Pillow Fight, Pink Floyd Tribute, Carnival, Comic Book & Roleplay Festivals, & Al Gore!

03/29/09 by

Here’s your week in weird. Enjoy it! Want this weekly? Please subscribe.

-Johnny


The Week in Weird
World Pillow Fight Day Apr 4 Metro Boston
The weird event of the week is a massive worldwide pillow fight! 3pm.
TBD, Boston, MA. more
Rube Goldberg Machine Design Contest Apr 4 Metro West
Or check out this MIT student run event for middle school students. They build complex Rube Goldberg type devices. You know, where the candle burns through a string which releases the parrot who eats the grain, spilling over the bucket, etc.
Fay School, 48 Main Street, Southborough, MA. more
Audubon BirdFest Apr 4 Rhode Island
Speaking of parrots, perhaps you’ll be the first to spot one in the wild in Rhode Island! 8am-3:30pm.
Coastal Institute, URI Graduate School of Oceanography, 215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI.401-949-5454. more
Revere Spring Carnival Mar 25 – Apr 19 Metro Boston
I haven’t been to the Revere carnival, but I’ve seen the Fiesta Shows event before. They are the major traveling carnival in New England, and wherever they go it’s bound to be a party. It’s not quite like going to Six Flags, but with the right (low) expectations you’ll have a blast. Here’s their first event of the year, in Ruh-VEE-uh. My favorite: looking at the view from the Ferris Wheel.
Showcase Cinemas, Revere, MA. more
Clay Center public observatory nights re-open in April Mar 31 – May 26 Boston Metro
Of course, you can look at a much bigger view now that Spring is here and local observatories host public nights. This one is every Tuesday.
20 Newton Street, Brookline, MA.617-454-2795. more
Wellesley College’s Whitin Observatory – Spring Public Night Apr 3 Metro West
Whereas this one is far rarer. No need to RSVP, but call ahead to make sure it won’t be cloudy.
Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. more
Lecture on Aging @ Museum of Science Apr 5 Boston Metro
They also have free telescope nights every Friday evening on the top floor of the parking lot at the Museum of Science. But I’m listing this lecture on aging, which looked interesting.
Museum of Science, Boston, Boston, MA. more
FestEvil: Festival of the LARPs Apr 3 Metro West
One way to not worry about aging and live forever is to give up reality entirely! The roleplayers at Brandeis are hosting a poorly explained day of games where the audience gets up on stage and becomes the actors!
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. more
Northeast Wars Apr 3 – Apr 5 Vermont
Or you could go way over the edge and re-enact a war from the middle ages.
Inn at Essex, 70 Essex Way, Essex Junction, VT.800-727-4295. more
Boston Comic Book Convention Apr 4 – Apr 5 Boston Metro
Or way WAY over the edge and pretend that the Hulk just might be real.
Back Bay Events Center, 180 Berkeley St, Boston, MA.508-320-1440. more

Also Fun
Annual Harvard Intercollegiate Kendo Tournament Apr 4 – Apr 5 Boston Metro
Here’s an event that takes comic books into real like. Kendo is like light sabre fighting but with kendo sticks. It sounds great.
MAC Mezzanine, Harvard University, 39 Holyoke St., Cambridge, MA 02138. more
The Boston 48 Hour Film Project Mar 30 Boston Metro
Another way to live forever is through film! They give filmmakers 48 hours to create a film from start to finish. There’s a kickoff “best of” on March 30.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline, MA. more
Lowell Film Festival Apr 3 – Apr 4 Northern Mass
Lowell always punches above its weight in events, and this one’s no differerent. As well as films, they’ll have a social reception, an entire “fair trade” marketplace, and a guest panel. And it’s free!
Revolving Museum, Lowell, MA. more
Boston Turkish Film Festival Mar 27 – Apr 5 Boston Metro
In comparison, this event might be something of a turkey. (Get it? Turkey? Nudge nudge.).
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA. more
Campus MovieFest (CMF) @ Emerson Apr 1 – Apr 7 Boston Metro
Or check out “the world’s largest student film festival”, which seems to be a nationwide rather than local experience.
MIT, Cambridge, MA. more
Documentary Filmmaker Ken Burns and Old Sturbridge Village to honor Actress Laura Linney Apr 3 Worcester
This one’s my pick though. Have you heard of actress Laura Linney? She was in a TV show or film about former US president John Adams from Massachusetts. So she’s visiting, getting an award no doubt designed to draw her to Massachusetts, and helping raise money for Old Sturbridge Village which is my favorite re-enactment museum! 7:30 p.m.
Crowne-Plaza Hotel, Natick, MA. more
Entrepreneurship Lecture with “Johnny Cupcakes Mar 30 Boston Metro
I’m not really sure what to make of this lecturer. But I guess he’s really good at t-shirts.
Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Tower Auditorium, 621 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA. more
Al Gore Speaks on the Environment Yet Again Mar 30 Metro Boston
Personally I’d prefer to hear Al Gore speak about the environment, on Monday.
CitWang Center, Boston, MA. more
Down:2:Earth Expo Apr 3 – Apr 5 Boston Metro
Along environmental lines, here is an entire conference of green lectures and workshops, including how to eat bugs, and holding Eco-Chic Wedding! Hint: don’t serve bugs at your wedding. Just don’t.
Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA. more
Elegant Evening Apr 4 Boston Metro
This annual folk dance event sounds like a blast and is preceded by lessons. Folk dancing is usually pretty easy just to show up and pick it up. Don’t be afraid!
Church, 365 Belmont Street, Belmont, MA. more
ICA “Experiment Apr 3 Boston Metro
God!! I love the ICA!! They are holding a wild dance party too. Only, not folk music. JUST GO! YOU WILL NEVER LIVE IT DOWN IF YOU DO NOT GO!! :).
Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston, MA. more
ICA/AIGA Design Series: Design as Social Agent Apr 4 Boston Metro
Oh, also the ICA is a museum: I almost forgot. They’re having a series of talks about street art, in context with their exhibition on Shepard Fairey.
Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston, MA. more

Easter
Easter Egg Hunt — Winslow Farm Apr 4 – Apr 11 Southern Mass
It’s not Easter until April 12, but it’s not too soon to go hunting for eggs! I’ve actually been to this working farm and zoo. Considering it’s not really near anything else, it’s lovely and worth the trip!
Winslow Farm, Norton, MA. more
Easter Egg Hunt Apr 4 Rhode Island
If you’re in Rhode Island, go to this park instead. I have a huge height and speed advantage over 5-year-olds. I’m quite sure I can collect more eggs than anyone! 1pm.
Wilcox Park, Westerly, RI.401-596-7761. more
Easter Egg Hunt @ Roseland Cottage Apr 4 Connecticut
Here’s one for those of you in Connecticut, a land I often forget about in this blog. Rain date April 11.
Roseland Cottage, Woodstock, CT.860-928-4074. more

Performance
Pink Voyd: The Ultimate Pink Floyd Trip for All Ages Apr 17 – Apr 25 South Shore
They’re back! The #2 Pink Floyd tribute band starts a new tour. I’ve had the honor of building their website and handing out flyers. The band is just THAT good. Get your tickets now for Apr 17-18 in Plymouth or April 25 in Amherst Mass.
Plymouth Memorial Hall, 83 Court Street, Plymouth, MA. more
Speech & Debate Mar 27 – Apr 25 Boston Metro
This smart comedy caught my attention, about a debate club.
Lyric Stage, Boston, MA. more
KISS Concert tickets go on sale May 17 Boston Metro
Tickets are now on sale for Kiss Concert, the largest concert by the largest generic Top 40 radio station. It’s 9 hours of all the most successful bands on pop radio, from KISS 108FM radio. Buy tix before they sell out.
Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA. more
Big Apple Circus Apr 4 – May 10 Boston Metro
And the annual circus tour of Big Apple returns. Buy tickets in advance.
City Hall Plaza, One City Hall Plaza, Boston, MA.(800) 922-3772. more

 

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