🤯🎭 Prepare for some culture shock ...

👻 BOO! Sorry, we meant to say: We’re giving away 10 tickets to Barrett’s Haunted Mansion, an iconic haunted house that’s been scaring the socks off New Englanders for 34 years. Become a B-Side Member, and then enter to win here! Tickets are good through Nov. 1. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Fact: Fall culture is more than “Gilmore Girls” and Oktoberfest. And per usual, Boston magazine and the Globe have their fingers on the pulse of Boston’s local arts and culture scene.

Here’s what’s worth a ticket this season:

👄 “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” | Multiple dates. You can catch the ultimate Halloween cult classic on the screen Sept. 27 at the Coolidge and Oct. 1 at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, or at live performances Oct. 30 at Arts at the Armory, or every Saturday at the AMC Boston Common.

👑 King Richard’s Faire | Weekends through Oct. 19. Step back into the 13th century at New England’s biggest Ren Faire for a day of old-timey jousting, turkey legs, artisan goods, and a whole lot of “thy’s” and “huzzah’s.”

🎡 The Topsfield Fair | Oct. 3 to 13. For Big E vibes minus the two-hour drive, head to Topsfield (~40 minutes from Boston) for your fix of classic fair eats, rides, giant pumpkins, a demolition derby, and even … a Taylor Swift impersonator.

🎤 Nab cheap tickets to an epic concert. Here are our picks for under $100:

📚 Boston Book Festival | Oct. 25. The official schedule drops tomorrow, but the lineup is already absolutely STACKED with speakers like Shonda Rhimes, Julia Quinn (of Bridgerton!), and Geraldine Brooks. 

🧙 Hocus Pocus in Concert | Oct. 30 and 31. Need some *sophisticated* Halloween plans? For two nights only, the Boston Pops will be playing the score of “Hocus Pocus.”

🎭 Spend a night at the theatre. Our fall picks include:

🤌 Need even MORE culture? Here are the full rundowns from Boston magazine and the Globe.

✨ 🍂 Yeah, Foxborough’s got Gillette. Plainville’s got the casino. Wrentham’s got the outlets. But together, these three neighboring towns make the perfect 40 min day trip out of Boston. From boutique shops like An Unlikely Story (aka the bookstore owned by “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” Author Jeff Kinny) to leaf peeping trails and farm-to-fork meals, FPW isn’t just a pit stop — it’s the best (and most slept-on) way to spend fall in New England. Start planning your visit today and stay up to date on local events. 

🗳️ Boston’s race for mayor is … no longer a race. Good news for Mayor Wu, bad news for democracy: Wu is now officially running for reelection unopposed. After her main competition, Josh Kraft, exited the race following his epic, 50-point loss in the primary, distant third-place candidate Domingos DaRosa attempted to fill his spot on the November ballot. But ultimately, DaRosa needed 3,000 votes to do it, and even after a recount, he found himself with only 2,428. His reaction? Disappointed, but not surprised, he told the Boston Herald.

💸 Boston paid $150,000 to two wrongfully accused men. Mayor Wu’s office paid $100,000 to Willie Bennett and $50,000 to Alan Swanson, two Black men whose lives were turned upside down after being publicly identified as suspects in the 1989 murder of Carol Stuart. Though advocates have been calling for their compensation since Wu formally apologized to them in 2023, Bennett’s former lawyer called the settlement “an awfully small token” considering what the men endured (in other recent high-profile settlements, the city dropped upwards of $2 million).

🏃 The Boston Marathon cutoff is faster than ever (again). The marathon’s 2026 cutoff times just dropped, and despite lowering the qualifying standards by five minutes, nearly 9,000 qualified athletes were turned away. In order to secure a bib this year, athletes had to run 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than their age group standard. Think: In the 18- to 34-year-old category, men had to run a 2:50:26 marathon (or ~6:30 per mile), and a woman or non-binary people needed a time of 3:20:26 (~7:39/mile). Sorry, Harry Styles.

💐 Here’s how you can make Boston BLOOM. Mayor Wu is giving away 15,000 daffodil bulbs to be planted around the city. Here’s the deal: You or your community group can register here to claim your bulbs (they’re only available while supplies last), which you’ll pick up from the Parks Department and plant in pre-approved areas come late October or early November. Then, in the spring, sit back and watch them bloom! If you’re interested, we’d apply ASAP, since bulbs are claimed on a rolling basis.

Below are some of the hottest local things to do. This month, B-Side members can save more than $150 across our events, in addition to over 60 other awesome perks. 

🥃 Charlie Day with Four Walls | Friday, September 26 | 8:00 p.m. | FREE | Back Bay Social | Charlie Day, co-star of It’s “Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” is making an appearance at Back Bay Social for an hour of fun, photos, and mingling. He’ll even make you a drink with his new whiskey!

🍶 B-Side Supper Club at The Koji Club | Thursday, Oct. 2 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | The Koji Club | $30 | $75 value | Our next B-Side Supper Club will be hosted at The Koji Club, the Brighton sake bar that was called one of the best new restaurants in the world by Conde Nast in 2023. Note: It’s members only. See the menu here! 

💞 The Dating Game Live | Monday, Oct. 6 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | Aeronaut Brewing | We’re teaming up with Aeronaut Brewing again to host another IRL version of the 60’s dating show The Dating Game! You must be heterosexual to participate in this round! We need five more men. Apply to play here!

🍸 Trillium Cocktail Class | Thursday, Oct. 16 | 6:00-7:30 p.m. | Trillium Fort Point | $20 | $15 for members | Join us at Trillium’s Headroom Lounge for an interactive cocktail experience. Sip on your complimentary welcome cocktail while you learn to make your own!

🤖 Aescape robot massage | Locations in Back Bay, Downtown, and Seaport | $24-$69 | Our friends at Aescape, the robot massage celebrities are raving about, are giving away five FREE massages to B-Side members who enter here! All other members? You get $10 off using the code on your perks page. 

Bill Nye the Science Guy earned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And who was on the scene to pay tribute? None other than Celtics star Jaylen Brown.

Here’s how the unlikely friendship started: The duo first met back in 2024 after Brown posted about wanting to meet Nye. A few weeks later, it happened at a C’s game in D.C., and the rest is history. Nye showed up when Brown dropped his new collection at the Museum of Science, and on Sept. 22, Brown repaid the favor, giving a touching speech at Nye’s Walk of Fame induction. 

“My love for science runs deep, and I have Bill to thank for that,” Brown said. “But not just for myself — for a generation of students who grew up in the public school system … Bill was the bright spot in all of our day. When they rolled that TV out with the trolley, we knew what time it was.” 

Here’s the whole speech.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Claire Nicholas

⭐ Thanks for reading! As far as we’re concerned, they’re both national treasures.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Visit FPW, for supporting local journalism and giving you the perfect excuse to hit the road this fall. 

📕 The results are in: 34% of B-Siders say journaling just isn’t their thing. One reader said: “Does my collection of Notes App lists and ideas count?” If we’re the judge … yes! 

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