The Best Things in Life Are FREE

Free Hugs
Chances are, you’ve probably heard the old line, “the best things in life are free”, and you may have even heard it in one of the many different versions of the song with the same name. In fact, there are at least ten different versions of the song that was originally written by Lew Brown, Buddy DeSylva, and Ray Henderson for the musical Good News in 1927. Some of the well-known artists to cover the song with or without drastically altered lyrics include the Ink Spots, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Jo Stafford, Hank Mobley, Sam Cooke, Lou Donaldson, and Janet Jackson. As a result, there certainly hasn’t been a shortage of artists trying to convey the importance of the free things in life, but finding things that are free to enjoy can be a lot more challenging than it should be. It is, therefore, fortunate that there are a number of free activities in the Boston area this weekend that are sure to put a smile on your face without forcing you to touch your hard-earned cash.

First, if you are a Shakespeare fan, you may want to head over to the Fairbanks House in Dedham, MA this weekend. This is because the Fairbanks House is hosting the Dragonfly Theater’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 5:00 P.M. tonight and tomorrow (June 26th and 27th, 2015) and at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday (June 28, 2015.) This production will allow you to see Shakespeare’s classic comedy about a group of ancient Greeks caught up in fairy mischief from the comfort of this historic house’s lawn. For more information on the Dragonfly Theater’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is completely free and open to the public, please visit the Dragonfly Theater’s website.

Secondly, if you’re not really a Shakespeare fan or you would prefer wandering around an air-conditioned building to sitting on a lawn, there are a number of museums and historic locations offering free admission today. In fact, the MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA; the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA; Tanglewood and the Mount in Lenox, MA; the Worcester Art Museum in Worcester; and the Peabody Essex Museum and the House of the Seven Gables in Salem, MA are all offering free admission today as part of the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays. For more information on these locations and other locations that are offering free admission to everyone as part of the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays, please visit the Highland Street Foundation website.

Finally, if you’re looking for some free information on Norman Rockwell or any of the other artists that created the magnificent works of art that you may encounter at the museums above, you should definitely check out Artsy.net. In fact, Artsy will not only give you the opportunity to read biographies and articles on over 50,000 artists but will also give you the opportunity to see some of the amazing works of art that these artists have created.

Photo credit: Street matt / Foter / CC BY

Columbus Day Weekend

"Yikes!  Could you find your way to the East Indies with this map?"
                                      “Yikes! Could you find your way to the East Indies with this map?”

You’ve probably heard the old line “in fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” However, did you know that this line is actually part of an entire poem by Ramon Montaigne? I’m willing to wager, unless you actually read the entire poem when you were learning about Christopher Columbus in elementary school, that you probably heard the first line of the poem somewhere but knew nothing about the rest of it. In fact, even though we celebrate Columbus Day every year around this time, most people don’t really know what we’re celebrating beyond the fact that Columbus got hopelessly lost and, like most of us, didn’t want to admit that he never reached his actual destination. Yet, regardless of why we celebrate the holiday, this weekend is a three-day weekend throughout most of the United States and, if you are in the Salem area this weekend, it is a great time to enjoy some more of the city’s Halloween festivities.

First, if you really wanted to go to the Bizarre Bazaar last weekend, but you missed it, you’re in luck because the Salem Open Market begins today. This market, while not as big as the Bizarre Bazaar, will give the opportunity to purchase artwork, clothing, jewelry, and more from over 50 different vendors every weekend until Halloween. For more information on the Salem Open Market, please visit the Official Salem Open Market website.

Secondly, if you’re looking for something more frightening than an empty wallet (well…potentially more frightening), you may want to check out the House of the Seven Gables. The House of the Seven Gables is currently offering two different Halloween themed performances. The first performance, entitled “Legacy of the Hanging Judge”, is the story of the Salem Witch Trials from the perspective of the famous author Nathaniel Hawthorne who not only wrote the Crucible but was also a direct descendant of the infamous judge that presided over the witch trials, Judge John Hathorne (the “w” in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s name was actually added to distance his family from the judge’s madness.) The second performance, entitled “Spirits of the Gables”, is the story of the House of the Seven Gables as told by the ghosts of some of the novel’s characters, but these characters are still haunting the house that originally inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write the story. For more information on both performances, please visit the House of the Seven Gables October Performances page.

Finally, if you’re looking for something that is not frightening and/or Halloween-related, you can always head over to Topsfield Fair. Topsfield Fair, which runs until this Monday (October 13, 2014), is an agricultural fair that features artwork, contests, crafts, farm animals, flowers, food, a large number of vendors, special performances, and a whole lot more. You may even have the chance to see one of the world’s largest pumpkins! For more information on the Topsfield Fair, please visit the Topsfield Fair website.

Photo credit: Foter / Public Domain Mark 1.0