Things to Do

10 things to do in Boston this weekend

BosTen is your weekly guide to the best events and coolest things to do in Boston.

By Kevin Slane

June 20, 2024

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Welcome to BosTen, your weekly guide to the coolest events and best things to do in Boston this weekend. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter here. Have an idea about what we should cover? Leave us a comment on this article or in the BosTen Facebook group, or email us at [email protected].

See thought-provoking films at Roxbury Film Fest

The 26th Annual Roxbury Film Festival will bring eight days of thought-provoking films to the Museum of Fine Arts (among other locations) from June 20-28. Highlights this weekend include an opening night screening of the Luther Vandross biopic “Luther” and a rep screening of the 1989 film “Riverbend Restored” on Saturday night at MassArt. Next weekend’s closing night film is “Sing Sing,” a movie based on the real-life arts rehabilitation program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility starring several formerly incarcerated actors alongside Oscar nominee Colman Domingo (“Rustin”). (June 20-28; 465 Huntington Ave.; $0-12 per film) — Kevin Slane

Check out the 2024 Embrace Ideas Festival

A “celebration of Black art, culture, joy, and excellence,” the Embrace Ideas Festival wraps up a week of events this Thursday and Friday. The four-day festival features panels, live performances, and keynotes, and features both local and national leaders in the anti-racism space. Highlights of this year’s event include a talk with Isabel Wilkerson, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent” was adapted into the 2023 movie “Origin” on on Thursday; and a block party at Roxbury Community College on Friday at 5 p.m. Passes for the free block party are available now on the Embrace Ideas Festival website. (Thursday, June 20 and Friday, June 21 at various times and locations; free) — Natalie Gale

Enjoy live music at CX Summer Nights

If you haven’t stopped by the somewhat newly formed Cambridge neighborhood known as Cambridge Crossing, this Thursday is the perfect opportunity to see what the reimagined community has to offer. The development will hold the first of three CX Summer Nights programs this Thursday from 5:30-8:30 p.m., with additional programming occurring on the third Thursday in July and August as well. Enjoy the CX green spaces with live music, food trucks, lawn games, and beverages from nearby local breweries. This Thursday’s lineup has the soul-influenced band Blue Light Bandits and Americana group Copilot, with funds raised from the free festival benefitting the local nonprofit East End House. (Thursday, June 20 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.; 320 Morgan Avenue Cambridge; free) — Kevin Slane

Celebrate victory at the Celtics parade

Boston’s sweltering heatwave will thankfully be over by Friday when the Celtics take to the city streets to celebrate the franchise’s 18th championship. More than a million people are expected to attend the parade, which will begin at 11 a.m. outside TD Garden on Causeway Street, run past City Hall Plaza, along the Boston Common on Tremont Street, and end on Boylston Street near the Hynes Convention Center. In all, the parade is expected to last 90 minutes, with the last of the Duck Boats rolling away at 12:30 p.m. near Hynes. The MBTA will run extra service on all of its lines, including the Commuter Rail, and is encouraging everyone to purchase their fares in advance. (Friday, June 21 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; 100 Causeway St., Boston; free) — Kevin Slane

‘Let her Cry’ at Hootie & The Blowfish

The ’90s will be back in Boston this Friday when Hootie & The Blowfish, Barenaked Ladies, Collective Soul, and Edwin McCain join forces for a concert at Fenway Park at 5:30 p.m. Hootie & the Blowfish — Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld — are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their best-selling album “Cracked Rear View” with the Summer Camp with Trucks Tour, a 43-city jaunt that kicked off last month in Dallas, and will wrap up in September in West Palm Beach. There are still reasonably priced tickets in a number of sections for the show available now via the Red Sox website. (Friday, June 21 at 5:30 p.m.; 4 Jersey St., Boston; $99.75 and up) — Kevin Slane

Get old school with John Pizzarelli at Scullers

Before John Pizzarelli got his first guitar – a Christmas present when he was 15 – he was already adept at the banjo, which he started playing at 7. But, as his father was jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, and there were guitars all over the house, John was already fooling with them by the time he was 10. Now a master of 7-string jazz playing, Pizzarelli initially had dreams of being a rock star, but found he was better at writing standard jazz-type songs than pop tunes. Besides his own “old-school” material, he’s best known for picking tunes from the Great American Songbook, but has also covered the Beatles, Billy Joel, and Steely Dan. It’s likely that his solo gig at Scullers this Friday will feature pieces from his 2021 solo album “Better Days Ahead.” (Friday, June 21 at 7 & 9 p.m.; 400 Soldiers Field Rd., Boston; $35 and up) — Blake Maddux

Snag a slice (or three) at Boston Pizza Festival

The question of where to find the best pizza in the Boston area is one that has been hotly debated for decades with no definitive answer. Knowing that, why not hedge your bets and head to the Boston Pizza Festival, where you’ll be able to potentially try 26 different slices in one place? The two-day festival takes over Boston’s City Hall Plaza from 11-6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, bringing together dozens of pizza vendors, a make-your-own pizza station, a demo kitchen, and pizza-making demonstrations, among other activities. Entrance to the fest is free, but you pay per slice, which can be done in advance on the pizza festival website. (Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23 from 11-6 p.m.; 1 City Hall Square, Boston; free) — Kevin Slane

Feel the groove at a pair of Porchfests

It’s been more than a decade since Somerville held the Boston area’s first Porchfest, bringing hundreds of talented musicians to the city’s porches, decks, and yards. More and more towns and neighborhoods are getting in on the fun, and this Saturday, you can choose between a pair of suburban Porchfests. Dedham Porchfest (4-8 p.m.) features 53 artists spread across 23 porches, while Reading Porchfest (12-6 p.m.) boasts nearly 100 acts playing 46 porches. To see a full list of Porchfests happening over the next few months, check out our full Porchfest guide. (Saturday, June 22 from 12-8 p.m. at various locations; free) — Kevin Slane

Listen to Guided by Voices at Royale

Guided by Voices embarked on their supposed farewell tour in 2004. Since reuniting in 2012, however, the Dayton-based quintet has been more prolific than ever. Granted, they were pretty prolific to begin with, but now it is not uncommon for them to release three albums in a single calendar year. Although their lineup is famously inconstant, it has been surprisingly stable since 2016, with the indefatigable 66-year-old former school teacher Robert Pollard at the helm. Their Royale show on Saturday will happen six days in advance of their first 2024 offering, “Strut of Kings.” My bet is that the remaining months of the year are ample for it to not be their last. (Saturday, June 22 at 7 p.m; 279 Tremont St., Boston; $40) — Blake Maddux

Chow down at Oysterfest

There’s little better than a cool plate of oysters on a hot summer day. This Sunday, three restaurants at Boston Public Market — Bluefin, Red’s Best, and The Pine Bar — will celebrate three New England oyster varietals for every guest at Oysterfest, the market’s celebration of everything oyster. Along with a plate of oysters on the BPM patio, guests can sip on drinks from The Pine Bar, listen to live music, and snag an Oysterfest hat (while supplies last). Attending the fest is free, and you can pre-order an oyster plate on the event’s website. (Sunday, June 23 from 12-4 p.m.; 100 Hanover St., Boston; free) — Kevin Slane