Hi everyone! Kinga here with this weeks list.

The Head of the Charles runs Friday through Sunday. Rowers race up the river all weekend, and you can watch from the bridges and banks. Saturday is also the Boston Book Festival in Copley Square, which is free and has more than 50 authors.

There's a lot of cozy, crafty stuff too. Fort Point's artists open their studios all weekend. Bow Market has a whole festival for mushrooms. And Mass Audubon is doing lantern making and a sunset lantern parade at Magazine Beach, right on the regatta course.

Friday looks rainy, and Saturday turns cold. Bring a real coat if you're heading to the river.

🎉 If you want to always be the first to know, sign up here.

Picks of the Week!

🚣 Head of the Charles Regatta — Charles River | Fri–Sun | Three days of racing on the Charles. Weeks Footbridge is the classic spot to watch.

📚 Boston Book Festival — Copley Square | Free | Sat, 10am–6pm | More than 50 authors, with Emily Wilson giving the keynote.

🎨 Fort Point Open Studios — Fort Point | Free | Fri–Sun | More than 110 artists open their studios, with free workshops all weekend.

🧣 Sweater Weather Fest — City Hall Plaza | Free | Sat, 2–11pm | Vendors, cider donuts, film panels, and an outdoor screening after dark.

🍄 Mushroom Fest at Bow Market — Union Square, Somerville | Sat, 12–5pm | Foraging talks, a mushroom dyeing station, and a shop full of fresh wild fungi.

👻 SomerStreets: Monster Mash — Somerville Ave | Free | Sun, 1–5pm | A Halloween block party with a costume parade led by the School of Honk.

Thursday 10/15

🧶 Free Thursday Night at the Gardner: Fiber Arts — Fenway | Free | 5–9pm | Fiber arts again this week. Registration opened Tuesday at 10am, and day-of entry isn't guaranteed.

🎨 ICA Free Thursday Night + 90 Years opens — Seaport | Free | 5–9pm | Tonight is the first day of 90 Years, which looks back at nine exhibitions and projects from the ICA's history. Free tickets required. Last entry 8:30pm.

🖼️ $5 Third Thursday at the MFA — Fenway | $5 minimum, pay what you wish | 5–10pm | Tickets are sold in person only, starting at 5pm. See Picasso, Miró, Dalí: Unbound, make art, and listen to live music.

🐦 Fall Movie Night: Jumanji — The Greenway, Milk St to India St | Free | 5:30–9pm | Free bird house decorating at 5:30, and the movie starts around 6:30. Bring a blanket.

🌙 Retro Rewind: Twilight — Urban Park roof garden, Kendall Center | Free | 5–8pm | Free popcorn and churros while they last, with drinks from Arlington Brewing for sale. The movie starts at 6pm. Costumes encouraged.

🎨 Projection Premiere: The Midnight Ride — Dewey Square, The Greenway | Free | 5:30–7:30pm | Muralist Rixy and projection artist Pamela Hersch light up the Dewey Square mural for the first time. There's a panel, a DJ, a live band, and food trucks. The projection then runs nightly for six months.

🎻 BSO: Hilary Hahn & Seth Parker Woods — Symphony Hall | Ticketed | 7:30pm | Carlos Simon's Double Concerto Suite, then Act 2 of The Nutcracker. Also Friday at 1:30pm and Saturday at 8pm.

🪕 The Suitcase Junket Album Release — Lizard Lounge, Cambridge | $25 advance, $30 door | 8pm | Matt Lorenz releases his seventh album, To Go On. Ciarra Fragale opens. 21+.

🎤 MC Lyte — City Winery | From $54 | 7:30pm | Doors at 6.

🏃🍺 Meters for Liters — Notch Brewing, Charles River Speedway | Free | Meet 6:30–7pm, run 7pm | The weekly 5k. It's not a race, and there's beer and free pretzels after.

🎤 Olivia Rodrigo — TD Garden | Sold out, resale only | 7pm | The first of three Boston nights, with Wolf Alice opening. She's also playing Saturday and Sunday.

Friday 10/16

🎨 Fort Point Open Studios — Fort Point | Free | 4–7pm | Opening night. More than 110 artists open their studios across Fort Point, including 300 Summer Street, the Boston Button Factory, and Midway Artist Studios. There's live music, pop-up shows, and free hands-on workshops for all ages. This is the best way I know to buy art straight from the person who made it.

🚣 Head of the Charles: Day 1 — Charles River | Morning | Racing starts at 7:35am, and the last race starts just before 10:30. Friday is the quiet morning to go before the weekend crowds.

📖 Boston Book Festival Opening Night: Michael Lewis — Old South Church | Ticketed | 7:30pm | Lewis talks about his new book, Blockers. Every ticket comes with a pre-signed hardcover.

🦇 Vintage After Dark: A Halloween Social & Market — Arts at the Armory, Somerville | 6–10pm | A vintage and Y2K market with a DJ, a costume shop booth, hair tinsel, and a cash bar. Come in costume for a chance to win something.

🧁 Great British Bake Off Watch Party — Lamplighter Brewing, 284 Broadway, Cambridge | Free w/ RSVP | 7–9pm | Lamplighter is showing the new episode every Friday in the Broadway Back Taproom. They suggest pairing it with Star Baker, an apple crumble sour. Very cozy.

🎬 Boston Asian American Film Festival — Emerson Paramount Center | Ticketed | 6pm & 9pm | Breaking the Code at 6, then the Shorts: After Dark program at 9. The festival runs through October 25.

Saturday 10/17

📚 Boston Book Festival — Copley Square | Free | 10am–6pm | More than 50 authors speak across the Copley library, Old South Church, and the Goethe-Institut. Emily Wilson, who translated The Odyssey and The Iliad, gives the keynote. There are 70+ vendors, food trucks, and free books from Reading Is Fundamental. The day opens with a kids' costume parade and a storytime with Eleanor Davis.

🚣 Head of the Charles: Day 2 — Charles River | From 7:45am | Racing runs into the afternoon. Weeks Footbridge has the famous 90-degree turn, and the Weld Exhibition at Riverbend Park has the food. Memorial Drive is closed in both directions from Western Ave to Fresh Pond Parkway, from 7am Saturday until 9pm Sunday. Take the Red Line to Harvard or Central.

🏮 Nature in the City Festival with a Lantern Parade — Magazine Beach, Cambridge | Free | 2–6pm | Mass Audubon's regatta-weekend festival. Make paper lanterns with artist Elena Li, then walk them in a parade at sunset. There's also a guided bird walk and live music from Saklamara. Parking is out because of the regatta, so take the Red Line to Central or the 47 bus. Rain date is Sunday.

🍄 Mushroom Fest — Bow Market, Somerville | 12–5pm | A wild foraging table, an herbalist, a mushroom dyeing station from 1 to 3, a cultivation table from 3 to 5, and the Mushroom Shop stocked with fresh fungi to take home. Kids get a foraging hunt at 12:30. There's also an outfit contest.

🧣 Sweater Weather Fest — City Hall Plaza | Free | 2–11pm | DJs, vendors, food trucks, and cider donuts from Red Apple Farm. Free headshots run from 3 to 6. There are film and TV panels from 4pm, including Czarface. After dark, they screen the last two episodes of Widow's Bay season one. The Sam Adams beer garden is 21+. Rain or shine.

🎨 Fort Point Open Studios — Fort Point | Free | 12–6pm | Day two.

🥦 Boston Veg Food Fest — Reggie Lewis Center, Roxbury Crossing | Free | 10am–5pm | The 31st year. There are free samples from all-plant-based vendors, plus speakers and a kids' room. Also Sunday.

🛍️ Boston Women's Market: Autumn Artisans — Winthrop Center, 115 Federal St | Free | 11am–3pm | Women-owned small businesses, cider and donuts, and Dayshift coffee. Kids can paint pumpkins. This was moved here from the rained-out September date.

🧷 Small Mart — Crystal Ballroom, Davis Square | Free | From 11am | 40+ vendors with vintage clothes, records, art, and handmade goods, upstairs from the Somerville Theatre. Full bar.

🎃 Pumpkin Fest — Boston Nature Center, Mattapan | $12–$15 | 11am–3pm | You carve a pumpkin from Ward's Berry Farm, roast the seeds, and do a scavenger hunt through the sanctuary. Register ahead.

🍺 Time Out Market Oktoberfest — Fenway | Free to attend | 1–5pm | German beer, Bavarian food specials, live music, and stein holding contests. No reservation needed.

🎶 Castle of Our Skins: Sacred Transcendence — Twelfth Baptist Church, Roxbury | Free | 3pm | African American spirituals for voice, strings, and piano, including Florence Price and H.T. Burleigh. Ages 12 and up.

👻 Spooky Saturday — Urban Park roof garden, Kendall Center | Free | 4–8pm | A DJ and free face painting from 4 to 6, free popcorn, and a movie at 6. Costumes encouraged.

🐱 Purrranormal Comedy Show — Arts at the Armory, Somerville | Ticketed | 7–9pm | Krista Patronick hosts Liz Miller, Sophie Bergé, Shawn Stylz, and xtina. All proceeds go to helping cats.

😂 Akaash Singh — The Wilbur | Ticketed | 5pm | The early show still has tickets. Friday and the 8pm show are sold out. It's being taped for a special.

🎤 Olivia Rodrigo — TD Garden | Sold out, resale only | 7pm | Night two.

Sunday 10/18

👻 SomerStreets: Monster Mash — Somerville Ave, Church St to Union Sq | Free | 1–5pm | Somerville closes the street for Halloween. There's pumpkin carving, Anne Cubberly's giant puppets, face painting, live caricatures, and touch-a-truck. Bands play two stages, including BosWitches, Los Mambiseros, and Mike Gent. The costume parade, led by the School of Honk, starts at 3pm outside Gracie's Ice Cream. Rain date is October 25.

🚣 Head of the Charles: Final Day — Charles River | From 7:45am | The last day of racing. The finish line at Herter Park and the Anderson and Eliot bridges are good spots for the end of the race.

🚲 Open Streets Roslindale — Roslindale Square | Free | 10:30am–3pm | Car-free streets from Belgrade Ave to Washington St, with a main stage, live music, a kids' area, local vendors, and free pedicab rides.

🧟 Frankenstein (1931) with Live Music — Somerville Theatre | Ticketed | 2pm | The film has almost no score past the opening titles, so Jeff Rapsis plays a live improvised one.

🎨 Fort Point Open Studios — Fort Point | Free | 12–6pm | The last day.

🥦 Boston Veg Food Fest — Reggie Lewis Center | Free | 11am–4pm | Day two.

🧺 SoWa Open Market — South End | Free | 11am–5pm | Open Sundays through November 15.

🎬 A Land Within with the Director — Goethe-Institut, 170 Beacon St | Free w/ RSVP | 5pm | A 1961 drama set in South Tyrol, followed by a conversation with director Michael Kofler.

🎬 BAAFF: Chinatown Cha-Cha — Emerson Paramount Center | Ticketed | 3:30pm |

🏈 Patriots vs. Jets — Gillette Stadium | Ticketed | 1pm |

🎤 Olivia Rodrigo — TD Garden | Sold out, resale only | 7pm | The last of her three nights.

Last chance

🎭 Covenant — SpeakEasy Stage, BCA | Ticketed | Closes Saturday |

Ongoing / all-week options

🕵️ Operation Mincemeat — Emerson Colonial Theatre | Ticketed | Through Oct 25 | This weekend it plays Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 8, Saturday at 2, and Sunday at 1.

🪷 The Sitayana — BCA Black Box | Pay what you can | Through Oct 31 | The Ramayana retold from Sita's side, with five actors playing her at different ages and a live tabla player.

🧛 Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors — Mosesian Center, Watertown | Ticketed | Through Nov 1 | Five actors play every role. It runs 90 minutes.

🎭 To Kill a Mockingbird — Huntington Theatre | Ticketed | Through Nov 8 |

🎭 All My Sons — Lyric Stage | Ticketed | Extended through Oct 25 |

🎬 Boston Asian American Film Festival — Various venues | Ticketed | Through Oct 25 |

🏮 Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience — Franklin Park Zoo | Ticketed | 5–10:30pm nightly, through Nov 8 |

🗡️ King Richard's Faire — Carver | Ticketed | Weekends 10:30am–6pm, through Oct 25 | Two weekends left.

🎃 Salem Haunted Happenings — Salem | Through Oct 31 |

That's it for this week. Go watch some boats, make a lantern, and let me know how it went!

I've been kinda nervous to do this - I don't know if it's fear or rejection or that i'm going to murdered by a stranger but... here it goes.

I'm 28F, I'm currently living in the Acton, MA region (sudbury, concord, westford) and looking to build a community of girls who want to get outside more (AND NOT just run club at an 8min pace, for the love of god), I love any and all activities from pottery painting, to snow tubing, to walking my dog, to craft nights or a trip to the winery or trivia.

I also want to not have to drive into boston to see my friends all the time, the traffic is horrible.

I started a group on Heylo, just trying to meet new people in the area and have fun and try a bunch of new things. if you're interested, please message me or join!

https://heylo.group/tiny-detour-society-20sand30s

Hey! We’re about to read some ghost stories from Ugetsu Monogatari (Tales of Moonlight and Rain) by Ueda Akinari in the Boston Buddhist book club if anyone’s interested 👌🏼 It’s a collection of Japanese ghost stories from the late 1700s that inspired the 1953 movie Ugetsu 🎃 We’re discussing them on Tuesdays Oct 27th and Nov 3rd at 7pm. Dm me your email for the pdf and other details!

In case you’re curious, we meet every Tuesday and are currently reading The Zen Teaching of Huangpo: On the Transmission of Mind by John Blofeld and will read The Deliverance of the Heart through Universal Love by Bhikkhu Nanananda after the ghost stories

Hope to see you there! 👌🏼

I’m 30M looking to ride a horse.

Idk what i’m doing, but it’s natural.

Looking to find some people to join me in this quest.

Maybe 2 or 3 others?

P.S horse riding doesn’t sound cheap so if money is an issue maybe this isn’t for you.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for any Boston local musicians that might be interested in playing/jamming together! I would love to start a small fusion band and write some music together. Looking to explore Western/American styles (indie, rock, etc.) with Indian classical instruments - e.g. Bombay Bandook with English lyrics and style or When Chai Met Toast. Generally would like to keep this low commitment and super chill, primarily looking to connect with other Indians in the context of having similar music interests! If anyone is down to try something like that, please let me know! Maybe we can create something cool together.

Edit: In terms of rehearsal space, there's some reasonably priced rooms around Boston that go by the hour! Happy to meet up with people before and just get to know each other and musical styles.

Hi everyone! I am a St Cloud alumni and they’re here in town playing against BC tonight and Saturday. I sadly couldn’t rally any friends to go watch the game. Curious if there are any bars that play the men’s hockey game around BC or around Boston? I know I’d be an outlier cheering for a different team, but I’d rather be in a fun environment to watch than my couch at home!
🐾Thank you!

Heyo

I hope this is allowed here - doesn't seem to be allowed in r/Boston.

I'm looking to hire a local artist to make a fine-line ink drawing, minimalist illustration, or painting.

I'm not very artistic so I don't know exactly what type or medium I'm looking for, but if you are an artist or know an artist who makes small visual pieces, please reach out! Especially if you have experience working with organic materials (pH-neutral adhesives, etc)

I dont want to say too much since it's​ a gift, but happy to share more in DMs! Thanks in advance!

I say this somewhat in jest, but I am struggling with dating and feeling a little lonely. Of course, I have friends who think I am a great person, say things like it will happen, keep your head up, blah, blah, blah... but these platitudes are not particularly reassuring given my poor track record with dating and never having been in a relationship my whole life.

There aren't many good support groups out there for people struggling with dating I find. Obviously, there are many toxic ones, but there are none where we sit down, commiserate, perhaps review each other's profiles and see where we can improve our chances (even if only an inch).

I am not looking for any dates through this post. Do not DM me asking for a date. I am not looking to meet single ladies for the purposes of dating through this forum. I just want to create a group where maybe some of us can meet for coffee and speak honestly and openly about our dating struggles and just enjoy the ambiguity (and freedom) with being single.

I suspect that most people don't want to be part of some large confessional group where we openly discuss our dating struggles but if you are, feel free to DM. We will certainly do something IRL if there's enough interest.

I go to lots of events, but many of them are at Aeronaut, Trident Bookstore, Somerville Theater, Crystal Ballroom, The Rockwell, City Winery and other venues that primarily advertise through their own websites.

A few months ago I made this website that aggregates events from all of those places and more into a single spot so you can easily go out and find something fun to do:

https://www.wickedbostonevents.com/

Let me know what you think, I'm not making any money off of this and there are no ads on it, it just felt useful to share :)

Hey everyone,

I’m 27 and have been isolated from my family for about 3 years after a rough upbringing. I’m trying to build my life in a more positive light, and I was thinking about how it would be great to connect with others experiencing the same thing. If anyone has a similar situation, I’d love to connect. I’m not looking for a pity party or to be involved in any kind of codependent friendship; I just think it’d be nice to not feel like such an outlier and learn about how people navigated these struggles.

HMU if interested, let’s chat!

Hey everyone! 👋

39M visiting Boston from October 23–29. Looking to meet new people, locals or fellow travelers, to explore the city, grab some good food or coffee, and enjoy a few fun activities.

If you’re around and up for hanging out, feel free to DM me!

Hi im currently freshmen in boston and i wanted to find team and join competitions or play in gymnasium twice a week. Im from East Asia and i have played in my country’s national league team before and wanted to continue my volleyball journey here. Are there competitive team or intramural, school team that lets other college student join? Please lmk

A vision of the future that has to be seen to be believed.

Thirty years after Ridley Scott's original classic, Denis Villeneuve did the seemingly impossible: he made a sequel worthy of the Blade Runner name. Released in 2017, Blade Runner 2049 is a breathtaking feat of world-building, a slow-burn mystery wrapped in some of the most extraordinary imagery ever put on screen. It asks big questions about memory, identity, and what it means to be human, and it looks like nothing else in science fiction.

On the Mugar Omni Theater's five-story dome, every vast landscape and neon-soaked cityscape becomes something you don't just watch but feel.

Blade Runner 2049 is part of Sci-Fi, Super-Sized: Revolutions, the Museum's fall film series celebrating its Year of Revolutionary Science. From groundbreaking visual effects to visionary ideas about science, technology, and the future, these are the films that rewrote the rules of science fiction and still captivate audiences today.

Tickets available at our website.

The Community Music Hangout is a free, weekly, inclusive, and community-oriented gathering of musicians and music lovers in the park, taking requests and suggestions for music to play and enjoy together! Hope to see you there!

For more info, see https://www.cambridgejams.com

This Saturday, we're taking over Phoenix Theatre at Patriot Place in Foxborough, MA for a full day of Street Fighter + we're already approaching 70 attendees 🤯🔥

Doors open at 11AM, and your ticket gets you access to:

💥 Casual gaming set-ups
💥 SF6 tournament action (spectating included!)
💥 Cosplay
💥 Exclusive screening of the new Street Fighter movie 🍿
💥 Prizes
💥 After party (!!)

🏆 Tournament: 1PM
🍿 Movie: 8PM

🎟️ $15 — Full Event Access
🎟️ $25 — Full Event Access + SF6 Tournament Entry (if you want to compete!)

Come through, bring your friends + spend Saturday with us!
👉 Grab your ticket here: https://start.gg/FOTS

Hi, i'm wondering if anyone knows of a newer pub or sports bar, or even established one that never had music/karaoke that might want to do karaoke on Friday nights 10pm-1am. ish? - There are a couple long term DJS who had been doing the Fri-Saturdays at pearl Street Station in Malden, but they just stopped doing the Karaoke nights on Fridays at Pearl Street (management decision, not the DJ's decision) - due to "Financial" reasons.) ---Anyway -They only are doing Saturday nights at Pearl Street. I am wondering if anyone might have a suggestion of a bar/pub or bowling/sports/ bar that might like to have live karaoke nights on Friday nights in the Woburn, Malden, Winchester, Lexington< Stoneham, Arlington, Reading, Wakefield area , North of Boston. I'd like to gather a list together to present to deb and art to see if they might like to do it on Friday at a different venue. My friend can only go on Friday nights because he works the other nights. Also if you know of any other g or restaurants. ood Karaoke bars or entertainment places with Karaoke.. Would need to be a place with Good food too not just drinks. Thanks for any suggestions. (Even Somerville , Medford or Cambridge would be okay) but prefer closer to Woburn/Winchester/Stoneham/Wakefield. area.

Hi all!

Wanted to come here to promote Boston Movie Club. We’re a group of movie lovers who go to screenings around the area.

If you’ve been looking to find people to go to screenings with or just shoot the shit about your favorite movies, directors etc, come to movie club!

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or a bonafide film buff, all are welcome.

Instagram is @ bostonmovieclub which will also contain a link to the Discord to join :)

EDIT: for folks asking for the link, Reddit won’t let me DM request more people but if you message me first I can send!

23F here and moved here in Boston 2 months ago. I just got my Halloween costumes delivered today and I’m super excited to get out, explore, and meet new girl friends in their 20s!

While I have some plans with friends here, they aren't super into taking tons of photos so I’d love to connect with fellow girlies who genuinely enjoy taking aesthetic, Instagrammable portraits and creating fun content together. I’ll have my iPhone 17 Pro Max and Ricoh GR IIIx with me, so I’m more than happy to snap amazing shots for you, too!

As for dates, I’m thinking October 28th-31st but flexible to arrange other times if that works better. We could do downtown, Beacon Hill, Public Garden or wherever accessible via the T. We could also grab a drink together before or after that if we feel like it.

If you’re interested lmk and feel free to drop a comment or DM me!! Thx✨

I’m 23f and I have lived in Boston my whole life! I honestly just want to branch out a little and make some more friends!

I’m always down for whatever, drinks, food, fall activities, whatever even just random things as long as there’s something to do

I do play a lot of games too on my PC so if anyone was looking for some gaming buddies I’d be down to make friends like that too! I promise I’m not super chronically online lol

If you wanted to play games or knew a group I could join lmk! Or if anyone wants to grab food or a drink sometime this week!

I currently have a a weird schedule. Working Fri-Sun and have school tue and thu so I’ve been going new places on Wednesday the last three weeks I went to Mt Washington, New York City, and Martha’s Vineyard. Looking for ideas for tmr also looking to see if there are any other ppl that like to do the same thing.

I'm fairly new to Boston and want to have a group of music friends to do covers of songs we like, sing and play our little hearts out. Is there anything like this already or anyone that also wants to start something like this?