3/15/10 – 3/24/10: Maple Sugar, Storytelling, Rocky Horror, Sci-Fi, Model Train, St. Patrick’s Day Parades, & Free Ice Cream
03/15/10 by
Johnny Monsarrat
Howdy! I have one ticket for Repo Men for TONIGHT, with Jude Law and Forrest Whittaker, in Boston. Email me at johnny@weirdbostonevents.org.
For me, the worst time of the winter isn’t February. It’s right now, because Spring is coming, but so slowly. Don’t let people from other areas of the world get you down with their bragging. See Johnny’s New England Manifesto for reasons to be a proud New Englander!
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-Johnny
The Week in Weird |
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| Sharing the Fire, Northeast Storytelling Conference | 3/19 – 3/21 | New Hampshire |
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| The event of the week is storytelling: for adults! It’s not x-rated, but rather one of only two big storytelling festivals in New England, and it’s not just for kids. It’s sort of like one-person one-act plays. The Crowne Plaza, Warwick, RI. more |
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| Rocky Horror “Alice in Wonderland” Night | 3/20 | Boston Metro |
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| Going up the weirdness scale, every Saturday at midnight, local theatre geeks show the old film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and have a ‘cast’ of performers parodying or acting out the scenes on the stage while the film is playing. They’ll also do a preshow. This week they have an Alice in Wonderland theme, so come dressed to win a costume prize. Theatre, Church Street, Cambridge, MA. more |
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| VERICON | 3/19 – 3/21 | Boston Metro |
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| Even more geeky is this science fiction convention, run by Harvard students. Sever Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. more |
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| Zine Fair & BlastFest | 3/20 | Boston Metro |
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| But wait! There’s something even stranger! Before there was blogging, people wrote “zines”, self-published magazines of varying quality. Come take a look. It’s part of a music festival, see the link. 11am-7pm. Cambridge YMCA, 820 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. more more |
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| Murder Mystery at The Governor’s Inn | 3/20 – 3/27 | New Hampshire |
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| It can only be topped by this, a murder mystery dinner with a Star Trek theme. This is one of a few locations where you play the role of detective and try to find clues and solve the case and they serve food, too. It’s only $59 including the food and gratuity. 78 Wakefield Street, Rochester, NH.603-332-0107. more |
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| Plimoth Plantation Rare Breeds Animal Parade! | 3/20 | South Shore |
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| Imagine you work at Plimoth Plantation, the re-enactment village. You want to spice things up a bit. Why not invite hundreds of exotic animals!! That’s educational, right? Didn’t the Pilgrims have zebras and emus? You bet your sweet butt they did. 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA.508-746-1622. more |
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| South Shore Model Railroad Club Open House | 3/20 – 3/21 | South Shore |
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| Also in that area is one of the few model railroad festivals. (I grew up at a time when spaceships were high tech, and even airplanes were standard, so I’m always a little confused by people who have to go back all the way to trains for their power fantasy.). Bare Cove Park, Bldg 51, 19 Fort Hill St, Hingham, MA.781-740-2000. more |
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| Tropical Fiesta, Jamaica Plain | 3/20 | Boston Metro |
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| I don’t really understand this event, but this is the group that does the amazing Day of the Dead Festival at Forest Hills Cemetery. From 12-4pm, learn dances from the Caribbean, rainforest arts & crafts for kids, and then 7pm-2am, a nighttime 18+ party, with three afro world beat bands. 45 Danforth Street, Jamaica Plain, MA.617-524-6373. more |
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Also Fun |
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| Obscura Day Walking Tour of Forest Hills Cemetery | 3/20 | Boston Metro |
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| Also in JP, there will be a tour of Forest Hills Cemetery. Unfortunately, the other “Obscura Day” events near Boston are sold out. Forest Hills Cemetery, Jamaica Plain, MA. more more |
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| Linda Fang: Stories from China | 3/23 | Boston Metro |
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| Also for adults, not just kids, here’s storytelling from Chinese history and culture 6pm. Free. Harvard Art Museum (Sackler), 485 Broadway, Cambridge, MA.617-495-9400. more more |
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| Green Fair 2009 | 3/20 | Southern Mass |
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| There’s an environmental festival of unknown creativity happening. Ted Williams Camp, Lakeville, MA. more |
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| LibrePlanet | 3/19 – 3/21 | Boston Metro |
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| While you’re wearing green, visit the fringe of the liberal movement and meet revolutionary geeks who think software should be free. (And don’t laugh, because they’re seriously going to take over someday and their products work better and are more secure than Microsoft’s.). Harvard Science Center, Harvard University Main Campus, Cambridge, MA. more |
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| Best in Show” movie with veterinarian lecturer | 3/15 | Boston Metro |
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| The Coolidge holds dozens of “events”, which consist solely of showing a movie. This one they’ve added a lecture to, so I thought I’d list it. Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA. more |
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| Sugar Maple 101 at Appleton Farms | 3/16 | North Shore |
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| This is your last chance to do some sugar mapling before the season ends. Ipswich is truly beautiful, if you visit Castle Hill and Crane Beach as well, and they punch in well above their weight small-town-wise with arts & culture. Too bad they scheduled it right when most of us are working. 3:30-5pm. Appleton Farms, 219 County Road, Ipswich, MA. more |
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| Hebron Maple Fest | 3/20 – 3/21 | Connecticut |
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| And I finally found a maple sugar festival that’s not tiny. OK, it’s pretty small. But they’ll have a scavenger hunt, demonstrations of woodworking and blacksmithing, an ice cream eating contest, and a revolutionary war encampment. Hebron, CT. more |
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| Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day | 3/23 | Everywhere |
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| I’d rather get my sugar at Ben & Jerry’s though. Yum! Ben & Jerry’s, Everywhere. more |
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| Revels: Spring Sing | 3/20 | Boston Metro |
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| The revels people continue to promote participatory sings that immediately sell out by the time I list them. (Maybe get a bigger venue?) Actually, this one still has tix but get yours immediately. St. John’s Church, 80 Mt. Auburn St, Watertown, MA. more |
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| Plymouth Rock Blues Festival | 3/20 | South Shore |
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| More than just a performance, they’ll have a festival atmosphere with a chili cook-off competition. Memorial Hall, Plymouth, MA. more |
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| Massachusetts Tattoo & Art Festival | 3/19 – 3/21 | Worcester |
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| I hope before you get “I’m SOooo DRUNK” tattooed on your bicep that you’ve given some thought to whether you’ll still want it at age 60. Sturbridge Host Hotel, Sturbridge, MA. more |
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| Cardboard Box Derby @ King Pine & Loon Mtn | 3/21 | New Hampshire |
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| Ski resorts continue to remind you that in the mountains, winter isn’t over! They still have snow! And people racing cardboard boxes down ski slopes. At two different ski resorts. King Pine, Purity Spring Resort, NH. more |
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| Paradise City Arts Festival (Spring) | 3/19 – 3/21 | Metro West |
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| This art show is so commercialized, I’m not sure why I list it. But it’s sort of a festival. Rt 495 to exit 24B (Rt 20W). F 10-6, S 10-6, S 11-5. Royal Plaza Trade Center, Marlborough, MA.800-511-9725. more |
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| Boston Gift Show (Spring) | 3/21 – 3/24 | Boston Metro |
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| This one’s both commercial and doesn’t even feature art. Boston Convention & Expo Center, Boston, MA.800-272-SHOW. more |
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| The Great American Meat Out | 3/20 | All Over |
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| These people hate meat. Various Places, All Over. more more |
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| Boston Restaurant Week – Winter | 3/21 – 3/26 | Boston Metro |
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| And these people love to eat. It’s a promotion, not an event, but the winter is sparse, so we’ll take what we can get. Boston, MA. more |
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| Egg Hunt | 3/20 | Metro West |
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| Easter is coming up, and some people just can’t wait. So here’s your chance to meet the Easter Bunny and they promise to have egg hunts “for all ages”. What about my age? Green Meadow School, Maynard, MA. more |
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St. Patrick’s Day |
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| St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Abington, MA | 3/21 | South Shore |
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| St. Patrick’s Day is not over! This one has a parade in Abington. From Abington Center, Abington, MA.781 878-1570 or 781-878-7785. more |
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| St. Patrick’s Day Kite Fly | 3/20 | New Hampshire |
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| And a kite fly. Hampton Beach, NH. more |
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| Leprechaun Leap | 3/20 | Connecticut |
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| Or raise money for charity by diving in icy cold water. Another wonderful thing about New England they just don’t have in Texas. 2pm. Walnut Beach, Milford, CT. more |
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| St. Patrick’s Day Parade & Road Race – Holyoke, MA | 3/21 | Springfield |
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| More Saint Patrick’s Day! The road race is Saturday and the parade is Sunday, followed by a parade. Claim to be the 2nd largest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the USA. Could that possibly be true? Well, the #1 is in nearby NYC. 2009: 12pm. From the K-Mart plaza in Holyoke., Holyoke, MA. more |
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| St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Lawrence, MA | 3/21 | Northern Mass |
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| And here in Lawrence. 1pm. Starts at City Hall, Lawrence, MA. more |
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| St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Manchester, NH | 3/21 | Western Mass |
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| And Manchester, NH. From Elm Street, Downtown Manchester, Manchester, NH. more |
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| St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Mystic, CT | 3/21 | Connecticut |
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| Mystic, CT. more | ||||
| St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Bridgeport, CT | 3/17 | Connecticut |
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| Bridgeport, CT. more | ||||
| St. Patrick’s Day Parade – Meridan, CT | 3/20 | Connecticut |
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| Meridan, CT. more | ||||
| St. Patrick’s Day at Patriot Place | 3/20 – 3/21 | Southern Mass |
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| And I’m listing this one last since it seems to be some live music at two venues in a mall, but not really a ‘festival’ despite the name. Two Patriot Place, Foxborough, MA. more |
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Performance |
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| PuppetSLAM | 3/20 | Boston Metro |
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| Here’s a puppet show meant for adults! 8pm. It’s PG-13 or R-rated. 32 Station Street, Brookline MA.617-731-6400. more |
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| SlamBoston | 3/15 – 3/17 | Boston Metro |
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| Between 6 and 9 ten-minute plays compete in a festival atmosphere. Looks interesting. Factory Theatre, Boston, MA. more |
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| International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella – Quarterfinals | 3/20 | Metro West |
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| If you love a capella music like I do, check this out. 8pm. Kresge Auditorium, MIT, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. more |
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| No Hunger, No More | 3/16 | Boston Metro |
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| This night of music is a benefit for Meals on Wheels. Midway Café, 3496 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain, MA. more |
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