👋🥐 No soggy bottoms here!

Happy Friday, Boston!

🍦 Summer just got sweeter. Mass. officially launched its new state ice cream trail, a list that features over 100 spots for delicious, locally made ice cream (shout out Charlestown’s Emack & Bolio’s!) … and that’s sure to get us collectively drooling. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Next stop: Electric commuter rail trains

• A big week for Boston sports

• The Iced Boys

Up first…

SUMMER FRIDAYS

Gold medals and GBBO

We made it through another week, B-Siders. And all we have to say is: TGIF. But no matter what kind of week you’ve had, let’s make this weekend a good one.

Here’s what’s going on:

🏅 Watch Team USA go for gold. The Olympics kick off today, so if you want to watch your faves on the big screen, you can check out the opening ceremonies at the MIT Open Space tonight, or head to Sam Adams Taproom every day starting at 11 a.m. to catch the games and sip Olympics-themed brews.

🐶 And if the Games aren’t your jam … Park-9 in Everett is hosting a different kind of Olympic games on Saturday specifically for pups (think: a best trick contest and a whipped cream race). Petition for humans to participate?

🥐 Leave your soggy bottoms at home. Great British Bake-Off star Ruby Bhogal is coming to our very own Time Out Market this Saturday at 3 p.m. to celebrate the launch of her new cookbook. One $45 ticket will get you a signed copy, a Q&A with Bhogal, and a market gift card. 

🫰 Show off your bias. K-Pop night is back at the MFA tonight to celebrate the final weekend of the “Hallyu! The Korean Wave” exhibit. There will be friendship bracelet making, tours, and dancing (both by K-Pop pros and by you!).

👭 Make a new pal at a picnic. The “Make Friends After College” Facebook group is going IRL to host a picnic slash social gathering for 20- and 30-somethings at Paul Revere Park on Saturday. The event is BYOS (bring your own stuff) and BYOD (bring your own dog!).

🚲 Experience Mattapan’s beauty … on wheels! The neighborhood’s Food and Fitness Coalition is hosting its 14th annual “Mattapan on Wheels” day on Saturday, which is essentially a big group ride through some of its best greenery and beaches followed by food trucks and fun. Just don’t forget your bike!

🛍️ Shop till you drop. This Saturday, Boston’s open market scene is looking hot. Between the Coolidge Corner sidewalk sale in Brookline, the Boston Women’s Market in JP, and Select Market’s vintage pop-up in Cambridge, there will be no shortage of local shopping options.

🙋 Get in your feels about Jess and Nick. We hope you have your Schmidt together, because Trident is hosting its third night of New Girl trivia on Saturday. We’ll see (ce) you there.

🇵🇷 Celebrate Puerto Rican culture. The annual Puerto Rican Festival of Massachusetts is coming to Franklin Park this Saturday and Sunday. Expect county fair energy meets Puerto Rican culture with food stands, local vendors, rides, games, and a big parade to cap it off.

🏃 Move around. For yoga, take your pick between a rooftop view atop the Pru or a beginner-friendly dance/yoga class at the Foundry. For a run, hit up Patagonia Cambridge’s monthly Wild Turkey social run club, and for a kickboxing moment, catch this Seaport Sweat “Kick It” class.

B-SIDE FOODIE’S CHOICE AWARDS SPONSORED BY TOAST

🍕🚴‍♂️ Sometimes the cravings hit and pizza is the only answer. Where are you ordering from for that cheesy, slice-of-heaven goodness right to your door?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚉 Next stop: Electric commuter rail trains. A cool five years after being directed to start electrifying the system, the MBTA board finally approved a $54 million contract to launch battery electric trains and more frequent service on the Fairmount Line, with plans to expand the changes to other lines. These new trains will be faster, quieter, and much better for the planet than their diesel counterparts. Once they hit the tracks, we can expect service increases to every 20 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends. The only catch? We won’t be seeing them until early 2028.

🎓 Pro-Palestinian protestors at Harvard got their degrees. Eleven Harvard students who were denied diplomas this spring for their participation in the school’s Pro-Palestinian encampment finally got them this week. According to university officials, the move is consistent with their initial vote in May to deny degrees to students who were not “in good standing” — the students have since had their good standing restored. The news comes two weeks after the school also reversed and shortened several suspensions and probations of other students from the encampment.

🏆 It’s an(other) big week for Boston sports. Sure, there were no new championship rings or All-Star MVPs, but we did find out that hot n’ cold Red Sox manager Alex Cora will be sticking around for another few years. His contract was officially extended through the 2027 season. Meanwhile, word on the street is that we’re going to get to relive the Celtics’ championship season with a nine-part HBO docu-series next spring based on behind-the-scenes footage from this season.

ONE LAST THING

The Iced Boys

If you thought Dunkin’ was going to stop at just one middle-aged boy band promotional stunt: Think again. Allow us to introduce … The Iced Boys. 

That’s right, for their newest promo campaign, Dunkin’ has put together an all-new band, swapping out Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Tom Brady for AJ McLean and Joey Fatone of the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. And this time, they’ve released not just one song, but an entire EP to go along with it.

TBH, we’re not totally sure why they’re still going down the music route, but we will say that The Iced Boys’ new lead single, “Iced Like My Coffee,” is objectively a major musical improvement on the DunKings’ “Don’t Dunk Away At My Heart.”

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🍩 Thanks for reading! That said, if I were Dunkin’s CEO, I’d have Noah Kahan in a tracksuit, in the studio tomorrow.

🥥 🌴 The results are in: 53% of B-Siders are all for politicians pandering to Gen Z, so long as they don’t overdo it. One reader said: “We don’t need a repeat of ‘Pokémon go to the polls 😬.’” 

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