Eagle, Owl, Snow, Sled Dog, Campfire, Sci-Fi, Animal Tracking Fests; Darwin, Lincoln, & Douglass

02/11/10 by Johnny Monsarrat

This week has a holiday (it’s Valentine’s Day), and I’ve listed some fun things to do as well as, my normal approach, to start with non-holiday items for those who just want to ignore it. For heaven’s sake, don’t go to a bar or cocktail party for Valentine’s Day. There are so many more creative and active things to do around New England!

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-Johnny

The Week in Weird
Merrimack River Eagle Festival	2/13	Northern Mass
Even though it’s the dead of winter, there are still festivals about! Come see live eagles and take a tour of a national park looking for wild ones. It’s free! Main Street, Amesbury, MA.978-388-3178. more more
Franklin Park Snow Festival	2/13	Boston Metro
This one’s in Franklin Park and looks smaller. 1-4pm. Clubhouse at Franklin Park, 1 Circuit Dr, Dorchester, MA.617-442-4141. more
Town of Greenfield Winter Carnival	2/12 – 2/13	New Hampshire
This one is far more sedate, and also in New Hampshire. They’ll have a pancake breakfast, cardboard sled races, including for adults, dancing, an ice fishing derby, snow sculptures, and a chili cook-off. Greenfield, NH. more
Laconia World Championship Sled Dog Derby	2/12 – 2/14	New Hampshire
If you’re heading up skiing anyway, why not check out this sled dog race? Laconia, NH. more
Winter Campfires at Mass State Parks	2/5 – 2/19	Boston Metro
Even cooler are campfires on the beach. I really want to see this!! Hear campfire stories, roast marshmallows, and go for a beach walk. Constitution Beach 2/5, 6-8pm. Revere Beach 2/19, 6-8pm. Constitution Beach, Boston, MA. more
Winter Carnival & Ice Harvesting Festival	2/13	New Hampshire
This one is small but creative and it’s associated with a museum, which means they’ll have both an indoors to warm up and educational bits too. 10am-2pm. Sleigh & sled dog rides, snowball throwing contest, snowshoe obstacle course, ice cutting, etc. Remick Museum, Tamworth, NH. more
Snowshoe Scavenger Hunt	2/16 – 2/20	Metro West
Also educational, my favorite historical home that I haven’t actually been to yet is hosting a snowshoe scavenger hunt. I don’t even need to read a description, which is good, because one is not provided. Just go! 52 Gore Street, Waltham, MA.781-894-2798. more
Jane Austen Tour	2/13 – 2/14	Metro West
Guides dress up and act out 19th century characters in these special tours. At 1pm and at 3pm. Saturday is sold out, buy now for Sunday. 52 Gore Street, Waltham, MA.781-894-2798. more
A Visit with Abraham Lincoln	2/15	Metro West
Ha! Take that, nearby museum! Abraham Lincoln trumps Jane Austen any day. 1pm. Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA. more
Snowshoe Tours at the DeCordova Museum	2/13	Metro West
The DeCordova, my favorite museum in New England, is giving a snoeshow tour. Last year it was snowed out. I mean, no-snow’ed out. 10am and 1pm, reserve in advance. 51 Sandy Pond Rd, Lincoln, MA.781-259-8355. more
ABC’s of Animal Tracking	2/13	Worcester
Also outdoorsy, learn how to track animals! How awesome is that!! I really want to see this. 11am. Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Dr, Boylston, MA. more
Track it!	2/15	North Shore
Here’s another tracking lesson and hike. 1-3pm. Curzon Mill Rd., Newburyport, MA.(978) 465-7223. more
Winter Wildlife Safari	2/13	Boston Metro
This is yet another animal tracking guided hike. Maybe you’ll find a moose! Blue Hills Reservation, Milton, MA.617-698-1802 x213. more
Ice Age Trail at Ravenswood Park	2/13	North Shore
Lecture and guided walk showing evidence of the ice age on the trails. Ravenswood Park, Gloucester, MA. more
Deep Sky Objects at Moose Hill Farm	2/13	South Shore
Looking at the stars sounds wonderfully fun, but really it depends. The last time I did it, they showed us some distant galaxies, which looked very much like smudges and were less emotionally moving than I’d hoped. The best stargazing I’ve done, they just had us look at the moon. Additional future dates include March 20th, May 22nd, and June 19th. 293 Moose Hill Street, Sharon, MA.781-784-5691. more
Boskone	2/12 – 2/14	Boston Metro
So much for outdoors. If you have to be indoors this weekend, head out to Boskone, which is the “other” major science fiction convention in Boston. Westin Waterfront, Boston, MA. more
Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival	2/14 – 2/15	Boston Metro
Also geeky is an SF film festival in Somerville. I can’t tell from the website if there will be anything interactive, or just the films. 55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA.617-625-5700. more more
Darwin Day Party	2/11	Boston Metro
It’s Darwin Day on Friday, but nobody seems to care! The local humanist society is doing the only Darwin thing this year, a party, TONIGHT. 8-10pm. And, regarding the photo, look, I work with the photos they give me on the website. Tommy Doyle’s, 96 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, MA. more
Frederick Douglass Birthday Bash	2/14	Southern Mass
However, there will be a celebration for Frederick Douglass. Oratorical contest. 12pm-4:30pm. Corson Maritime Learning Center, New Bedford, MA.508-996-4095. more
Harvard Model United Nations	2/11 – 2/14	Boston Metro
The model UN is a serious attempt to discuss politics as though meeting at the United Nations in New York. These students really take it seriously. And I’m not really sure if you can just stroll in as a member of the public and check it out. I would think so. Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, MA. more
[SENSE]ation Day at Fuller Museum	2/15	South Shore
They’re also having a festival at the Fuller Museum, which is an amazing museum all about crafts. I’ve been many times and highly recommend it. They’ll have interactive performances, participatory arts making, candy making demonstrations, Japanese paper dyeing, mask-making, etc. 455 Oak Street, Brockton, MA.508-588-6000. more
NTRAK Model Train Show	2/13 – 2/14	Metro West
This free museum is featuring a $5 model train show. I’ve always wanted to see it. 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA.781-861-6559. more
Eyes on Owls	2/13	Boston Metro
This appears to be indoors, not a guided tour of the cemetery. Learn about owls and see six of them live and up close. 580 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge, MA.617 547-7105. more
Also Fun
Lizard Lounge Poetry Jam Celebration	2/14	Boston Metro
You may get some actual love poetry at the Lizard Lounge’s annual anniversary party. Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA.617-547-0759. more more
Arabia Premiere @ Museum of Science	2/11	Boston Metro
To celebrate the opening of a new IMAX film, the Museum ‘o Science is hosting a reception with bellydancing, henna, and a lecture by the director. Museum of Science, Boston, Boston, MA.617-723-2500. more
Newport Winter Festival	2/12 – 2/21	Rhode Island
The Newport Winter Festival is a showcase of things that you can mainly find year-round. And it takes place at the normal venues across the city rather than in a central park. So is it really a festival? Well, a two-day children’s fair is embedded inside it, but otherwise, not really. They’ll have a Beatles tribute band, ice sculpting, scavenger hunt, and food cook-offs. Various venues, Newport, RI.401-847-7666. more
Joe Val Bluegrass Festival	2/12 – 2/14	Boston Metro
And this is a great time of the year for a music festival, as long as it’s indoors. I went to a bluegrass festival once and the repetitive chord structure made all the songs sound the same to me. Go figure. Sheraton Hotel Framingham, Framingham, MA. more
American Heritage Chocolate Festival	2/13	Western Mass
Gee, with a silversmith demonstration, horse drawn wagon rides, and museum stuff, this chocolate festival sounds not nearly so shallow as I’d expected! 10am-4pm. Deerfield, MA. more
Ward Reservation Winter Fun Day	2/14	North Shore
Hmm, guided hikes and snowshoe rentals. Is this a festival or just business as usual for this park? 12-3pm. Ward Reservation, Andover, MA.978.682.3580. more
Valentine’s Day
Moulon Rouge Sing-a-Long	2/12	Boston Metro
Okay, I’ve dodged the topic for long enough. For Valentine’s Day, what you don’t want is to head to a bar or restaurant that’s doing their everyday routine and pretending it’s special. Make it really special by doing something creative. Let’s start with this love movie sing-a-long. Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA. more
Valentine’s Day Hike	2/14	Southern Mass
Or, go for a hike. Hint: maybe not having a guide along would be more romantic. 1-3pm. Wrentham State Forest, Taunton Street, Wrentham, MA. more
Skate Your Heart Out (Free Day)	2/14	Northern Mass
And here’s a free ice skating day. You’ll find ice skating all over, of course, Boston Common, Harvard Square, and Kendall Square, for example. Wendell State Forest, 92 Montague Road, Wendell, MA. more
Tales of Eros	2/14	Boston Metro
This is like a poetry slam, except you don’t have to be a poet. And nobody gets slammed. Hopefully it will be full of fun stories about love. 4-7pm. Ryles Jazz Club, 212 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA. more
Love Letters (one-act play)	2/13	North Shore
This one’s a straight out performance, of “one-act classic Love Letters”. Salem, MA. more
Dracula on Valentine’s Day	2/12 – 2/27	Boston Metro
Does this make any sense? Who cares? Going to see Dracula to celebrate Valentine’s Day is just awesome. Put a stake in it. 277 Broadway, Somerville, MA. more
Improv Boston’s “Thorns	2/14	Boston Metro
Finally, if you have your heart broken, ImprovBoston will cheer you up and commiserate at the same time, improv style. Improv Boston, 40 Prospect St., Cambridge, MA. more
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, “A Venetian Valentine	2/14	Boston Metro
I always put the less interesting things at the bottom. If you really need to do a cocktail event for Valentine’s Day, this is the one, at the Gardner Museum. It always sells out. Maybe you could buy a ticket for next year now. 280 The Fenway, Boston, MA.617-566-1401. more
Valentine Day FlirtFest	2/13	Boston Metro
And if you really have to hit a drinking party or bar, this is my recommendation. It’s really meant for singles, though. Estate Boston, 1 Boylston Place, Boston, MA. more