This FREE outdoor concert features Lifehouse, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Michelle Branch, Javier Colon, and Sara Bareilles. It sounds SWEET and I’m giving away 2 VIP passes, which come with free food and alcohol, donated by the 2012 Ford Focus, which will display cars and create a party with Xbox Rockband, giveaways, and trivia. To win, tweet “Follow @OddBostonEvents @FordcastTour and RT to win two 9/17 MixFest VIP Party tix! #FocusVIP”. Hatch Shell, Esplanade, Boston, MA.

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Speaking of big commercial vendors, you’ll find dozens of them at this huge festival. You’ll need a huge sack for the glorious free swag. Oh wait! You’ll find free sacks, too! Target takes over an entire playground and hosts a carnival with free popcorn, and Ford will host a street party with their 2012 Ford Focus display cars, a Wii videogame station, and trivia! 11am-5pm. East Broadway, between I and L Streets, Boston, MA.

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There are a few different murder mystery experiences in New England, but this one is interactive! After sitting down for the intro, you walk around the Newport Art Museum greeting live actors and quizzing them about their alibis and scandals. Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com for one of two pairs of tix to the Sat Sep 14 show. Newport, RI.

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I also have two pairs of tickets to give away for this lecture, September 15 at 8pm. I sort of don’t get it, but I’ve heard that catching crabs is one of the most dangerous and exciting things on TV. Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com. 2 Southbridge St, Worcester, MA.

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I have more tickets to give away for King Richard’s Faire, good for any weekend day thru Sep 25. This renaissance festival comes with jugglers and fire eaters. The last 2 weeks I have gotten slammed with requests and it’s hard to choose. So this time to win email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com and twist my arm by telling me how much you’ve been spreading the word to friends about Events INSIDER. (And thanks!). 235 Main St, Carver, MA.508-866-5391.

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I’ve been to East Heaven and it’s my favorite spa because they have a rooftop hot tub that you can rent at night, even in the winter. It’s the best romantic getaway when you are visiting Western MA. I finally got around to calling and asking them for a giveaway. So now they’re offering a “couples package”, with a 30 minute rooftop hot tub followed by a 60 minute massage for two. Sweet! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com to win. 33 West St, Northampton, MA.

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Next Fall was the Tony-nominated Broadway show that lost to those bastards The Book of Mormon. Yet, it is also about religion. One man is a Christian. One man is an Atheist. They’re a gay couple, and there’s laughter and heartbreak. I have 2 pairs of tickets to give away! Email johnny@eventsINSIDER.com. Speakeasy Stage Company, 539 Tremont St, Boston, MA.

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Every year this local chorus has a participatory sing-a-long along the Charles River near JFK Street. It’s one of my favorite events on the year! Half of you are on the Boston side and the other half on the Cambridge side. Picnic at Winthrop Park in Harvard Square at 5pm and then at 5:45 a procession to the river. Then sing 6-7:15pm. Participatory. Bring a flashlight and a blanket. Over 2,000 attend. No sign-up needed. Free! Weeks footbridge, Charles River, Cambridge, MA.

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Did you miss the International Steampunk City in May with 10,000 people? Here’s a sister act with 3,000 people in Fitchburg. It’s your chance to dress up as though the Internet age was part of the Victorian age! Taking place indoors, it’s a festival large enough for several workshops to take place simultaneously. Fitchburg Marriott Courtyar, Fitchburg, MA.

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2011 is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and you can find an entire “encampment”, which is re-enactors camping out old-timey style, with mock battles, blacksmithing demos, and an inaugural ball for President Lincoln and his wife. It sounds enormously creative and educational. Chase Farm House, Lincoln, RI.

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I haven’t been to this one but other Highland Games I’ve visited make me a real believer. These people know how to party! It’s at a major ski resort so they’ll probably have gondola rides and hiking trails. They’ll have a fiddle championship, band marching, athletics & dance competitions, tons of music and vendors, and “sheepdog trials”. Loon Mountain Ski Resort, Lincoln, NH.

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Join the Walmart Gamecenter Mobile Tour in a GOW3 Tournament and compete against other GOW3 players in a tournament that will test your skills! They’ll have food, drinks, music, prizes and giveaways, and special guests! 10pm to 1am! Walmart, 36 Paramount Dr. Raynham, MA.

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Although there are pow-wows (native american festivals) all over New England, this is the only one that’s actually in Metro Boston. Rain or shine. Outdoors. Bring a blanket or chair. They’ll have singing, dancing, drumming, ethnic food and vendors. The Native American Indian Center of Boston, 105 South Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain, MA.617-232-0343 x26.

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In addition to the pow-wow in Boston, here is another. If anything it looks like it may be bigger than the Jamaica Plain one. They’ll have drumming, singing, dancing, including a “pumpkin dance” and a “blanket dance”, storytelling. And of course it takes place on a farm, with animals, hay rides, and ice cream. Sweetwilliam Farm, 153 North St, Upton, MA.508-529-2000.

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This sounds fun! Arlington will have fireworks on Friday at Spy Pond, rain date: Saturday, and a big street festival Saturday on Mass Ave with pony rides, vendors, and music. Spy Pond Field, Arlington, MA.

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Somerville will have fireworks, too! Live music at 4pm and fireworks at 7:45pm. Rain date next day. Behind the Christmas Tree Stores Parking lot. Assembly Square, Somerville, MA.617-625-6600 ext. 2615.

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Norwood is having a street festival. A small one, but with fireworks! Wow! What’s with all the fireworks this week? Norwood, MA.

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Also with fireworks, this one’s bigger, with a parade, magic and storytelling, colonial re-enactors, a pie-eating contest, a dance-a-thon, and a skyjump demonstration. Awesome! Billerica Common, 365 Boston Rd, Billerica, MA.

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Yet another small town event, with a BBQ cookoff, a carnival that only kids can ride (*pout*), and a craft fair. However, they’ll have fireworks! Hazel’s Farm, 150 Ayer Road, Harvard, MA.

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I saw an actual derby car race last year! It’s lower speed than you might think, but cute. Kids and home-built high speed vehicles. What could go wrong? Rogers Street under the Gorton’s sign., Gloucester, MA.978-283-1932.

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Salem has a historic re-enactment museum (like Plymouth Plantation) where you’ll find live actors to teach you about history. And they’re doing a weekend of pirates! They’ll demonstrate piratical punishments, blacksmithing, pirate cooking, sea tales and sea songs. Pioneer Village, Salem, MA.

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And the Higgins museum is holding an event Saturday for Talk Like a Pirate Day (official Monday). It’s a fantastic museum of medeival armor great to visit anytime. Come take a pirate talking workshop and sing along! 2011: 10am-4pm. Higgins Armory Museum, 100 Barber Avenue, Worcester, MA.508-853-6015.

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I’m not exactly sure what pirates and princesses have to do with each other (can you think of a fairy tale that has both?) but Davis Farmland has a petting zoo, hay rides, a water spray park, mini car racing, and more. It’s my favorite midsized amusement park in New England… 145 Redstone Hill, Sterling, MA.978-422-8888.

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… especially because they have apple picking and the most fantastic corn maze in the world. I’ve been for their helicopter rides and it’s great — you get a top-down look at whatever they’ve carved their corn maze into. Saturday the maze is also open at night for moonlight mazing! 145 Redstone Hill, Sterling, MA.978-422-8888.

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It’s a hit! This hilarious and intelligent parody of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries has 8 roles performed by just 3 actors. Click for our review, to be posted Monday 9/12. Central Square Theatre, 450 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA.

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“Another Side of In” is a new exhibit at the Charles River Museum, the museum fueling the recent steampunk craze. Come for the opening reception 9/13 from 6:30-9:30pm, using Lexan, a plastic developed in Pittsfield, MA in 1953. The exhibit runs thru Dec 23. 154 Moody St, Waltham, MA.

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How weird is this? The only annual event at Boston University that I list (excluding the Agganis Arena) is a spelling bee with naughty words. Basement of student center. 9-11:30pm. BU Central, 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA.

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This week you can see what happens when a bunch of stoners try to organize a music festival (not bad) and a political movement to make marijuana legal (whatever, man). Boston Common, Boston, MA.781-944-2266.

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There’s a wildlife sanctuary in Mattapan? Yes! And they’re featuring live music, a petting zoo, and raptor demonstrations. 1:30-2:30pm. Free. Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill Street, Mattapan, MA.

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I love the Banditos Misteriosos, a group that organizes pranks and off-beat activities. But they didn’t clarify when I told them that their website description says nothing helpful. And I find the idea of hiding the location silly. I list 5,000 events a year, and only theirs refuse to give a location. Anyway, this event has something to do with time travel. Is it a LARP? It is a prank? It is a sock hop? It’s Some Kind of Big Secret, Big Mystery Town, USA.

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This beach festival comes with a sand sculpture contest, hay rides, and pony rides! The parade is next week. Harwich, MA.

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Here’s another. The “battle road” is the road that the British chased the minute men out of town on, on the Battle of Lexington. Local rich people have bought up the old-timey homes and once a year they open them to the public. Sort of an awesome version of the rich-people-tour of “gardens” they do in Boston once in a while. Minute Man National Historical Park, Concord, MA.

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Also out to the West, register for this paddle and overnight camp-out! Rocky Narrows, Sherborn, MA.

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Here’s another guided canoe trip under a full moon. You’ll find hundreds of activities on the Mass Audubon website, and I pick out the best ones for you (in my opinion). Topsfield, MA.

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Also outdoors at night, here’s a stargazing event. Astronomer have a huge amount of passion and most will take the time to point out the newbie stuff to you, like how to find the North Star. Call ahead for a weather check if clouds are forecast. Moose Hill, 293 Moose Hill St, Sharon, MA.781-784-5691 x8103.

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This is the only Serbian event I’ve ever heard of near Boston. Like many of these small ethnic festivals, it’s church-related. St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, 41 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge, MA.617-876-0707.

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South Boston is said to be the “best” artist community in the area, and in this event you walk around visiting local artists homes and studios. It’s far more personal than simply meeting vendors, and it’s nice to walk around getting to know a neighborhood! It’s free but of course they hope you’ll buy some artwork. I guess they don’t have any Web artists, though, judging from their website. 11am-6pm. Info booth at 540/560 Harrison Ave. Start from 560 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA.617-267-8862.

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This event is sort of a “flash mob” for musicians who play the accordion. Jewish, Cape Verdean, Mexican, and even circus music will abound. You’ll find them wandering Somerville from 12-3pm and then there’s a free concert in Union Square from 3-6pm. Union Square, Somerville, MA.

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Now that the space shuttle program has ended, trains are a lot more impressive. And at this event, you can not only ride a real train for the scenic views, you can try an old-timey hand pump car, a train turntable, and a ‘rail velocipede’. Conway Scenic Railroad, North Conway, NH.800-232-5251.

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Summer’s not actually endless, so take advantage of these outdoor festivals while they last! Rain date the next day. It’s free! They’ll have a participatory sandcastle competition and a street chalk art event (Sign up). And they’ll have hot dog, pizza eating, and “brain freeze” smoothie eating competitions. Sounds great! 12-6pm. Nantasket Beach, Nantasket Avenue, Hull, MA.

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This event is unique in that it does not seem to have an actual name. But they’ll have tethered balloon rides, pony rides, beekeeping, and hay rides! Plus the ubiquitous face painting. 542 North Broadway, Haverhill, MA.

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Another nice surprise is this cranberry festival. It’s hard to base an entire festival on cranberries, but they seem to be up for it, including a parade, fireworks, a carnival and a craft show. It’s also a beach festival! Harwich, MA.

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They claim this is the largest arts festival in central Massachusetts. And they could be right. If you’re in the area (for example visiting Davis Farmland or the Ecotarium), it looks like fun, featuring over 240 artists & crafters, 10 live bands, street performers, kids activities and a food court. 11am-5pm. Park Ave. and Elm St., Worcester, MA.

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Here’s a film festival featuring Muppets that also has lecturers who’ve worked with Jim Henson! You can meet the guy who does the voice of Elmo. That’s good, right? Images Cinema, 50 Spring St, Williamstown, MA.

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The Big E is New England’s largest agricultural fair, with hokey vendors, an okay traveling carnival, a horse show, actual famous musicians, and a great circus! They’ll also have a slightly alarming “New England in Miniature” called Storrowton which is the only part of New England that many tourists will ever see, and possibly tethered balloon rides. Rt 90W to exit 4. Rt 5S. 1305 Memorial Avenue, West Springfield, MA.

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Somehow I found this list of apple picking locations in Massachusetts. My favorite? Davis Farmland. All Over.

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This time it’s the turn of people with Rhode Island or Connecticut IDs to get free admission to the largest zoo in New England. 2 Southwick Street, Mendon, MA.800-258-9182.

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Students also get in for free at the Museum of Science. Museum of Science, Boston, Boston, MA.

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Speaking of museums, the Harvard Museum of Natural History is having a free talk on forests in New England. I had thought that forests had rebounded in the USA and were well-protected. But the writeup for this lecture seems to say otherwise. HMNH, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA.

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Contra is a social dance that gets you interacting with everyone who comes and is easy to pick up. It tends to attract creative, intelligent people. Check it out! It’s easy to learn, I promise, and this event seems even more geared to newbies. MIT, Cambridge, MA.

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Bedford Day is a parade that ends at a street festival, with the usual high-school and ‘community’ entertainment. Bedford, MA.

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The Fiesta Shows carnivals just don’t stop. This is perhaps the closest to Boston that Fiesta Shows will come. City Lot at 155 Sixth Street, Chelsea, MA.

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While you’re in Chelsea, a local theatre troupe allows YOU to join the fun! If it’s your dream to try acting, you can join in this “reading” Sep 15 of A Streetcar Named Desire, and there are others every month through December. STELLA!!!! STELLA!! Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St, Chelsea, MA.

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Fiesta Shows’ travel carnival also visits New Hampshire, where they’ll have racing pigs, a giraffe exhibit, and a demolition derby. Rochester, NH.

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This is a series of lectures about the founding of Boston, but it takes place at various locations and thus is not really a festival, more of a series. Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Boston, MA.

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Now let’s head up the North Shore. It seems like this festival will be small (they claim 3,000 people). They’ll have the usual vendors and music, a talent show and unspecified “performances”. Central Square, Lynn, MA.

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Here’s another series of independent events they are calling a festival. The 140 independent events all over the region. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the details page listing what they are. There’s a shuttle from Boston at http://ipswichessexexplorer.com/. Various areas, Ipswich, MA.

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Teams demonstrate the old-timey original rules of baseball. Also October 2nd. Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, 5 Little’s Lane, Newbury, MA.978-462-2634.

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This is a dance and music performance inspired by fireflies and to raise awareness of the disappearance of fireflies. It seems to be outdoors. 3pm. Pawtucket, RI.

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I mentioned this talk last week because I was pretty sure it would sell out, but they don’t say “sold out” on the website. It’s by magician Penn Gillette (of Penn & Teller). Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA.

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Heading further out west, this is a wool spinning demonstration. There may be some kind of open studios, too. You guys know that when I say ‘Northern Mass’ I mean Route 2, right? Greenfield High School, Greenfield, MA.

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And here’s a roleplaying convention — looks like board RPGs, not videogames or LARPs. Greenfield, MA.

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This car show comes with a parade and a beach! And it’s only a 90 minute drive from Boston, even though it’s in Maine. Old Orchard Beach, Old Orchard Beach, ME.207-934-2500.

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I am not easily impressed by lectures at small museums, but this one looks quite interesting. Scientists have used archaeology and DNA research to learn about New England’s Native Americans, at the “largest Clovis site in North America”. Now if only I knew what a Clovis site was, I’d be all set! The Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum, Essex, MA.

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Oh Fiddlers Fest. You had me at “Fiddlers Fest”. I’ve been to this park. It’s tiny, but well maintained. Greenfield, MA.

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This is going to be small, but I can’t resist a fiddle contest (or banjo) and small events can be fun because the people who do it are so passionate. 11am-4pm. Have you figured out yet that when there’s no photo, I just grab a random one, like, from Missouri? :). Falmouth, MA.

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It’s yet another charity walk. This time for Cancer, a good cause. Maybe they should merge them all together into one humongous walk on just one day of the year. It runs along the Boston Marathon route. Register ahead of time. Various, Boston, MA.800-632-3562.

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Yet another charity. This time, bikes do the walking. Boston to Provincetown. Ride to Provincetown starting from Boston, Boston, MA.

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It’s like an escort service for charity. Hunky bachelors and bacheloretts get up on stage with some kind of costume and get “auctioned off” to raise money. They expect 500 to attend and claim that last year one couple ended up getting married. You’ve spent so much time in bars and online dating, at least this time your money will go to something good! Gypsy Bar, 116 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

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Although most are now gone, the outdoor films aren’t quite over! This one’s a smallish venue, a movie projected onto the side of a food truck. Hmm. Takes place at sundown. Dewey Square Park, Boston, MA.

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This is a commercial event where you can buy art if you want. I hope it’s at least outdoors, because, you know, I’ve seen malls before. 1 Merrymount Parkway, Quincy, MA.

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If I wanted to buy art, I think I’d prefer to be at this glassblowing event instead, perhaps on the way back from the Heritage Museums & Gardens. I stopped here once and was given a spontaneous demonstration with no pressure to buy anything. This event will likely be worth a visit. Sandwich Glass Museum, Sandwich, MA.508-888-0251.

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The Pawtucket Arts Festival, which is really a series of festivals, not a contiguous event. Slater Memorial Park, 401 Newport Avenue, Pawtucket, RI.

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I’ve seen this play (although not this production) and this comedic masterpiece retells Shakespeare’s story of Hamlet from the perspective of the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Eliot Hall, 7A Eliot St, Jamaica Plain, MA.

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Wow! This looks like another hit at Club Oberon. It’s a dance party, but there’s also a performance where the performers are “at a high school reunion”. At least that’s what I think it is. Oh heck, the events at Club Oberon are always good. We don’t need descriptions amongst friends. Club Oberon, Cambridge, MA.

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Steel Magnolias” are the strong women who gather in the local beauty salon to chat. Now it’s someone’s wedding day and there’s gossip, love, triumph, and, um, things that aren’t gossip, love, and triumph. Stoneham, MA.

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What is it with Civil War re-enactments this weekend? Here’s another, in Connecticut. It’s free, but not well described, so I would tend to say, do the Rhode Island one. Roseland Cottage, Route 169, Woodstock, CT.860-928-4074.

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Ooh! It’s an Irish fesival. They’ll have “music” and “sports” and “shopping”. Milford, CT.

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I’m not likely to drive to Vermont for a car show, considering I live right next to the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline, MA which is constantly having lawn shows all summer. But hey. It’s probably the biggest thing happening in Vermont. I’ll list it. Stowe, VT.

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How wacked out is this? The atlatl is an ancient spear, the kind of thing that helped humans hunt mammoths to extinction. Learn to make ’em and see the national championships! Orwell, VT.

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