🫣 This weekend’s gonna get ... sticky

Happy Friday, Boston!

🏈🤔 Don't forget: Sept. 21 is our EPIC Patriots tailgate with Cisco Brewers Fenway! If you're one of the first 50 B-Side members to arrive, you get a canned drink and mozzarella sticks for just $10. And if you register using this link, you'll get FREE chicken tendies. Ready? Set? GO!

🥳 And happy birthday to B-Sider Sharon Turcotte! We can’t think of a better gift than some free chicken tenders … except for a blowout Pats W, of course. Have an amazing day!

👀 What’s on tap today:

• New COVID shot guidelines

• What’s better than one shuttle bus?

• Cardi B. enters the Mass. canon

Up first…

OUT & ABOUT

What the Fluff?!

It’s the sweetest, stickiest weekend of the year! A.k.a. Somerville’s annual Fluff Festival, which is BACK in Union Square on Sept. 20. from 2 to 6 p.m.

Here’s what to know:

💡 Fun Fact: Fluff was invented in Somerville. Back in 1917, a man named Archibald Query created Fluff in his own kitchen, and sold it door-to-door until World War I sugar shortages forced him to stop. Then, in 1920, he sold the recipe for $500 to some childhood friends, and the rest is pretty much history. Here’s a rundown on the full, fluffy story.

🤪 The Fluff Festival is a wacky annual tribute to all things Fluff. If you’ve never been, expect all sorts of fluffy shenanigans. There are local craft, community, and food vendors selling Fluff-related goods (see: Nutella and Fluff soap, Fluff-inspired hair tinsel), a performance stage, and a literal shenanigans stage with events like Fluff jousting and Fluff hairdos, all hosted by an Archibald Query impersonator. And there’s more chaos where that came from.

🍭 The fluffy food is a serious highlight. To name a few of this year’s offerings: Fluffernutter cakewiches from Honeycomb Creamery, Fluff churros from El Potro Mexican Grill, fluffy craft cola from Wander Cat Cola, fluff macaroons from Maca Boston, and Machu Picchu’s Fluff empanadas and alfajores. Oh, and did we mention the Lighthouse Keeper’s Pantry, the spot behind the OG viral fluffy seagull latte? Check out all the vendors here.

🎉 The party doesn’t start (or end) at Fluff Fest. Before you head to the fest, you can fuel up on fluffy food and drink specials at The Independent’s fluff brunch Sept. 20 and 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Make a res here. And once the festival’s over, you can keep the party going at Vera’s Fluff-themed after party starting at 4 p.m. The featured Fluff cocktail sounds WILD.

😓 Can’t make it to the festival? Don’t sweat! A handful of brick-and-mortar shops are also offering Fluff-themed specials. Think: Fluff wine at Rebel Rebel, Fluff lattes and espresso martinis at Remnant Brewing, and 25% off two brown and white items at Summit Bound Outfitter. Peruse them all here. The details will vary by shop, so make sure to double check!

🙋‍♀️ Any other questions? You can find answers here.

QUICK QUESTION!

🥪 Which are better: PB&Js or Fluffernutters?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

💉 Mass.’ official COVID guidelines just dropped. ICYMI: Gov. Healey broke from federal vaccine guidelines after the FDA limited COVID vaccine access. Now, pretty much any Mass. resident who wants a shot can have one. But here’s who the state *recommends* get the jab: Everyone between six and 23 months old, or over 65-years-old; folks between two- and 18-years-old who are high risk or live with someone who is; and folks between 19- and 64-years-old who are high risk, live with someone who is, are pregnant, or have a high risk of COVID exposure.

🏢 Boston is a step closer to (literally) raising the roof Downtown. On Thursday, The Boston Planning and Development Agency voted to approve a controversial measure from Mayor Wu to raise the height limit on downtown buildings from 650 to 700 feet. That’s about 70 stories, or roughly the height of the new South Station Tower. The vote came despite significant local pushback, including from officials at the meeting, who worry that the new towers would “Manhattanize” the historic neighborhood. Now, it’ll face a final vote from the Zoning Commission next month.

🚆 What’s better than one MBTA shuttle? Three MBTA shuttles, apparently. From 8:30 p.m. Sept. 19 through Sept. 21, the Blue Line will be shut down between Bowdoin and Airport. During that time, there will be three alternative shuttles to choose from: A local shuttle stopping at Airport, Maverick, and Haymarket; an express shuttle running between Airport and Haymarket; and a downtown loop shuttle running between Haymarket, Aquarium, State, and Government Center. No matter which one you choose, make sure to budget extra time. Thoughts and prayers!

🎨 Dewey Square looks a little … different. Yes, we’re talking about the 22-foot-tall golden pyramid of ice coolers that recently popped up on the Greenway. Turns out, it’s a traveling art installation called "Elevar La Cultura” by Brooklyn-based artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez. The ice coolers, which are adorned with ancestral textiles, sacred symbols, and mural work, are meant to represent the immigrant experience as an object “of everyday hustle.” It’ll be on view through Nov. 3.

THINGS TO DO

Weekend plans

🤠 Saddle up and head to … City Hall? That’s right, on Sept. 20, Boston’s having a legit rodeo. City Hall will transform into the wild west with THREE stages and an arena — plus a mechanical bull, line dancing, food and drinks, vendors, and more. Grab tickets here.

🍂 Hit your first fall fest of the season. Boston Landing’s yearly free Fall Crawl is Sept. 20 with a *Western* theme. There will be line dancing, bracelet making with The Little Words Project, and tons of food.

🌃 Peruse a market after dark. Central Square is transforming into a vibrant night market with food, a beer garden, games, and live music on Sept. 20.

👜 Clean out your closet AND get thrifty. Fall = closet refresh season. Shop your neighbors’ closets Sept. 20 at Style Exchange in Southie, or check out vintage vendors at the Elks Lodge Bazaar on Sept. 20 and 21.

👠 See The Eras Tour (Drag Version). Taylor Swift drag is always a yes, especially when there’s an engagement to be celebrated. On Sept. 20, five iconic queens will perform their version of the Eras Tour at Night Shift Brewing.

🎉 Celebrate your neighborhood. Sept. 20 is the 25th anniversary of the South Boston Street Festival! Think: 100 local businesses to shop, singing and dancing, even self defense demos.

🛒 Go where you can’t not shop local. 40 local AAPI-owned businesses will fill Faneuil Hall Marketplace Sept. 20 for the Made in Boston Festival, courtesy of NAAAP Boston.

🍺 Don your lederhosen and grab your stein. Head to Aeronaut on Sept. 20 or 21 for a traditional Oktoberfest bash with an oompah band and special bites from Mimi’s Chuka Diner. Not your vibe? Trillium and Sam Adams are also throwing down.

ONE LAST THING

A baby Patriot!

Here’s a sentence we never thought we’d say: We’d like to officially welcome Cardi B. into the Massachusetts canon. Because this week, the rapper announced she’s having a baby with Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs. 

Rumors had been swirling around Cardi’s potential pregnancy for weeks (which she definitely did not want to talk about at the time), but she happily shared the news on her terms in an exclusive interview with Gayle King, where she had some very sweet things to say about Diggs: “He just makes me feel safe and very confident and very strong.”

As for Diggs? His reaction to the announcement was pretty cute, too.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Claire Nicholas

🍼 Thanks for reading! So … where do we think Cardi stays when she’s in Foxborough?

☁️ Official “Fluff” count in today’s newsletter: 29.

🏊 The results are in: 39% of readers said there’s no amount of money that’d convince them to dive off the top of the ICA. One reader said: “One time I slipped and fell in my own apartment stepping out of the shower.” Fair enough!

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