🎆🌭 Baby, you’re a firework

🚨 FREE TICKET ALERT! The first five members to claim them will get a pair of tickets to Boston magazine’s Best of Boston soiree on July 16 ($300 value!). Grab them here STAT! Late to the party? No sweat, all members get 25% off.

🥳 And happy birthday to B-Sider livinrap! Our two cents: Get in the holiday spirit and celebrate with a glizzy tower. Have a great day!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Despite what your IG feed tells you, not everyone can head to the Cape this week. But lucky for those of us staying in the city, there are tons of great things to do right here in Boston. 

Here are this week’s can’t-miss Fourth of July happenings:

🎆 Experience a Boston classic. The Boston Pops annual Fireworks Spectacular is THE Fourth of July to-do. This year, it’ll kick off with a concert (with LeAnn Rimes and Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr.!) at the Hatch Shell at 7 p.m., and the first fireworks will pop at 9:40. Here are all the deets. 

🛶 Or spice things up with the best seat in the house. DIY your yacht girl summer and rent a kayak or canoe from Paddle Boston to catch the fireworks from the Charles. Warning: The prices are *steep.*

👀 Wanna get out of the city? There are tons of other firework shows across Mass. to pick from. Here’s a list of them.

🇺🇸 Turn the Fourth into a three-day affair. Boston Harborfest has a stacked lineup of near non-stop celebrations from July 2 through the fireworks spectacular on the Fourth. Think: Artisan markets, beer gardens, live music … and LOTS of history. Here’s the schedule.

🫦 Celebrate the Whore(th) of July. That’s what Dani’s Queer Bar is calling its free celebration on July 4. Put on your hottest fit and watch the first annual wet T-shirt contest. 

🚲 Take a queer bike ride. Queers on Wheels will be hosting a casual, all-levels bike ride to Turtle Pond on the Fourth. Grab your bike, snacks, drinks, and a swimsuit and meet at the JP Boathouse to set off.

🐶 Pay your respects to our former President … ‘s pets. The JFK Library just opened its new Presidential Pets exhibit, where you can learn about First Lady Grace Coolidge’s pet raccoon Rebecca, Caroline Kennedy’s pony Macaroni, and more!

🦸 Salute a true patriot: Chris Evans. Trident is hosting a special free showing of “Captain America: The Winter Solider,” on July 5. Snacks and drinks will be available, discussion of “Stucky” fanfic is encouraged.

🌭 Fill your weekend with weenies. We’re talking about dachshunds … obviously. Park-9’s Everett location is back with its annual “ween weekend” July 5 and 6 with a dachshund meetup, free entry for dogs in hot dog costumes, and food and drink specials.

🍦 … Or frozen treats. Just in time for the ice cream weekend of the year, Boston magazine dropped its guides to Boston’s best ice cream (by mood) and best gelato. Not an ice cream lover (weird but OK)? Here’s a list of Boston’s best frosty bevs.

🍸 New liquor licenses just dropped! The city named the next 21 restaurants and businesses that’ll get one of its highly-coveted 225 new liquor licenses. The goal is to distribute licenses based on need (so, NO boujee Back Bay restaurants), and this drop includes spots in Brighton, Rozzie, JP, Hyde Park, West Roxbury, the South End, and seven(!) in Dorchester. Think: Milkweed’s location in Dot, new Oak Square gastropub Mo’s Tavern & Kitchen, Boston Pickle Club in Hyde Park, and the new District 7 Cafe in Roxbury. Cheers!

💅 We know how Karen Read’s paying for her lawyers. Less than two weeks after her acquittal, Read has already inked a major deal with LBI Entertainment (think: “Killers of the Flower Moon”) to develop a script based on her legal saga with her defense attorney Alan Jackson. Most of the specifics are still TBD, but LBI said the story will be about “what happens when a single voice refuses to be silenced.” And if that weren’t enough, the duo are *also* working on a book deal. Get your bag, we guess!

🚘 Fourth of July week = Fourth of July traffic. And this year is projected to be record-breaking. According to AAA, 72.2 million Americans are traveling 50+ miles from home between June 28 and July 6, marking a 2.2% bump in road travel over 2024, likely thanks to the cheapest summer gas prices since 2021. Here in Boston, the very worst traffic will be (surprise, surprise) July 5 on Route 3 between Boston and Hyannis around 11:45 a.m. You can find the best and worst times to drive by day here.

☀ Speaking of the Fourth … Barring an act of God (or Mother Nature), it looks like we’re going to have some gorgeous weather this Fourth of July weekend — sunny with temps in the mid-80s from Friday to Sunday. Keep up with the latest here. And while we’re talking logistics, we might as well mention that the MBTA will be free on the Fourth after 8:30 p.m. and running on a modified holiday schedule all day. Keep in mind that some spots, like post offices and libraries, will be closed.

Our Levitate Music Festival ticket giveaway may be over, but you can still get 20% off on tickets as a B-Side member! 

Sign up here and check your perks page for the code.

Wishing you rented a house on the Cape for the Fourth of July weekend? Great news: For the low low price of $200,000, you can buy one instead! The only catch … It's 216 square feet. 

This teeny tiny spot has one bedroom, one bathroom … and, TBH, not much else. According to Boston.com, “Restaurants, coffee shops, and the Sandwich Boardwalk are nearby, so you never really need to cook at home,” which is a good thing, since there’s no oven or stove in sight. 

The good news: It is on some prime real estate. Right over the Sagamore Bridge, it’s just a quick walk away from several beaches. So if you’re looking for a beach-adjacent place to crash and make some microwave meals, this could be just the investment for you.

Check out the listing here.

— Written by Gia Orsino

🏘️ Thanks for reading! Is it the Boston housing market talking, or is this lowkey a good deal?

📝 Programming note: We know many of you will be unplugging this week … so we are too! We’ll be off for the rest of the week, but expect us back and better than ever in your inbox on Monday. We’ll miss ya! 

🚚 The results are in: 64% of B-Siders say shelling out an extra month’s rent IS worth it to get off the 9/1 move-in cycle. One reader said: “If I have to cough up first, last, security, and broker’s, I’m already setting money on fire. Might as well make it worth my sanity.”

🥳 🎟 Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping extravaganza at Artists for Humanity!

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