💐👀 Your mom is gonna LOVE this

Happy Friday, Boston!

🚲 Still working on Mother’s Day plans? Take mom for a spin! Every Sunday in May, you can get a limited amount of $5 Bluebikes credits using the code BLUECROSSHEALTH followed by the date (so, BLUECROSSHEALTH12 this week).

🚇 But maybe don’t take her on the Red Line … Shuttle buses will replace service between Broadway and North Quincy this weekend. Worst gift ever.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• The House’s $5 million secret

• Boston’s hottest tickets

• The MFA’s newest artists

Up first…

MOTHER’S DAY

We got it for our mama

Mother. Mom. Mum. Momma. Mommy. Madre. Or if you’re from around here: Ma. No matter how you say it, here’s how to celebrate all the moms in your life this weekend:

💐 Skip panic-buying leftover flowers at Market Basket (we’ve been there). Instead, make your own bouquet at this Mother’s Day flower-arranging workshop at Bully Boy Distillers taught by local florist Rebecca Allamey. Or, just scrap the flowers and make mom a doughnut bouquet (!) at the Boston Public Market on Saturday. Red Apple Farm’s award-winning cider doughnuts are the base to this tasty alternative, which you can customize with different glazes and sprinkles.

​​🦆 Celebrate ma the Boston way. Step one: Make way for all the little ducklings, a.k.a. hundreds of adorable kiddos dressed in duck costumes, at the Duckling Day parade on the Common. Step two: Head to the Arnold Arboretum for its iconic Lilac Sunday celebration, where you can sniff their collection of over 400 lilacs. And be sure to bring lunch — it’s the only day of the year the arboretum allows picnicking.

🪴 Plant moms can add a new kid to the fam. The Mattapan branch of the Boston Public Library is partnering up with Emerald Plant City Shop on Saturday for a free tropical plant giveaway. Note: The event runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and plants are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. It’s going down rain or shine.

🐶 Millennial women, assemble! Having a fur baby makes you eligible for Mother’s Day (at least it does at B-Side), and nothing says “I ruv you, mom” like a peanut butter “lick painting.” You can help your pup make one for the dog mom in your life at Park-9 Dog Bar’s Big Pig BBQ. Or, if you’re already heading to City Tap House for Mother’s Day brunch, canine mommas can grab a bag of treats to further solidify the title of BFF with their pup.

😋 And of course, make sure to treat mom to a nice meal. If you’re a little late to the Mother’s Day brunch-booking game (guilty), OpenTable has this incredibly helpful tool where you can see which restaurants still have openings. If you still can’t decide, Boston Chefs assembled this list of Mother’s Day specials and prix fixe meals. 

QUICK QUESTION

💝 Are your Mother’s Day celebrations all set?

TOGETHER WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE TREASURY

Discover big, shop small 

🛍️ 💸 Finding unclaimed funds then visiting a local small biz is Small Business Month magic. Search your name with the Massachusetts State Treasury today and uncover lost bank accounts, uncashed checks, and more just waiting to be spent at your favorite local boutiques, restaurants, and farmers markets. Who knows, you might even discover enough riches to kickstart your very own small business in the process. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🤫 The Mass. House budget has a $5 million secret. Five of Mass.’ highest ranking House Democrats slipped about $5 million in undisclosed funding for their own districts and pet projects into the budget proposal this year. This practice of earmarking is actually pretty common among top lawmakers, who meet yearly behind closed doors to add their last-minute items to the budget’s cart (think: $175,000 to repair a castle in Gloucester), knowing other legislators won’t have time to scrutinize them. You can check out your representative’s earmarks here.

🚦Turn right on red? Not in Cambridge. After the City Council decided to ban the maneuver back in 2022, officials have been working to enforce it by installing “no turn on red” signs at every red light. The city recently wrapped up the job, meaning if you’re now driving or biking in Cambridge, you can no longer legally go right on red at any intersection. This move is part of the “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate all severe traffic-related injuries on the city’s roads, which have seen an average of 157 major crashes a year since 2019.

⬆️ Cambridge is finally growing up. Construction just began on what will eventually be the city’s tallest building, at 450 feet (for perspective, Boston’s John Hancock Tower stands at 790 feet, while NYC’s Empire State Building is a whopping 1,454 feet). The new residential building will house 439 rental units, 20% of which will be offered as affordable housing and another 5% as middle-income housing. Plus, it’ll also feature a sky deck, a garden lounge, a library, and a dog run. 

🎟️ Boston’s got more than a few hot tickets. And today’s the day to get ’em. First off, Lana Del Rey’s first-ever headlining stadium show in the U.S. is at Fenway on June 20, and tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m. Next, the Broadway hit “Parade” is coming to Boston next spring, and tickets go on sale today at noon. Finally, the hottest ticket of them all: the Dunkin’ Spiked Day of the DJ, a mini-daytime electronic music festival with Dunkin’ spiked bevs a-plenty, is next weekend. You can grab tickets here.

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

🎸 See an acclaimed indie band — for free. Guster will play a live set at Somerville’s Porchfest on Saturday, right down the street from their old digs.

🛍️ Celebrate the beginning of open market season. The Seaport Summer Market is kicking off this weekend, featuring a wide assortment of primarily women and BIPOC vendors.

🏃 Hit up Boston’s newest run club. We’re Not Really Runners Boston is putting on multiple runs a week for all levels — including this weekend! Plus, after every run, they grab a treat.

🌤️ Bask in the city’s spring vibes. Charlestown’s Hood Park is having a (free!) spring fest on Saturday, with food trucks, a dog park, a petting zoo, crafts, and live music.

🕺Throw it back (literally and figuratively). The Seaport’s hosting an 80’s-themed spring fling on Saturday afternoon with live music, sweet treats, and even spring fling royalty. And did we mention it’s free?

🎉 Want more things to do recommendations? Refer five friends to unlock four bonus items. For those who already have, enjoy below.

ONE LAST THING

The MFA’s newest piece

Tonight, for one night only, a new painting is coming to the MFA. The piece will be created during a live demonstration as a collaboration between two artists, Basia and Omuzana, who each have a unique, child-like style of painting that have sold pieces for up to $40,000. 

Oh, and did we mention they’re both robot dogs? 

Yes, that’s right. Two AI-powered robot dogs from Boston Dynamics are going to be live painting at the MFA this weekend all on their own. Perhaps you’ve already seen their sibling, Spot, dancing or (terrifyingly) picking up trash before. It turns out they can now create simple paintings, too. 

Their work will only be available to view tonight, so if you’re intrigued, make sure to stop by.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🤖 Thanks for reading! If you’re a bit AI-averse (like Gia), we wouldn’t recommend poking around on the Boston Dynamics YouTube channel, or else you might find videos like this. 

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, the Massachusetts State Treasury, for helping residents reclaim what’s rightfully theirs.

🛌 The results are in: 69% of B-Siders “rot” in at least a few times a week — if not everyday. One reader said: “Rotting is affordable and easy to do, which in Boston is a commodity.”

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