⚾🌭 How to slay Opening Day

Happy Friday, Boston!

🥐 B-Side members, we have an Opening Day treat for you: If you hit up Lakon Paris Patisserie’s Seaport location today through Sunday and buy the special Red Sox-themed croissant, you can get their viral tiramisu latte for FREE. Gia is trying the combo as she writes this, and she has to say … A+. 

😉 And don’t forget: You can get this perk (and MANY more) too by signing up for the B-Side Membership. B-Side readers get a free two-week trial!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• April showers bring … MBTA service changes

• We’ll take you to the (new) candy shop

• The most iconic commencement speaker

Up first…

SPORTS

“Sweet Caroline” szn starts TODAY

Opening Day is finally here! Today at 2:10 p.m., the Red Sox will go toe-to-toe with the St. Louis Cardinals for their first home game of the season.

So buckle up and put on your Fenway best because we’ve got everything you need to know: 

⚾ The Sox got off to a VERY slow start. After a disastrous first few outings (see: Rafael Devers’ historically terrible streak), we appear to be on the rebound. Though we’re currently tied at the bottom of the AL East with a 3-4 record, Devers is finally hitting the ball, and the team’s roster shuffle seems to be paying off. New pitcher Garrett Crochet is bringing the heat on the mound and Kristian Campbell nabbed a $60 million deal five games into his MLB career. So let’s just say, we’re not writing off our pre-season optimism just yet.

🎟️ There’s no reason to drain your bank account on tickets. Enter: BFF Pax. $49 gets you two tickets to a game between April 6 and 10, two Fenway Franks, and two soft drinks. Plus, if you’re a student, you can sign up for Student9s tickets where you can get seats at select home games for literally $9. If you’re willing to pay $100-plus, there are still a few tickets left for today’s game.

🍔 Foodies will love the new concessions items. And there are a lot of them. Think: The “Cowboy Up!” burger with brisket, bacon, onion rings, and BBQ sauce; a grilled chicken sandwich with pimento cheese and coleslaw on a pretzel bun; the PIG MAC sammy with mac ‘n cheese, pulled pork, and bacon; the Kayem pineapple bacon sausage with mango habanero; a three-quarter pound warm cookie (Senior Executive Chef Ronald Abell’s fave); and our personal fave, the new Coca-Cola ICEEs. Now that’s a summertime treat.

🧢 For cute, custom, and FREE merch, hit up a theme night or giveaway. Want a Hello Kitty-themed Red Sox tee? A Red Sox trucker hat covered in charms? How ‘bout a Pride Month rainbow jersey? Just grab a ticket for one of the many theme nights, giveaways, or cultural and identity celebration nights. They’re happening all season long, and the themes absolutely run the gamut … including this romantasy night. 

🤑 Want more Opening Day deals? Done! Between 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., you can gorge yourself on unlimited Fenway Franks at South Street Diner with a drink purchase. Meanwhile, if you buy a slice at Sal’s Pizza on Brookline Avenue between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., you’ll be entered to win a pair of premium seats to any regular season game. Finally, Capital One Café is offering free coffee on Mondays all season long as an MLB partnership.

QUICK QUESTION!

🚶 Which neighborhood(s) do you spend most of your time in? 

Note: If your favorite hood isn’t here, don’t worry, it was probably in yesterday’s poll!

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚇 April showers bring … MBTA service changes. Come April 6, many T lines and buses will see frequency and schedule improvements. The Red, Orange, and Blue lines will see increased frequency, plus new, shorter cars on the Red Line during rush hour, and reliability boosts on the Green Line’s B and E branches. As for buses, the list of improvements is long, so we recommend taking a peek. But marquee changes include increased service on the 57 and 77, and several high-traffic routes getting more buses. 

⚽ The White Stadium reno just scored a major W. On Wednesday, a judge gave the controversial Franklin Park project another green light to continue, ruling that the city’s plans to renovate don’t violate state laws. This is great news for Mayor Wu and the newly renamed Boston Legacy, Boston’s new NWSL team which plans to play in the stadium next spring. And it’s another blow to The Franklin Park Defenders, which are gunning to keep the stadium fully public. That said, the group is planning to assess more legal options (like appealing).

💸 Expect Boston’s budget to be “lean.” According to a letter to the City Council, Mayor Michelle Wu is seeking to rein in city spending in the city’s upcoming budget in the face of federal funding cuts. The city generally relies on over $300 million per year in federal funds to support city services, so with the uncertainty heading into this year, the goal is to trim as much as possible. Speaking of the mayor: Her re-election campaign is officially kicking off April 5. And TBH, between her recent national spotlight, solid polling, and endorsements, she’s starting on a high note.

🍭 We’ll take you to the candy shop … as soon as opens! TikTok-viral pick-n-mix candy store Lil Sweet Treat has announced its third location on Newbury Street, right across from Zara. As for the opening day timeline, that’s still TBD. But we can tell you that the shop is known for its assortment of internationally sourced (and Instagrammable) candy like these strawberries n’ creme croissant gummies from Sweden. Right now, it operates two locations in NYC, so Boston will be its first out-of-state venture. You can keep up with shop updates here!

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

🏀 Put an end to the madness. The MARCH madness, that is. All Final Four games and the women’s championship round are this weekend = watch parties are SO on. Hit up Sam Adams for the men’s watch parties and Warehouse Boston for the ladies.

💃 Slide on your dancing shoes. For some boot scootin’ line dancin’, hit up Sweet Cheeks Q tonight. If swing dancing’s more your style, head to Swing City on April 5 for an intro lesson followed by a chance to show off with a live band.

🎻 Hear Lana Del Rey like never before. Niki Luparelli will be singing her way through Lana’s discography with a live orchestra on April 5 at Somerville’s Crystal Ballroom.

🤸 Try … PARKOUR! Jump, hop, and climb your way through the city at day of women’s parkour workshops on April 5 taught by some parkour icons. Beginners and pros are welcome!

🍸 Sip your Saturday away. At Time Out’s Cocktail Mocktail challenge, you can stroll the market and try tons of cocktails, mocktails, and canned bevs for the price of one ticket. 

😂 Giggle your way through the weekend. Option one: Watch Boston’s best up-and-coming comics compete for a cash prize at the Boston Comedy Festival Finale on April 5. Option two: Catch some free standup at Tiki Rock on April 6.

🥩 Upgrade your weekend date night. Every Sunday night from 4 to 10 p.m., you can get unlimited steak frites (and salad) for $39 a pop at Petit Robert Bistro. Make a res here!

🍺 Relive your book fair memories … with a boozy twist. Castle Island Brewing Co. is hosting a boozy book fair on April 6 where you can sip and shop hand-picked titles from Word on the Street.

ONE LAST THING

The coolest commencement speaker

NYU may have gotten Taylor Swift, but this year, Emerson has Jennifer Coolidge. The local college officially announced the actress-slash-cultural icon as this year’s commencement speaker.

If you didn’t know, Coolidge is not only an Emerson alum, but she also grew up in Norwell. She’s been back to Mass. as recently as 2023 when she was Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year, but she also chipped in at Emerson’s 2020 virtual graduation. And if that “The Count of Monte Cristo”-inspired speech was any indication, this year’s grads are in for a treat:

“Life is a storm, my young graduates,” she said. “You will bask in the sunlight in one moment, and be shattered on the rocks in the next. … You must look into that storm’s eye and shout, as you did in Rome, ‘Do your worst, as I will do mine!’ Then the fates will know you as we know you, as Emerson Class of 2020!”

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

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