10 things to do in Boston this weekend: October 20-23, 2022

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].

Take a swing at Puttshack

The Seaport, already home to several high-end nightclubs, now has an indoor mini golf club as well. Starting this week, visitors will be able to swing through Puttshack Boston, an “upscale tech-infused mini golf experience” now open at 58 Pier 4 Boulevard. The 26,000-square-foot, two-floor indoor space will feature four nine-hole mini golf courses, with gameplay enhanced by the company’s “Trackball” technology — an innovation that keeps score as you play and displays your progress on digital scoreboards. Each hole also features its own interactive game, with players able to test their beer pong skills during one hole and their trivia knowledge at another. Reservations are available on the Puttshack Boston website. — Kevin Slane

Check out the Obama portraits at MFA Late Nites

What better way to take in the masterpieces housed at the Museum of Fine Arts than during a festive Friday after-hours party? Ever since the MFA made its “Late Nites” program a regular occurrence starting in 2016, the museum has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to the festive event series. This Friday from 8 p.m. to midnight, visitors can check out “The Obama Portraits Tour” and “Portraits of Leadership” before the traveling exhibits leave on October 30, as well as five other exhibits. Beer, wine, and other food and drinks will be available on the first floor, and more than a dozen artists will perform music and poetry throughout the evening. — Kevin Slane

‘The Great Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium’ takes over a Boston brewery

The moment you step into the foyer tent of “The Great Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium,” you’re instantly transported back in time to a turn-of-the-century traveling medicine show. Whimsical characters, magical potions, and world-class artistry take center stage (literally) during this whirlwind original Salto Entertainment production taking over the Harpoon Brewery. Your evening begins at the Drink-Ory Garden, with a savory array of delicious dishes and potent potions, including Harpoon IPA, Rec League, and “The Swindler,” an exclusive beer brewed just for the show. Satiated with suds and snacks, you’ll adjourn to a custom boutique, climate-controlled big-top tent to take a cushioned seat for witnessing mind-bending vaudeville-style performances. You’ll be led by the infamous and eclectic Mr. B.S. Swindler and his mysterious accomplice Dr. Elixer through a theatrical experience sporting a cast of characters, live acrobats, and comedy, including The Contorted’s complex body mechanics, the sensational The Spinologist, and high-flying duo Suspended Passion. Word to the wise: leave the kids at home for this irreverent tongue-in-cheek mini-melodrama that promises to thrill and delight through classic vintage entertainment. Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 7 p.m.; Saturdays at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and Sundays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. —Cheryl Fenton

See ‘Hairspray’ at the Opera House

Feel the “downtown rhythm” at the Tony Award-winning show “Hairspray,” which just kicked off a two-week run at the Opera House that ends October 30. Based on the 1988 film by John Waters, “Hairspray” is set in 1962 Baltimore, where self-proclaimed “pleasantly plump” teenager Tracy Turnblad dances her way onto a popular teenage dance show. She makes new friends in unlikely places, and some enemies, too—namely the show’s producer who doesn’t want to cast Tracy because of her size, and who won’t hire Black dancers, either. Tracy sets out to help integrate the show. features 1960s-style dance music and “downtown” rhythm and blues and highlights themes like race, freedom of expression, and individuality. The lively musical first hit Broadway in 2003, winning eight Tony Awards that year, including Best Musical, and featuring hit songs like “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” “Good Morning Baltimore,” and “Welcome to the ‘60s.” The new Hairspray touring company features Andrew Levitt, aka Nina West (from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) as Edna Turnblad. Niki Metcalf stars as Tracy Turnblad, and the production is directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. — Natalie Gale

Browse masterworks at the Boston International Fine Art Show

Get drawn into some art at the 24th annual Boston International Fine Art Show — the only such fine arts event in New England. The Boston Center for the Arts is opening its 15,000-square-foot Cyclorama event space as an exhibition hall, displaying works from 40 fine arts galleries across the United States and Europe from Friday through Sunday. Attendees can explore and browse through a range of fine art, including paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and mixed media. Tickets are available via Eventbrite, and allow re-admission for the entire weekend, a complimentary catalog, and access to special events such as speakers and book signings. — Ria Goveas

Head to the river for Head of the Charles

Athletes from around the world and thousands of spectators will head to the banks of the Charles River this weekend for the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR), the largest two-day regatta in the world. First held in 1965, the regatta brings an estimated 225,000 spectators to the race and an estimated $72 million to the local economy. The skill level of competing athletes ranges from novice to Olympic, and the most prestigious races, the men’s and women’s championship races, happen on Saturday afternoon. Spectating is free and open to the public. Some spectator favorites are the BU Bridge, where you’ll have unobstructed views of the starting line; Riverbend Park and its John W. Weeks footbridge; Eliot Bridge, the closest bridge to the finish line and the most likely spot for collisions, and Christian Herter Park, a wide open space near the finish line with a Nightshift beer garden. The regatta also has a number of closed viewing sites where you can relax with food and drinks, like the Eliot Bridge Enclosure, which includes a catered breakfast and lunch and an open bar, and the Reunion Village, which, for a $10 admission fee, includes concessions and a beer garden. — Natalie Gale

Catch the country-pop of Brandi Carlile

Country superstar Brandi Carlile was 19 when she released her first album – one of many homemade recordings that she sold at her shows. About five years later, she was signed to Columbia Records, where her first professional album – “Brandi Carlile” – would soon hit the record store shelves. After that first Columbia album, her then-small fan base took off, as did sales of her follow-up records, leading to 18 Grammy nominations and six wins (so far). Much of the setlist at her TD Garden show on Friday at 7:30 p.m. will likely consist of songs from her 2021 album “In These Silent Days,” which earned her another Grammy nod for its lead single, “Right on Time.” Oddly, Carlile was upset when “Right on Time” was Grammy-nominated in the Best Solo Pop Performance category, rather than under her own preferred Americana. Here’s hoping that she has come to grips with that record’s miscategorization, as there are a lot of fans out there who will want to hear it. — Ed Symkus

Dress up for a Halloween pub crawl

We’re in the penultimate weekend prior to Halloween, which means that the bars of Boston will be full of Halloween pub crawls from now to October 31. On Saturday, a pair of crawls will take place at Faneuil Hall Bars, with Pub Crawls and Bar Crawl Live! both offering up drink specials and contests. Pub Crawls is also operating a “Fright Night Fenway” crawl in the Lansdowne St. area on Saturday, and will host a Cambridge date next weekend. On the other side of the Charles River, the Camberville Zombie Pub Crawl will shamble its way between six Cambridge and Somerville watering holes, including State Park, Lord Hobo, and The Druid. — Kevin Slane

Attend an ’80s workout party

The Greatest Bar is a restaurant, bar, event venue, tourist attraction, museum, nightclub — and now a gym. Find your sweatbands, leg warmers, neon colors, and hairspray, because the ‘80s are back at the West End watering hole this Friday at 8 p.m. Attendees can listen to live and throwback tunes from The Perfect Giant, The Ghostkillers, and DJ Worthy as they work up a sweat. Tickets and VIP tables are available via Eventbrite. — Ria Goveas

Share some laughs with Adam Sandler in Boston

Comedian Adam Sandler’s fall tour is crisscrossing New England during the final weeks of October, with Sandler performing live shows in both Boston and his childhood hometown of Manchester, N.H this weekend. Sandler will be at Southern New Hampshire University Arena on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and at the new MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. There are a small handful of tickets still available for Sunday’s show, while Monday’s set from the Sand-man has tickets available at all price tiers on the MGM Music Hall website. — Kevin Slane

See More Events