburbs, and every type of food — from French and Italian to sushi and Indian. More than 150 restaurants will offer prix fixe menus with several courses, usually designed to showcase the restaurant’s typical offerings for those who have never dined there or guests that don’t typically shell out for an appetizer and dessert with their entree. And with prices running from $22 for lunch to $55 for dinner, you’re most likely paying less than you would normally for multiple courses. Check out a full list of restaurants participating on Meet Boston’s website, or check out our Dine Out Boston guide for some handpicked, locally sourced recommendations. (Now through August 17 at various times and locations) — Katelyn Umholtz
Dive into African culture
The 14th annual African Festival of Boston is a weekend filled with vibrant music, delicious food, and colorful cultural performances. Held this Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the Common, the festival puts the spotlight on the rich diversity of African heritage in Boston with live music, dance, art, and more. There will be traditional drumming, local artisans showing off their intricate beadwork, and flavors of authentic African cuisine to savor. (Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18 from 9-7:30 p.m.; 139 Tremont St., Boston; free) — Cheryl Fenton
Tap your foot at the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival
Back in the 1920s, Salem Willows Park was home to one of the hottest jazz clubs on the North Shore, attracting the likes of Duke Ellington to its Charleshurst Ballroom. In honor of the city park’s musical history, each year the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival brings two days of live music to residents, with this year’s lineup including Sonya Rae Taylor, Yahuba Garcia’s Boogaloo Collective, and The Jambalaya Horns Orchestra. The festival is free, but donations — which benefit local music education — are welcomed. (Saturday, Aug. 17 from 11-7 p.m.; 165 Fort Ave., Salem; free) — Kevin Slane
Set sail for a free concert on Georges Island
The Harbor Islands are full of recurring opportunities to enjoy food and dining throughout the summer, including a regularly scheduled clambake returning this Thursday to Spectacle Island. But there’s only one chance per season to check out Wild Music, an annual jazz showcase from the New England Jazz Collaborative that returns to Georges Island this Sunday. Those who register in advance for the noon ferry out of Long Wharf will receive complimentary tickets to the island, where producer CJ Kelley will guide you through a day of musical exploration. (Sunday, Aug. 18 from 11-4 p.m.; Georges Island, Boston; free) — Kevin Slane
Blast off with Thirty Seconds to Mars
Jared Leto, the vocalist-songwriter in Thirty Seconds to Mars, had a music career in mind when he moved to LA in 1992. But acting got in the way, resulting in such gigs as a role on “My So-Called Life,” supporting parts in “Fight Club” and “Dallas Buyers Club,” and the lead in “Requiem for a Dream.” And, oh yeah, that music career happened, too. He and his drummer brother Shannon formed Thirty Seconds to Mars in 1998. Of course, he’s still acting (he was unrecognizable and amazing as Paolo in “House of Gucci”), and you could say that when he hits a concert stage, he’s playing a rock star. Truth be told, he positively is a rock star, with a commanding presence and a voice able to shift from sweet to soaring. Sunday’s show at the Xfinity Center could feature the band’s early anthemic rock, such as “The Kill” and “Closer to the Edge,” as well as edgier, more danceable material from their 2023 album “It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day,” such as “Stuck” and “Seasons.” (Sunday, Aug. 18 at 6:30 p.m.; 885 S. Main St., Mansfield; $42 and up) — Ed Symkus
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