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
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This week’s top items are below, or see the complete Boston Events Insider.
| Thu 7/14Boston MetroForest Hills Lantern Festival |
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| 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 |
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| Thu 7/14 – Sun 7/17Boston MetroRevere Beach Sand Sculpting Festival |
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| 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 |
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| Fri 7/15 – Sat 7/16Boston MetroSomerville ArtBeat |
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| 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 |
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| Thu 7/14 – Sat 7/16Boston MetroMoonlight Paddle on the Charles River |
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| 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 |
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| Sat 7/16Western MassGlasgow Lands Scottish Festival |
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| 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 |
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| Sat 7/16Boston MetroAfrican Festival of Boston |
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| 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 |
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| Sat 7/16Northwest MassGreen River Festival (Balloon Festival) |
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| 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 |
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| Sun 7/17Boston MetroCivil War Soldiers Send Off |
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| 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
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