Revere Beach – Salem Happenings

Indulge Your Artistic Side This Weekend

Summer has always been a great time to explore the art around us because it’s much easier to sing, dance, and create outside when you aren’t knee deep in snow. In fact, there is never a shortage of performers ready and waiting to demonstrate their artistic skill during this time of year, and this year is certainly no exception. As a result, if you’re looking for a way to indulge your artistic side this weekend, you’re in luck because there are a couple of events that are certain to help you find the artistic indulgences that you seek.

First, if you’re looking for a way to hear some great music without giving all of your money to a ticket broker, you should definitely check out the Boston Summer Arts Weekend. The Boston Summer Arts Weekend, which runs from 11:00 A.M. to approximately 11:00 P.M. tomorrow (July 25, 2015) and 12:30 P.M. to approximately 6:00 P.M. Sunday (July 26, 2015) is an arts festival that celebrates music in all its forms. This festival features a number of well-known and not-so-well-known performers playing Americana, blues, classical music, children’s music, folk music, and more. Best of all, all of the performances at the festival are completely free and open to the public, so you can listen to hours of great music without paying a dime. For more information on the Boston Summer Arts Weekend, which is sponsored by the Boston Globe, Citizen’s Bank, and WBGH, please visit the Boston Globe’s Boston Summer Arts Weekend page.

Secondly, if you’re looking for a way that you can head to the beach and still tell people that you were taking in some art, Revere Beach has you covered. This is because Revere Beach is hosting the 12th Annual Revere Beach National Sand Sculpting Festival this weekend, which means that from today until Sunday, you can see over 20 sculptors from around the world carefully crafting incredible works of art out of sand. In fact, this festival will not only give you the opportunity to see some truly awesome sand sculptures but will also give you and your family the opportunity to enjoy kid’s activities and rides, fireworks, food, live music, and more. For more information on the 2015 Revere Beach National Sand Sculpting Festival, which is absolutely free for everyone to attend, please visit the Revere Beach website.

Photo credit: Eric Kilby / Foter / CC BY-SA

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: First Weekend of Summer

Today marks the first official day of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and it already looks like this weekend is going to be a great time to enjoy the nice weather if you live in the Northeast. In fact, the sun is shining, the temperatures are in the mid 70’s, and the cats of the world are already trying to figure out the best way to get to the birds singing outside. As a result, this weekend is offering up the perfect weather to start off the summer right, and if you’re looking for a good way to get out of the office and enjoy the weather this weekend, you may want to look into a few of these events.

First, if your kids are really into kites or they’re driving you so crazy that you’re ready to tell them to “go fly a kite!”, you may want to head on over to Spectacle Island this weekend. Spectacle Island is holding a kite-flying day tomorrow, June 22, 2013, from 1:30 to 2:30 pm. This event will not only allow your kids to fly a kite in one of the best places to fly a kite in Boston, but will also allow your family to build their own kite for free. So, as Mary Poppins would say, “Let’s go fly a kite up to the highest height.” For more information, please visit the Boston Harbor Islands website.

Secondly, if you and/or your family are more into carnivals than kites, you can always head on over to Revere Beach. This weekend marks the last weekend of the Revere Beach Carnival, which means it’s your last chance to enjoy the food, rides, games, and petting zoo this year. The carnival is open from 1 pm to approximately 10:00 or 11:00 pm all weekend, and if you would like more information or discount coupons, check out the Fiesta Shows website.

Finally, if you’re really looking for some way to include your dog in your outdoor activities this weekend, the Avenue Marketing Group may have exactly what you’re looking for. The Avenue Marketing Group is hosting Pooch-A-Palooza on Saturday and Sunday this weekend from 10 am to 7 pm at Prowse Farm in Canton, MA. Pooch-A-Palooza is an outdoor dog festival featuring dog contests, music, kid’s games, food for both humans and dogs, and a whole lot more. For more information, please visit the Pooch-A-Palooza website.