Boston, MA
Free events in Boston this week: Boston Arts Festival returns, free concert, Seaport movie night – The Boston Globe
![Free events in Boston this week: Boston Arts Festival returns, free concert, Seaport movie night – The Boston Globe Free events in Boston this week: Boston Arts Festival returns, free concert, Seaport movie night – The Boston Globe](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/f1GFiGRIjM0ohJdek1eSdO4uS1w=/506x0/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/737IT2FZQ5C23EB77QU35CQBDQ.jpeg)
It’s rather poetic that meteorological summer ended Sunday — we’ve made it past moving day, college students are back on campus, and Boston Public Schools are about to be in session. We may be waving “goodbye” to summer, but not to free things to do in the area. This week, check out a civic-minded panel in Dorchester, and the return of the Boston Arts Festival. Plus, free admission to the Institute of Contemporary Art all day Labor Day.
Free events
OPTIMUS PRIME-TIME Pack a blanket or a lawn chair and head out to Seaport for an outdoor screening of the 2023 autobot-action flick, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.” Food truck snacks and wine and beer will be available for purchase, though the hosts also encourage guests to BYOP (bring your own picnic) or pick up takeout from the surrounding restaurants. Rental chairs are available for $10 a pop, and free treats — like popcorn, swag, and soft drinks — will be up for grabs throughout the night. Sept. 2, 7 p.m. Free. 88 Seaport Blvd. bostonseaport.xyz
EDUCATE As November’s election nears, the BPL’s Dorchester branch is hosting a civic-minded panel discussion. Led by Andrés Ballesteros, community director of White Snake Projects, the panel will feature Occidental College Assistant Professor Ainsley LeSure and Boston-based activists Eric Kennedy and Madison Foley. The event will also feature a performance from Naomi Westwater, a local folk-rock and poetry artist. Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Free. 690 Adams St., Dorchester. bpl.bibliocommons.com
JAM OUT At the Christian Science Plaza, the summer vibes are far from over with a free concert on the lawn, featuring folk artist Farayi Malek; the Robbie Pate Group, who will play R&B and soul covers; and Albino Mbie, who will play Afro-pop originals. Then cool off with a new world view with free admission to the Mapparium, the iconic, stained glass domed structure — representing the globe circa 1935 — where sound, vibration, and light bounce and reflect in extraordinary ways. Sept. 6, 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Free. Christian Science Plaza, 210 Massachusetts Ave. christianscience.com
ARTIST’S POINT This coming weekend, Christopher Columbus Park hosts over 50 artists at the annual Boston Arts Festival. The festival, which has been hosted since 2003, will feature two days of music — including performances from local artists like Fly By Brass Band, blindspot, and the 94s. Plus, there will be numerous vendors, including paintings by Joseph Mushipi, clothing by Sherry Divedi, and ceramics by Lori Gardinier. Sept. 7 and 8, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Christopher Columbus Park, 100 Atlantic Ave. thebostonartsfestival.com
![Performers at a past Boston Arts Festival.](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/FVUPCWYA6ZDTZCD76IWIGAC2HQ.jpeg?auth=fa6a8b51d7c02da7b2bfd40ee58146ba82c7582e8cd12a8177150cc8d3d16326&width=1440)
NOT A ROOK-IE MISTAKE Try a twist on chess with a free meetup in Harvard Square. The Creative Chess Club invites likeminded gamers to take on a non-traditional variant — from Magic the Gathering hybrid, Eternal Kings, to eight-player Party Chess. The group encourages new members (and novices) and meet every other Saturday. Check their website or join their Discord for up-to-date locations and times. Sept. 7, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center, 1350 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. bostonscreativechessclub.com
VOCAL CHORD ACADEMY The Boston Lyric Opera and Boston Conservatory at Berklee join forces for an opera masterclass featuring Lawrence Brownlee. Brownlee, who will star in the titular role in Mozart’s “Mitridate” at the BLO later this month, will coach five singers through technique, and offer performance and acting tips. Members of the public are welcome to sit in on the lesson and get a glimpse behind the scenes of the world of opera. Sept. 8, 3 p.m. Free. Seully Hall, 8 Fenway. bostonconservatory.berklee.edu
Deals & Steals
ON-THE-HOUSE ARTS In honor of Labor Day, the Institute of Contemporary Art will offer free admission all day long. Visitors can catch the Firelei Báez exhibition and Hew Locke’s The Procession (located at the ICA’s Watershed) on their final day at the museum. Advance tickets are required. Sept. 2, 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Free. Institute of Contemporary Art, 25 Harbor Shore Drive. icaboston.org
Emily Wyrwa can be reached at emily.wyrwa@globe.com. Follow her @emilywyrwa.
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Boston, MA
North End Feast season closes with the San Gennaro Feast
![North End Feast season closes with the San Gennaro Feast North End Feast season closes with the San Gennaro Feast](https://media.timeout.com/images/106174141/image.jpg)
The North End is one of the most restaurant-dense neighborhoods in the country—so it makes pefect sense that its biggest annual attraction are the feasts. These are street fairs celebrating Italian American culture with food carts, carnival games, live music and parades, held each weekend in August to honor various saints. The 2024 season closes out Labor Day weekend with the San Gennaro Feast, taking the Paul Revere Mall on Hanover Street from Friday, Aug. 30–Sunday, Sept. 1. The patron saint of Naples, Italy, is celebrated by the Saint Gennaro Foundation of Boston, founded by North End restaurateurs Frank DePasquale, Nick Varano, Angelo Vigliotta and Pasquale Trotta, along with the North End-founded Pastene brands. The festivities feature more than two dozen booths by local restaurants, free live music and DJs, celebrity emcees and more. The San Gennaro Feast winds down on Sunday with a procession of the saint followed by an outdoor mass (these are Catholic festivals, after all).
San Gennaro Feast Schedule
Friday, August 30
5pm- The Feast Opens to the public
6pm- Hot 96.9 Morning Show Host Melissa Eannuzzo welcomes guests
6:15pm- Vinyl Groove performs
8pm- Italian Connection performs
11pm- Feast closes for the night
Saturday, August 31
12pm- The Feast Opens to the Public
6pm- Kiss 108 Personality Gianna Gravalese introduces performers
6:15–7:15pm- Virgil the DJ
7:30–8:15pm- Canadian singer and disco great France Joli
8:30–10pm- The Midtown Men (Jersey Boys original cast)
11pm- The Feast closes for the night
Sunday, September 1
12pm- Outdoor Mass performed by the priests of Saint Stephens
1pm- Procession of San Gennaro
6pm- Kiss 108 Personality Gianna Gravelese presents Flutie Foundation with check
6:30–7:30pm- Virgil the DJ
8–9:30pm- Sal The Voice from America’s Got Talent
11pm- The feast concludes
Boston, MA
On the front lines of Boston’s Sept. 1 weekend moving chaos – The Boston Globe
![On the front lines of Boston’s Sept. 1 weekend moving chaos – The Boston Globe On the front lines of Boston’s Sept. 1 weekend moving chaos – The Boston Globe](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/RXdiHjvsR-YRssuoWYXfrycNpP4=/506x0/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/bostonglobe/QDP4KTWTRDX27EGFYFUJGKISTI.jpg)
Fisher and Braun are two students moving this weekend, a notorious one in Boston when 70 percent of the city’s leases start on the same day. Trying to move in a cramped city at the same time as thousands of others is exasperating. Even those who aren’t moving feel stressed by the congested traffic and piles of junk on sidewalks.
Adding to the moving confusion is Allston Christmas, an unofficial Boston holiday during which Allston/Brighton students leave their unwanted goods out for people to take. The holiday has grown over the years, expanding well past Allston, and sidewalk piles pop in areas like Fenway, Mission Hill, East Boston, and other neighborhoods with high populations of students.
The holiday has a chaotic yet jovial atmosphere, with students walking the streets hoping to find free home goods or furniture treasure amid piles of junk. Though the city warns against picking up stuff from the street for multiple sanitation reasons, including the spread of bed bugs and the sidewalk piles being ideal for rats.
Other renters prefer listing their odds and ends on Facebook Marketplace.
Northeastern graduate Becca Miller carried her mattress down from her home to the SUV of a buyer she connected with through the online platform. The mattress was one of 13 items Miller sold on the app over the past three days.
Selling the items online was stressful. Miller estimated she talked to around 70 people, many of whom ghosted her or didn’t offer the right deal, before finding buyers for her belongings. She said the process was like having a full-time job.
She was trying to get the belongings sold by her move-out date. Her roommates were already gone, having left the country to study abroad in Indonesia. Miller is scheduled to meet them there in a month for a post-grad opportunity.
![Moving vans along Aberdeen Street took up parking spaces as students across Boston were moving in and out of apartments to get ready for the fall semester.](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/23ID3Y77RRIMZFMZPODP34I6ZE.jpg?auth=2b62577605504cf5eee3aafdb651a7f3e43aa5c6e01e37fda3723e7174a4610e&width=1440)
Despite the stress, Miller liked the process of buying and selling used goods. Most of the items in Miller’s apartment were second hand because she and her roommates were environmental studies majors.
“Buying new stuff, I have a block around it,” she said.
For Ian Furst, 28, a project manager of a local biotechnology company, moving from the Fenway area was a family affair. His fiancée’s family; his parents, Andy, 60, and Samantha, 54; and his brother Nate, 27, came to help the couple move out.
Furst lived on the sixth floor of his building, something that wasn’t a huge problem until the elevator broke down. It hasn’t been fixed for 15 months, so his family helped him carry boxes, bags, crates, and bulky items down the stairs.
“We love the neighborhood, Fenway is very much our home, but Jamaica Plain was calling,” he said.
Samantha said that last weekend, when they got a head start on moving, her two sons did 110 flights of stairs each. This weekend, she said, it’s somewhere around 50.
“This sucks,” Nate laughed as he lugged three tote bags of stuff into their minivan before going back up to do it again.
![Forsyth Street in Boston near Northeastern University was a busy scene as students were moving in for the fall semester.](https://bostonglobe-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NGD3STWZONKKVOOAVYVYVB376Y.jpg?auth=914f8f87a2ac4af6be384f3a95854141bb0c54d2928c46e1a5b4a84d2e7c11d8&width=1440)
Furst lived in Brighton in 2019. He bounced around apartments in the area before finding the Fenway spot that he’s currently leaving. His parents live in North Reading, but during their college and young adult years, they also rented apartments in and around Allston and Fenway. They were all familiar with the standstill traffic and double-parked streets that fill up this time every year.
“It’s an adventure,” said Andy, of the busy weekend.
Furst was grateful he had some help on that adventure.
“It takes an army to move out of an apartment on a Sept. 1 timeline,” he said.
Izzy Bryars can be reached at izzy.bryars@globe.com. Follow her @izzybryars.
Boston, MA
Next Weather: WBZ morning forecast for August 31
![Next Weather: WBZ morning forecast for August 31 Next Weather: WBZ morning forecast for August 31](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2024/08/31/be4b78d8-1e0a-422d-af1f-d4080f46f6fe/thumbnail/1200x630/c475c3a2b253e8405c4eff1d11eee9dc/057a66114a4312acccd2c508830eeafc.jpg?v=25685eaa472b1a5dbb5bd46ae506d232)
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