😜⛴️ How’s THIS for a free boat day?

📚 Attention, former Pizza Hut BOOK IT! kids: The Globe just dropped its annual list of 75 books to keep you reading all summer, and let’s just say, we’ll all be taking home a personal pan pizza this year.

🥳 And a big fat, summer Friday HBD to Member Victoria Gauntner. We’d give you five stars on Goodreads. <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

TGIF, B-Siders! Your weekend is about to be jam-packed with events that’ll keep your stomach full … and your bank account empty. (TBH, worth it.)

Here’s what’s going down:

🤝 Meet your North End neighbors. More than a dozen local businesses are opening their doors for a Neighbors’ Night on May 29. Strut, sip, and snack down Salem and Hanover Street at your favorite shops. 

🎰 Go all in on a hot date. Three single contestants + a stack of poker chips = a night somehow more thrilling than “Casino Royale.” Watch this dating-meets-gambling game show on May 29 to see who gets lucky.

⛴️ All aboard the free ferry! In honor of Boston Harbor Islands opening weekend (finally!), there will be FREE ferry rides to Georges Island on May 30 and 31. But trust us, get there early — they’re first-come, first-served.

💪 Lock in on that fitness routine. The options this season are EPIC. Want a Saturday morning sculpt? Pick between EMBODI Studios’s pop-up pilates class at Remnant Brewing, or a free class at Rev’d in Copley.

🌯 Break a sweat, then break your fast. Hit the Greenway on May 30 for the Food Truck and Fitness Festival. Imagine: four blocks worth of free workout classes, 15 food trucks, local brews, face painting, and more!

🍻 Go on a brewery bender. Celebrate Aeronaut’s 12th birthday all day Saturday at their Somerville taproom with a special anniversary IPA, party games, live tunes, and even a magic show.

🌎 Do a DIY EPCOT “drinking around the world.” These cultural festivals are *chef’s kiss*. Stop by the New England Hong Kong Festival for classic Cantonese favorites on May 30. Then double up on May 31 at MayFair, featuring every kind of global cuisine, and Polish Fest for a stellar lineup of pierogies and polka.

🤑 Snag this sale while you can. Vivant Vintage is sadly shutting its Lower Allston doors on May 30. Bid farewell at their final closing event with an additional 20% off the entire store (that includes sale items!). 

🏓 Grab your paddle (and your purse). You can get in a whole round of pickleball at Harpoon Brewery for just $5 on May 31. Once you’ve tapped out, browse their free pop-up thrift market, so you can conveniently play, shop, and drink all at once.

🛍️ Find your next statement piece. Like we said, your wallet will be taking a hit this weekend. Stroll through Bow Market on May 31 for 80+ vendors and hunt for rare finds, charming antiques, vintage jewelry, and more.

🎓🧠 Now imagine helping someone else get through it. The MA/CAGS in School Psychology at William James College prepares you to support kids and teens through everything from test anxiety and friendship drama to bigger emotional and mental health challenges. It’s a high-demand field (97% of grads land jobs within a year 👀) that can make a huge difference, with scholarships available for Fall 2026. Fill out an inquiry form or join our webinar on June 3 to learn more.  

⚽ The World Cup is coming to a watch party near you. Start practicing your olé olés, ‘cause Mayor Michelle Wu announced that Boston will host six community World Cup watch parties this summer. Imagine: A large viewing screen, live music, food vendors — basically a big soccer party (with plenty to do if you know nothing about *futbol*). Check the schedule here! While you’re at it, make sure to register for FIFA’s free Fan Fest at City Hall Plaza from June 12-27 (basically Boston’s hub for all things World Cup).

🍻 BREAKING: Last call at Boston bars could extend to … 3 a.m.?! Our Puritan ancestors are rolling in their graves after hearing that Mayor Wu is backing a bill that would allow cities and towns to extend last call as late as 3 a.m. and allow public drinking in designated districts from June 1 through Aug. 31 *gasps*. She and others claim the bill would help businesses benefit from a surge in World Cup visitors. But given the … pace our lawmakers move, some aren’t sure they’ll get their act together in time. 

🚘 Boston’s social calendar: 1. Newbury Street: 0. Good news: Boston is booked and busy this summer. Bad news: That means beloved events like Open Newbury Street are taking a back seat. After a noticeable delay in announcing this year’s Open Newbury Street schedule, Mayor Wu said that while the events are still planned, they’ll be scaled back this year as Boston preps for its packed calendar (TBD on when those dates will drop). Thankfully, the city will return to its regularly scheduled programming come 2027.

Need a new summer sound? Enter: Masshole country music. Think: Noah Kahan meets young, curly-haired Taylor Swift. (Name a better combo, we dare you.) 

That’s Renée Levesque. 

Levesque is a Cape Cod native whose music is ripe with New England references as she reps her roots with a bright, folksy Nashville twang. In one of her most viral videos, she sings: “I’m a Masshole living south. I don’t belong here, there’s no doubt. So crank that Dropkick Murphys shanty ‘cause I’m shipping up to Boston.”

Based on the comments, she’s clearly found her Mass. native stans who’ve moved and missed that dirty water, or Boston girls who are planning their road trip playlist (us). Local author E.K. Condos (@authoremilyk) even commented: “Need you to drop this so I can blast it down route 3 this summer.”

Please, Renée, we need you to drop the whole album to survive the Cape traffic. 

— Written by Emily Schario and Kelly Chan

🤔 Thanks for reading! Suddenly, being stuck in the Sagamore parking lot doesn’t sound so bad …

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, William James College, for supporting local journalism and creating meaningful pathways into careers that truly matter.

🤷🏻‍♀️ The results are in: 64% of y’all said the new “You Can’t Beat Boston” slogan is not really giving … Can’t disagree with you there! One reader said, “More like you can’t beat the price of housing … ” Because it beats you …

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