🤑☘️ Consider this your lucky charm

🌷 T-16 days until spring … five days until 6:45 p.m. sunsets, 31 days until Fenway’s opening day, and 48 days until 30,000 runners make you ugly cry on Boylston Street. And we have more serotonin-inducing countdowns where that came from.

🥳 Aaand T-0 days until B-Sider Cilla Dunphy’s b-day! If you ever question how awesome you are, remember that we just included you on a list with 6:45 p.m. sunsets and the Boston Marathon. You’re the best!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

This week’s weather? Cracking the 50s. Our spring wardrobe? Thawing as we speak. This month’s freebies? Absolutely STACKED. 

Here’s what’s happening that won’t cost you a dime:

💁‍♀️ Celebrate Women’s History Month three ways. 1. The Women Take the Reel Festival is showcasing loads of women-directed films, all of which have Q&As with the film’s director, producer, or a faculty member. 2. Support a local women-owned biz at this International Women’s Day Market. 3. Salute one of film’s most iconic female characters (Katniss Everdeen, obv) at Trident’s screening of “The Hunger Games.”  

🌿 Start flexing your green thumb. Herbs like thyme, oregano, basil, mint, and cilantro are some of the easiest (and delicious) plants to grow. So head to the Hyde Park BPL branch on March 6 for its free culinary herbs in the garden class. You’ll learn how to grow them all in your own backyard, back porch, or window sill. 

🍹 Crown Boston’s best bartender. We never met a free drink we didn’t like. Thankfully, the free sips at Time Out Market’s battle of the bartenders competition on March 23 should be pretty darn good given they’ll be made by eight of the city’s best bartenders.

👗 Check out one of Boston’s best vintage markets. Select Markets is really that girl when it comes to vintage shopping. And lucky for you, their spring thrift festival on March 23 has free general admission. Expect 100+ local vendors, $5 piles and $20 fill-a-bag piles, temporary tatts, a charm bar, and more.

🧶 Get crafty on the cheap. Boston Public Market’s Fiberfest is happening March 23, so take advantage of this free needle felting station. You’ll go home with your own mini wool masterpiece! Prefer to craft with pals? BU has a few free craft and chat events this month. On the menu: Clay trinket dishes and sunset painting tote bags. 

🥧 PSA: Free pie!!! Pi Day (March 14) may be about our favorite mathematical constant (3.14), but MIT knows you can’t have Pi Day without pie. They’ll be giving out free pie while supplies last on Pi Day proper, where you can also meet MIT-senation Wide Tim (an adorable cartoon beaver who’s IG famous). 

☘️ Don’t spend your pot of gold on bar covers. First off, yes, Southie’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade on March 16 is very much still free (we’ll give you the deets later this month). Second, yes, there are cover-free pregames, like this one at Sam Adams Downtown Taproom, or this one at Sam Adams Brewery in JP. 

💃 Make date night a little spicier. With salsa … dancing. MetaMovements will be guiding all the salsa newbs with a stress-free beginners lesson at Craft Food Halls on March 21. FYI: Tickets are flying off the shelves! 

🚦Mayor Michelle Wu might pull an Uno reverse on street safety. Wu is conducting a 30-day review of Boston's recent safety and transit upgrades to determine whether the city needs to “make adjustments.” That means already-finished projects like busways, speed humps, and bike lanes could meet similar fates to the recently nixed Boylston bus lane (R.I.P.). The review’s goal is to improve road functions for “all users, without compromising core safety goals,” but it’s worth noting it’s happening as Wu faces known bike-lane hater Josh Kraft for re-election.

🎟️ Junk fees, your days are numbered. On Monday, AG Andrea Campbell dropped a new list of regulations meant to crack down on “junk fees.” You know, those random fees that mysteriously pop up after you’ve typed in your card info (looking at you, concert tickets). Starting Sept. 2, the new rules will require businesses to disclose an item’s total price — including any fees or charges — before a consumer provides their personal info. They’ll also make it easier to opt out of trial offers, subscriptions, and other recurring charges. 

🍺 Cisco isn’t just for the Seaport anymore. The popular Nantucket-based brewery won zoning approval to open up its second Boston outpost near Fenway Park this summer (where Tasty Burger was pre-2022). If all goes well, we can expect a year-round indoor beer hall and a seasonal outdoor beer garden from April to October with live entertainment at both. In other foodie news, new offerings at Lyrik Back Bay keep rolling in, including Peruvian spot Rosa y Marigold, Van Leeuwen, Chicha San Chen, George Howell, Pink Carrot, and more. 

🎥 Here’s how to catch some Oscar-winning flicks. Usually, by the time a movie nabs an Oscar, the chances to see it in a theatre are pretty slim. But here in Greater Boston, at least two of Sunday night’s biggest winners are replaying on the big screen this week. You can catch Best Picture and Best Actress winner “Anora” tonight through Thursday at The Brattle, or check out Best Animated Feature film “Flow” on Thursday evening at the MFA. Your movie buff friends will thank you.

Have your breakfasts been a little sad since eggs have been MIA? We have a solution: Rent a chicken. Sorry, we meant "Rent The Chicken.” 

That’s the name of a chicken rental business started by a New Hampshire couple to capitalize on increased interest during our egg shortage. For about $600, they’re offering a six-month package that includes two or four hens (which produce about a dozen eggs a week), feed, instructional materials, tutorials, and phone support. 

According to the owners, having a chicken is pretty easy, and many customers not only have a great experience, but want to keep their chickens after the rental ends.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🥚 Thanks for reading! So, do we think rental chickens are included in my landlord’s “pet friendly” policy, or …? 

🏆 The results are in: 32% of B-Siders say that they didn’t watch the Oscars, but definitely will google the biggest moments, winners, and outfits. One reader said: “still emotional from Ariana and Cynthia's performance.” Also, Timmy’s butter suit!

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