Boston for a Buck: Events for the Weekend
By Steph Solis, Staff Writer
@stephmsolis
There’s a ton happening this weekend, from music to free food to crazy shows. Here’s the roundup.
Free Boston: A night of Live Art, Music & Social Good at Workbar Cambridge
Few know how to have a good time on a budget better than the folks at The Boston Calendar. TBC is a website that features cool, interesting events happening around the city (brought to you by Reddit). They’re collaborating with Impact Lighthouse, a collaborative of socially good leaders and Reddit Boston.
There’s music, an open bar with signature cocktails, craft beer from Sam Adams and organic wine. There’s also a guest art mural and “healthy food” (as TBC advertises), among other things. You might want to contact TBC for tickets though, in case they’ve filled up.
Time: 7-10:30 p.m. Thursday
Location: Workbar Cambridge, 45 Prospect St., Cambridge
Cost: Free Admission
Throwback Thursday: A ‘Happy Chic’ College Welcome
Even though our BUIDs get us into the MFA for free, I suggest going to their college night event and exploring their “Hippie Chic” exhibition while you can.
The exhibition features “hippie” style fashion, precisely 54 ensembles with paisley velvet and “far-out wigs” dating from 1967 through 1972. There’s also tie-dye fashion art and photos with vintage VW vans (if you’re into that).
Time: 6-9:45 p.m. Thursday
Location: The MFA
Cost: Free Admission, $9 film tickets
Indie Publishing – Promise and Peril for Writers
Author Jeffrey Zygmont gives an insider’s view of self-publishing in a talk about the benefits as well as the pitfalls and perils that indie books bring to authors.
The discussion is open to anyone, from book lovers and students of literature to prospective writers of any type, whether poetry, fiction, non-fiction or even scholarly books. It is followed by readings from novels by Zygmont and indie authors Erica Ferencick and Randy Ross.
Time: 7 p.m. Thursday
Location: Trident Booksellers & Cafe, 338 Newbury St.
Cost: Free Admission
(HT to TBC for this one.) If you’re looking to decompress, the Cambridge Zen Center offers a free zen class that’s open to the public. No registration is needed and you can take the class more than once.
Time: 7-7:30 p.m. Thursday
Location: Cambridge Zen Center, 199 Auburn St., Cambridge
Cost: Free Admission
‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ Street Pianos Boston Festival
Come Friday there will be 75 pianos scattered across Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Brookline. The international ‘Play Me, I’m Yours’ project has reached more than four million people worldwide, and on Thursday it’s kicking off its run in Beantown.
Time: Friday through Oct. 14
Location: Throughout Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline
Cost: Free
In honor of Marshmallow Fluff, which was invented in 1917 in Somerville, check out the “What the Fluff?” festival in Union Square. The event includes music, Fluff-cooking and a bunch of diabetes-inducing games (“The Fluff Lick-Off,” for example).
You also get to elect the Pharaoh of Fluff, one of the most prestigious titles in Somerville’s history.
Time: 3-7 p.m. Saturday
Location: Union Square, Somerville
Cost: Free
Saturday Wine Tasting: A New Focus on Italy
Free wine. Need I say more?
The wine tasting events are held at the Brookline Liquor Market every Saturday. They have also had beer tastings in the past.
Time: 1-5 p.m. Saturday
Location: Brookline Liquor Market, 1354 Commonwealth Ave., Allston
Cost: Free
The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival
The festival showcases some of the most acclaimed up-and-coming artists such as Grammy-nominated trumpeter Christian Scott, the Mike Tucker Trio featuring vibraphonist Warren Wolf and the Matt Savage Quartete featuring saxophonist Bobby Watson.
There are ticketed performances on Friday and Sunday, but Saturday’s free.
Time: 12-6 p.m. Saturday
Location: Columbus Avenue & Massachusetts Avenue, South End, Boston,
Cost: Free
The City of Boston is offering a free outdoor painting workshop for painters of all ages and skill levels. Beginners are welcome.
Time: 12-2 p.m. Sunday
Location: Nina Rock Urban Wild, Arcola St., Jamaica Plain
Cost: Free