BosTen is your weekly guide to the best events and coolest happenings in and around Boston.
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].
Watch the fall’s most buzzed-about festival films with IFFBoston
With fall festival season in full swing, some of the year’s awards season favorites have already been anointed in Venice and Toronto. If you want to see some of 2022’s most anticipated films weeks or months before they open nationwide, Independent Film Festival Boston (IFFBoston) will be screening 13 buzz-worthy movies at the Brattle Theatre now through November 1 as part of its Fall Focus showcase. Among the highlights are Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking,” about a group of women (Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Frances McDormand) living in an isolated religious colony who struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony’s men; James Gray’s “Armageddon Time,” a semi-autobiographical tale about a Queens boy struggling to reconcile faith and family with fitting in at his new school; and Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” sequel “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” during which audiences are invited to dress in costumes inspired by the 2019 smash hit whodunnit filmed in Massachusetts. There will even be a prize for best-dressed. For a full list of films, check out the IFF Boston website. — Kevin Slane
Try Ghost Tequila drinks for Halloween with the Boston.com Cocktail Club
Looking to add a little spice to your Halloweekend? This Thursday at 7 p.m., the Boston.com Cocktail Club will be mixing up drinks using Ghost Tequila, a locally-founded company that adds a kick of heat to the agave-derived spirit. Join host Jackson Cannon (The Hawthorne, Eastern Standard) and guest bartender Alex Carregal (Ghost Tequila) as they teach you how to make two spicy cocktails — the Muertos Margarita and the Hellfire Highball. Attending the Zoom is free, and you can find a full list of necessary ingredients here. — Kevin Slane
Scare up some fun with Zoo New England
Join the fun at Franklin Park Zoo on Halloween weekend with thrills, chills, and animals lurking around every corner of the trick-or-treat trail at the annual “Zoo Howl.” This Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., there will be plenty of haunted happenings throughout the weekend, including costume contests, mystery animal encounters, and opportunities to learn about all the creepy crawly critters found at the zoo. Even the animals will join in on the fun, when they enjoy pumpkin treats of their own during a “pumpkenrichment.” North of Franklin Park Zoo in Stoneham, guests can enjoy even more scary sights at Stone Zoo‘s “Boo at the Zoo” held the previous weekend (Oct. 22 and 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.). This annual trick-or-treating extravaganza will also include costumed fun and a costume contest. — Cheryl Fenton
Read up at the Boston Book Festival
The 14th annual Boston Book Festival returns to town this year this Saturday in Copley Square. Free and open to the public, the festival hosts keynote speakers, writing workshops and contests, kids activities, poetry readings, book vendors of all kinds, and live entertainment. Returning in person for the first time since 2019, the festival has attracted over 30,000 guests in the past. However, it’s not just for bibliophiles. Vendors, entertainers, and food trucks line Copley Square, while other events throughout the day take place in venues like the Boston Public Library and Old South Church. Local bookshops like Brattle also sell new and used books at pop-ups on the street. Keynote speakers at this year’s festival include Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, a best-selling trauma researcher; Yiyun Li, a novelist and MacArthur Foundation Fellow; Malinda Lo, National Book Award winner; Tui T. Sutherland, a New York Times best-selling author; and Patrick Radden Keefe, an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker. Other headlining speakers include Wajahat Ali, Steve Almond, and Dr. Deborah Birx. Tickets are available on the BBF website. — Natalie Gale
Show off your pup at the Doggone Halloween Parade
The annual Doggone Halloween Dog Parade is coming back to Downtown Crossing this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (rain date October 30). Dress up your pup, or just head over and enjoy the show. All dogs must be on site by 12:30 p.m. and judging begins at 1 p.m. There will be prizes for the scariest dog, cutest dog, and best dog and human duo, as well as best in show. Treats will be provided, and dog-related vendors will be present as well with free samples. The parade event is free, but advance registration via Eventbrite is required. — Ria Goveas
Dress up for a Halloween pub crawl
As is the case every year, the bars of Boston will be full of Halloween pub crawls all weekend long. 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, as well as a “Hangover” crawl in Cambridge. If you’re really a Halloween completist, all of the aforementioned crawls will also be back in action on Halloween night. — Kevin Slane
Celebrate Halloween all weekend with Big Night Entertainment
Big Night Entertainment Group has lined up music, costumes, performances, drinks and more at a number of its venues across Boston for the Halloween weekend. At Big Night Live, attendees can enjoy performances from Joel Corry, Acraze, and SVDDEN DEATH throughout the weekend. As always, the Causeway Street offers luxury pod seating, multiple bars, LED lights, and a supersonic sound system for a VIP experience. Attendees can also hit the dance floor at Seaport’s The Grand, which will host AUDIEN, MAKJ, and DJ Esco throughout the weekend. Dress to impress in your finest Halloween costume for Empire’s Horror Nights on Friday and Saturday, where attendees can sip on seasonal cocktails like Finding Fall (Hendricks Neptunia, lime agave, honey) and How ‘Bout Them Apples (Dos Hombres Mezcal, Cointreau, apple cider, lime agave). Finally, Downtown Crossing arcade bar VERSUS’ Halloween Costume Party on Saturday provides another opportunity to dress up, with prizes to those who dress as their favorite character and festive drink specials. — Ria Goveas
Have the time of your life at Dirty Dancing in Concert
Don’t pack up those vacation vibes just yet. There’s still time to channel a summer resort dance party for the time of your life. There won’t be a bad seat in the Shubert Theatre (even in the corner) as Dirty Dancing in Concert takes over with the classic film’s first live film-to-concert experience this Friday at 8 p.m. With the digitally remastered hit film playing on a full-size cinema screen, a live band and singers will perform the film’s iconic songs from the beloved ’80s soundtrack. With the worldwide box-office sensation turning 35, you’ll head back in time to the story set in the summer of 1963, as Baby (Jennifer Grey) and her family vacation at a beautiful Catskills resort where she becomes Intrigued by the staff’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and wild underbelly of the resort’s staff and guests. Following the film, the band and singers will throw an encore party for everyone to get in on the action with singing and dancing. — Cheryl Fenton
Get spooky after hours at the Boston Children’s Museum
While the kids love daytime visits to the Boston Children’s Museum, it’s after-hours when the spooky starts. The third annual Spooktacular returns on Saturday starting at 6 p.m. with a night of frightful fun for the entire family. Taking place after the museum closes for the day, this ticketed event brings together all the excitement of the season with spooky activities and programs throughout the evening. Experience activities and programs including “Little’s Pumpkin Patch” (specifically for guests under the age of three), “Pumpkin Putt-Putt,” a “Jack-o’-Lantern Jamboree,” trick-or-treating (complete with allergy options and special “boo bags” for little kids under the age of 3), and the hands-on “Potions!” Kids can run through the “Spider Web Maze” and “Zombie Lanes,” then show off their dance moves during “Boo Crew Review: Songs, Stories and Silly Fun” and monster mashing with a DJ. From cowboys and princesses to monsters and ghosts, a costume contest hands out kudos for most imaginative, spookiest, cutest, and best group costume. — Cheryl Fenton
Go nuts at the Rise & Rumble Doughnut Throwdown
Eight Boston bakers will rise to the occasion this Sunday from 11-2 p.m. at the Rise & Rumble Doughnut Throwdown — and you’ll win. Well, one of the entries will be named the day’s best doughnut, but you’ll try them all to vote for your favorite, and that sounds like winning to us. The annual pastry competition is hosted by Himmel Hospitality Group (Harvest, Grill 23, Bistro du Midi, The Banks Fish House), and pastry chefs from those venerable restaurants as well as other best-in-class Boston bakers will face off this year. Tickets for spectators include a taste of every entry, plus a complimentary beverage station and $15 toward a future brunch at The Banks Fish House. There will also be a cash bar serving exclusive event cocktails. Considering it’s the day before Halloween, expect some special treats. There will also be a costume competition for both attendees and chefs. — Jacqueline Cain
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