😉🏳️‍🌈 A parade too gay to function

📣 You called it the best day ever, so we’re running it back … Join us Aug. 1 at PKL Boston for our annual Best Day Ever party celebrating everything we love about Boston, all in one place: great food, drinks, live music, vintage shopping — the works. Grab your tickets here and stay tuned for updates!

🥳 And don’t forget to say HBD to B-Side Member, Jess Giordano! Save some of that Best Day Ever energy for August, OK?

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Dust off your rainbow flags! Boston’s Pride celebrations are happening THIS weekend (shout out to the World Cup for bumping it up).

Here’s everything you need to know:

✊ This year’s Pride is getting a *revolutionary* remix. Event organizers Boston Pride for the People announced the theme this year is “Pride as Protest: Since 1776,” a nod to MA250 and the role of protest throughout American history.

↩️ The parade starts at 11 a.m. sharp! The route kicks off in Copley, travels into the South End, then bangs a biggggg uey back downtown. To break it down: You’ll head south on Clarendon Street, turn left onto Tremont, walk back north up Berkley Street, take a right onto Boylston Street, and end with a left on Charles Street by the Common. You got all that?

🚃 We don’t have to tell you, but … this is NOT the day to drive. The roads on and near the parade route will be closed starting early morning, so the T will be your BFF. Here are some pro-tips for getting there:

💃 The only thing better than the parade: The after parties. Get ready to party all day with a post-parade festival on the Common for all ages from noon to 6 p.m. AND a huge 21+ block party in Copley Square from 2 to 8 p.m. Dance the night away at both with this lineup of DJs and artists, including hip-hop duo FLYANA BOSS. Plus, the block party will have drag shows, a beer garden, food trucks, and more!

💦 Our advice: Pack provisions. Water? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Comfy shoes? Check. Did we say water already? But seriously, if you need anything else, there are porta potties, accessibility tents, and vendors lined along the route.

🌈 Make it a Pride celebration crawl. On top of this three-part extravaganza, there are also TONS of Pride events happening nearby on Saturday, including this block party at Dani’s Queer Bar, a Pride fest at Fenway, a patio party at Lamplighter, and even high tea at Bubble Bath. Want more? See the full list.

❓ Have more questions? You can find all your answers on their website.

🌸🖼️ Somewhere between “I should go outside more” and “I should do something cultured,” the MFA has your answer. Framing Nature: Gardens and Imagination is an immersive journey through gardens in art, featuring dreamy tapestries, garden-inspired works, and never-before-seen treasures from the MFA’s collection. But consider this your last call: the exhibition closes June 28. Go on a Third Thursday (the next one is coming up June 18) for just $5 after 5 p.m. and give yourself a low-cost, high-FOMO-proof evening. 

🏆 The T took home the bronze for best public transit in the U.S. It’s true — Travel + Leisure ranked Boston No. 3 of the nine best U.S. transit systems (excluding NYC). This ranking praised not only the T itself, but also the commuter rail and bus network. D.C. and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, took home the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively. Hopefully, our European friends believe its third place status when they visit for the World Cup, but they might find it dank …

💰 Some local officials are having big regrets on sports betting. State Sen. John Keenan, once a proponent of legalizing sports betting in Mass., is now pushing for a bill that would limit ads, raise the tax rate for betting companies, and ban prop bets. And companies like DraftKings are fighting back hard. Think: Employees and their families donating close to $40,000 to two state reps who would be key for this bill to pass. Now what? The bill needs to reach a floor vote by July before it gets nixed.

☄️ We have more tea on this past weekend’s meteor … Turns out, the bolide meteor that went boom wasn’t three feet wide; it was actually FIVE feet (basically, the length of one Kelly 😭). It also weighed 5.6 metric tons — about the same as an average elephant! So why exactly did the “boom” happen? High speeds + pressure + heat = the meteor breaking apart. That’s what happened, not this person in a muffin costume jumping up and down. And fun fact: There might be meteorite fragments in Cape Cod Bay! 

🎉 Boston’s summer concert lineup is giving 2010. *pulls out iPod shuffle* Our inner middle-schoolers are particularly pumped for Jason Mraz at the Wang Theatre on June 6, Shakira at TD Garden on July 10 and 11, and Kesha at Xfinity Center on Aug. 21. Bonus: Tickets for Jason and Kesha are very affordable right now at ~$40 each. Looking for newer artists? Add Megan Moroney (July 6) and Olivia Dean (Aug. 10) to your calendars. See the full list.

B-Side members can save more than $100 across our events this month.

🏃‍♀️ June 4: We're Not Really Runners Meetup, FREE. WNRR — Boston’s party-pace friendly run club — hits the Esplanade from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on June 4. Members get a free drink after at Night Shift Brewing. Sign up here!

🍷 June 6: 90+ Cellars Presents: Rosé & Waves with Seaav, $35. Start your Saturday with a high-energy barre + sculpt class Tall Ship Boston, then stick around for a rosé social hour featuring brand pop-ups, giveaways, and ocean views. 

🟢 June 18: B-Side x Rooftop @ Revere Stoplight Party, $25. Let red, yellow, and green wristbands do the talking at our first-ever stoplight party. Your ticket includes one drink and Members save $10. Reserve your spot here.

🍸 June 10: Women's Networking Night, $33. WXYZ Bar in Boston is hosting a Women's Networking Night and Members save $10. Meet your next collaborator, confidant, or co-conspirator over drinks. Reserve here.

👀 Want to feature your upcoming event? Click here.

First, it was hot dog hats and fanny packs. Now, it’s hot dog art … at the MFA. Let us explain …

The MFA has partnered with Kayem, the company behind Fenway Franks, to launch an art series featuring iconic American figures and historic moments … but with hot dogs in the picture. Think: That painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River, but with another revolutionary man grilling weenies in the corner.

These will first be on display for one day (June 4) at Faneuil Hall, then they’ll be hosted in different New England locations throughout June and July, including Cisco Brewers and Fenway Park. Select pieces will be shown at the MFA cafeteria for a month starting June 24 — how fitting!

Why now? For the 250th anniversary, of course! What’s more American than a hot dog?

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

🌭 Thanks for reading! An MFA glizzy gallery was not on our bingo card, but we’re here for it.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city.

🚃 The results are in: 41% of you like the Green Line-BPL one best! (You have good taste, so did we.) One reader said, “Train Daddy = Graphics Daddy, too!” What can’t he do?

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] and [email protected].