🚘😭 Thanksgiving traffic might break you

🐱 Good news: This pair of sphynx kitties got adopted in Boston! Bad news: We fear Instagram may shadow ban them for this pic. Can someone please get them a shirt?!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Buckle up, turkeys! AAA projects 81.8 million people (!) will travel at least 50 miles from home over Thanksgiving break, setting a new record. 

So whether you’re road-tripping or flying, here’s how to get home with fewer meltdowns and more gratitude:

😬 Tuesday and Wednesday will likely be traffic nightmare fuel. At least 73 million of Turkey Day travelers will be driving, according to AAA. So if you’ve got a bad case of road rage, avoid your car at all costs Tuesday afternoon through the early evening, and Wednesday mid-morning through late afternoon. A more demure and mindful commute can be found in the morning on both days. <3

😡 Start your engines early to beat the ride back home. Note to self: Get in the car before 10 or 11 a.m. Friday through Sunday to protect your peace. And if you can wait it out, the drive home Monday after 8 p.m. should be smooth sailing. 

🦃 Attention, Turkey Day commuters: You should be in the clear re: traffic. However, if you’re headed toward the Cape along Route 3, expect peak congestion late Thursday morning.

✈️ Heading to Logan? Expect its typical Thanksgiving weekend self. Read: Busy, stressful, and plenty of “today’s flight is completely full” announcements. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expects it to be the busiest Thanksgiving air travel period in 15 years, with Tuesday being the busiest flying day. 

👀 Pay attention to your airline. While we can’t predict what will happen during your Thanksgiving travels … an analysis of Bureau of Transportation Statistics data found that JetBlue and Southwest tied for the dubious distinction of having the most departure delays during the Thanksgiving travel week.

📲 Forgot your ID? Just use your phone! Apple announced travelers can add their passport to the Wallet app as an acceptable form of ID for domestic travel at 250 U.S. airports (Androids can also do this <3). And since U.S. passports are considered Real IDs, so are their digital versions. That said, still try to bring your physical ID in case there’s an issue. And remember: Digital passports are NOT acceptable for international travel! Here’s how to get yours for Apple and Android users. 

💜 P.S. We give you full permission to go full groutfit. The U.S. Transportation Secretary recently called for the return to "the Golden Age of Travel," urging Americans to act and dress more appropriately at the airport. And while we expect all B-Siders to be a pleasure to have in class, when it comes to airport attire, this traveler said it best: "I wanted to be as comfortable as possible, so I threw on my pajamas that I slept in and my sweatshirt.” As you should!

🛍️ OUT: Black Friday shopping. IN: Shopping … whenever you want. The days of fist fighting over a TV in a Best Buy parking lot at 3 a.m. appear to be behind us: According to a recent study, 45% of people have already started their holiday shopping (it was 28% just a year ago), and 25% say they’ll wrap up holiday shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving (not us). It appears the doorbuster sale has lost its sparkle, as shoppers now slowly fill their virtual carts year-round, attempting to build bigger one-time carts versus impulse buys. And that’s on growth!

🍎 SNAP funding drama may have helped the case for city-run grocery stores. The urgency was on full display at a recent Boston City Council hearing: The government shutdown only underscored how vital public services like SNAP really are. Councilors weighed different models for how Boston could invest in grocery stores, like New Jersey’s tax credits for supermarkets in food deserts or Atlanta’s city-backed grocery through a public-private partnership. But operating one comes with hefty challenges, including warehousing, cold storage, and transportation.

🌬️ Boston is *literally* blowing away its November wind record. Hold onto your hats: November’s average wind gust of 37 mph (!) is nearly 6 mph higher than the current record of 31 mph set just last year. Yes, Boston gets windy (we’re kinda built for it), but so far, 2025 is our windiest year on record — a pattern we’re seeing across tons of New England cities. If this trend continues, which current forecasts suggest, there’s a very real chance that 2025 goes down as Boston’s windiest year EVER.

🎄The Greatest Bar is going full holiday fever dream. Imagine: Wild decor, festive drinks, and enough twinkling lights to choke an elf. That’s exactly the vibe at The Greatest Winter Wonderland, a two-floor, over-the-top holiday pop-up inside Boston’s iconic sports bar open now through Dec. 31. They’ll be hosting loads of holiday events, including movie brunches (think: “Elf” and “Home Alone”), wreath-making and gingerbread house classes, and more. And even better: A portion of the proceeds supports The Greater Boston Food Bank. <3

✨ Watch Boston SPARKLE. All 50,000 blue lights on the Christopher Columbus Trellis get lit for the season TONIGHT. Bonus: There will be free egg nog, cocoa, and chowder!

🪩 See who takes home the mirrorball. Banners is going ALL OUT with its Dancing With The Stars finale watch party on Nov. 25. Or you can hit up Harry’s watch party, where you’ll find this iconic chicken tender tower. 

😂 Laugh your way to Turkey Day. Fun fact: Caffe Dello Sport in the North End hosts FREE stand-up comedy shows every Monday and Wednesday (yes, including this week). 

🎶 Pretend you’re in high school choir again. No auditions. No judgment. Just the joy of singing in harmony with a room full of other music lovers at this Wicked-themed choir night on Nov. 25. 

💃 Skip your townie bar’s Thanksgiving eve. And hit up this Friendsgiving throwdown at Premiere on Broadway on Nov. 26. It’ll be packed with 90's and 2000s hip-hop brought to you by some of Boston's best DJs.

💅 Slay the house down bingo. B-8? More like B-ATE! Your favorite drag queens are hosting a thrilling night of drag bingo on Nov. 27 filled with fab performances and playful audience engagement.

🎨 Paint your partner like Picasso. Nothing says “I love my boo” more than this paint your partner date night at Boston Public Market on Nov. 28. Your ticket gets you two watercolor paintings, materials, and in-person instruction. 

🎭 To blackout, or not to black out. That is the question at this Shit-faced Shakespeare performance of Hamlet on Nov. 28. Simply put: It’s an entirely serious production of Hamlet with an entirely shit-faced actor.

Enter to win two tickets to an upcoming Quincy MA Presidential Food Tour on a Sunday from 12 to 2 p.m. Tour must be booked by June 2026. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on Nov. 25, 2025. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

On today’s episode of, “What have you done with your life?” …

Mayor Michele Wu didn’t just go to Harvard … She’s a classically trained pianist, a multilingual dynamo, she helped chop down Boston’s holiday tree, and yes, she just shared the stage with world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. 

Wu surprised hundreds at Symphony Hall on Friday by joining Ma in a stirring rendition of “Ave Maria” — Wu played the piano while Ma drew his bow. Ma was in Boston to perform Bach’s cello suites as part of the Celebrity Series, and Wu’s appearance was a “planned surprise,” according to a city spokesperson.

But for Wu, it was just another Friday: This isn’t the first time she’s showcased her musical talents at Symphony Hall (see: her slaying “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Boston Pops and her Mozart solo with the BSO).

You can watch Wu and Ma’s duet here!

— Written by Emily Schario

🎹 Thanks for reading! We get it, Wu! You’re better than us!

🧢 The results are in: 43% of B-Siders said they’d 100% buy City of Boston merch. One reader put it simply: “Shut up and take my money.” *forwards to city councilors*

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