Things to do in Boston this weekend: August 8-11, 2024

Events

BosTen is your weekly guide to the best events and coolest things to do in Boston.

Welcome to BosTen, your weekly guide to the coolest events and best Things to do in Boston this weekend. Sign up for our Weekly email newsletter here. Do you have any idea what we should cover? Leave us a comment on this article or in the BosTen Facebook Groupor send us an email to (email protected).

Enjoy free entry to 4 museums

In past years, the Highland Street Foundation has hosted Free Fun Fridays, a summer program that offered free admission to dozens of museums across the state every Friday. This year, the nonprofit is taking a different approach, offering free admission to a new museum or cultural institution each day in August as part of its August Adventures program. Participating sites this weekend include ICA Boston (Thursday), Museum of African American History Boston (Friday), Marconi Maritime Center and RCA-Wireless Museum in Chatham (Saturday), and Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth (Sunday). A full calendar for the month of August can be found on the Highland Street Foundation website. (Daily until August 31st at various times and locations) – Kevin Slane

Watch a free movie (or two) outdoors

With the scorching heat we’ve been experiencing this summer, watching a movie in an air-conditioned theater sounds like the perfect activity. But for those who prefer to see their film for free in the fresh air, the Boston area is once again offering a large number of free outdoor movies. All summer long, you can see a mix of relatively new films and certified classics at impromptu outdoor movie screenings — for free. Catch the ’80s classic “The Outsiders” at Seven Hills Park in Somerville at 8 p.m. on Thursday, or last year’s smash hit “Barbie” at 8 p.m. in Revere Beach. Or wait until Saturday, when the Prudential Center will screen “The Templar Legacy” on its lawn at dusk, and Alamo Drafthouse will screen “The Goonies” at 8 p.m. on Boston Common. If you’re looking for weekday options, Mayor Wu’s Movie Nights series kicks off on Monday, bringing free screenings to all Boston neighborhoods. (Various times and places) – Kevin Slane

Enjoy the light of the Franklin Park Zoo

Everything will be lit up at Franklin Park Zoo for the next few months, thanks to the return of the seasonal exhibit “Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience.” The dazzling exhibit has been such a huge hit for the zoo over the years that Zoo New England is expanding it to a new area of ​​the 180-acre grounds for 2024, allowing visitors to stroll through a wooded area filled with immersive walkthroughs and countless Instagrammable moments. The glowing animals include a 115-foot octopus, a 75-foot “kun” fish and other underwater brethren. Limited-timed admissions to the zoo grounds are available every half hour daily from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and can be booked on the Zoo New England website. (Daily through September 30th from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., October 1st to November 3rd from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; 1 Franklin Park Rd., Boston; from $25.95) — Kevin Slane

Greet the sun from the roof of the Revere Boston Hotel

The Revere Boston Hotel continues its free Summer Fitness Series yoga classes on its rooftop. They start this weekend on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Bring your own mat (hotel guests can use the mats provided, though) and enjoy the exercises led by Equinox instructors. Can’t make it this weekend? Reserve your spot for August 17, 24, or 31 through Eventbrite, weather permitting. (Saturday, August 10 at 10 a.m.; 200 Stuart St., Boston; free) — Cheryl Fenton

Grab a cheap bite to eat at Dine Out Boston

Boston’s Restaurant Week is back, offering Boston diners a chance to experience some of the metro area’s most acclaimed, newest or popular restaurants through August 17. In its 24th year, Dine Out’s summer program spans all of Boston’s neighborhoods, several suburbs and every style of food—from French and Italian to sushi and Indian. More than 150 restaurants offer their own multi-course prix fixe menus, typically designed to showcase the restaurant’s signature offerings for those who’ve never eaten there before or for guests who don’t typically shell out for an appetizer and dessert with their main course. And with prices ranging from $22 for lunch to $55 for dinner, you’ll most likely pay less than you normally would for multiple courses. For a full list of participating restaurants, visit Meet Boston’s website or check out our Dine Out Boston guide for some hand-picked local recommendations. (Now through August 17 at various times and locations) – Katelyn Umholtz

Reserve your place in a new restaurant

With so many openings and closings in the Greater Boston dining industry, it’s challenging to keep up with the flood of new restaurants in the area. To help you do that, we’ve created an updated guide to the most notable new and upcoming restaurant openings that you can come back to any time to discover the latest and greatest restaurants in Greater Boston. Some of the most exciting new spots include Althea, which brings a “garden party” vibe to Cambridge from the Viale team, and the first Boston branch of Lakon Paris Patisserie, the French bakery that just opened a Brighton location to complement its cafes in Newton and Brookline and will soon expand to the Seaport. (Various locations) – Katelyn Umholtz

Uncover the secrets of Clue: A Walking Mystery

Combining the thrill of an escape room with the sights of Boston, Clue: A Walking Mystery is a new interactive experience that takes visitors on a guided scavenger hunt through the city’s most popular landmarks. The mystery begins at Quincy Market, where you take on the role of one of the board game’s colorful characters and search for clues to solve the murder of Boddy Black. Instead of the rooms of Boddy Mansion, pieces of furniture from the rooms will be scattered throughout Boston, and a guide will help you get from place to place as the mystery unfolds. Tickets for the immersive experience, which runs five days a week through Labor Day weekend, are on sale now. (Wednesday through Sunday through September 8 at various times; 206 S. Market St., Boston; from $31.50) — Kevin Slane

Schedule a playdate at Gabby’s Dollhouse

Since 2021, Netflix’s “Gabby’s Dollhouse” — a live-action/animated series from “Blue Clues” veterans Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey — has been entertaining young viewers with the adventures of Gabby (Laila Lockhart Kraner) and her cats. To celebrate the show’s 10th season, which premieres this week, preschoolers can experience a real-life, interactive version of the series with “Gabby’s Dollhouse,” a traveling exhibit hitting two Boston-area malls this weekend. Spend time with Marty the party cat, explore character-themed rooms and play in the “cattastic” party room. Thursday’s event at Wal-Mart in Walpole is already sold out, but you can still make a free timed reservation for the Saturday and Sunday experience at Market Street Lynnfield. (Saturday, August 10 and Sunday, August 11 from 12-7 p.m.; 600 Market St., Lynnfield; free) — Kevin Slane

Celebrate Hip Hop in Boston at GLD FSTVL

Pinpointing the exact day that a cultural movement began is nearly impossible. As a reminder, hip-hop is widely accepted to have been born at a house party in the Bronx on August 11, 1973. After last year’s successful celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, the city of Boston is reviving its day-long GLD FSTVL for a second annual celebration of the genre. On Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., some of Boston’s best MCs will take the stage at City Hall Plaza, including Dutch ReBelle, Michael Christmas and the festival’s namesake group, STL GLD. The festival will close with a headlining set by Ghostface Killah, whose work with Wu-Tang Clan and solo albums such as Ironman and Supreme Clientele are among the highlights of ’90s hip-hop. (Saturday, August 10, 12pm-10pm; 1 City Hall Square, Boston; free) – Kevin Slane

Visit the annual Chinatown August Moon Festival

For the 54th year, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) of New England is hosting the August Moon Festival in Chinatown this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The August Moon Festival is the second most important festival after the Chinese New Year and celebrates a successful harvest, similar to the American Thanksgiving. The streets surrounding the Chinatown Gate – Beach, Tyler and Hudson Streets and Harrison Avenue – are lined with vendors. In addition to vendors selling Chinese cuisine, handicrafts, Chinese calligraphy and other goods, event-goers can also expect cultural performances such as lion dancing, traditional folk dancing and martial arts. (Sunday, August 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 70 Beach St., Boston; free) — Natalie Gale