🥳🙌 THE best weekend of the summer

🧑‍🍳 Wait, this Julia Child crewneck has us in a chokehold. And we have a 15% off with code just for you: GBHSHOP-BSIDE15.*orders sweatshirt and a blowtorch* <3

🐕 Shavasana with your future fur baby. Park-9 Dog Bar in Everett is hosting a yoga class with adoptable puppies from Sweet Paws Rescue on Aug. 9. We have two pairs of free tickets, dropping in Saturday’s Member-only newsletter.

🥳 And a veryyyyyy happy b-day to B-Side Members Amanda Lawler and Gabi Burkholz! Unwind with a downward dog today.

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

What if we made Best Day Ever part of the best weekend ever?? Spoiler: We did.

Here’s what else is going down (aside from this super fun party we’re throwing that you should DEF buy tix to <3):

🌯 Snag freebies at Chipotle. If there’s any weekend to treat yourself, make it this one: Chipotle is giving out free chips and guac with any entrée on July 31 and Aug. 1 when you use code AVO2026 on the app or online. 

🏕️ Have a sleepover on Spectacle Island. See: Camp Spectacle, where you’ll pitch a tent, play games, and stargaze with Boston Harbor Now. Your ticket includes a roundtrip ferry ride, breakfast, nature walks, s’mores, and more! 

🏃 Run, stretch, repeat. Here’s your new Saturday morning workout routine for the month: 1. Head to Lawn on D. 2. Go on an all-paces run through Seaport. 3. Engage your core in a power yoga sesh. The best part: It’s all free! 

📚 Refresh your TBR stack. The BPL is hosting its bi-monthly sale on Aug. 1, with dirt-cheap prices on books, CDs, and DVDs: $2 for hardcovers, and $1 for nearly everything else!

🐀 Party with Rat City artists. Yup, we’re talking about the Rat City Arts Fest on Aug. 1, ft. a big ol’ lineup of performers, visual artists, and even beautified rat traps. 

🎉 Wander at the wharf. Check out the Boston Race Amity and Music Festival on Aug. 1 for tons of live music, local vendors, and a community art project. Oh, and did we mention Ben & Jerry’s will be giving out 2,000 free cups of ice cream, too?

👙 Dip your toes in this Bow Market pool party. Rebel Rebel is throwing a “La Piscina” summer bash on Aug. 1 with ~cool~ treats (think: frosé pops, shrimp ceviche, Tajín-dusted fruit), and most importantly: small inflatable kiddie pools. 

🖼️ See the galleries fo’ free. If you bank with Bank of America, you can get free admission to both the MFA and ICA this weekend (and the first weekend of every month). Note: You must present your BofA card at check-in. 

🌽 Say, “sweet niblets!” ‘Cause the Charles River Speedway is going all out for Corn Fest on Aug. 2. I mean, a sweet corn latte with sweet corn cold foam??? We’re there.

☀️ Take a stroll down Centre Street. JP Summer Fest is BACK on Aug. 2. Stop by your fave local businesses and restaurants for sidewalk sales, bites, bevs, art pop-ups, and more.

🎶🍷 One night it's an outdoor concert. The next it's French cinema. The MFA's August lineup is basically your summer social calendar handled. Fan of The Odyssey? Explore objects and artwork that depict scenes from the epic journey. Planning your next excursion with friends? Grab tickets to Concerts in the Courtyard, the Boston French Film Festival, $5 Third Thursdays, and First Fridays. Pick a date and experience something different every week. 

🚃 Heads up: The Green Line will be OOO this weekend. Here’s the breakdown:

More bad news: This isn’t the end of the Green Line saga. More on that next week …

📦 Bostonians are going to the dark side (NYC) … Turns out, most generations moving out of Boston are mainly heading to New York, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, according to U-Haul data. Millennials are specifically headed to Worcester, Manchester-Nashua, and the Bay Area, while Gen Zers are flocking to other big metros like NYC, Chicago, and Philly. On the flip side, wayyyy fewer people are moving into Mass. — it didn’t even crack U-Haul’s top 10 for net gains. Not to mention, Boston had the largest population dip across the state last year.

💅 The CITGO sign needs an extreme makeover. ICYMI, the CITGO sign went dark earlier this spring as crews prepared to move it slightly. Well apparently, the weather damage was so bad that the *entire* sign needs to be rebuilt (to be fair, it’s from 1965). A Texas company has already replicated the letters and will send them to Boston soon. The rebuilt sign should be lit up again by mid-November. And the OG elements? Some of them will be on display to support local charities — the “C” is already at Cornwall’s Tavern!

This Nantucket craft store accidentally waged an online war … 

Four Winds Craft Guild, a bougie antique business (think: $2K woven baskets), recently put up a “No Influencers” sign and posted it online — which immediately struck a nerve.

Big New England influencer Paige Paul quickly clapped back: “If you call yourself a feminist but proudly put up a ‘No Influencers’ sign, it’s worth asking who you are attempting to delegitimize, and why…” (Paul, btw, owns a retail store on Nantucket.)

And everyone has thoughts. Supporters of Paige (see: Wishbone Kitchen’s IG stories) called it derogatory and discriminatory against a women-dominated industry, saying that a “no photography" sign would’ve been done the job. 

Others say the sign’s message wasn’t a personal attack, but instead about overtourism frustrations, especially due to social media, and valuing authenticity and etiquette. Plus, people argue this store — which has been around for nearly a century — doesn’t exactly need the press. 

But FWIW, people can’t stop talking about them now, sooo …

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

🧺 Thanks for reading! This tea wasn’t on our “Five-Star Weekend” itinerary …

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city.

🚗 The results are in: 47% of B-Siders don’t think we need speed cameras … or at least don’t want more tickets. But one reader said, “I live by Forest Hills and every damn day see drivers risking it all for a few seconds off their travel time.” Race ya to the red light!

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