😍📚 Single? Let the library set you up.

Happy Friday, Boston!

🥯 We think we might’ve found Boston’s next “it” bagel. This local’s passion project has turned into a small operation out of a Charlestown kitchen (that’s seemingly yet to go viral). And after reading some reviews, we’re sprinting to get on his next bagel drop. These rosemary salt bagels look BOMB. 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Another T shutdown

• Dry January hangover

• A secret surprise at the bottom

Up first…

THINGS TO DO

Your (indoor) weekend plans await

Congrats! You (almost) survived the worst month of the year. We know schlepping out of the house this season can be brutal. So we assembled a list of cheap, indoor-friendly things to do this weekend, all for $20 or less (mostly less). 

Here’s what going down:

🐝 Hear Queen Bey and RiRi on the big screen. And by big, we mean the planetarium at the Museum of Science. For just $10 on Friday and Saturday nights, you can listen to bops from two iconic artists with stunning visuals under the Charles Hayden Planetarium dome. Team Bey can buy tickets here. RiRi stans can buy them here. 

📚 Let the BPL set you up this Valentine’s Day … with a book! Starting tomorrow, you can swing by the New & Novel area in the Central Library for its Blind Date with a Book event. Take your pick from a pile of anonymously wrapped reads with a short description on the outside, and you’re off to the races.

🧶 Finally start that unopened craft project. You know who you are! Porter Square Books’ audiobook and craft club is an introvert’s dream: Bring a craft you're working on and a pair of headphones to cozy up with your fave audiobook. Or, head to the Capitol Theatre for a craft-friendly screening of “13 Going on 30.” The lights will be up so crafters can do their thing. 

😆 Watch your favorite local TikTok comedian IRL. If you’re on Boston TikTok, you likely know Joe Fenti a.k.a. @fentifriendchicken (he’s the guy always poking fun at the Seaport and corporate culture). His comedy is coming off the screen on Sunday for his “Untitled” show at GrandTen Distilling. 

🧙 Get a lil’ witchy at the Speedway. It’s almost like the Brighton Bazaar can read our mind. The monthly pop-up is back with its How Bazaar: Dead of Winter market, where you’ll find 50+ small local businesses selling all kinds of wicked, weird, and witchy wares. 

🎤 Celebrate folk music by Black artists. Head to Club Passim for its “We Black Folk Fest,” a two-day celebration honoring the West African griot tradition of live music with artist dialogues. 

🧘 Trade your outdoor run for some indoor fun. Option 1: This candlelit yoga class at Bow Market on Sunday. Or, at the opposite end of the chill spectrum, option 2: This free intro to rugby class taught by the Boston Ironsides, a local amateur rugby team. 

♟️ Level up your chess game. Boston Creative Chess Club spices up the classic board game with a few fun twists every week. Think: Chess with dice, chess pieces that dance with each other, four-player chess, and more.

TOGETHER WITH THE CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON

A piano prodigy and a tap-dance extraordinaire walk into a bar …

🎹🕺*Ahem* We mean the Boston Arts Academy. Counterpoint, presented by Celebrity Series of Boston, brings Conrad Tao’s piano skills and Caleb Teicher’s innovative tap choreography to the city for three performances only, Feb. 7 and 8. This one-of-a-kind performance blends music, movement, and creativity in a way you’ll have to see (and hear) to believe. Experience the ultimate collab – grab your tickets now.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚇 Buckle up, Orange Liners. ‘Cause you’ll be sitting on a shuttle bus this weekend. Thanks to bridge construction, service between Oak Grove and North Station will be suspended starting tonight at 8:30 p.m. through Sunday. Thankfully, you’ll also find express shuttles stopping at Oak Grove, Malden Center, and North Station. But this isn’t the only weekend shutdown this month. See: another one on the Orange Line, these two on the Red Line, and this Green Line doozy. We’ll keep you posted with more deets as they get closer.  

🐦 Soooo … the bird flu is now kind of a thing in Mass. To be clear: Among birds, NOT humans. Mass. officials announced that bird flu is now considered to be “widespread” in the state, but that the flu is still “an animal virus now.” The two best things the average person can do is avoid handling birds or other animals that are either dead or seem sick, and report any sick or dead birds here. Own a cat? They’re actually highly susceptible to the illness, so officials are urging cat owners to keep their furbabies indoors to prevent exposure.

🏙️ New Boston buildings are about to get a whooole lot greener. Thanks to the Boston Zoning Commission’s greenlight, starting July 1, all newly proposed real estate projects with 15+ units of housing, spanning 20,000+ square feet, or additions of at least 50,000 square feet will be required to meet a net-zero emissions standard (translation: significantly reduced energy use and fossil fuel reliance). These rules have been looong debated (the same commission rejected the proposal last summer), and the approval is a big W for Mayor Michelle Wu’s climate agenda.

🥴 Who has a Dry January hangover? Local liquor stores. While your skin is glowing and you’re getting the best sleep of your life, many packies are watching the monthlong booze break nip at their bottom lines. But January isn’t the only business downer. Add in factors like this recent U.S. surgeon general advisory linking alcohol and cancer, reports of young Americans drinking less, even the Pats no longer making deep playoff runs (seriously), and you’ve got a recipe for slow biz. One solution? Beefing up NA drink options in January.

QUICK QUESTION!

🍷 So for real … did you actually finish Dry January?

ONE LAST THING

Outdoor skating is SO back

Wanted a cute ice skating pic in Boston last winter? Good one. Last season’s record warmth and rain ruined any chance of a Gram-worthy shot. But this winter is shaping up to be very different.

Although it’s been a chilly January, this cold snap has given us a wonderful gift from the old-timey New England gods: solid ice. Outdoor skating is SO back (for now). The joy on these young kids' faces skating at a local youth center really says it all. 

So consider this your sign to lace up your skates, hit the pond (safely), and have your own “Ice Princess” moment. 

P.S.: I grabbed a video of these local dads walking across a frozen pond, and you just know that they were having the TIME of their lives. 

— Written by Emily Schario

🧊 Thanks for reading! Had it not been 7 a.m., I 100% expected to see a lineup of camping chairs and Natty Lights, too. 

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, Celebrity Series of Boston, for supporting local journalism and bringing groundbreaking performances to Boston’s stage. 

💉 The results are in: And it wasn’t even close. 75% of respondents are NOT fans of preventative Botox, claiming it’s just another trend that takes advantage of women’s insecurities. One reader wrote: “As a millennial who missed the window for "preventative Botox," Gen Z needs to quit making us look old.”

👀 P.P.S.: We’ve been keeping a secret that we can FINALLY share with you in Monday’s newsletter. We can’t wait for you to see it. 

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