SUN 9/20: Get Outside

Darn, me. My schedule has changed, and I'm away from the keyboard before I sent out that weekly thing I wanted to finish. Have a great weekend!

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SUN 9/20

Noon to 6pm
Allston Village Street Fair
on Harvard Ave, from Brighton Ave to Cambridge St, Allston
FREE

Yes, family-friendly fun usually doesn't come to mind when I think of Allston, but they're calling it an "urban Mardi Gras" (I read they're even going to hand out a thousand necklaces... Shirts may not rise a la NOLA, but it's bound to be a bit funkier than most street festivals.

There are plenty of bands playing throughout. It seems like some are also playing at the Freedom Rally on Saturday, but I'd suggest to be cool about the special smokes at this festival...

I like the ska/punk bookends of The Allstonians (Noon) and Brunt of It (5:25pm). There two stages with a load of pop, rock, roots, hip-hop, dance, etc that looks good to me like:

Thea Hopkins & Henry Nigro (1pm), Bird Mancini (1:20pm), Bloco Afro Brazil (2:20pm), Three Day Threshold (2:40pm), The Problemaddicts (3:20pm), Casey Desmond (4pm), Bacchus King (5:25pm)

If you can't handle the sunshine, O'Brien's is host a (mostly) most-rawking bunch of bands: The Thickness (Noon), The Big Big Bucks (1pm), Alley Blues (2pm), Dead Like Death (3pm), Payload - some of The FU's (4pm), SuperPower (5pm)

Of course you'll find food vendors, street performers, arts/crafts, kids crap, etc (airbrush tattoos, hello!) will amuse and satisfy to various degrees.

Part of the event's beauty is that it can't look much worse even after all the trash that might be left behind...

Ride your bicycle to enjoy the free valet service. If you don't feel like walking up from the B Line, there's free parking and a shuttle from the parking garage on Guest St next to WGBH.

SUN 9/20

11am to 4pm
First Annual Urban-Ag Fair
at Winthrop Park (corner of JFK and Mt. Auburn), Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

They say the first marketplace in the town we call Cambridge was located at Winthrop Park. Whether or not you're interested in going to RiverSing; you could taste, learn about, and buy local fruits, vegetables, etc, etc. Besides wonderful flavor, eating local is good for the soul (and environment). Someone out there wants to know about composting, rain barrels, and beekeeping!

They're even going to award "the tastiest, the biggest, and the ugliest" produce -- so look in your garden/fridge.

(It's cool that the germ of the idea was a suggestion in a city committee meeting. Yes, things occasionally happen in government!)

SUN 9/20

5pm-ish to 8pm
Revels RiverSing
over the Charles River, near the Weeks pedestrian bridge, Cambridge or Boston
FREE

The autumnal equinox is around the corner, but it'll still be summer to me. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy a celebration over the Charles River.

Listen and watch the bands, choirs, and giant puppets... Sing along and watch... Okay, what are you supposed to sing? Fake it or download the lyrics. [PDF] It's a lot of traditionals; if you don't know them, you will before the song is over.

People are invited to show up at Winthrop Park (on the Cambridge side) around 5pm and march down to the river at 5:45pm.

It should be a good day for a picnic, but keep in mind that a lot of people will show up.

For the attention-deficit folks, you could stroll by around 7:15 for moment which should be pretty cool: saxophonist Stan Strickland is going be on a boat and just play whatever comes to mind.

"Bring a bell (or wear a bell) to help us ring in the new season and small boaters are encouraged to decorate their boats and join us on the river while we sing."