😎🧌 This local party is in the swamp

☕ BIG NEWS: Free Flour all year long! B-Side Members now get one free item every month at Flour Bakery — that's 12 freebies a year from our fave James Beard Award-winning bakery. This month's pick? A free drip coffee. 

🥳 A few B-Side b-day shoutouts are in order. HBD to B-Side Member Rani Balakrishna, and happy belated to B-Side Member Alex! Our suggestion: Kick off your special day with free coffee. <3

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

It may only be March 2, but we’re already feeling lucky. Why? This month is absolutely stacked with free things to do. 

Here’s what’s going on:

✏️ Craft with your community. Every Tuesday through March 24, Zone 3 is hosting Drinking + Drawing, a free community art-making event. Each week, a local artist will guide you through a project of their choosing, from zine-making to paper puppets, while you snack and sip on free pizza and drinks. 

💁‍♀️ Celebrate Women’s History Month two ways. 1. The Women Take the Reel Festival is showcasing loads of women-directed films all month long, all of which have Q&As with the film’s director, producer, or a faculty member. 2. Support a local women-owned biz at “The Power of She” Women’s Day stroll at The Liberty Hotel on March 8.

🍁 Trade your store-bought maple syrup for the real thing. On March 7, Somerville’s Maple Syrup project is inviting YOU to its annual Maple Boil Down, where locally-sourced sap gets transformed into maple syrup. You’ll learn about tree anatomy and physiology, and see maple syrup made firsthand.

☘️ Shake it for St. Patrick. FlashMob Boston is asking for volunteers to join a St. Paddy’s Day flash mob. On March 14, the group will make a surprise, pop-up performance in the city, and dancers of all levels are invited to join. Register here to access all the deets, from practice times to choreo to secret performance locations! 

🥘 Chow down on free chili. Harvard Square’s annual Some Like It Hot Chili Cook Off was postponed to March 14. Head to Brattle Plaza to sample free chili from Cambridge’s hottest chefs and restaurants, and vote for your fav to win the coveted chili pot!

🧌 Get in me swamp!!! You’ve heard of a Shrek Rave. But allow us to introduce: The Swamp, an equally unhinged ogre bash at Remnant Brewing on March 14. Think: “a mossy, glittering fever dream of ogre energy … and a dance floor that feels slightly enchanted and possibly cursed.” No notes.

🍺 Swap the parade for a beer bash. Though Boston’s annual St. Paddy’s Day parade is always free, for a slightly less chaotic celebration, we’d point you to the Speedway’s Bierfest Weekend on March 14 to 15. There will be brews, oompah music, 100+ vendors, and tons of melted cheese.

🍿 Watch the biggest night in Hollywood. March 15 is Oscars night, baby! If you’re not watching at home, you can dress to impress for Trident’s annual watch party, or win a prize for guessing the winners at the Roslindale Film Society’s.  

🙋🏻‍♀️ Have a Q for Mayor Wu? You can ask her IRL. Introducing: Office Hours, a new initiative meant to bring city officials and municipal services out of City Hall and into our neighborhoods. At each event, residents will be able to chat with Wu and city staff directly, plus get easy access to a bunch of city services. Think: Registering to vote, signing up for a library card, or paying for parking tickets. The first office hours are March 5 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Roxbury’s Bolling Municipal Building.

🤖 Gov. Healey has an AI freebie for you. Last week, Healey announced that Mass. will offer all residents free online training courses from Google about AI and other techy topics through its Grow with Google program. The program has classes on cybersecurity, digital marketing, user experience design, and more, plus a bunch of AI-specific topics, including courses for students, small biz owners, and job hunters. Usually, the classes cost $49 a month, but anyone with a Mass. zip code will get them for free. Interested? Fill out this form.

🚘 Got a car? Listen up. We have two updates for you: 1. If you live (and park) in Beacon Hill, the South End, or the North End, the return of street sweeping has been postponed from March 1 to March 16 due to snow, so don’t worry about moving your car. It’ll start on April 1 in other neighborhoods. 2. As of Sunday, Mass. is phasing out its chunky white E-ZPasses for sleek sticker tags that’ll save the state over $7 million a year. For now, your old EZPass will still work.

🤤 Shoppy shop girlies, rise! Two new markets have opened their doors in Boston. Southie’s new Hamersley’s Pantry has a wide selection of gourmet goodies, from cutesy dishware to trendy “snacky snacks,” and even a few pieces of merch (these dad hats are v cute). About a mile away in the Seaport, today marks Boston Provisions Market’s grand opening, with fancy meats and seafood from Wulf’s Fish and Savenor’s Butchery under one roof. Now go forth and shop!

🍕 Share a slice with your neighbors. $10 pies. $5 brews. Board games aplenty. It’s all on the menu at FiDO Pizza’s community night on March 3, starting at 5 p.m. 

🧶 Craft and chill. Parlor Sports and Gather Here are teaming up for a cozy community craft night at the Somerville sports bar on March 3. Tickets include your choice of an embroidery, cross-stitch, crochet, or knit kit!

🀄 Clack the night away. Aeronaut’s beginner-friendly Mahjong Tile Club is back on March 4, and this week, there are (shockingly) still a few tickets left. Grab a spot while you can!

💬 Meet your new BFF. Skip the Small Talk is putting on a 20’s and 30’s night at Trident on March 4. Think: Speed dating for friends, minus the awkward small talk.

🌴 Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. Or … leave it to the pros. All season long, Harpoon Beer Hall is hosting FREE weekly watch parties for “Survivor 50” on Wednesdays.

🎸 Catch the next big pop star. Also weekly on Wednesdays: Berklee students will be hitting Aeronaut’s tap room for a night of live music. This week’s tunes will be from Zach C-O and Sofia Devitt.

🧀 Say cheese! Literally, ‘cause March 6 is Raclette night at Batifol. For $39 a pop, you and your besties can take part in one of France’s most beloved culinary traditions: Dipping stuff in melted cheese. 

🏃🏾‍♀️ Put on your party shoes. Saucony and Black Girls Run are taking over Marathon Sports on March 6 for a shoe launch party. Think: Exclusive access to Saucony’s latest drop, themed food and drinks, giveaways, and more.

At this year’s Winter Olympics, Alysa Liu became a household name. Her first U.S. performance after the fact? The Skating Club of Boston. 

ICYMI: On Feb. 19, Liu won gold, becoming the first American woman to win an individual figure skating medal since 2006 with a joyful, boundary-pushing performance, capping off a Cinderella story return to the ice after retiring at age 16. Less than 10 days later, Liu brought that same energy to Norwood for her first stateside showcase as a gold medalist. 

Unsurprisingly, folks showed OUT to see her, with standing room only for the sold out show. Attendees were inspired by not only Liu’s win, but her story and what she stands for. One filmmaker came all the way from Seattle to bring her a selection of curated movies.

You can watch Liu’s performance here.

— Written by Gia Orsino

⛸️ Thanks for reading! If the Winter Olympics didn’t send you down a rabbit hole of 2000s-era figure skating videos … what were you doing!?

📲The results are in: A whopping 82% of B-Siders said they wish they could return to a time pre-social media. One reader said: “On this, you can believe the Olds!” We’ll take your word for it!

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