Creative & Artistic – Page 2

MASSive Comic Con 2016

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Deadpool, Doctor Who, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Wonder Woman, or any of the thousands of other comics out there, there’s no better place for a comic fan to find the things that they love than a comic convention. And, if you’re looking for a comic convention, you should definitely check out MASSive Comic Con. This is because MASSive Comic Con, which is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Saturday (June 25, 2016) and 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Sunday (June 26, 2016) at the DCU Center in Worcester, will give you the opportunity to meet the artists and creators of a wide assortment of different comics.

In fact, you will not only be able to meet artists from all of the series that I mentioned above but will also be able to meet actors from some of your favorite T.V. Series like Gotham and Star Wars Rebels, peruse the wares of comic book dealers from around the Northeast, play a variety of video games, and do a whole lot more. Best of all, if you have a kid that’s into comics (or that you would just like to keep busy while you search for the one issue you’ve been missing), the convention also has a Kids Zone that is specifically designed to keep your children busy with comic book workshops, face painting, superheroes, Star Wars characters, and a variety of other kid-friendly activities. For more information on MASSive Comic Con, please visit the MASSive Comic Con website.

Photo credit: levork via VisualHunt / CC BY-SA

Derby Square Flea Salvage Art Market: Cole Porter

There’s a pretty good chance that, unless you’re a huge Broadway fan, you probably haven’t heard of Cole Porter. However, Cole Porter is the man behind many of the musicals (or at least the songs in many of the musicals) that have truly stood the test of time, including Paris, Fifty Million Frenchmen, and the show that he is best-known for, Kiss Me, Kate. As a result, the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art Market in Salem MA, has decided to celebrate what would be the Broadway songwriter’s 125th birthday if he was still alive.

This celebration, which is scheduled to take place tomorrow (Saturday, June 18, 2016), will bring together a number of local vendors that will be selling antiques, art, collectibles, handmade goods, jewelry, vintage clothing, vintage furniture, and a whole lot more. If you’re wondering what the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art Market actually is, it is a monthly pop-up market that occurs throughout the summer, and each market has its own theme. The theme of this month’s market, as you might have already guessed, is of course Cole Porter and some of the things that might be associated with him, including cocktails and garden parties. For more information on the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art Market, please visit the Derby Square Flea Salvage Art website.

Photo credit: GWP Photography via VisualHunt / CC BY

The 37th Annual Boston Dragon Boat Festival

The Rio Olympics are now less than two months away, which means that it won’t be long before we all have the opportunity to watch some of the most talented athletes in the world compete in everything from archery to wrestling. However, if you’re a huge fan of Olympic sports, two months may seem like an awfully long time to wait, and you may already be wondering how you’re going to survive the final stretch before the games. Well, if this is indeed the case and you’re a fan of rowing, you may be in luck because it just so happens that the Boston Dragon Boat Festival is scheduled to take place this weekend on the Charles River. The Boston Dragon Boat Festival, which is scheduled to take place from 7:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Saturday and 7:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, is a Chinese dragon boat race and Asian-American cultural festival. This festival will give you the opportunity to try your hand at creating Asian arts and crafts, sample a large variety of Asian cuisines, hear traditional music from China and Japan, see traditional dances and other performances from a number of different Asian countries, and, of course, watch the dragon boat races to see which dragon boat rowing team will emerge victorious. For more information on the Boston Dragon Boat Festival, which is free and open to the public, please visit the Boston Dragon Boat Festival website.

Photo credit: madprime via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-SA

A Creative Writing Workshop for Kids

Do you have a young aspiring writer in your household or a child that might like to explore the power of the written word? Well, if you do, there’s no better way for a young writer (or any writer for that matter) to improve their writing skills than to study the techniques of others and put those techniques into practice. As a result, if you’re looking for a way to give your young aspiring writer the opportunity to truly hone their craft, you may want to check out the Youth Creative Writing Workshop with Laura Lovett at Storybook Cove. Storybook Cove, which is a bookstore located in the Hanover Mall in Hanover, MA, is hosting a writing workshop for children ages 8 to 11 from 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. on Saturday (June 4, 2016). This workshop will teach your child to craft plotlines, develop characters, and establish settings for poems and stories so that your child can create their own literary works and share them with the world (or, at the very least, the rest of the people at the workshop). For more information on the Youth Creative Writing Workshop and other Pen to Paper Workshops at Storybook Cove, please visit the Storybook Cove website or call 781-826-6060.

Photo via Visualhunt.com

Rock Out at Somerville PorchFest 2016

My friend Bill’s birthday is tomorrow, and Bill, much like myself, has an eclectic taste in music. In fact, I have to admit that you would be hard-pressed to find a list of songs that Bill and I didn’t like (there are definitely some out there, but they are few and far between.) As a result, I’m sure if Bill was still living on the East Coast, he would definitely be up for checking out a music festival in the area this weekend, and if you’re looking for a way to get outside and enjoy a wide assortment of different music yourself, PorchFest may be the event for you. This is because PorchFest, which is scheduled to take place from 12:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, May 21, 2016), is an annual event sponsored by the Somerville Arts Council that features a collection of independent musicians and bands playing from porches throughout the City of Somerville. This event will feature virtually every kind of music, including alternative, Americana, blues, bluegrass, classical, country, dance, disco, folk, funk, gospel, jazz, hip hop, metal, pop, punk, rap, reggae, rock, show tunes, ska, techno, traditional music from around the world, and pretty much every other type of music you can think of. Best of all, the event is completely free and open to everyone, so you can hear a ton of good music without breaking the bank. For more information on PorchFest 2016, including a map detailing where to find each band, please visit the Somerville Arts Council’s website.

Photo via VisualHunt

The Cure for Your Friday the 13th Woes

Friday the 13th is once again upon us, and it is certainly a day that many people dread. In fact, if you are one of the large number of individuals that is filled with nothing but disgust every time you hear the words “Friday” and the “13th” in the same sentence, you may be looking for something that you can do with your family after the day is over. Fortunately, if this is indeed the case, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department may have exactly what you are looking for. This is because the Boston Parks and Recreation Department and Mayor Martin J. Walsh are hosting the Boston Bubble Festival on Boston Common from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, May 14, 2016). This event will allow you and your children to learn about the science behind bubbles, see live bubble demonstrations with some of the biggest floating bubbles you’ve ever seen, make your own bubbles at a series of bubble stations, listen to music, and participate in a wide variety of other kid-friendly activities. For more information on the Boston Bubble Festival, which is completely free and open to the public, please visit the Boston Bubble Festival’s Facebook page.

Photo credit: elPadawan via Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA

Watch City Steampunk Festival 2016

Did you miss out on last week’s OtherWhere Market or are you looking for another Steampunk fix? Well, if the answer to either of these questions is yes, you’re in luck because it just so happens that the Watch City Steampunk Festival is scheduled to take place throughout Waltham from 9:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, May 7, 2016). This event will give you the opportunity to dress in your finest Victorian/Steampunk garb (or come in your modern-day clothing if you lack the appropriate attire) and explore everything that the Steampunk genre and the Victorian era has to offer. In fact, if you decide to attend the festival, you will have the chance to experience a variety of activities aimed at children and adults alike, including artwork, blacksmithing, crafts, costuming, dancing, games, lectures, live performances, music, a parade, sword fighting, and way more than I could ever hope to list here. For more information on the Watch City Steampunk Festival, which is free and open to the public, please visit the Watch City Steampunk Festival website.

Photo credit: Stf.O via Foter.com / CC BY

The OtherWhere Market at Mill No. 5

Photo credit: taymtaym via VisualHunt.com / CC BY

We live in a world filled with technological marvels that we take for granted every day. From televisions to computers, buses to planes, cell phones to tablets, and microwaves to sophisticated medical equipment, there’s no shortage of incredible devices out there. In fact, all it takes are a few batteries, a wall outlet, or some fuel, and you have an array of ways to work, play, relax, communicate, travel, cook, and heal. Now, all of this is of course great, but what if the world didn’t work that way and there were no batteries or wall outlets. Could you imagine a world in which you couldn’t get the power you needed with a simple flick of switch? A world in which you would need to rely on something else entirely to power your devices? Steam perhaps?

Well, it turns out that this is exactly what the Steampunk genre was designed to explore, as it portrays what the world would have been like during the Victorian era if the world’s technology had taken a very different path and evolved along the route that Jules Verne and H.G. Wells had described in their literary works. A world in which steam power rules and everything is powered by steam and clockwork parts. And, if this world sounds like something you would like to explore, you may want to head down to Mill No. 5 in Lowell, MA this weekend. This is because Mill No. 5, which is located at 250 Jackson Street in Lowell, MA, is hosting their Spring OtherWhere Market from 12:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, April 30, 2016). This event will give you the opportunity to see a number of people in Steampunk and fantasy garb while you peruse a wide assortment of unusual accessories, books, costumes, and other goods related to fantasy, Sci-Fi, Steampunk, and more. For more information on the Spring OtherWhere Market and other similar events at Mill No. 5, please visit the Mill No. 5 website.

http://5.lunalowell.com/event/otherwhere-market/?instance_id=1108087

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks Parody

Do you remember all of the somewhat cheesy, but fun horror shows that were on TV during the 90’s like Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Mark Frost’s and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. Were you always a big fan of Special Agent Dale Cooper or a huge fan of Giles, Willow, Xander, and the rest of the “Scooby Gang”? Do you just love it when some good-old fashioned comedy collides with some of your favorite cult classics? Well, if the answer to some or all of these questions is a resounding “yes”, you may want to check out the Riot Theater in Boston this weekend.

This is because the Riot Theater is hosting an improv performance known as “BuffyProv! / Twin Peaks” from 8:00 P.M. to approximately 9:30 P.M. tomorrow night (Saturday, April 23, 2016). This event will let you see a group of incredibly amusing comedians perform their own unscripted parodies of all of your favorite characters and scenes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks. However, it is important to remember that even though there will be vampires, spirits, and all sorts of supernatural creatures, the only thing these slayers and monster hunters are really concerned with is making sure that you laugh yourself…to death. For more information on “BuffyProv! / Twin Peaks: A Double Feature of Improvised Parodies” and/or to order tickets for the event, please visit the BuffyProv Facebook page or the BuffyProv! / Twin Peaks Eventbrite Page.

Photo credit: Enokson via VisualHunt / CC BY

Dr. Seuss Show in Salem

Chances are, you’ve probably heard of The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs & Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and/or The Lorax. In fact, there’s a pretty good chance that the very mention of these books makes you immediately think of Dr. Seuss because almost everyone has encountered Dr. Seuss in one form another at some point. However, if your kids have not experienced the wonder of Dr. Seuss or they’re huge Dr. Seuss fans looking for their next source of wonder, you may want to take them to the Dr. Seuss show.

The Dr. Seuss Show is a one-hour performance that will take place at 211 Bridge Street in Salem, MA at 10:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M. on Saturday (April 9, 2016) and 1:00 P.M. on Sunday (April 10, 2016) this weekend. This performance will let you see a group of local kids, teens, and adults portray a number of Dr. Seuss’ most famous characters and stories on stage. For more information on the Dr. Seuss Show and/or to purchase tickets, which cost $10 each, please visit the Neverland Theatre Company’s website.

Photo credit: Jim Larrison via Visualhunt.com / CC BY