💃 City Hall Plaza is about to be LIT

Happy Friday, Boston!

❤️ And a happy early Father’s Day to all the dads out there. We love ya. 

🚘 Also, PSA: If you need to park near Fenway Park today, you might be in luck. Sam Adams is covering the cost of certain lots and meters in the area for “Brighter Boston Day” inspired by their Super Bowl commercial this year.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Central Perk

• Rainy weather ahead

• The best free advice

Up first...

SUMMER FRIDAYS

A weekend to celebrate

There’s a lot to celebrate this weekend: Juneteenth, Father’s Day, and just the simple joy of not having to work.

So here are a few things to do to keep you booked and busy:

🎉 If you don’t have plans tonight, now you do. Embrace Boston is capping off their Embrace Ideas Festival with a Juneteenth Block Party at Roxbury Community College. The celebration will feature tons of dancing and some of the city’s best turntablists and BIPOC-owned food trucks. Did we mention it’s free, too?

🕺 Speaking of dancing, City Hall Plaza is about to be LIT. Boston’s annual Donna Summer Disco Party kicks off at 6 p.m. tonight to honor the five-time Grammy winner and Boston native. In addition to dancing, there will be roller rink skating and performances from O'Mega Red and Summer’s sister, Mary Gaines Bernard. Also free!

🏝️ You can live your dream of being on “Survivor” at Aeronaut Brewing. The Allston beer garden is hosting its own version of “Survivor” where you and your pals will be tested with puzzles and games, find hidden idols, and win fun prizes. Also in attendance will be Season 41 cast member Evvie, who will play along and give you all the “Survivor” tea.

🖼️ Spend Juneteenth at an art museum without spending a dime. The MFA, ICA, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will all be offering free admission. But the ways to snag tix vary:

• MFA admission tix are available on a first-come, first-served basis to Mass. residents.

• ICA admission tix are available Sunday at 10 a.m.

• ISGM admission tix are available now, but there are only a few slots left, last we checked.

🚶 Take a peaceful stroll around Jamaica Pond with your pops. Barbara Hamm, Psy.D., director of mindful practices at the Transformative Action Project, will guide you on a mindful walk through nature using meditation and movement. Nothing says Happy Father’s Day like reduced cortisol levels.

🍷 Sip on wines and whiskeys from Black producers. In addition to trying curated sips at TimeOut Boston’s Juneteenth wine tasting, you’ll also learn about the producers’ experiences in the wine industry (which is, historically, very white). OAK Long Bar + Kitchen is also partnering with Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, one of the most successful Black-owned distilleries in the world, for a complimentary whiskey tasting on Juneteenth.

⚾ Check out the new “Barrier Breakers” exhibit near the Common. This touring exhibit created by Negro League Baseball Museum honors Black and Latin baseball players who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. It’s set to run through Aug. 4. Plus, admission is free!

📅 And for those of you with Monday off … Here’s a list of what’s is and isnt open on the Monday holiday.

QUICK QUESTION!

👀 Does your company or school give you Juneteenth off?

TOGETHER WITH NOBEE

It’s rental season, Boston

🏢 Consider this your reminder that your lease is about to expire— before you get into the back-and-forth with your landlord about re-upping your lease, remember there’s a new (and cheaper) way to find apartments this summer. Boston-based rental agency, Nobee, offers a ton of beautiful apartment options, and their business model allows you to save, on average, 50% on broker fees. Here are some of your top offerings:

1. SOUTH BOSTON | Studio | $2,250/mo

2. CAMBRIDGE | 4 Beds/ 1 Bath | $4,700/mo

3. NORTH END | Various Units

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

👷 City Hall needs some serious TLC. The insides of the 55-year-old brutalist eyesore are in need of some serious repairs, and the city has already put aside $80 million in the most recent capital plan to get the job done. The next big project is ripping out and replacing the original hot water pipes from the '60s, which is going to be much harder than you think. The designers of the building didn’t account for things like bursting pipes or damaging leaks in the design, so many of the OG pipes are completely encased in concrete and nearly impossible to get to.

🌧️ This weekend’s weather: Smoky, rainy, and cool. We’re in for another round of smoke today from the wildfires in Quebec. It will be pretty thick, leading to hazy skies that may affect the air quality. So be sure to check the weather app before you go outside. Showers and downpours are in the forecast for Saturday with highs somewhere in the 60s. And while still rainy and soggy, Sunday is looking a little drier, especially in the afternoon. The June weather we know and love.

☕ The one where Central Perk comes to Boston. The Friends-inspired coffee shop is opening its door on Newbury Street later this year. NOT New York! And it’s not just going to be a cutesy pop-up for you to take IG pics, it’s going to be a permanent, fully functional coffeehouse. Plus, food experts like “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio have helped inspire the menu. So while you wait for its door to open, you can take a peek at some of the cafe’s coffee products like the "How You Doin'?" medium roast and "Gunther! Espresso" espresso.

ONE LAST THING

The best free advice

Need advice? Just ask the guy in Harvard Square.

And by guy, we mean George Vaill. You can usually spot him and his cartoonish glasses plopped down in a camping chair beneath a large sign that says, “FREE ADVICE, OFFERED OR ACCEPTED.” And there’s no catch.

Vaill was inspired to listen to people’s problems for free after reading a story about another elderly man who operated an advice booth at a farmers market in Utah. So this is how the 76-year-old now spends his retirement.

Aside from accepting money (though, he will accept a doughnut if offered), his only rules of engagement are that he won’t discuss touchy subjects like politics or religion. The only ideology he’s pushing is that people should spend less time arguing and more time smiling.

“Smiles are free. They’re un-assaultive, they’re uplifting. They’re inclusionary. They’re universal signs of joy,” he said. “This is all about us feeling as though we’re all one family here.”

🥺 Thanks for reading! Brb sprinting to Harvard Square.

🚗 The results are in: 50% of B-Side readers plan to take the T during the Sumner Tunnel closure, but a decent chunk of them plan to stick to their cars. One reader who lives in Eastie and works in Boxborough said, “It's a 10 min drive from the Acton commuter rail station to my work, or a 1.5 hour walk cries in lack of public transportation.” Thoughts and prayers.

📝 Note: We’re off Juneteenth, so we’ll be back in your inbox on Tuesday.