Music Festivals – Salem Happenings

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)

Friday Fun: Wedding Weirdness

Anyone that has ever planned a wedding will readily admit that a wedding can be a strange, stressful, and expensive affair (and no, I don’t mean the word “affair” in the Panic at the Disco sense.) In fact, unless the word “stoic” is engrained in the DNA of every single person attending, there’s a pretty good chance that even the most well-planned wedding will include some family drama, some people taking their merriment a little too far, and/or some photographers or caterers who are more than happy to relieve the wedding couple of the enormous weight of their life savings. However, many brides-to-be, grooms-to-be, parents of the bride, married couples, and a number of other people who have or haven’t been involved with a wedding in some way will find it comforting to know that there are a couple of events this weekend that will allow them to unwind and look at their situation in a new way.

First, if you are a former bridesmaid looking for a reason to put on your old dress or someone who has always dreamt of being a bridesmaid, you may want to head down to Boston Common tomorrow. This is because Boston.com is hosting the 2nd Annual Running with the Bridesmaids on Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. This event, which is a strange parody of the running of the bulls designed to raise money for The Big Sister Association of Greater Boston, will allow individuals and teams of up to six to compete in a one-mile run while they wear some of the most ridiculous bridesmaid’s dresses possible. Prizes will of course be awarded to the top fundraiser, worst dressed team, worst dressed individual, and the individual with the worst hair. And, if you really have no interest in actually running in a bridesmaid’s dress, don’t worry. You can always just watch. For more information and/or to register for the event, please visit Boston.com.

Secondly, if you want to try your hand at playing your own wedding music or any other music for that matter, you may want to check out the Street Pianos Boston Festival. The Celebrity Series of Boston is hosting Luke Jerram’s project Play Me, I’m Yours: The Street Pianos Boston Festival from today, September 27, to Monday, October 14, 2013. This festival features 75 pianos that have been placed throughout the Greater Boston area so that anyone can play them. In addition, each of the pianos has been decorated by a local artist or organization, and all of the pianos that survive the two and half week festival will be donated to charity. For more information on the Festival, please visit the Street Pianos of Boston website.

Photo credit: josemanuelerre / Foter / CC BY-ND

Friday Fun: A Not So Scary Weekend

It’s Friday the 13th and many people are already crossing their fingers in the hope that nothing catastrophic will go wrong today. In fact, the more superstitious amongst us may be giving deep consideration to the dilemma of whether they should stay home and hide from the world in front of their TVs or carry a number of lucky charms to defend themselves from the chaos that may ensue on this “jinxed” day. However, if you’re one of the people that’s just looking for something to do after the day is over or you think the whole Friday the 13th thing is something to scare children and people that suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia (the fear of Friday the 13th), there are a couple of events you should definitely check out this weekend.

First, if you love big musical events, Mix 104.1 is hosting MixFest this weekend at the DCR Memorial Hatch Shell in Boston. This music festival will feature four bands, including Gavin Deshaw, the Backstreet Boys, Of Monsters and Men, and the winner of Mix 104.1’s “15 Seconds of Fame” contest. The festival will also feature a special area just for kids so that you can listen to the music without your kids driving you crazy. Best of all, the whole event is absolutely free unless you really just have to have VIP seats in which case you’ll probably have to win them. For more information on this year’s MixFest, which begins Saturday at 4pm (gates open at 1pm), please visit the Mix 104.1 website.

Secondly, if you’re more interested in gaming than big musical events or your kids are demanding something they can play, you may want to check out the Boston Festival of Indie Games. This festival, which is hosted by MIT, features over 25 independent board games and over 65 independent video games that you can play, vote on, and, if you so choose, purchase. In fact, the festival will not only give you the opportunity to play a whole bunch of games for free but will also give you the opportunity to attend a concert for a $25 fee that features music from well-known video game groups, including Bastion’s Darren Korb, Control Group, DJ Cutman, deadbeatblast, and last but certainly not least, the Video Game Orchestra. For more information on the festival, which begins at 10pm on Saturday, please visit the Boston Festival of Indie Games website.

Friday Fun: Music Festivals and More

There’s no question that summer is rapidly approaching. The weather is getting warmer, the sun is staying out longer, and the house cats of the world are propelling themselves towards windows to get as close to the squirrels as they can. However, no matter what you consider to be the strongest indication that summer is on its way, one question still remains. How are you going to enjoy the nice weather this weekend? Well, if you’re looking for a way to get outside and enjoy the nice weather in the Boston area this weekend, here are some outdoor events that you should definitely check out.

First, if you’re a neo hippy (yes, you read that right) or you’re just into 90’s bands that no one’s actually heard of, you may want to check out Radio 92.9’s Earth Fest. Earth Fest is sort of like a modern day Woodstock in the fact that it gives the unwashed masses a chance to stand in a field all day and watch a whole bunch of different bands play for free. Fortunately, Radio 92.9’s version of Woodstock is a little more family friendly than the original as it features a number of bands specifically for kids in addition to the bands that are aimed at all of the people who were actually around in the 90’s. Earth Fest will open its doors at around 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the DCR Hatch Shell in Boston. For more information on Wood…err…Earth Fest, check out the Earth Fest website.

Secondly, if you’re not really into 90’s music or hanging around in one place all day, you may find Porchfest more to your liking. The Somerville Arts Council has a somewhat strange but incredibly creative tradition of encouraging all of its local musicians to hold concerts throughout the city on a specific day each year. This tradition is known as Porchfest because each concert is actually held on the front porch of one of the musicians performing there. As a result, if you are in the Somerville area on Saturday and you want to check out the largest and quite frankly one of the most bizarre collections of music you will ever hear, you may want to take a look at the webpage for this year’s Porchfest.

Finally, if you’re not really into rocking out, but you’ve always been a big fan of Japan, you may want to check out Japan Festival Boston. Japan Festival Boston is an annual celebration of all things Japanese, and it has more Japanese food, vendors, and performers than you’ll know what to do with. In fact, the entire festival is designed to mimic a traditional Japanese festival, so you can expect a truly authentic Japanese experience with a Boston feel. For more information on Japan Festival Boston, please visit the Japan Festival Boston website.