Boston, MA

Free events and deals: waterfront fun with the aquarium, State House drama, plus Boston’s African Festival returns – The Boston Globe

Published

1 year ago

August 12, 2024

Free events and deals: waterfront fun with the aquarium, State House drama, plus Boston’s African Festival returns – The Boston Globe

Other upcoming events include a wellness walk in partnership with Tedy’s Team on Oct. 3. The initiative has even featured film screenings, like last year’s event where the aquarium partnered with a Mattapan teen center to host a documentary screening at the Simons Theatre.

“They were all able to dress up and bring their family and just have a really cool experience in a space that, maybe historically, they haven’t been invited to or been able to go to,” Arregoces said.

Per Arregoces, the Aquarium aims to build the waterfront’s “physical resilience” — limiting the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, and heat island effect — and “social resilience,” which is bolstered by events like these making the waterfront a place for all members of the community.

“We want to make sure that the community is engaged in all of the work that the aquarium does,” Arregoces said.

Also going on this week: There is an original play coming to the State House, a coffee chat for the young at heart, plus a seminar on ancient art.

Free Events

STATE HOUSE STAGE Plays in Place and the National Parks of Boston are coming together to produce a three-play series called “Suffrage in Black and White,” which discusses the “intersection of race and citizenship throughout the abolitionist and suffrage movements in Boston,” according to a press release from Plays in Place. The first play, “A Light Under the Dome,” will take the stage this week in the State House Senate Chamber. It tells the story of Angelina Grimké’s 1838 speech there. Tickets are free and available on Plays in Place’s website. Aug. 12-15, 3 to 4:15 p.m. and 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. Free. Massachusetts State House Senate Chamber, 24 Beacon St. playsinplace.com

Bridgette Hayes in a 2022 workshop of “A Light Under the Dome.”Sam Johnson

THE BEE’S KNEES Head to the Tavern at the End of the World for a free concert Tuesday night that is sure to knock your socks off. The “Bees Deluxe,” a blues band mixed with elements of funk, jazz and psychedelia, will play a three-hour set at its debut at the venue. It was founded by Conrad Warre, a guitarist who played with Joe Jackson, and is based in the Boston area. Aug. 13, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Free. The Tavern at the End of the World, 108 Cambridge St., Charlestown. thebostoncalendar.com

Two members of Bees Deluxe at a previous performance.JR Rost

WE ARE YOUNG The Boston Music Project is hosting its first-ever Youth Fest, a festival “by, for, and with Boston Youth,” according to the organization. Head out to Downtown Crossing for a day filled with energetic performances and artists. Headlining performances include hip-hop artist Paul Willis from 4 to 5 p.m. and saxophonist Jonathan Suazo from 5 to 6 p.m. Aug. 14, noon to 6 p.m. Free. 1 Summer St. thebostoncalendar.com

Fabio, a youth musician with Boston Music Project, performing at City Hall Plaza.Tim Mah

CONNECT Seniors looking to discuss the arts can come to the Kennedy Center of Charlestown for a late-morning coffee. Staff from the Boston Public Art Triennial will be in attendance to connect with seniors to discuss the installations at the Lot Lab. Currently, the Lot Lab features work from Matthew Okazaki and Ifé Franklin, two local artists who specialize in sculpture work, and Hugh Hayden, who is a New York-based sculpture artist. Aug. 15, 11 a.m. to noon. Free. Lot Lab, 15th St. thetriennial.org

ANCIENTS If you’re interested in learning more about ancient art, look no further than the Harvard Art Museum. Dr. Caitlin Clerkin, who works for the museum’s curatorial staff, will hold a seminar with attendees to discuss ancient displays in the museum, including the funerary relief of Ba’altega, from Palmyra, Syria, and the Old Kingdom period funerary reliefs in the ancient Egypt gallery. Plus, Clerkin will take attendees to the study center for a private viewing of a variety of ancient Sumerian, Greek, and Roman objects. Aug. 16, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Free. Harvard Art Museums, 32 Quincy St., Cambridge. harvardmuseums.org

FESTIVITIES The African Festival of Boston is back for its 14th annual celebration. Head to the Boston Common all weekend long to hear music, dance, and enjoy food offerings from Taste of Africa from Ghana, Suya Joint from Nigeria, The Liberian Community Women, Cuisine from Cameroon, and more. Performances will include Lumanyano Mzi, a Boston-based South African drummer who graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2023, Albino Mbie, a musician originally from Mozambique who graduated from Berklee in 2013, and more. Aug. 17-18, 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Free. 139 Tremont St. eventbrite.com

Attendees enjoying the 2017 African Festival of Boston.Massamba Kompa

Deals & Steals

DISCOVER Every Friday night throughout the summer, Acton’s Discovery Museum, which recently won the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, offers free admission to families. Head out to Acton to play in the discovery woods — complete with its wheelchair-accessible treehouse — or check out its many indoor exhibits. While admission is free, reservations are recommended. Aug. 16, 4:30 to 8 p.m. Free. Discovery Museum, 177 Main St. (Route 27), Acton. discoveryacton.org

Emily Wyrwa can be reached at emily.wyrwa@globe.com. Follow her @emilywyrwa.

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Boston, MA

Boston woman flummoxed after rat makes a home in stroller she left on porch

Published

10 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Local News

Boston Reddit did not mince words when it came to the best way of evicting this brazen stroller squatter.

A Boston woman is dealing with an unwelcome tenant on her front porch — a rat that has turned a baby stroller into a cozy winter hideaway.

The woman shared her ordeal Thursday on the r/Boston subreddit, explaining that she had left her stroller, complete with a muff, on her second-floor porch. When she checked on it later, she discovered a rat had moved in.

“I stupidly left our stroller with a muff out on the porch,” she wrote. “Today I found a big rat is nested in there. I can’t see clearly, but it seems it has chewed up the muff lining and is using the filling for a nest.”

The woman said she’s called a few pest control companies, but instead of offering immediate removal, they just tried to sell her a long-term bait boxing service.

“…Which is fine, but I urgently need someone to just safely remove the rat and the nest so I can clean or dispose of the stroller if needed,” she wrote, adding that she couldn’t secure a next-day appointment and felt Monday was too far away.

Turning to Reddit for advice, the woman asked whether she should attempt to remove the rat herself, saying she was worried about being bitten or contracting a disease. “Which professional can I call?” she asked.

Redditors reacted with a mix of humor and practical advice. The top comment began, “Sounds like it’s their porch now,” before offering an elaborate plan involving a bucket trap and joking that the rat could then “go on to be a Michelin star chef at a French restaurant,” a nod to the 2007 film “Ratatouille.”

Others suggested she evict the rat by vigorously shaking the stroller or whacking it with a broom, while many urged her to cut her losses entirely and throw the stroller out.

“I honestly wouldn’t ever use it for a small child after a rat had been cribbed up there,” one commenter wrote.

Pest control experts generally advise against handling rats without professional help. According to Terminix, rodents can become aggressive and scratch when threatened and may carry diseases such as hantavirus and leptospirosis.

“When it comes to getting rid of a rat’s nest in the house, DIY treatments won’t cut it,” the company warns on its website.

Boston has been grappling with heightened rat activity in recent years, prompting a citywide rodent action plan known as BRAP. City officials urge residents to “see something, squeak something!” and report rodent activity to 311. Officials said response teams are typically dispatched within one to two days.

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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Boston, MA

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

Published

22 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

The Boston City Council is setting out on a new two-year term with a new council president at the helm.

City Councilor Liz Breadon, who represents District 9, won the gavel on a 7-6 contested vote, cobbling together her candidacy just hours before the council was set to vote.

“An opportunity presented itself and I took it,” Breadon said. “We’re in a very critical time, given politics, and I really feel that in this moment, we need to set steady leadership, and really to bring the council together.”

The process apparently including backroom conversations and late-night meetings as City Councilors Gabriella Coletta Zapata and Brian Worrell both pushed to become the next council president.

Breadon spoke on why support waned for her two colleagues.

“I think they had support that was moving,” said Breadon. “It was moving back and forward, it hadn’t solidified solidly in one place. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the moment.”

Political commentator Sue O’Connell talks about the last-minute maneuvering before the upset vote and what it says about Mayor Michelle Wu’s influence.

Some speculated that Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration was lobbying for a compromise candidate after Coletta Zapata dropped out of the race. Breadon disputes the mayor’s involvement.

“I would say not,” said Breadon. “I wasn’t in conversation with the mayor about any of this.”

Beyond the election, Breadon took a look ahead to how she will lead the body. Controversy has been known to crop up at City Hall, most recently when former District 7 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges tied to a kickback scheme involving taxpayer dollars.

Breadon said it’s critical to stay calm and allow the facts to come out in those situations.

“I feel that it’s very important to be very deliberative in how we handle these things and not to sort of shoot from the hip and have a knee-jerk reaction to what’s happening,” said Breadon.

Tune in Sunday at 9:30 am for our extended @Issue Sitdown with Breadon, when we dig deeper into how her candidacy came together, the priorities she’ll pursue in the role and which colleagues she’ll place in key council positions.

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