Activities for Kids – Page 2

Leaving the AC’s Cool Breeze

Chances are, you’ve probably heard the phrase “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” somewhere before. In fact, if you have been anywhere on the east coast of the United States this week, you have probably not only heard the phrase, but also realized that truer words have never been spoken. This is because our bodies and the bodies of almost all warm-blooded animals are able to cool themselves better in dry weather than humid weather. As a result, it’s much harder for everyone to cool off when it’s hot and humid, and many of us turn to our air conditioners looking for the relief we seek. The only problem is that you can’t really take your air conditioner everywhere you go unless you’re planning to sit in your car all day, so when it is really gross out like it has been this week, you may have trouble finding the ambition to leave your home. Fortunately, if you and your kids have spent all week in your house praising Robert S. Sherman, the man that invented the first portable, window air conditioner, you’ll be happy to know that there are a number of events this weekend that will let your family get outside and enjoy the nice weather that we’re supposed to have.

First, if you’re looking for a fun but educational way to enjoy the nice weather, you may want to consider a Salem Kids Walking Tour. A Salem Kids Walking Tour is a special tour that is specifically designed to let children, ages 6 and up, experience all of the history and mystery that the Witch City has to offer. These tours, which typically take place on Saturday mornings from 10:45 A.M. to approximately 11:45 A.M., will allow you and your kids to wander the city with a licensed tour guide in full puritan garb while you hear stories about the people, locations, and superstitions that have helped to make the city famous. For more information on the Salem Kids Walking Tours, which begin at Wicked Good Books at 215 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, please visit the Salem Kids Tours website or stop by Wicked Good Books.

Secondly, if you think a tour would bore your kids out of their minds or they would be tired of walking after about 15 minutes, you might want to let your kids Play the Day Away at the Lawn on D. The Lawn on D, located at 420 D Street in Boston, is hosting a Play the Day Away event specifically for kids from 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Saturday (July 18, 2015.) This event will allow your kids to try their hand at arts and crafts, play a variety of different games, and enjoy interactive sculptures and works of art from the Boston Children’s Museum, the Museum of Science, and more. For more information on Play the Day Away at the Lawn on D, which is completely free to attend, please visit the Lawn on D’s Calendar of Events page.

Finally, if the only way that you’re going to get your kids away from their computer screen or their TV screen is to stick them in front of an even bigger screen, you may want to head over to the Prudential Center in Boston this weekend. This is because the Prudential Center is showing Frozen as part of the Mix 106.7 Family Film Festival at sundown on Saturday (July 18, 2015) in their South Garden. This event, which begins at approximately 6:00 P.M., will allow you and your family to enjoy a series of children’s activities, giveaways, pre-movie entertainment, and, of course, see the beloved Disney film that tells the tale of the Snow Queen, Elsa, and her sister Anna. For more information on the Mix 106.7 Family Film Festival at the Prudential Center, including upcoming shows, please visit the Prudential Center’s Events page.

Photo credit: Jan Tik / Foter / CC BY

Beating Summer Boredom This Weekend

Have your kids been sitting in the house all week hiding from the heat? Have they played with every toy and finished every game? Are they completely bored out of their minds? Well, if your kids haven’t done much this week and you are you desperately trying to find something for them to do this weekend, you’re in luck because there are a couple of events in the Boston area that are sure to put a smile on almost any kid’s face.

First, if your kids are huge fans of the Minions (you know, the little yellow guys from the Despicable Me movies) or they just like movies in general, they’ll probably love Minions Madness. Minions Madness is a celebration of the premiere of the new Minions movie that is scheduled to take place at the Showcase Cinema de Lux in Revere from 12:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, July 11, 2015). This celebration will feature airbrush tattoos, balloon twisting, face painting, photo opportunities, and a whole lot more. Best of all, it’s absolutely free until your kids make you buy them popcorn and take them to the new movie (which really shouldn’t come as much of a shock). For more information on Minions Madness at the Showcase Cinema de Lux in Revere, please visit the Minions Madness Eventful page.

Secondly, if your kids aren’t really into the Minions or you’re looking for somewhere that will allow your children to be a little more “active”, you may want to head over to the Children’s Museum at Holyoke. The Children’s Museum at Holyoke is designed to allow kids of all ages to learn, play, and explore a variety of exhibits. These exhibits include an ambulance, a bubble table, climbing and crawling structures, a fire station, a mailbox slide, a forklift, a theatre, a water table, and a whole lot more. The best part of visiting the museum today, however, is that the museum is taking part in the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays this week, which means that if you visit today (Friday, July 10, 2015), you can get in absolutely free. For more information on the Children’s Museum at Holyoke and the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays, please visit the Children’s Museum at Holyoke website or the Highland Street Foundation’s website.

Photo credit: avrene / Foter / CC BY

Move Your Body This Summer

Dancing has existed as a form of expression since prehistoric times, and while the form of popular dance has certainly changed over the millennia, there is no sign that the desire to move our bodies to the sound of music will ever truly fade. However, as the old saying goes, “it takes two to tango”, and there’s really no doubt that it can be truly lonely and depressing to spend all of your time dancing by yourself. In fact, unless you dance in a fashion that you really don’t want anyone else to see (in which case you should get out on the dance floor and take Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh’s advice and “Dance like nobody’s watching”), it’s pretty hard to keep up the motivation to improve your dancing skills and improve your body without other people. As a result, if you’re looking for a way to find some people that you can move your body with, you may want to check out some of these events.

First, if you’re looking for a way to not only learn some of the basics of dancing but also to see skilled dancers demonstrate their abilities, the Dance for World Community Festival may be exactly what you’re looking for. This is because the Dance for World Community Festival, which is scheduled to take place at the Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre in Cambridge from 12:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, June 13, 2015), is designed to expose newcomers to the world of dance and show everyone how dance can truly connect us all. This festival will feature activities for kids, a dance party that will allow you to dance in the streets, introductory dance classes, food, over 80 dance performances, and more. For more information on the Dance for World Community Festival, which is completely free and open to the public, please visit the Dance for World Community website.

Secondly, if you’re interested in actually taking dance classes and you’ve always wanted to learn how to line dance, the Franklin Park Coalition may have the perfect opportunity for you to do exactly that. In fact, the Franklin Park Coalition is hosting a free line dancing class every Wednesday from now until September 16th at Refectory Hill. This class, which runs from 6:30 to 7:30 P.M. (or until it’s too dark and everyone has collapsed from exhaustion), will give novices and experts alike the opportunity to learn and enjoy line dances from around the country. For more information on the Line Dancing classes sponsored by the Franklin Park Coalition and the Boston Rhythm Riders, please visit the Franklin Park Coalition’s Program page.

Finally, if you’re not really into line dancing, but you’d like to learn how to salsa or Zumba, you may want to check out some of the classes offered by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. The Boston Parks and Recreation Department and the Boston Public Health Commission are sponsoring a series of free fitness classes this summer as part of their Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series. These classes include boot camps, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts, line dancing, salsa dancing, tai chi, yoga, and Zumba. For more information on the classes that are being offered this summer by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, including times and locations, please take a look at a copy of the Boston Public Health Commission’s 2015 Summer Fitness Series Brochure.

Photo credit: Cimm / Foter / CC BY

A Sunny End to April Vacation

If you’re the parent of a school-aged child living somewhere in the Boston area, April Vacation can be tough. In fact, since we had typical April weather (rain, rain, and more rain) on Patriot’s Day (which may have been the only day you had off this week), there’s a pretty good chance that your kids have been cooped up in your house for the duration of their April vacation. And, if they’re like most kids, they’re probably driving you just a little bit insane by this point. Fortunately, if you’re looking for a way to get your kids out of the house so they can enjoy the end of their vacation, you’re in luck because there are a number of kid-friendly activities scheduled for this weekend.

First, if your kid is a big fan of animals and/or fairy tale princesses, you may want to head over to the Stone Zoo this weekend. This is because the Stone Zoo is hosting a Princess and Frog Day from 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. tomorrow (April 25, 2015.) This event will not only allow your kids to meet a number of different princesses from well-known fairy tales and Disney films but will also give your kids a chance to make some arts and crafts and learn about all the animals that the zoo has with a special focus on frogs. For more information on the Princess and Frog Day at the Stone Zoo, please visit the Zoo New England Events page.

If, on the other hand, your kids are big fans of the zoo but not such big fans of princesses, the Franklin Park Zoo may make more sense for your family this weekend. This is because the Franklin Park Zoo is hosting their annual Party for the Planet from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. today (April 24, 2015.) This celebration will feature special eco-friendly exhibits, scavenger hunts, and a number of other Earth Day-related activities in addition to everything the zoo typically has to offer. For more information on the Party for the Planet at the Franklin Park Zoo, please visit the Zoo New England Events page.

Finally, if your kids are into all things science (or you would really like them to be), you may want to check out the Cambridge Science Festival this weekend. The Cambridge Science Festival, which is sponsored by MIT but takes place throughout Cambridge and the surrounding area, features a series of activities, demonstrations, workshops, and tours that are designed to teach children and adults of all ages about a wide range of scientific and technological discoveries. Topics that will be covered at the festival this weekend include fashion technology, martial arts, math, optics, the science of sound and music, sky and space flight, web development, and a whole lot more. For more information on the Cambridge Science Festival, which ends on Sunday, please visit the Cambridge Science Festival website.

Photo credit: B.Riordan. / Foter / CC BY

Celebrating the Chinese New Year

Last week, I talked about some of the ways that you could embrace the ice and snow in New England, as frozen water, in one form or another, is really all we’ve had lately. In fact, I have to admit that I was just about to write the words “New England has finally received a reprieve from the winter weather” only to look outside and realize that the very act of me thinking it apparently jinxed it (although, let’s face it, the very idea of the snow stopping before May was probably pretty absurd to begin with.) However, if you’re sitting there thinking to yourself that this year has gotten off to a pretty rough start with all the snow and the amount of time you’ve spent dealing with it, there is a simple way to find the fresh start that you may be looking for – the Chinese New Year. Now, of course, the Chinese New Year (A.K.A. the Lunar New Year) won’t help you reverse time and control the weather (because, trust me, if it could, everyone in New England would be celebrating it), but it may be able to help you reframe the way that you perceive your year.

If you think recognizing the Year of the Ram as the beginning of your year is a better idea than accepting the snow-filled months that have preceded it and you would like to know more about the traditional festivities that mark the occasion, the Peabody Essex Museum may be able to help. The Peabody Essex Museum, which is located in downtown Salem, Massachusetts, is holding its annual Lunar New Year Festival from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow, February 28, 2015. This celebration will give you, your friends, family, and anyone else who might be interested the opportunity to design your own lanterns, listen to traditional Chinese music, see traditional Chinese dances, and more. For more information on the Lunar New Year Festival, which is open to all museum visitors at the standard admission price, please visit the Calendar page on the Peabody Essex Museum Website.

If, on the other hand, you’re looking for something that feels more like a celebration and less like a learning opportunity (even though there is still plenty to learn), you may want to check out the Quincy Lunar New Year Festival. The Quincy Lunar New Year Festival, which is sponsored by the South Cove Community Health Center and organized by Quincy Asian Resources, Inc., is scheduled to take place on Sunday from 10:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at North Quincy High School. This festival will feature a kid’s area, calligraphy, cultural exhibits, dancing, music, painting, papermaking, vendors with a wide variety of goods, and more. For more information on the Quincy Lunar New Year Festival, which is open to the public and free to attend, please visit the Events page on the Quincy Asian Resources, Inc. website.

Photo credit: IQRemix / Foter / CC BY-SA

Getting into the Holiday Spirit

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the day that every business loves and every underpaid retail employee dreads is once again upon us – Black Friday. Black Friday, of course, is both loved and loathed for the fact that it marks the beginning of the holiday season with early morning sales, crowded stores, and crazy shoppers (including some people who enjoy their craziness just a little too much.) Yet, just because the stores say that the holiday season has officially begun doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve found your Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Winter Solstice/[Insert Holiday Here] spirit just yet. As a result, you may be looking for a better way to get yourself into the appropriate holiday spirit than buying a bunch of stuff or shoveling the year’s first snow.

If this is indeed the case, and you’re looking for a holiday activity to get yourself into the right mindset for the season, the City of Lowell may have exactly what you’re looking for. This is because Lowell, Massachusetts is hosting their annual City of Lights Parade from 4:30 to 6:30 PM tomorrow (Saturday, November 29, 2014.) This parade will feature marching bands, lighted floats, and a series of events throughout the day that all lead up to the official holiday lighting of the city. In fact, you can expect arts and crafts for the kids, children’s book readings, children’s shopping, holiday shopping tours, a “Holly Jolly Trolley” complete with music and park rangers dressed as elves, hot chocolate, jugglers, magicians, music, and a whole lot more all day long. For more information on the City of Lights Parade and all of the events occurring in Lowell this weekend, please visit the City of Lowell’s website.

If, on the other hand, you’re not a big fan of outdoor events in 30 degrees or you’re a hockey fan who’s looking for something to do while you hide from all the aforementioned crazy people lurking in the malls, you may be happy to know that you can find the spirit of the season without even leaving your home. This is because the NHL has taken a cue from the NFL’s Thanksgiving Day games and made Black Friday a great day to watch hockey. In fact, there are over 20 NHL games scheduled this weekend with 11 of those games, including the NHL’s Thanksgiving Showdown, taking place today. As a result, you should have no problem finding a way to watch your favorite team on the ice whether they’re the Bruins, Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Blues, Canadiens, Canucks, Capitals, Devils, Ducks, Flyers, Islanders, Jets, Hurricanes, Panthers, Oilers, Penguins, Rangers, Red Wings, Sabres, Senators, Stars, or one of the other 9 teams playing this weekend. For more information on the NHL games this weekend, please take a look at the NHL’s schedule page.

Photo credit: CopperCatStudios / Foter / CC BY-SA

Inspiring Your Child’s Creativity

My oldest niece turned 16 last week, and it got me thinking. Is it ever really too early to start inspiring a child’s creativity? I mean all of the doctors, psychologists, teachers, and child development experts will certainly tell you that the earlier you start reading to your child and encouraging his or her creativity, the better off your child will be in the long run. However, does it really make sense to sign your 6-month old up for a book club or a writing workshop? Probably not.

Yet, if you give it some thought, you may come to the same somewhat startling, but not completely shocking realization that I came to. The experts are probably right. We live in a world where the flower girl at your wedding could be old enough to drive your car in the blink of an eye, which means that we all have a lot less time than we think. As a result, it’s always a good idea to use the time that we do have wisely, and if you’re looking for a way to inspire your child’s creativity while you can, there are some events this weekend that are sure to help.

First, if your child is an aspiring filmmaker or you would like your child to be, you may want to head over to the Boston International Kids Film Festival this weekend. This festival, which runs from 6:00 P.M. today (November 7, 2014) to approximately 5:00 P.M. on Sunday (November 9, 2014), will allow you and your children to view a series of short films that are specifically designed for kids as well as films that are actually directed and/or produced by kids. In fact, the festival will not only feature over 50 short kids films, but will also feature a number of workshops that will teach you and/or your family how to make your own movie and how to use social media more effectively. For more information on the Boston International Kids Film Festival (BIKFF), please visit the BIKFF website.

Secondly, if your child is one of those fine, upstanding individuals that turns his or her nose up at anything but the theatre or you’re just looking for an opportunity to get some embarrassing photos that will haunt your child for years to come, you may want to encourage your child to check out the Natick Drama Workshop. The Natick Drama Workshop is a 10-week drama program that is designed to teach young actors the finer points of performing on the stage. This program will allow your child to audition for a drama troop of 40 – 60 students and, if they get a part, rehearse to perform in front of an actual audience at the Kennedy Middle School in Natick as part of a full production complete with costumes, sets, and props. Registration for this year’s workshop is currently closed and there is already a waiting list for next year, but you and your children can still get tickets to see their production of Wonderland this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (November 7 – 9, 2014) if you want to see what it’s like. For more information on the Natick Drama Workshop and/or Wonderland, please visit the Natick Drama Workshop website.

Finally, if you or your slightly older child has an undeniable love of writing or you’ve been reading all of this and thinking “my kid could write better than this guy”, there is a free writing talk at the Cambridge Public Library this weekend. Margot Livesey, writer-in-residence at Emerson College and award-winning author of the novel The Flight of Gemma Hardy, will discuss how to create engaging dialogue from 2:30 to 3:00 P.M. tomorrow (Saturday, November 8, 2014.) For more information on the talk, which is part of the Free Writing Craft Talk series at the Library, please visit the Cambridge Public Library’s Event Calendar.

Photo credit: adplayers / Foter / CC BY-ND

A Festival Weekend

The kids may be back in school and the warm weather may be about to disappear (at least a night) but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the fun has to end. In fact, now that the kids are back in school, there are a lot of people that are trying to take advantage of the nicer weather while they still can. As a result, this weekend has become sort of a festival weekend with everything from animals to music in the spotlight. And, if you’re looking for a way to enjoy the warm weather before the fall arrives, there’s no better way than to check out some of these festivals:

Animals

1. If you’re a dog fan, you may want to check out Pooch A Palooza. Pooch A Palooza is a dog festival that is scheduled to take place from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (September 6, 2014) and 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Sunday (September 7, 2014) at the Topsfield Fairgrounds in Topsfield, MA. This festival features dog contests, dog play areas, dog tricks, food, games, kid’s activities and crafts, music, vendors, and more. For more information on the festival, which is of course dog friendly, please visit the Pooch A Palooza website.

2. If you’re more of a cat fan than a dog fan, you may want to check out the Gifford Cat Shelter’s Fall Festival. The Gifford Cat Shelter’s Fall Festival is a cat festival that runs from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. tomorrow (September 6, 2014) at the Ellen M. Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton, MA. This festival features an “Ask the Vet” session, cat crafts for sale, face painting, food, games, an opportunity to meet some of the shelter cats, and more. Best of all the festival is completely free to attend, and any money that you spend on cat crafts or other items at the festival will go to the cats. For more information on the Gifford Cat Shelter’s Fall Festival, please visit the Gifford Cat Shelter’s event page.

Cultural

1. If you love big colorful parades like the ones you might see during Carnival, the Cambridge Carnival International may be exactly what you’re looking for. This is because the Cambridge Carnival International is a parade and street festival that is designed to give you the experience of what Carnival would be like in the Caribbean or Africa without leaving the country. The parade, which starts near the Charles River at River Street and Blackstone Street in Cambridge, MA at 12:30 P.M. on Sunday (September 7, 2014) and ends near MIT, features a number of musicians, dancers, and masqueraders covered in beads, feathers, plumes, jewels, and everything else that you would expect from Carnival. The street festival, which is located in Kendall Square near MIT, will feature arts and crafts, balloon art, DJ’s, face painting, food (including African, Caribbean, Haitian, Indian, Jamaican, and traditional American cuisines), music, and more. For more information on the Cambridge Carnival International, which includes a number of free events, please visit the Cambridge Carnival International website.

Music

1. If you’re a big fan of local bands that have musicians that are actually from the area and not musicians that have been trucked in from somewhere else , the JP Music Festival may be the festival for you. This is because the JP Music Festival requires each of the bands in it to have at least one member that currently lives or works in the Jamaica Plain area. This means that you can expect to hear Bed of Coals, Bowleg Bradford, Cask Mouse, Morris and the East Coast, and a whole bunch of other bands you’ve probably never heard of but will still rock your socks off. For more information on the JP Music Festival, which runs from 12:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. tomorrow at Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain, please visit the JP Music Festival website.

2. If you’re a big fan of local bands, but they don’t have to be that local or that sane, the New England Underground Music Festival may be more to your taste. This is because the New England Underground Music Festival, which runs from 6:00 P.M. today (September 5, 2014) to 12:30 A.M. on Sunday (September 7, 2014) at Cuisine en Locale in Somerville, MA, prides itself on finding and featuring the strangest collection of, as they put it, “weird, insane, beautiful” bands from the New England area. For more information on the New England Underground Festival, please visit the New England Underground Music Festival website.

3. If you’d rather hear someone you’ve actually heard of or at least someone who’s likely to be the next big thing, Boston Calling may be more what you’re looking for. This is because Boston Calling is a large music Festival at the City Hall Plaza in Boston, MA that runs from today (September 5, 2014) at 6:00 P.M. to Sunday (September 7, 2014) at 11:00 P.M that features some well-known bands and some up-and-coming bands that have opened for well-known acts like Fallout Boy. For more information on Boston Calling and/or to order tickets, please visit the Boston Calling Music Festival website.

4. Finally, for those of you out there who love music, but really wouldn’t consider most of the stuff at these other festivals as music, there is always the 35th Annual Banjo and Fiddle Contests at Boarding House Park in Lowell, MA tomorrow (September 6, 2014) from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. This festival of dueling banjos and fiddles will feature a number of kids activities, informal jam sessions, and musicians competing to demonstrate their musical skill in nine categories ranging from young musicians to the Southern Appalachian Old Time style. For more information on the 35th Annual Banjo and Fiddle Contests, please visit the National Park Services’ Lowell Events page.

Photo CreditsCat and Dog Photo Credit: meknits / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Carnival Parade Photo Credit: experience Madeira, Algarve, Brazil !! / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Flaming Guitar Photo Credit: Yuri Samoilov Photo / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Massachusetts Tax-Free Weekend

It may have been Benjamin Franklin that once said that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”, but he certainly wasn’t alone in the sentiment. In fact, Christopher Bullock, Daniel Defoe, Edward Ward, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, Margaret Mitchell, and a slew of other famous authors have expressed the same rather depressing idea that life may be uncertain, but you’re pretty much stuck paying taxes until you die (and many of them said it before Franklin.) However, if you’re in Massachusetts this weekend, where Franklin’s quote could be the state motto, you may be in luck because this weekend is actually Massachusetts’ Tax Free Weekend. As a result, you can now go out and enjoy all of the big box stores and all of the little shops that Massachusetts has to offer without giving 6.25% to the tax man. Even better still, there are a number of local festivals this weekend that will allow you to enjoy food, music, and more as you take full advantage of the lack of sales tax.

First, if you’ve been dying to spend some time by the water, Gloucester has a festival this weekend that you won’t want to miss. This is because the 33rd Annual Gloucester Waterfront Festival is this Saturday (August 16, 2014) and Sunday (August 17, 2014) from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. The Waterfront Festival, which is located at Stage Fort Park in Gloucester, will feature a pancake breakfast, over 175 artists and craftsmen, food, music, an antique car show, and more. Best of all, the event is completely free (until you buy stuff from the vendors.) For more information on the 33rd Annual Gloucester Waterfront Festival, please visit the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce website or the Waterfront Festivals website.

Secondly, if you’ve always been a big fan of jazz, soul, and rock and roll, Salem, MA is definitely the place to be this weekend. This is because the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is this Saturday (August 16, 2014) and Sunday (August 17, 2014) from 11:00 A.M. to 7:15 P.M. This festival, which is scheduled to take place at the Salem Willows, will feature artists; a beer garden; a tent with activities and games for kids; music education classes; and, of course, live music from over 10 bands that are extremely skilled in jazz, soul, rock, funk, swing, and more. For more information on the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival, which is completely free (again, until you buy stuff from the vendors), please visit the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival website.

Finally, if you have a young girl between the ages of 8 and 17 who loves music or you really just like seeing little girls rock out, you may want to check out the Girls Rock Campaign Boston performance at the Brighton Music Hall tomorrow (Saturday, August 16, 2014.) The Girls Rock Campaign Boston is a volunteer summer program that gives girls between the ages of 8 and 17 a chance to form their own band, write their own music, learn to rock their favorite instrument, and more. In fact, the girls not only form their own band and learn everything they need to strut their stuff, but also get the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience at the end of the program. The show tomorrow, as you might have guessed, is that opportunity and it can be a lot of fun to see what these kids and teens can really do. For more information on the Girls Rock Campaign Boston program, please visit the Girls Rock Boston website, and if you would like to order tickets to the performance, please visit Ticketmaster.

Photo credit: DonkeyHotey / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Exploring Your Heritage

When someone mentions the word “heritage,” you probably think of a list of long-gone relatives and all of the places that they were originally from. In fact, you may even know a little bit about the history of some of your more famous or infamous ancestors (depending on how interested you are in your own family’s history.) However, when you stop and think about it, you may know a lot about your own family’s history, but how much do you really know about the history of the city that you’re living in? I mean if someone asked, would you know if your city had once been a major trading port? A breeding ground for smugglers and pirates? The site of a literal witch hunt? Or anything else about the major events that had an impact on the place that you live today?

Well, if you would like to learn more about a city that has been all of these things and more, there’s no better time than now to visit Salem. This is because Salem, MA is hosting its 53rd Annual Heritage Days Celebration, which is a 10-day festival that demonstrates just how much fun Salem can be. This festival, which runs from now until Sunday, August 10th, will feature an antique car show, a bike race, concerts, clowns, dance performances, ice cream samples as part of the Ice Scream Bowl, a kid’s night filled with rides and games, a pizza competition, a street fair, writing and book binding workshops, and a whole lot more. Best of all, most of the events during Heritage Days are completely free, and the events that do include a fee (usually $3 to $5 a person) will typically include food or rides. For more information on Salem’s Heritage Days, including a full schedule, please visit the Official Salem, MA Guide website.

Photo credit: Mr.TinDC / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)