😎🏂 City Hall is going FULL send

🍩 Pssssst! Union Square Donuts is teaming up with Boston Legacy FC to give fans one free doughnut TODAY at these participating locations (while supplies last).⁠ Here are the deets. Pass it on!

🥳 And a happy (and early) B-Side b-day to … Dominique Agnew, Domenica Hudy, and Sally D! Free b-day doughnuts!? #blessed

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Things are getting GNARLY at City Hall Plaza. Heavy Metal, Red Bull’s free snowboarding competition, is back in Boston on Feb. 21 at 2:30 p.m.

Here’s what to know: 

🏂 This is THE street snowboarding competition. Think of it as traditional snowboarding’s gritty, more creative (read: terrifying) sibling. Instead of hitting the slopes, street snowboarders hit city sidewalks, railings, and basically “any feature that would look good with a snowboard sliding on top of it,” per Red Bull. This weekend, that includes City Hall’s stairs and roof. Here’s a taste … if you dare.

🔁 2026 marks Heavy Metal’s second year in Boston. Red Bull tried this kind of competition in 2002. It fizzled out after a few years, then came back again in 2022 before touching down in Boston for the first time in 2025, where an estimated 20,000(!) spectators showed up.

🏅 This year’s showdown doubles as the Heavy Metal Finals. It follows a qualifying competition in Pittsburgh last month, which gave amateur snowboarders a chance to nab a spot competing against certified pros like Zeb Powell, Benny Milam, Telma Särkipaju, and 16-year-old Jess Perlmutter, who’s fresh off a sixth-place finish at the Olympics(!). Now, they’ll all face off in Boston.

❄️ Here’s how it’ll go down: Riders compete across three rounds in three different zones, which vary from city to city. Last year, we saw a rail for technical skills, a 15-foot drop for big air tricks, and a choose-your-own-adventure "highlight zone” down a three-tier staircase. At the end, riders can win in both the individual zones, and overall. Oh, and literal TONS of snow will be shipped in.

🫣 Warning: Expect some serious wipeouts. Last year’s winner Benny Milam told us that the Heavy Metal setup tends to be more intense than a traditional competition, which can be nerve-wracking even for pros. “When you make it through the whole contest, it’s a lot of weight off your shoulders because you’re like, ‘wow, I survived Heavy Metal,’” he said. Yeesh.

👀 Any other questions? You can find all the answers here!

❄️ Congrats! You’ve unlocked a two-for-one winter weather special. The first storm of the BOGO deal is set to roll in Friday afternoon into Saturday, where we could see everything from sleet to freezing rain to snow. It really depends on if temps stay above freezing or not. Either way, consider this your excuse to WFH as your ride home could be sloppy. The second storm is slated for Sunday night into Monday, but models are still split on whether it’ll be a complete miss or a decent brushing. As always, things could change, so keep up with the latest here. 

🇺🇸 Give your license plate a *revolutionary* upgrade. The Massachusetts 250th anniversary celebrations keep on rolling, and this time, they’re giving drivers a chance to win a low-number version of the state’s blue MA250 commemorative license plate. The specialty plate design features “1776” surrounded by 13 stars, with “250 Years of Independence” along the bottom. Note: Numbers 1–999 are available, plus “1776” (obv), meaning only 1,000 plates are up for grabs. You can apply for the lottery here! 

💅 C’mon Barbie, let’s go to … Boston? Enter: The Malibu Barbie Café, a new Barbie-themed dining experience set to open April 17 near Faneuil Hall. The vibes? 1970s Malibu (the era Malibu Barbie was introduced). The food? A fast-casual menu created by a “MasterChef” finalist and “Chopped” champion, serving all-day fare, desserts, and drinks. The cost? Tickets are $25 and include a credit toward food and merch. The waitlist is open now for early access if you want first dibs!

🧁 This club was made for sweet tooths. Imagine: A run club, but instead of running … you just eat sweet treats. Meet: Bake Club Boston, where a group of strangers meet up to hang out and swap baked goods (our dream date). They’ve done everything from cookie swaps to a buns and brews meet up — they even have a Cupid-themed treat swap this weekend. Whether you’re a star baker or a box cake baddie, all ages and experience levels are welcome. Check out their upcoming events here!

🎡 Take a spin on the Greenway’s ferris wheel. You can do it fo’ FREE on Feb. 20 from 12 to 9 p.m. (normally $4!).

💘 Run in your undies (for a good cause). Boston’s Cupid’s Undies Run is set for Feb. 21, where participants complete a mile(ish) run in their skivvies followed by an epic dance party (all to support those affected by neurofibromatosis). 

⛸️ Hit the rink in your best pink. Late-night ice skating with a killer DJ and mood lighting? That’s on the agenda at this Pink Rink night on Feb. 21

💦 Get your Saturday sweat on. This RITUAL wellness social on Feb. 21 is stacked with guided workouts from local fitness partners, a run club, free coffee, and ofc, pickleball. <3

🎉 Keep the Mardi Gras vibes going. Dorchester Brewing plans to at this party on Feb. 21, equipped with live music, king cake-flavored slushies, and Louisiana gator fries. 

🦉 Meet Hedwig IRL. This Mount Auburn Cemetery’s event on Feb. 21 is for learning about the field marks, signs, and naturalist’s skills to find owls in the wild. Bonus: You can meet some in the flesh (feathers?)!

🍷 Aprés ski … without the ski. Just lots of wine and cheese at Rebel Rebel’s aprés ski event on Feb. 22. Your ticket comes with baguette, cornichons, and raclette!

🌈 Give your wardrobe some *color*. And by color, we mean, DYE. Mayfly is hosting a community dye bath on Feb. 22, where you can bring in your garments to dunk.

And the award for Massachusetts Dad of the Year goes to …

Shirley’s own Eric Aalerud, who built this unbelievable 20-foot (!) snowman for his daughter that’s quickly become the photo-op of the town.

This is actually Aalerud’s second year constructing this Mega-Frosty — he built a 15-foot version last winter while he and his wife were going stir-crazy with their newborn baby girl.

To be clear, going this big was never part of his original plan. He just started making a normal snowman, that quite literally snowballed as Mother Nature kept dumping snow in his yard. 

In fact, this year’s Frosty got so big that he had to switch from blowing snow to moving it by hand. See: Him climbing said Frosty via ladder lol.

And while his daughter is probably too young to know what’s what, he’s hopeful she'll appreciate it as she grows up.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

☃️ Thanks for reading! Now that’s what we call an excellent use of free will.

⛺ The results are in: OK, this actually surprised us: 38% of respondents say they LOVE camping, with an equally solid showing from glampers. But one camping hater shared a super fair point: “I spend too much money on rent to willingly sleep outside.” Retweet!

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