🥵📚 The hottest date in town is FREE

Happy Friday, Boston!

👀 Quick! Who makes more money … Frank Martin, head basketball coach at UMass, or MBTA GM Phillip Eng? You can find out, plus see all of the other highest-earning state employees here.

🎂 A BIG birthday shoutout to Theresa Orsino, Gia’s mom, who, to our knowledge, remains the B-Side’s biggest fan in New Jersey. And happy early birthday to B-Siders Eliana Cardeno and Nicole Driscoll. You’re the Train Daddy Engs to our MBTA.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Fewer people are leaving Mass.

• We’re officially on snow watch

• Mass.’ sexiest seniors

Up first…

JANUARY FREEBIES

New year, new freebies

Sooo … how’re those post-holiday credit card statements? Yeah … same. 

We won’t ask any questions … but we will give you your monthly list of freebies cause our spidey senses said you need it a little extra. <3

Here’s what’s going down that won’t cost you a dime:

📚 Go on a hot date … with a book club. Stuck in a reading rut? Stop by the Boston Public Library in Copley Square on Saturday, Jan. 11 for book group speed dating. It’s exactly how it sounds: You’ll meet some of the librarians who run book groups all around the BPL system to find your perfect match.

🕯️ Speaking of the library … Friendly reminder to pick up your FREE adult hygge kits from your local BPL branch throughout the month. Expect a bag full of small treats and activities to help you relax indoors during this blustery weather. They’re only available while supplies last!

🚲 Bundle up for a Boston bike ride. Boston Bikes is heading out on a beginner-friendly group ride around Dorchester and Mattapan on Saturday, Jan. 11 (and it ends with hot chocolate!). No bike? No worries. They have a limited number of free Bluebikes available.

🥱 Is that seltzer you’re sipping starting to taste a little … boring? Here’s some NA inspo: Dray Drinks will be offering free tastings of NA drinks at its new Central Square location on Saturday, Jan. 11. Curio Spice Co. is also hosting a Dry January pop-up with Verbena Beverage Company on Jan. 18. They’ll share zero-proof cocktail-making tips and mocktail kit samples.

🍺 Fully embrace Damp January. Whether this month is damp, wet, or dewy, as long as you’re down for just a sip, you can spend the afternoon of Jan. 18 sampling craft beer from breweries around New England at Time Out Market’s beer fest party. 

❤️‍🔥 Start mapping out your spicy 2025 TBR. Lovestruck Books, Harvard Square’s new romance-only bookstore, is throwing a three-day opening celebration extravaganza from Jan. 17 to 19 with a laundry list of activities. See: A Polaroid station, tarot readings, raffle prizes, and more. At the minimum, just go and scope out all the love stories you could be reading.

🖼️ Spend MLK Day at one of Boston’s big three museums. The MFA, ICA, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are all offering some version of free admission on Jan. 20, along with special activities, performances, and conversations reflecting on MLK’s vision for racial justice. 

Here are the deets for each:

• MFA: Tickets are available in person on a first-come, first-served basis for Mass. residents.

• ISGM: Advance registration is encouraged for free timed-entry tickets (get them here!).

• ICA: Free advanced tickets are required! You can get them starting Sunday, Jan. 19 at 10 a.m.

QUICK QUESTION!

👀 If we were to send a special exclusive newsletter on the weekend, when would you want to read it?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🚗 Bad: People are still leaving Mass. Good: But it’s fewer than before. The U.S. Census Bureau’s latest federal migration report is here with data from June 2023 and 2024. Mass. ranked as a top five state that folks are leaving, yet somehow, it’s actually good news. Folks are still leaving (27,500 hit the road), but it’s an improvement on the so-called “exodus” we saw annually during our WFH era (about 55,000 in 2021-2022 and 36,600 in 2022-2023). While our return to pre-pandemic out-migration levels could simply signal a return to normalcy, Gov. Maura Healey is taking the W.

🚌 Next on the T’s list: The Silver Line. Remember those January MBTA service changes we teased earlier this week? Well, it’s go time. Thanks to drainage improvement work at South Station, Silver Line buses will operate at the street level from 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10 through Jan. 12. You can find specific connection locations for South Station, Courthouse, and World Trade Center stations here. Before you roll your eyes, the MBTA is throwing riders a bone: They’re only charging local bus fare ($1.70) during the change.

❄️ We’re officially on snow watch. If (like us) you’re hoping for a good, old-fashioned snow storm in 2025 … it’s likely not happening this weekend. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be any snow. Per the most recent forecasts, Boston and much of New England are slated for a dusting of snow during the day on Saturday, with our southern neighbors seeing a bit more. But as we know, New England weather gon’ New England weather, so brush up on Boston’s snow protocol and keep your eyes on the forecast just in case.

🍛 The latest hack for cheap eats just dropped: Too Good To Go is now available at Mass. Whole Foods locations. In case you’re new here, this app offers “surprise bags” of surplus and unsold food from grocery stores, restaurants, and cafes at way discounted rates (think: $9.99 for $30 worth of food). While the contents of the bags can definitely vary, most everyone agrees it’s a seriously solid deal. FWIW: Emily is an avid Too-Good-To-Go-er and once got $30 worth of fancy cheese for $4!

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans (that aren’t free …)

⛸️ Spend the perfect wintry Saturday in the North End. Step one: Go ice skating at Steriti Rink. Step two: Eat cannoli at Modern Pastry. Step three: Grab a drink. You can do all three at this Make Friends After College FB group event.

🥘 Have a fancy dinner for less. The Lexington in Cambridge usually ain’t cheap. But this month, it’s offering a three-course meal for $45 per person with dishes like burrata and roasted butternut squash and braised short ribs.

🔍 Solve a Museum of Science murder mystery. A staffer was found dead at the foot of the museum’s T. Rex, and the only evidence remaining is the scavenger hunt he created for your group. Think you can solve it?

😋 Talk about your plant babies over brunch. The Drop Clock Club is hosting a Turkish brunch on Saturday catered to plant lovers. Hang with fellow green thumbs over tea and treats at Coffee Turco.

🍹 Make Dry January your b … est friend! Whether you’re struggle busing your way through the month or just sober-curious, Dray Drink’s NA cocktail-making class is the spot to be on Sunday.

🤯 Test your Bravo knowledge with … TOM SANDOVAL? Yes, you read that correctly. The man behind “Scandoval” is hosting “Vanderpump Rules” trivia at City Winery on Sunday. 

🦪 Just say “shuck it!” Your new party trick awaits: Puritan and Co.’s oyster bar is hosting a handful of oyster-shucking classes now through March. The first one is slated for Sunday!

✍️ Level up your drawing skills. Out: Stick figures. In: Figure drawings. You can brush up on limbs, torsos, and more at this figure drawing class at The Foundry on Sunday.

ONE LAST THING

Mass.’ sexiest seniors

You’ve heard of a sexy firefighter calendar. But have you heard of a sexy senior citizens calendar? 

The residents of Jack Satter House, an elderly housing complex in Revere, have created something truly delightful: A calendar featuring the ladies of the complex posing semi-nude. The calendar features models up to 95-years-old, and was created as a fundraiser for the tenants association.

As for what the ladies think, we’ll leave you with something Christine Griffin, who helped organize the cal, told the Globe: “One woman said, ‘That’s pornography!’” recalls Griffin, laughing. “We all said to her, ‘You haven’t seen pornography!’” Amazing.

You can buy the calendar by filling out this Google form.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

📷 Thanks for reading! Brb. Buying this for our desks at the office. Not kidding. 

☕ The results are in: 34% of B-Siders voted for Tilde to be our February B-Side Certified pick, and in doing so fulfilled Gia’s personal dream of being paid to try out a local cafe slash wine bar. One reader said: “My friend from college (and barista at our campus coffee shop) has finally achieved his dream of opening Tilde! Go Max!!”

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