😳🚣 There’s a party on the Charles. You in?

⚡🇬🇷 BOOM! Here’s a free Greek dinner. We’re giving away free dinners at GRECO to the first 10 B-Side Members to claim them. Grab yours here! Our rec: The hot honey chicken.

🎥 P.S. It’s the last day to enter our giveaway for TWO all-access passes to the GlobeDocs Film Festival from Oct. 22 to 26. Enter here!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Grab your Oakleys, boat shoes, and unisuits! Because it’s Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) weekend, baby! The world’s biggest three-day rowing extravaganza is back in Boston for its 60th year starting TODAY through Oct. 19. Here’s what to know:

🚣 There’s a reason they call it “rowing Christmas.” HOCR is a real who’s who for rowers, where Olympians rub shoulders with community rowers, old-timers, and up-and-comers. As for the rest of us, there’s plenty of food, shopping, and spectating to enjoy, not to mention a pretty epic atmosphere. All the action will go down on the Charles between BU’s DeWolfe Boathouse and Herter Park. 

🦠 Cyanobacteria ain’t stopping this party. Thanks to the cooling weather (shout out, rowing gods!), the Charles' months-long toxic algae bloom is miraculously clearing up. The BPHC’s health advisory was lifted for the regatta’s course on Thursday. Bless!

🏅 There are TONS of races to watch. But if you can only catch a few, HOCR spokesperson Amanda Cox would pick the women’s championship singles on Saturday (which will pit multiple reigning world champs and Olympians against each other), or the chaotic-good slate of youth races on Sunday (which tend to turn into an aquatic bumper car situation). Here’s the schedule.

🥳 Just in it for the vibes? You’re in luck. HOCR is ramping up the non-rowing-related offerings to bring back the OG “party by the river” energy and draw in more non-rowers. Think: Over 30 local eateries like El Jefe’s Taqueria, Bon Me, and the Chicken & Rice Guys, live music from Berklee students, and (if you’re willing to drop $25) the former Reunion Village area has rebranded to “The Riverbender,” with a DJ, games, drinks, and a party atmosphere. 

👀 Want a primo viewing spot? Head to a bridge. Any of the seven along the course will do. But the BU Bridge and the area between the Anderson and Eliot bridges are particularly electric. Hoping to catch something *spicy*? Your best bet is the Weeks Footbridge, where you’ll have a clear view of a tough 90-degree turn. (Also, rumor has it, Dunkin’ may be setting up shop nearby). Here’s a viewing guide.

🚇 Say it with us: DO. NOT. DRIVE! Avoid the road closures and traffic and just take the Green Line to BU, the Red Line to Harvard, or one of these many buses. But if you insist on driving, there’s $40 parking at Harvard Stadium (just get there VERY early). 

🤔 Any other Q’s? The regatta’s website will have all the A’s.

🧙‍♀️🎵 The best way to spend spooky season? With Bette Midler singing “I put a spell on you” as a live orchestra plays in the background. Boston Pops’ and BSO’s 2025-2026 season is your Halloween weekend playlist come to life — from “Hocus Pocus” live in concert to a vibrant Día de los Muertos celebration on Nov. 1. Grab your tickets now, learn how you can become a subscriber, and make Symphony Hall your go-to haunt. 

🪧 The “No Kings” protest is BACK for round two. On Oct. 18 at noon, tens of thousands of people are expected to gather on the Common to protest ICE’s immigration crackdown, voter suppression, and mass shootings (among other things) under President Trump. Boston’s event, which will feature Mayor Wu as a “headline” speaker, will be just one of nearly 2,500 similar protests planned across the country (including 100 in Mass.). But given Trump’s particular *interest* in cracking down HARD on demonstrations in Democrat-led cities, organizers are keen to keep things peaceful.

🚇 Tired: Train Daddy Eng. Wired: MassDOT Daddy Eng? BREAKING: Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Gov. Healey’s occasionally controversial transportation secretary, is stepping down, and beloved MBTA GM Phil Eng will take her place in the interim. How long he’ll keep his second job is unclear. But what he did make clear: The promotion won’t impact his work at the T. Eng said he intends “to stay just as engaged” with the MBTA. “I know that doesn’t sound feasible,” he said, “but it is because … MassDOT people know what they’re doing.”

🔺 The iconic CITGO sign is moving … a little to the left. For the first time in over 60 years, the Kenmore Square landmark is leaving its current position on the roof of 660 Beacon St. as part of a redevelopment project in the area. But before you panic, it’s not going far … like, at all. The sign will shift a mere 30 feet up, and 120 feet east. Translation: It’ll still be very visible from its new spot, and Gov. Healey said that ultimately, the project will ensure we can keep the sign in Boston’s skyline “for generations to come.” 

🛍️ It’s time to pregame your Snowport shopping. We’re T-21 days until Snowport’s annual holiday market, but we have an early sneak peek at this year’s list of 125+ vendors and foodie offerings. Of the vendor crowd, 65% are from New England, 88% are BIPOC and/or women-owned, and 18% are first-timers, like Citizens Crochet and Starboard and Co. As for new foodie options, you can look out for Neapolitan pizza from Temperance, French pastries at Lakon Paris Patisserie, and duck fat poutine from That Fat Duck. Let’s just say, we’re making our list.

👻 Get a lil’ spooky in the Seaport. Imagine: Haunted music covers, adult tricks and treats, and $1 scoops from Ben & Jerry’s. That’s on the agenda at Play it by Fear TONIGHT.

🌶️ Chow down at Boston’s spiciest festival. Spicetoberfest, a.k.a., Boston’s spicy harvest festival, is coming to City Hall Plaza on Oct. 18. On the menu: Spicy food galore, hot sauce vendors, and more. 

🍎 Cheers to FREE hard cider! You can sample tons from cideries around New England at Time Out Market’s free Cider Fest on Oct. 18. Think: Downeast, Original Sin, Angry Orchard, and more.

📚 Visit a Scholastic Book Fair for adults. Porter Square Books is teaming up with Aeronaut to host a grown up book fair on Oct. 18. And yes, they’ll have all the gift-y trinkets you loved as a kid. 

🧣 Break out your fall and sweaters. ‘Cause we’re going to Boston’s Fall Festival on Oct. 17 and 18! Grab a cider doughnut (or five), take a hayride, eat delicious festival food, and ring in the season. Tickets are $15, and if you’re a B-Side Member, you enter for free! 

💡 Catch some cool public art. Illuminus Roxbury is lighting up the city with unique art projections on buildings and immersive live performances on Oct. 17 and 18.

🏋️ Workout next to the world’s best rowers. The closest thing to actually participating in Head of the Charles? This free bodyweight strength workout with Rev’d Fitness along the river on Oct. 19. Bonus: There will be freebies!

🍁 Get your leaf-peeping fix. Here’s the perfect way to kick off peak week: The Make Friends After College group is hosting a free foliage walk for 20- and 30-somethings through the Arboretum Oct. 19.

The B-Side is a proud media sponsor of Friends of the Fells, a local non-profit planning fun events like this Saturday hike to get more folks out to enjoy fall in the Middlesex Fells Reservation. Join Friends of the Fells and The Great Malden Outdoors at 10 a.m. for a group hike around the southeastern part of the Fells, and let nature heal your weekday stresses! Check out their other free events here.

When most people turn 30, they plan a trip or throw a party. But not 30-year-old Beacon Hill resident Fraser Reichner. He marked the occasion with an epic sidequest: Visiting all 589 Bluebike stations.

As his b-day approached, his “lizard brain was like, oh, you should do something exciting [to celebrate],” he said. And when he and a friend noticed that the Bluebikes app tracked the stations you visit, a goal was born.

He started plotting efficient routes, hitting the pavement three times a week — about two hours on weekdays and three or four on the weekend. Depending on the day, Reichner could find himself biking on a tranquil path in East Somerville or “the side of a highway” in Dorchester. 

His takeaway? “I hate to say it for my own personal goals, but there probably should be more stations,” he said. Ultimately, it took him about a month to fill out the entire map, which he completed in early October. At his last stop on Castle Island, his pals surprised him with flowers and cupcakes. 

“Would I recommend it to everybody? Probably not. But I'm happy that I did [it].”

— Written by Gia Orsino, Emily Schario, and Claire Nicholas

🚴 Thanks for reading! BTW, in the two-ish weeks since he finished, two new stations have already opened up. Good luck, Fraser!

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Boston Pops, for supporting local journalism and bringing unforgettable musical experiences to our community.

🗳️ The results are in: It was a very tight race, but 31% of B-Siders say if the primaries were tomorrow, they’d vote for Ed Markey over Seth Moulton, though another 30% aren’t sure yet. One reader said: “I love my cool progressive grandpa!”

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