Porchfest – Salem Happenings

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

How To Get Your Kids Outside

A house can be a wonderful thing. It can protect us from the elements, shield us from creatures both big and small, and give us a place to store all of our stuff. In fact, if you have kids, it can be a place for them to store all of their video games, toys, TVs, movies, and everything else that they have collected. As a result, it should come as no great surprise that the average child has very little interest in leaving his or her house at all. However, every so often, there comes a time when a parent has to find a way to get his or her child to go outside (either for the benefit of the parent or the child.) It is, therefore, fortunate that if you are looking for a way to get your child out of the house and into that magical place called the outdoors, there are a number of outdoor events for children in the Boston area this weekend.

First, if your kid is a big fan of kites, there are actually two major kite-flying festivals this weekend, the Franklin Park Kite and Bike Festival and the Revere Beach Kite Festival. The Franklin Park Kite and Bike Festival, which runs from 12:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Sunday (May 18, 2014), will give you and your children the opportunity to eat, purchase your own kite (if you don’t have one already), borrow a bike to tour the park, and, of course, fly a kite. For more information on the Franklin Park Kite and Bike Festival, which is completely free, please visit the Franklin Park Event page. The Revere Beach Kite Festival, which runs from 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. on Sunday (May 18, 2014), will allow you and your children to decorate kites, listen to music, and, as you have probably guessed, fly your own kite. Best of all, if you don’t have a kite and you can’t afford one, Sea Side Kites is actually giving out free kites to the first 300 kids under the age of 12 at the festival. For more information on the Revere Beach Kite Festival, which is free to attend, please visit the Official Revere Beach website.

Secondly, if your kid would rather rock out than watch a piece of fabric dance in the wind, you may want to head to Somerville this weekend. This is because the Somerville Arts Council’s annual PorchFest is this Saturday (May 17, 2014) from 12:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. PorchFest, which has become a tradition in Somerville, is a daylong event in which musicians throughout the city setup their equipment on their porches in order to demonstrate their musical skills with everything from the banjo to the electric guitar and beyond. For more information on PorchFest and the bands that are playing, please visit the Somerville Arts Council PorchFest page.

Finally, if your kid is in college and you’re desperately looking for a way to get your child out of his or her dorm room, the Red Sox may have you covered. This is because Sunday night (May 18, 2014) is College Media Night at Fenway Park. As a result, students can purchase Standing Room Only (SRO) tickets for $9 a ticket or seats in a number of seating categories for $20 a ticket. Best of all, if your kid can’t make it to the game this weekend, the Red Sox are offering SRO tickets to college students with a valid ID for only $9 all season long. For more information and/or to purchase tickets, please visit the Official Boston Red Sox Student Offer page.

Photo credit: Bill Ward’s Brickpile / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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.