☔😭 Nobody’s raining on OUR parade

Happy Friday, Boston!

🚨 SURPRISE PERK ALERT! This just in: B-Side Members get 50% off GA tickets to the OUTLOUD Music Festival! And that’s just one of many all-new June perks (including 10% off Spectacle Summer Cruises and $7 off Area Four pizza). Claim your perks here!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Next stop: MBTA service changes

• Last-minute Father’s Day plans

• Pope Leo’s local connection

Up first…

SUMMER FRIDAYS

Drinks, dancing, and daddy issues

This weekend’s weather might look meh. But 13+ straight rainy weekends in, we’re WAY past letting Mother Nature rain on our parade … literally.

So grab your cute rain boots because we’re going hard, rain or shine:

🏳️‍🌈 Party hard for Pride. Per usual, there are too many post-Pride parade celebrations to count. Here are a few highlights:

• Hit up an after-party: High Street Place is throwing down with bites, beer, and dancing, Rebel Rebel has a Guy Fieri-themed bash, and Dani’s Queer Bar is shutting down the streets for a huge Pride Block Party.

• Hit the clerb: Looking for a rager? Dani’s, Royale, and dbar are coming in clutch with the all-important after-after parties.

• Hit the streets: Can’t decide where to go? Try a bar crawl. This one gets you into four spots around Faneuil Hall for $20, plus access to Pride-themed deals and specials. 

☕ Grab a queer-coded coffee. Oat milk girlies, this one’s for you: In honor of Pride, Phinista is iconically offering 30 to 50% off queer coded-drinks like oat milk lattes and matchas this weekend.

🕺 Dance by that dirty water. Dancing on the Charles is BACK with its first outdoor dance party of the season June 14. A sick lineup of DJs will be spinning from 3:30 to 11:30 p.m.

👗 Put on your dancin’ skirt. Everybody’s wearing skirts to the Boston Public Market’s free Come As You Were Pride dance by 617 Country on June 14. Come for the line dancing lessons, stay for the queer joy.

😂 Pull the “dead dad” card. If you’re in the dead dad club (like Gia — hey guys!), Father’s Day can be weird. Trident’s June 15 Dead Dad Club comedy show is your one-stop shop for grief, giggles, and … daddy issues.

📚 Swap something. Got books? Head to Porter Square Books’ book swap on June 15 (just make sure to RSVP) at the Seaport location. Got clothes or plants? Try the Little Swap social on the same day at Bow Market.

⛸️ Get your Michelle Kwan on. Warrior Ice Arena (a.k.a. where the Bruins practice) is holding a FREE contemporary skating class and showcase June 15. Beginners are welcome, but it’s BYOS (bring your own skates).

👯 Jitterbug the night away. Head to Jamaica Pond at 4 p.m. on June 15 for beginner jitterbug lessons, then from 6 to 8:30 p.m., dance the night away to jazzy tunes from Annie and the Fur Trappers.

🎉 Start your block party summer engines. The Speedway’s fifth annual block party on June 15 has a golf simulator, ice cream, live music, food trucks, and brews.

QUICK QUESTION!

🤔 If B-Side launched an ambassador program where young folks around the city could rep the newsletter at IRL events and spread the word about us, would you participate?

TOGETHER WITH BOSTON POPS

Everyone say “thank you Keith Lockhart” 

🎉🎶 A.k.a. the man responsible for the best live music you’ll hear all year. After just celebrating 30 years of conducting with Boston Pops, he’s kicking off yet another season packed with blockbuster concerts (including live orchestra screenings of “The Princess Bride” and “Hocus Pocus”), Broadway stars, and culturally rich performances you won’t want to miss. Mark your calendar for 2025-2026 tickets (available July 31) and help support the Pops and BSO by becoming a subscriber. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚃 Summertime = less Green Line service? Apparently. The MBTA’s summer service changes kick in June 15, featuring a slew of adjustments across 30+ bus lines, increased Orange Line frequency, and … fewer Green Line trains. During the summer months, the line will see a 2% decrease in trips thanks to train cars being removed while the agency installs protection system equipment to hopefully fix its derailment issue. In other MBTA news, the Red Line will see a shutdown this weekend between Braintree and JFK/UMass. Here are the deets.

👋 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson OUT. The city councilor has submitted her letter of resignation and will leave the council on July 4. ICYMI: Fernandes Anderson was arrested on federal corruption charges in December, agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and theft charges, and will be sentenced July 29. In November, she’ll be replaced in the general election by one of these 11-and-counting candidates. Until then, her transition plan includes her five staffers continuing to work in her district’s constituent services, and a 400-plus page workbook she’s writing up to aid future admins. 

👨 Show the Daddy in your life some love. If you still haven’t made Father’s Day plans, don’t sweat. Need a res? Washington Square Tavern, State Park, and Gufo all have tables, or peruse a list of *extra* special foodie plans. An activity? The Franklin Park Zoo is free all day. A gift? This free giveaway from Kane’s will put you in the running for four Red Sox tickets, a dozen doughnuts, and more. And if you just need … something! Make him a last-minute card at the Boston Public Market.

ONE LAST THING

The Pope’s White Sox hat 

If you’ve been on the internet this week, you’re probably seen the pic of Pope Leo XIV in a White Sox hat. But we bet you didn’t know he got it from a Haverhill couple. Yes, seriously.

Kelly and Gary DeStefano got married in Haverhill on May 25, but planned a trip to Rome to get a newlywed blessing (or “sposi novelli”) from the Pope. Since the Pope is a native Chicagoan and known White Sox fan, DeStefano’s cousin gave her White Sox hats to try and get his attention.

Spoiler alert: It worked better than they could’ve imagined, with Pope Leo putting the hat on and blessing it before returning it to the couple. The best part? The DeStefanos are Red Sox fans. When they told the Pope they were from Mass., he said: “you’re going to get in trouble for this.”

Here’s the full video of their encounter.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

⚾ Thanks for reading! The White Sox have the Pope. We have … Mark Wahlberg?

🦞 The results are in: 54% of B-Siders said they’d rather do anything than take on the Lobstitution Challenge, but a very brave 23 of you are up for the task. One reader said: “my parents have been calling me ‘seagull’ since I was like 5. I was born for this.”

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Boston Pops, for supporting local journalism and bringing unforgettable musical experiences to our community.

😛 🎉 Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping extravaganza at Artists for Humanity!

🔑 Members: Here’s the link to your perks!

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