Friday Fun: Labor Day Weekend Events

Just in case you’ve been working too hard to actually look at a calendar, this weekend is Labor Day weekend. As a result, it’s a time to sit back, relax, and eat more burgers, steak, hot dogs, and other food than you would typically ever think possible. In fact, Labor Day is the third most popular day to have a cookout trailing only slightly behind Memorial Day and way behind the Fourth of July. However, if barbecues aren’t really your thing (and I have trouble understanding how that could actually be the case) or you’re looking for something to do before or after your BBQ this weekend, here are a couple of things that you may want to check out.

First, if you’re looking for something that you can do earlier in the day and you’ve always wanted to know what it was like to swab the decks, the U.S.S. Constitution Museum has the exhibit for you. The U.S.S. Constitution Museum currently has an exhibit entitled All Hands on Deck: A Sailor’s Life in 1812. This exhibit will allow you to see what it was like to furl a sail in strong winds, sleep in a hammock, swab the deck, and ultimately what it was like to live aboard the U.S.S. Constitution during the War of 1812. Best of all, the exhibit is included in the regular fee to see the museum, which is only $5 for adults and $2 for children. For more information on the exhibit, please visit the U.S.S. Constitution Museum website.

Secondly, if you’re looking for something that you can do later in the day or you’re thinking that swabbing the decks is best left to the professionals, you can always go see a laser show at the Museum of Science. The Museum of Science currently has three laser shows running every Friday and Saturday night from now until the beginning of September (with extra shows this Sunday and Monday.) These shows, which each last about 40 minutes, will allow you to listen to the music of Queen, Pink Floyd, or even Justin Bieber (*cringe*) while you watch the museum’s highly advanced planetarium display lights and laser images that go along with the music. I have to admit that these light shows are one of my favorite things about the Museum of Science, and they are definitely worth a look. For more information on each of the shows, please visit the Museum of Science’s Planetarium page.

Friday Fun: Maritime Festivals and Movies

As the summer begins to wind down, it is usually a lot harder to find interesting things to do with your family. In fact, if you’ve been looking for something to do this weekend, you may have already realized that unless you consider barhopping to be a family activity, finding something that kids and parents alike will enjoy is quite a challenge. Fortunately, there are a couple of events going on in the Boston area and north of Boston this weekend that almost everyone will enjoy.

First, if you’re a big fan of antique boats or you simply like the sea, there is a festival in Salem, MA that you won’t want to miss. This festival, which is known as the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, features artists, a boat parade, a craft fair, music, photographers, over 40 vintage boats, and more maritime stuff than you can shake a stick at (or perhaps an oar.) Best of all, the Festival is a great way to entertain the family without breaking the bank as it is only $5 for adults and children under 12 are free. For more information, please visit the By The Sea website.

Secondly, if your family is more interested in movies than they are in maritime history, the HatchShell in Boston may have the solution. Tonight, August 23, 2013, the HatchShell will be showing Oz The Great and Powerful as part of their “Free Flicks” summer series. The movie, which is absolutely free, will begin at sunset and will end approximately 2 hours later (the total run time is 130 minutes.) For more information on the event itself, please visit the HatchShell website. For more information on the film, which tells the origin story of the wizard from the Wizard Of Oz, please visit the Oz the Great and Powerful website.

Friday Fun: Horses and Fortresses

Do you like acrobats? Do you like horses? Do you like special effects? If you answered “yes” to all three of these questions, then you may want to check out Cavalia Odysseo. Cavalia Odysseo, which is currently performing in Somerville, is a two to three hour equestrian show that features over 50 extremely well-trained horses, a group of acrobats that are just as skilled, if not more skilled, than those found in some of the best circuses and acrobatic shows in the world, and more special effects than your brain may be able to handle.

In fact, Cavalia Odysseo is often said to be Cirque du Soleil with horses by many of the show’s visitors, and although it doesn’t actually have any connection to Cirque and lacks the clowns and circus-type feel typically associated with Cirque, Cirque du Soleil with horses is a pretty good way to describe the show. The only thing that you need to remember is that if your kids aren’t demanding a pony now, they will be after the show (and, if that doesn’t make your life difficult enough, Cavalia actually has ponies that you can adopt.) For more information on the show and to order tickets, please visit the Cavalia Odysseo website.

If you really aren’t into acrobats, horses, and special effects or you’re really concerned that your kids may actually end up with a pony if you go to Cavalia Odysseo, you may want to head on over to Castle Island Park in Boston instead. Castle Island Park is offering free tours of Fort Independence from 12:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday until labor day weekend. These tours will give you and your family the opportunity to explore the oldest continuously fortified location in British North America as the Fort was first constructed in 1634 and was in use by military forces (either British or American) until 1962. However, even though the fort was in use for 328 years and survived multiple wars, including the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, the forces stationed at the fort never actually had to fire on an enemy. For more information on these tours, please visit the Fort Independence website.

Friday Fun: Salem Heritage Days

There’s no question that Salem, Massachusetts is typically associated with witches as even the city’s police cars have the image of a witch emblazoned on them. In fact, the city’s police cars not only have the image of a witch, but also have the words “The Witch City” clearly printed below the word “Salem” in almost every logo. As you might guess, this fascination with the witch hysteria (or this hysteria about the hysteria if you will) has caused the month of October to become the city’s big draw because everyone wants to be in Salem for Halloween. However, even though the city is already preparing for the festivities that will occur in a couple of months, there is an event that started this past week and will continue into the weekend that is more aimed at the local crowd than the tourists that come for the witches. This event is Salem’s Heritage Days.

Salem’s Heritage Days is a week-long celebration of everything that Salem has to offer. The celebration, which began last weekend and runs until this Sunday, features an antique car show, a comedy show, a Jazz and Soul Festival, a Kid’s Night with rides and games, music, a street fair, a women’s 5k run that includes wine and chocolate for each of the runners afterwards, and a bunch of other events. Best of all, these events are just the events happening this weekend as part of the festival and most of the events are free. If you’re interested in finding out more about Salem’s Heritage Day celebration, you can find all of the information you need and more on the City of Salem website.

Friday Fun: Comic Books and Concerts

As we say “sayonara” to another summer month, it finally looks like we may be in for a weekend where we’re not going to be drenched in sweat or rain. Unfortunately, since we’re now past the halfway point of summer, there isn’t as much going on in the Boston area as there was a few weeks ago, which just sort of figures. In fact, you may have already realized that finding stuff to do this weekend is going to be a little more challenging than usual as your favorite app, website, and/or newspaper just doesn’t seem to have a whole lot listed. However, there are still a number of events going on in the area, and you should be able to find something for just about everyone.

If you’re a comic book fan, there is one major event that you should definitely check out in Boston this weekend. Boston Comic Con, which runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Seaport World Trade Center, is one of the largest comic book conventions in the Northeast. This event will give you the opportunity to attend panels with well-known comic book artists, buy a wide assortment of comic-book related merchandise and artwork, check out all of the people in costumes, enter contests (including a cosplay contest), meet actresses from the Walking Dead and True Blood, meet actors from the Hobbit, play games, watch a variety of independent and zombie-themed films, and a whole lot more. Tickets for the convention are $25.00 for one day or $40.00 for both Saturday and Sunday, and you can purchase tickets and find out more about the convention at the Boston Comic Con website.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for something that is aimed more at younger kids than teenagers and kids at heart, you may want to head on over to Georges Island. Georges Island, which is actually an island located in Boston Harbor, is holding a Family Jam with Karen K and the Jitterbugs from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, August 3, 2013.) This concert will feature kids music, dancing, kids crafts, and other kid-friendly activities. The concert and all of the activities are free, but you will have to pay $15 for each individual 12 or over and $9 for each person between the ages of 4 and 11 to take the ferry to the island (kids 3 and under are free.) For more information, check out the Boston Harbor Island website.