SAT 8/25: Day Cheapness

Lots of fun stuff on a gorgeous day. You may or may not like some of my suggestions -- just do something!

Stay tuned for tunes and revelry (or check out the calendar).

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SAT 8/25

1pm to 4pm
Annual Caribbean Carnival Parade & Festival
from Martin Luther King Blvd, Roxbury
to Franklin Park Zoo, Dorchester
FREE

One usually thinks of 'Carnival' as the celebration before Lent, however there are several Caribbean islands like Trinidad that celebrate in August (and July). Boston conveniently follows the timing that makes sense for dancers to wear skimpy and wildly decorative outfits, and it has done so for about 40 years.

The party starts very early in the morning near the beginning of the parade route then rolls down Blue Hill Ave with bands and extremely loud DJ trucks to the Zoo where there will be food vendors (and folks selling other wares) with Island flavors.

SAT 8/25

2pm
"O/A: The Sophocles Project"
at Arsenal Center for the Arts, Black Box Theatre, 321 Arsenal St, Watertown
$5 / $3 with Charlie Card/Ticket

I'm not sure what I like more:

1) A team of Emerson grads decides to stage an experimental retelling of the 3 Oedipus plays (the 'O' stands for Oedipus and the 'A' stands for Antigone) with an original soundtrack.

2) You get a discount by showing your that you took the T, which is approximately the cost of half of the round-trip.

SAT 8/25

4pm to 7pm
Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2012
at Institute for Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave, Boston (South Boston/Seaport)
FREE

Cliff Diving is a crazy idea. Although it's not as dirty as its reputation, diving into Boston Harbor seems even crazier.

Either imagine the event as a historical reenactment with graceful athletes replacing crates or as performance art where man meets the sea in a 3-second aerial ballet.

Almost a dozen of the best divers in the world return to Boston for the second year in a row for the only US stop on the tour where each contestant takes 4 90-foot leaps into the drink.

Speaking of which, I watched from the Atlantic Beer Garden last year and still marveled at the jumps from afar.

SAT 8/25 (and SUN 8/26)

7:45pm
Films at the Gate: Night #3
at Chinatown Park, about 120 Essex St, Boston (Kennedy Greenway)
FREE

Schedule:

7:45pm -- Demonstration by Wah Lum Kung Fu Athletic Association
8pm -- "The Shaolin Temple"

Sunday -- "Ip Man 2"

This annual event is usually a good chance to hang out and watch some kung fu movies while chowing down on some al-fresco takeout food in Chinatown. The experience is enriched by watching them with the original Chinese audio (and English subtitles).

Jet Li made his debut 30 years ago in the near-constant kung-fu fighting that takes place around the Shaolin Temple, and that is supposedly a real temple in the film.

SAT 8/25

8pm
"Kung Fu Hustle": Screening
at Room 100, Bldg 26, 60 Vassar St, Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

It can't be a coincidence that there's another kung fu movie for free across the river indoors. I haven't seen "The Shaolin Temple", but the production value can't compare to this modern martial arts comedy. If you love kung fu movies, this one is hilarious.

On the other hand, sitting in a dark room at MIT hardly seems as fun as sitting in a Chinatown park.