🤔🍺 This beer garden doesn’t sell ... beer?

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🍁 Here’s an outlet for your hump day rage: Leaf peepers are flocking up north to check out the foliage. And, per usual, they’re causing problems. This pic of a seriously overcrowded N.H. hiking trail is enough to make us rethink our plans.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Start your Snowport engines

• This issue is splitting young voters

• Meet Boston’s newest team

Up first…

OUT & ABOUT

A history-making beer garden

We’ve told you about a LOT of Oktoberfests this year. But this one is different. Enter: Notoberfest, the country’s first-ever 100% non-alcoholic beer garden.

It’s all going down Saturday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Garage B on the Charles River Speedway. Here’s what to know:

🌃 It’s funded by Boston’s Wake Up the Night grant. A.k.a. a new city program funding 50 nightlife activations across 13 neighborhoods prioritizing accessible, intergenerational, cultural, and spirit-free nightlife programming. This month alone, the grant is funding trivia nights, a Halloween party, a community lantern parade, and more. And it’s also why Notoberfest will be free to attend. Everyone say: “Thank you, Boston!”

🤔 The goal is to change the way we see beer gardens. It’s no surprise the country’s first NA beer garden is being put on by Boston’s first NA bottle shop, Dray Drinks. According to owner Pat Dooling, Dray is all about challenging our expectations around alcohol as a “requirement for fun,” and Notoberfest is no different. He hopes folks walk away with the knowledge that the joy of a beer garden has more to do with “bringing great friends and family together … and celebrating” than drinking.

🍻 That said, there will be a fab selection of NA sips. Including Dooling’s rec, the Kölsch from Best Day Brewing, the event’s lead beer sponsor. Folks will be able to pick from three to five NA beer vendors, plus NA wines, spirits, and soft drinks. The event will try to highlight brands you’re not likely to see at “your local liquor store [or] Whole Foods,” said Dooling, from local brews to — like Best Day — national brands. 

🎺 Even if you don’t care for the sips, still expect a party. Oktoberfest purists can enjoy all the classic celebrations, including a wall of giant pretzels and a traditional Polka band. You can also expect local food trucks, a DJ, family-friendly activities like lawn games, and “a few other surprises.” 

🚣 A tip from Dooling: Get there early. The event has a max capacity of 250, and given its timing during Head of the Charles weekend, they’re expecting quite a bit of foot traffic. If you want guaranteed entry, “get there on the early side,” he said. 

🕺 Want more info? You can learn more about Notoberfest here, and check out the rest of the Wake Up The Night events here.

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to be a GlobeDocs Film Festival VIP

Enter to win a GlobeDocs Film Festival VIP package. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on Oct. 16. 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.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

❄️ Snowport szn is officially upon us. Yes, it’s Oct. 16. Yes, the Snowport is back in 23 days. On Nov. 8, the Seaport’s months-long holiday extravaganza returns. You can expect the classics, including the crown-jewel Holiday Market featuring 120 vendors and 17 food and bev concepts. But this year, there are a few new twists, including a music stage with live performances on Mondays and the ability to purchase tickets for timed reservations on the weekends — which, with these lines, might be a good thing. Check out Boston.com’s full guide here.

🗳️ Can Kamala Harris count on the youth vote? After two dozen student interviews, the Globe found that some usually reliable young voters are splitting from Harris over the Israel-Hamas war. Students across Boston on both sides of the conflict are citing her support for Israel — both too little and too much — as to why they’ve chosen to support Donald Trump or third party candidates instead. Whether this (relatively) small cohort could shift the election’s turnout is TBD, but in an election with a razor-thin margin, every vote counts.

📬 Some Bostonians aren’t into mail-in ballots. Recently, some Bostonians have been reporting consistent troubles with delayed or undelivered mail. And with November’s election right around the corner, some are worried that will affect their mail-in ballots. The USPS said it’s taking “extraordinary measures” to make sure they arrive on time, like putting ballots through fewer checkpoints and extra drop-offs at election offices. Our two cents? Request those ballots now and keep track of them here.

⚠️ Road work ahead! Construction on Memorial Drive’s new bike safety upgrades kicked off Tuesday and will run through Nov. 26. Until then, according to WBUR, lane closures and detours will be the norm from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Magazine Street and Audrey Street, which we expect will cause some traffic. But on the upside, the improvements — a widened, raised path for pedestrians and cyclists and a reduced speed limit for cars — aim to prevent incidents like this cyclist’s death that spurred the upgrades.

QUICK QUESTION

❄️ Be honest: Is Snowport overrated?

ONE LAST THING

A new team to root for 

Boston’s newest team finally has a name. Allow us to introduce: BOS Nation Football Club. 

They’re the new National Women’s Soccer League team, who will take the field in 2026 at a glowed-up White Stadium. Their color? “Championship green.” 

BOS Nation is actually an anagram for “Bostonian,” (which is an interesting reason to choose a name, IMO). But besides that, the new team identity apparently “embodies the strength, creativity, and pride of the city of Boston, its unique blend of old and new, its famed diehard fans, and its new generation of fans.” 

But no matter our thoughts (or … the internet’s thoughts) on the name, come 2026, we’ll be absolutely seated to see them play.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

⚽ Thanks for reading! All we have to say is … this.

🐶 The results are in: 38% of B-Siders told us that they are NOT voting in the Seaport’s dog mayor election, for many reasons, many of which sounded like this: “I would vote for a pittie or a mutt, but alas this is the Seaport and the only candidates are goldens & poodles … sigh.” But FWIW, Rhubarb came in second.

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