Bike Tours, Open Studios, Gerbil Show, Kite Fest, Quilts, Birds, Fergie, & Zombies
05/27/09 by
Johnny Monsarrat
I’m leading a trip to the Cambridge Open Studios on Saturday. Email if you’d like to come along (and include your cell number so the group can find you), johnny at weirdbostonevents.org.
Have you got a friend complaining about the rain? You know what they have in California? The worst drought in recorded history. So smile and enjoy. We have the best weather here in New England! proof
Here’s your week in weird. Enjoy it! Want this weekly? Please subscribe.
-Johnny
The Week in Weird |
|||
| Bike Tour of Historic Somerville | 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| The event of the week is a bike tour! Bring your own bike and see the historic and green-friendly aspects of Somerville. 2pm. Rain date: June 1. Somerville City Hall, 93 Highland Avenue., Somerville, MA.617-628-8895. more more |
|||
| Bicycle Parade | 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| Preceding the bike tour (from 12:30pm), there’s a bicycle parade down Beacon Street which will be totally closed off to cars. It’s only 5 miles. Amory Park, on Amory Street between Beacon Street and Freeman Street., Brookline, MA. more |
|||
| Cambridge Open Studios – East | 5/30 – 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| Cambridge is large enough that they need more than one open studios. This one’s for East Cambridge. And they have a bike tour, too! Various (get a map online), Cambridge, MA. more |
|||
| American Gerbil Society Show | 5/29 – 5/30 | Metro West | |
| I really want to go see this one!! Pet gerbils compete in races and mayhem ensues. Middlesex Community College, Bedford, MA.781-275-6700. more |
|||
| Family Day @ MIMA | 5/30 | Metro West | |
| Where else can you get an oxcart ride? This free event involves over 100 historical re-enactors of both loyalist and rebel soldiers circa 1775. Military drill, musket firing, cooking, and more, ending with General Washington’s review of the troops. Hartwell Tavern, Lincoln, MA. more more |
|||
| Lexington High School Hip Hop Jam | 5/29 | Metro West | |
| Also in Lexington, breakdancing! But will George Washington come to inspect? Will they have ox carts? I think not! 3-7pm. Lexington High School, The Quad, 251 Waltham St, Lexington, MA. |
|||
| Revere Beach Kite Festival | 5/30 | Boston Metro | |
| 10am-4pm. They’ll have kite making for kids and a moon bounce. I’ve been to many events like this and it’s always fun to see professionals and learn about kite flying, which is not as easy as it looks. Revere Beach, Revere, MA. more more |
|||
| WBOS Earthfest | 5/30 | Boston Metro | |
| WBOS holds a free concert outdoors on the Esplanade in Boston. 12-5pm. Free. They have one stage for mainstream rock bands, one stage for kids music, and lots of exhibitors. A rain or shine event. Hatch Shell, Esplanade, Boston, MA. more |
|||
| Birds & Bards Kick off Celebration in Forsyth Chape | 5/28 – 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| Like any cemetery, Forest Hills can be a somber place. But they hold events there anyway, all of which are brilliant! This “kickoff” day is a small music and art festival about birds that return in the Spring. In Forsyth Chapel. Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, MA. more |
|||
| Birds & Bards Celebration | 5/28 – 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| Combining birds and music, this festival spans across Arnold Arboretum, Forest Hills Cemetery, and other parks. Movies, bird watches, hawk demonstrations, and live music. Various, Boston, MA. more |
|||
| Quilters’ Connection Annual Quilt Show | 5/29 – 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| Fri 10-6, Sat 10-6, Sun 10-3. OMG! OMG! It’s the largest quilting event in New England! I’ve actually been to this and it was surprisingly good. The quilts are genuine works of art, and over 200 are on display. Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. more |
|||
Also Fun |
|||
| Friend of the Plymouth Pound Fair | 5/28 – 5/31 | South Shore | |
| I’m going to just keep throwing up Fiesta Shows carnival sites all summer. Speaking of throwing up, best to take some dramamine before going. Armstrong Skating Arena, Long Pond Road, Plymouth, MA. more more |
|||
| Lowell Spring Carnival | 5/20 – 5/31 | Northern Mass | |
| Apparently they can be in two places at once! Check website for coupon. Pawtucket Blvd, Lowell, MA. more more |
|||
| Hadley 350th Fort River Festival | 5/30 | Western Mass | |
| Hadley is having their 350th anniversary, and they’re locating it in Amherst. Huh. Groff Park, Amherst, MA. more |
|||
| Asparagus Festival at Verrill Farm | 5/30 | Metro West | |
| And naturally we should jump over to Verrill farm to celebrating asparagus. Or just a nice sunny day on this public admission farm. 11 Wheeler Road, Concord, MA. more |
|||
| Greek Festival Woburn | 5/29 – 5/31 | Boston Metro | |
| Are you Greek? Would you like to be? Want to ask what’s under all those fig leaves on statues? Attend this small timey but solid festival and find out. (Their website only works in IE.). Church, 70 Montvale Ave, Woburn, MA. more |
|||
| Sarah Ferguson, Dutchess of York | 6/3 | Northern Mass | |
| When you marry into royalty, and get divorced, do you still matter? Especially when the royalty involved is merely a prince and in a foreign country and doesn’t have any real power anyway? Hell yes! Getting famous for nothing is the American Dream. So let’s welcome Fergie. Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, MA. more |
|||
| Zombiest from the Beyond | 5/15 – 5/30 | Boston Metro | |
| And… They’re doing a play satirizing 1950s pulp movies, about zombies, the red scare, and the space race. Abbott Memorial Theater, 9 Spring Street at Joel’s Way, Waltham, MA. more |
|||
Recurring Events |
|||
| US Air Guitar Championships – Boston | 5/27 | Boston Metro | |
| As I mentioned last week, guitar music sans guitar, as the French would say, Le Guitare D’Aire. Harper’s Ferry, Boston, MA. more |
|||
| Animal Intelligence lecture at Museum of Science | 5/27 | Boston Metro | |
| How smart are animals? Have you seen Planet of the Apes? Pretty scary, dude! Here’s someone who’s managed to spin that into a career doing research playing Dr. Dolittle. Museum o’ Science, Boston, MA. more |
|||
| Adventure Gorge Zip Line | Jun 1 – Oct 1 | New Hampshire | |
| This week’s a little thin on actual one-shot events, so here are a few regular recurring things to pad the week out. This one’s brand new. It’s a 30 mile tour of the White Mountains by sliding down thick cables. How crazy is that!! I really want to check this out. 151 Tenney Moutnain Rd., Plymouth, NH.888-289-1020. more |
|||
| Six Flags New England | Apr 15 – Nov 30 | Western Mass | |
| Did you know that Six Flags is already open? Well, their water park isn’t, but beat the crowds and go early. You can return for the water later in the year! Rt 90W to 291S to 91S to exit 3. First exit, Rt 57W then Rt 159S. Bring swimsuit. Get “lo-q” for less waiting. Discount tix at Shaw’s, Star Mkt, AAA, MITAC. Parking is $15, but free when you buy tix at AAA. Season passes available. Peter Pan buses have daily service there. Features “Hurricane Harbor” water park. 1623 Main Street, Agawam, MA.413 786-9300. more |
|||
| Canobie Lake Park | Apr 15 – Oct 31 | New Hampshire | |
| Also Canobie Lake Park is open. I prefer it because it’s far less commercial. Parking, for example, is free. Rt 93 exit 2. MITAC discount. Enter after 5pm for a reduced admission. Reduced admission 4/22-5/21. Fireworks every Saturday in July-August. 85 N Policy St, Salem, NH.603 893-3506. more |
|||
| Charles River Canoe & Kayak | Apr 1 – Nov 15 | Metro West | |
| I’ve been to this one and it’s fantastic. Did you know if you rent a canoe and paddle upstream the Charles River actually has wildlife? Rt 90E to ex 15 to Rt 30E. Go thru two lights. Brown boathouse is immediately after crossing the river on the left. Lessons. Or www.sacobound.com in NH. 2401 Commonwealth Avenue, Newton, MA.617 965-5110. more |
|||
| Spot Pond Boating | Apr 1 – Nov 30 | Boston Metro | |
| Or get a boat here. You can rent boats at many state parks too, see http://www.mass.gov/dcr/forparks.htm. Fellsway West at South Border Road, Stoneham, MA.781 322-2851. more |
|||
| Community Boating | Apr 1 – Nov 30 | Metro West | |
| More boats. Community Boating, 617-523-1038. Night sailing every full moon. Or state parks. Or MIT boathouse. 21 David Mugar Way, Boston, MA.617-523-1038. more |
|||
| Lost River Gorge & Boulder Caves | May 1 – Oct 31 | New Hampshire | |
| Here’s an off-beat place to go hiking. Exit 32 off Rt 93 to Rt 112W. Similar to the Flume Gorge, a river with rocks. However, one tricks: there aren’t ANY caves in New England. I know because I researched it. However, a few boulders have toppled together creating little spaces underneath. That’s the ‘caves’ you’ll see. Still pretty cool. Rt 112W, North Woodstock, NH.603-745-8031. more |
|||
| Purgatory Chasm | Mar 1 – Nov 30 | Worcester | |
| Interesting rocks to clamber over also exist at Purgatory Chasm, near Rhode Island. Purgatory Rd, Sutton, MA.508 234-3733. more |
|||
| Dinosaur Footprints @ Turners Falls | Apr 1 – Nov 30 | Western Mass | |
| Or drive out West to see the dinosaur footprints. They are right out in the open as part of a public park. Rt 90W to Rt 91N to exit 17a, Rt 141E. Left onto Rt 5N. 2.2mi on rt. Also see nearby Wistariahurst Museum. Rt 5, Holyoke, MA.413-684-0148. more |
|||
| Amherst College Museum of Natural History | Jan 1 – Dec 31 | Western Mass | |
| This free museum has the world’s largest collection of dinosaur footprints. I’ve been and it’s really worth seeing. Rt 9 & Rt 116, Amherst, MA.413-542-2165. more |
|||
| Dinosaur Crossing | Jan 1 – Dec 31 | Connecticut | |
| 95S to exit 82. Turn right onto Rt 85, for 6 mi. A bunch o’ fake dinosaurs and a playground with walking trails. Mildly interesting but it’s so close to Rt 95 it’s easy to visit. Mostly a kids thing. I’ve been to this one too. 1650 Route 85, Oakdale, CT.860-443-4367. more |
|||
| America’s Stonehenge | Jan 1 – Dec 31 | New Hampshire | |
| Cool stone circle of dubious authenticity. And alpacas. And snowshoe rentals in the winter. 105 Haverhill Road, Salem, NH.603-893-8300. more |
|||
| Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary | Jan 1 – Dec 31 | Metro West | |
| And here are a few parks. Trails, birdwatch. See regular events for birdwatch intro. 280 Eliot St, Natick, MA.508-655-2296. more |
|||
| Cochituate State Park | Apr 1 – Oct 31 | Metro West | |
| Canoe, kayak, freshwater swim, windsurf, & lessons. Cross-country ski. Rt 30, Natick, MA.508 653-9641. more |
|||
| Elm Bank Reservation | Jan 1 – Dec 31 | Metro West | |
| 182 acre park, deer, fishing, kayaking, hiking, bird watching, museum. Wellesley, MA. more |
|||
| Great Brook State Park | Apr 1 – Oct 31 | Metro West | |
| picnic, ice cream stand, kiddie zoo, hike. Cross-country ski. 984 Lowell Rd, Carlisle, MA.978 369-6312. more |
|||
| Walden Pond | Apr 1 – Oct 31 | Metro West | |
| Walden Pond is great for a nice freshwater swim. And we can pretend to be back-to-naturey, as Thoreau pretended. Trails. Cross-country ski. 915 Walden Street, Concord, MA.978 369-3254. more |
|||
Want this weekly? subscribe. My blogs: Weird Boston Events & Wheel Questions, Wheel Answers. Send encouragement & ideas to johnny@weirdbostonevents.org.