🍀😉 You’re getting lucky this weekend

🥖🍕 It’s your last chance to snag these tickets … We have a few spots left in our March 18 focaccia-making class with Cambridge Center for Adult Education (tickets include a glass of wine). Plus, there’s just ONE ticket left for our March 26 Supper Club at FiDO Pizza. Grab it here! 

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

We hope you’re feeling lucky … ‘Cause Boston’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is back in Southie on March 15. 

Here’s what to know before you go: 

🍀 This year’s parade is running backwards. Literally! In honor of America’s 250th birthday, the 3.5-mile route will run in reverse, kicking off at Andrew Square and ending at Broadway Station. Like last year, it’ll have an earlier 11:30 a.m. start time in an effort to cut down on tomfoolery (more on that later).

🚗 Say it with us: DON’T DRIVE THERE! ‘Cause you do, you’ll have to navigate this maze of parking restrictions and street closures. If you’re currently parked in said restricted areas, towing begins at 2 a.m. on parade day, but you can stash your car at this garage in the Seaport for a reduced price.

🚇 The T and buses will be working overtime. The Red Line will be running rush hour service from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and bypassing Broadway station if crowds get too heavy. Meanwhile, MBTA buses will be avoiding the parade like the plague: Routes 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, and 47 will all be skipping Andrew and Broadway and making additional detours around the route. Here are all the deets.

🚉 So will the commuter rail. Trains will be running with additional cars, and seven lines will be operating on a special parade day schedule. Also: Free shuttle buses will be running between South Station and Southie from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

🍺 About that tomfoolery crackdown … This year, officials are going all out to keep the parade’s infamous frat bro behavior at a minimum. Cops, firefighters, and other officials will be on high alert to address underage drinking and unsafe parties, packies and bars are required to close by 4 and 7:30 p.m., respectively, and there will be a new “family friendly zone” along M Street. Godspeed, frat bros.

👀 Want the full viewing *experience*? Get there as early as you can and camp out on Broadway, specifically around L Street. Bonus points if you can get a reservation at a nearby restaurant. Here’s our guide to Irish pubs near the route.

🙅‍♀️ Want to stay as far away as possible? Our suggestions: Remnant Brewing is hosting a chill St. Paddy’s Day fun run and beer garden party with brews and baked potatoes, or head to The Speedway for Bierfest Weekend, including a St. Paddy’s celebration with over 100 vendors and live Irish music.

🤔 Whew! Did you get all that? For any other questions, check out the parade website.

🎻👀 That’s usually what people say right before the da-da-da-dummm hits. On April 14, the Boston Symphony Orchestra debuts its first-ever Explorer Concert — a fun, judgement-free deep dive into Beethoven’s iconic Symphony No. 5 for beginners, savants, and everyone in between. Composer and host Bill Barclay guides you through the drama, while ConcertCue sends real-time notes to your phone so you actually know what’s happening. And afterwards? Keep the fun going with drinks and mingling with musicians at the O’Block-Kay bar. Grab your tickets today and soft launch your symphony era. 

⚽ The World Cup will go on after all! ICYMI: For weeks, the fate of Gillette’s games were in question as the town of Foxborough threatened to withhold a key entertainment license unless someone coughed up $7.8 million in security funding by March 17. On Wednesday, the Kraft Group and local organizing committee Boston Soccer 26 finally reached an "understanding" with the town, agreeing to float the cash after weeks of spicy negotiations. That said, with mounting concerns about Boston’s hosting prowess, there’s still a lot of work to do before kickoff.

🎙️ Could Boston’s two NPR stations merge? Recently, GBH chief executive Susan Goldberg hinted that she’s open to the possibility following President Trump’s massive cuts to public media funding. “It would make a lot of sense to merge,” she told the Globe. For years — even as recently as 2024 — the two stations have been adamant about staying apart, insisting that Boston has enough ears (and cash) to keep both afloat. But following the cuts, Goldberg seems ready to reconsider. That said, it takes two to tango, and for now, WBUR isn’t interested.

🤑 Introducing: The 2026 Mass. billionaire club. Forbes dropped its annual World Billionaires’ List, and per usual, Massachusetts was well-represented. Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity, is the richest Masshole of all, with a net worth of $33.2 billion, followed by Pats owner Robert Kraft and his $13.8 billion. Other notable names include Red Sox and Boston Globe owner John Henry ($5.7 billion), Celtics owner Bill Chisholm ($3.2 billion), and Herb Chambers of … Herb Chambers ($2.8 billion). Here’s the full list.

🍦 We’ve got the scoop on Third Time Together. The 2025 Best of Boston-winning ice cream pop-up-turned-cafe is reopening on March 14 as a full-fledged cafe in Kendall Square. Expect the same assortment of wild ice cream flavors (think: carrot and sweet potato, balsamic mascarpone) plus new breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus full of Middle Eastern fare. Rumor has it, hot dogs may make an appearance. And we didn’t even mention coffee! Here’s a sneak peek at the menu.

🎨 Enter your art girl era. Contemporary art gallery Praise Shadows has moved Downtown, and you can celebrate and peruse its new exhibition at a free reception tonight!

🥘 Chow down on free chili. March 14 is Harvard Square’s 16th annual chili cookoff, where you can sample the area’s best chili for free and vote on your fave to win the chili pot. 

🍀 Celebrate St. Bratrick’s day. You know, the day you wear brat green, don your best Charli XCX fit, and head to Club Cafe for a dance party. It’s on March 14.

🚲 Close out winter with a bike ride. Boston’s winter biking series is winding down, but not before this all-levels group bike ride in Lower Mills on March 14 with free hot cocoa!

🍳 Pregame St. Paddy’s day with brunch. Harpoon is hosting an epic Irish brunch buffet on March 15, with everything from green beer to Irish stout quiche to scrambled eggs!

🎥 Catch an Oscar-nominated flick. Ahead of the ceremony, you can catch Best Picture nominees “One Battle After Another” at the MFA or “Sinners” at Lamplighter Brewing Co. on March 15. 

👀 Or just catch the awards. Already seen all the nominees? The Roslindale Film Society and Trident Booksellers are both hosting Oscars watch parties with bites, sips, and games.

🧘Your new favorite self care is in town. Join Source Method Breathwork at The Foundry in Cambridge on Wednesday, Mar. 18 for Source Flow, a slower-paced, 60-minute breathwork experience set to music you know and love, followed by guided journaling. Just show up, enjoy the music, and breathe deep.

Boston’s snow is finally melting, but underneath lies something much worse: Poop! 

When snowstorms hit, pet owners tend to skip the poop pickup. Which means that as the snow finally thaws across the city, about two months of discarded pet poop is seeing the light, and let’s just say, Bostonians aren’t happy about it. See: This entire Reddit thread of complaints (warning: there’s a bit of strong language).

For most of us, the poop comes as a smelly surprise, but for local poop scooping businesses, it’s a gold mine. This week, Scoop it Up removal services is hitting 15 to 20 yards a day, compared with about four in the summer, and Poop Scoop Mass saw 50 new signups in New England on Monday alone.

Check out the whole stinky story here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Claire Nicholas

💩 Thanks for reading! Don’t even get us started on the yellow snow.

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

💍 The results are in: 39% of B-Siders said they aren’t getting married anytime soon. One reader said: “Unless you know anyone nice?” Hmmmmmmm …

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