Looks like our baby dinos found their new favorite stage. 🦕 Come join them at the William and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Science Common!

Some great commentary on Patriots owner and billionaire Robert Kraft

Got to check out before I saw my butter had been heavily sampled.

Craig Billings is having a big sad!! Wynn has been open since 2019. You would think that would be long enough for Wynn to have established its market and customer base. Oops!

Boston Globe: Massachusetts can’t keep expanding gambling and expect casinos to thrive

"When Massachusetts legalized casino gaming in 2011, it made a specific bargain. The Commonwealth would allow a small number of highly regulated destination resort casinos and a single slots facility. In return, it would receive significant private investment, good jobs, state tax revenue, municipal payments, and long-term economic development.

This was not an unlimited gaming market. It was a limited-license model built around major capital investment and serious public obligations. Economics mattered then, and it matters now.

Today, Massachusetts is steadily undermining that model. Sports betting is live. Online lottery games launched over the summer. Online casino legislation is under consideration. And in June, the House passed an economic development bill with an amendment allowing horse racing licensees to develop slot parlors using “historic horse racing” machines. These are effectively slot machines operating under a different regulatory label. They compete for the same customers and discretionary spending without the licensing costs, tax obligations, community commitments, capital investment, responsible gaming controls, or regulatory oversight required of destination resort casinos."

The full replacement of MBTA Red Line train cars is delayed again and might not happen until the early 2030s — years behind the original schedule.
It's because of supply chain bottlenecks, tariffs, manufacturing hurdles and ongoing issues at the CRRC plant in Springfield.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/local/boston/2026/10/15/mbta-red-line-new-train-cars-delay-fiscal-2032-crrc-boston-subway

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!

Thank you, Charles Street Supply, for making my day.

Hey everyone!

I’m making the trip all the way from France and landing in Boston this Saturday for the Jets game! I actually came once before back in 2018, but I drove down then, so this time I'm doing things a bit differently and taking the train from South Station.
I’ve got a couple of quick questions and would love any pro tips from those who know the routine:

Post-Game Train Logistics: I’ve heard the Patriot Train back to South Station leaves pretty quickly after the final whistle. How tight is that turnaround? Do I need to bolt out right as the game ends, or is there a comfortable window to catch it without running a marathon?

I assume I don’t have enough time to buy stuff at Proshop at the end of game. I got my clear policy bag, but too small if I want to buy more than 1 clothe…

Stores in Boston: Are there any good sports apparel shops right in Boston (or nearby accessible via the T) that carry a great selection of Patriots gear, just in case I want to grab a few things before heading to Foxborough?

Any advice or tips for a European fan would be massively appreciated. Go Pats! 🏈

Lifelong fan of tiramisu and looking to find the best of the best across the GBA. Also happy to take suggestions for crème brûlée.

Sorry if this is an annoying post, my partner and I have just been through so much with this slumlord. Before we moved out, the new tenant asked to keep our couch. We said yes and notified the property manager, who said he'd keep it in mind. We just picked up our check, and they charged us $225 to remove the couch and $150 to remove items on the sidewalk (even though people picked up everything we had left for Allston Christmas before we were even done loading our truck), for a total of $375. My partner said they probably charged the item removal fee to everyone moving out of the building, but I find that very unfair.

We have it in writing that both the property manager and the new tenant agreed we could leave the couch. I'm very upset. Especially since we moved out early because the apartment was infested with roaches, and they agreed to return our security deposit in full under the terms of our 93A demand letter. We had a lot of back and forth for that whole infestation issue, as they denied it was happening during our entire tenancy until we sent that demand letter, after which they let us leave.

There are also discrepancies in the dating of the letter attached to our check. The letter was supposedly written on 9/11, the check on 9/22, but signed under penalty of perjury on 9/25. Idk if that matters, but it's not the first time they've backdated letters like this.

Should we even bother disputing these charges??

Here's a list of fun family events I found for this weekend, sharing in case anyone is looking for ideas.

Friday

• Family Night Hike and Owl Prowl (Drumlin Farm, Lincoln) — Up-close look at real owl wings, skulls and talons inside, then a dusk walk listening for screech, barred and great horned owls. 5:30–7 pm. For families with kids 5–12; $22 per person ($18 members); book through the Mass Audubon page.

Saturday

• Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day (Salem Street Burying Ground, Medford) — George Washington on horseback, the Colonial Navy of Massachusetts Fife and Drum, colonial games for kids and "Revolutionary War ghosts." 10 am–noon. Free.
• Arlingtoberfest (Reservoir Beach, Arlington) — Arlington Rec's fall festival with a kids' zone, live DJ and Woodman's of Essex food truck. Noon–6 pm. Free to get in; bounce house wristbands and food cost extra. Leashed dogs welcome. Rain date Sunday.
• Escape From the Spooky Graveyard (Brookline Village Library) — A library escape room where tweens play paranormal detectives working out what happened at a haunted graveyard. Hour-long sessions at noon, 1:30 and 3 pm. Free, grades 5–12 only, 10 per session, registration required (the noon and 1:30 sessions were nearly full when I checked; 3 pm had more room).
• Arts in the Park (Sennott Park, 305 Broadway, Cambridge) — Local artists painting live, artist booths, kids' activities, DJ Vyper and food from local chefs. 1–5 pm. Free, all ages. Rain date Sunday.
• Kendall Fall Party (Kendall/MIT Open Space, 292 Main St) — Free popcorn and cotton candy, face painting, hands-on art and live music from Jazz World Trio. 2–5 pm. Free and open to all.

Sunday

• The Loose Caboose (Puppet Showplace Theater, Brookline) — A stranded train engineer digs through left-behind suitcases and finds hand puppets and musical stories, from a puppeteer who worked behind the scenes on Sesame Street. 10:30 am and 1 pm, 45 minutes. $18.50 plus fee; best for ages 3–7. Stay after to meet the puppets, plus bubbles and sidewalk chalk.
• SomerStreets: Monster Mash (Somerville Ave, Union Square) — Somerville Ave turns into a Halloween street festival with touch-a-truck (fire truck, ambulance, police car), pumpkin carving, giant puppets, face painting and two music stages. The costume parade led by the School of Honk starts at 3 pm in front of Gracie's Ice Cream. 1–5 pm. Free.
• BLO @ Fort Point Open Studios (15 Channel Center St, Fort Point) — Boston Lyric Opera opens its studios: watch a rehearsal, dress up in opera costumes and add to a community opera. Noon–5 pm. The Fort Point artists' studios are open Friday–Sunday too.

Why I share these

I wanted more reasons to get my kid away from screens but kept missing interesting events at local libraries and around town, so I built a tool to keep track of them. It turns up fun events every week, so I started sharing these lists to help other parents find things to do—and help people discover the events local organizers put so much work into.

Hope it helps!

finally caught him on camera!

I’ll be visiting Boston Nov 11-15 and was wondering if anyone knew of any casual academic lectures being held at bars? If I’m lucky enough for it to work with my schedule I’d love to go. Thank you!!

I used ZipCar for a year or two back in 2009/2010 and didn't have any issues at all. I recently went from a 2 car family to 1 car and am looking back at signing back up to ZipCar. I've heard mixed reviews as it seems that after Avis? purchased them, service and availability has gone to s**t. I'd mainly use it for small trips/running errands, shuffling around the kids when we need a 2nd car.

Anyone still use ZipCar now with praise or criticism? If if helps, I'm in Newton/Watertown and there's 2 cars in different locations that are walkable from me.