😳 Monkeys are taking over Revere Beach

Happy Friday, Boston!

😂 Need a good laugh? This bad spelling mistake painted on a roadway in front of a Mass. school should do it.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Soupy weather continues

• The B branch is back

• A humpback triple threat

Up first...

SUMMER FRIDAYS

Snoop Dogg and sand sculptures

TGIF. And it’s gonna be a hot one. But whether you’re hitting the beach or cranking up the AC, here’s how we think you should spend your weekend:

🏖️ Lather on the SPF for the International Sandcastle Sculpting Festival. Starting today, several world-class sand sculptors will begin carving out some of the most impressive creations on Revere Beach. This year’s theme is “90 Years of Kong” in honor of the 90th anniversary of King Kong, so expect to see lots of sandy apes. If you stop by today, you’ll likely see the artists assembling the sculptures. Bonus: The Blue Line is still free, so getting there won’t cost a dime.

🎤 Spend the night with S-N double O-P, D-O double G. The rapper, wino (yes, he has a wine brand), and BFF to Martha Stewart will be performing at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield TONIGHT with Wiz Khalifa and Too Short as part of his High School Reunion Tour. Tickets start around $60.

💏 Stay cool while getting cuffed at a comedy show. The “It’s A Date” comedy dating show gives four single volunteers the opportunity to go on a blind date … in front of the whole audience. Audience members will also get to play cupid by pairing them up at the beginning, watching the date unfold (or fall apart), and chiming in on the date at any time. And yes, the comedians in attendance will have plenty to say. Oh, it’s also Barbie-themed, so wear pink.

🐝 Starting prepping for Queen Bey with brunch. Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour comes to Gillette on Tuesday, so you can raise a mimosa in her honor at three different Bey-themed brunches this weekend. Both Rail Stop Restaurant & Bar in Brighton and Scholars American Bistro and Lounge downtown are hosting one on Saturday, and the Men of Melanin Magic are hosting a Renaissance Tour-themed drag brunch at Game On on Sunday.

🇵🇷 Stop by the Puerto Rican Festival of Mass. in Franklin Park. This three-day festival attracting more than 30,000 people every year is laden with live music, handmade crafts, music and cooking workshops, and yes, plenty of Puerto Rican food. Be sure to swing by on Saturday for the festival’s annual parade — one of the largest in Boston each year — showcasing its culture in song, dance, and gorgeous floats. You can see the full event lineup here.

🐶 Do downward dog with your dog. It’s BYOD (and yoga mat) at this free one-hour yoga class taught by Alo Yoga in the Seaport on Saturday. Your pooch will get to enjoy complimentary treats and swag from Bond Vet and Polkadog, and the humans will get free drinks. Even if you don’t have a dog, you’re still more than welcome. But reserve a spot quickly — ticket sales end soon!

🦈 Wrap up Shark Week at the New England Aquarium. They’re screening Jaws all week at 7 p.m. on the giant screen. And tickets are only $10 (likely cheaper than any Barbenheimer viewing). The last two screenings will take place tonight and Saturday night. You can grab tickets here.

QUICK QUESTION!

🤔 Which Boston figure do you want to see as a sand sculpture on Revere Beach?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🥵 This soupy weather will hopefully break on Sunday. There should be some big, booming thunderstorms on Saturday that will make your Sunday scaries slightly less sticky. Until then, emotionally prepare for the “feels like” temp to be anywhere from 90 to 100. If you’re looking for ways to cool off, this guide covers everything from cooling centers to splash pads. But don’t get too excited about Boston’s public pools … more than half of them are closed for renovations.

🚃 Say bye bye to shuttle buses on the B branch. The MBTA’s GM said he expects the repair work that shut down the Green Line’s B branch for the last 12 days to wrap up on time on Friday and regular service to be back in action on Saturday. But as one 12-day shutdown ends, another one begins: Starting Saturday, Orange Line trains will bypass Haymarket, and Green Line service will be suspended between North Station and Gov. Center to continue demo on the Gov. Center Garage. You can read up on all the disruptions here.

🦈 Great white sharks love a good Cape vaca. A new population study of white sharks concluded that 800 of them visited the waters off the Cape from 2015 to 2018, making it one of the largest white shark hotspots in the world. The most common length they encountered was 3 meters, but some were longer than 16 feet, about the length of a Toyota Camry. And it’s almost like they knew the study was dropping: Several sharks were spotted off the Cape this week, with Wellfleet’s Marconi Beach shutting down to swimming on Tuesday following a sighting.

ONE LAST THING

A humpback triple threat

These humpback whales are vying for a spot in the 2024 Olympics for synchronized swimming.

A family fishing Monday off the Cape caught a spectacular clip of three humpbacks breaching the surface in sync near their boat on Monday (the family’s reaction is also pretty spectacular).

It’s unclear exactly why humpbacks breach like this, but some naturalists think it could be a way to look around, communicate, slough off barnacles, or even play. Let’s just assume they were saying hi.

🐋 Thanks for reading! I’d give that jump a perfect 10.

🍁 The results are in: More than 50% of respondents from yesterday’s poll agree that Vermont has the best fall foliage. One respondent who technically voted for Mass. admitted we probably don’t have the best foliage, “but shhhh.”

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