Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

The Harlem Globetrotters, Wine Riot, Banned in Boston, and more.

wine riot

Photo via The Second Glass/Flickr

Drinks
Boston Wine Riot at Park Plaza Castle

Plenty of people are self-proclaimed wine lovers. However, attending the Boston Wine Riot might actually make you a wine-o. Crash courses? Samplings of more than 250 wines from across the world? Wine experts strolling about ready to answer any and all of your questions? It’s sure to be a tipsy night of delicious education. In addition to food and music, there will also be temporary tattoos, which is probably a better idea than the real deal after a night of Merlot.

$60, Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, Park Plaza Castle, 50 Arlington St., 617-457-2281, secondglass.com

Sports
Harlem Globetrotters at TD Garden

TD Garden is no stranger to sporting events, but this weekend the Harlem Globetrotters will be playing a different sort of pick-up game in the grand stadium. Never heard of ’em? The Globetrotters are a basketball team, technically, but with a performance aspect. Its tall team members aren’t just skillful athletes but comedic performers too, often incorporating a welcome element of theatre into their “games,” making the event a good time for all, even the (gasp!) non-sports enthusiasts.

$19-$164, Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, 1 p.m., TD Garden, 100 Legends Way, 617-624-1050, tdgarden.com

Music
Kirsten Thien Band and Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers at Johnny D’s

Hey, you! Thursday night! You are a night of anticipation. You are the weekend, but not quite yet. Well then, what better way for us work folk to ease into things than by spending a few hours in Somerville for a soulful night of blues?  New England musician Kirsten Thien will be opening for Boston Music Award winner Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers at Johnny D’s. Together, the two female-fronted bands will get the night going with back-to-back sets full of harmonicas, rockin’ vocals, and just the right amount of funk to get your toes tapping and hips swinging. Or at least a spirited head bob.

$10, Thursday, April 4, Johnny D’s, 17 Holland St., Somerville, 617-776-2004 , johnnyds.com

Comedy
Banned in Boston at the House of Blues

You know how Tilda Swinton is currently putting herself on display at the MoMA by sleeping in a glass box? Well, this is kind of like that. Sort of. Urban Improv, a youth interactive program that teaches violence prevention in the Boston area, is once again putting together their annual fundraiser, a musical revue starring some of Boston’s most prominent faces including Governor Deval Patrick, Mayor Tom Menino, and Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton. So come have a few cocktails and watch our politicians let loose! All proceeds benefit Urban Improv.

$250, $140 (for attendees 40 or younger), Friday, April 5, House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St., 888-693-2583, urbanimprov.org

Art
“Me Love You Long Time” at the Boston Center for the Arts

At the Mills Gallery at the BCA, a closing weekend of a curation holds as much meaning as an opening. “Me Love You Long Time,” an intimate collection of contemporary art primarily created by artists of South Asian descent, will be closing with a beautiful Butoh-inspired dance performance as well as a conversation with the artists. So for one last time at the Mills Gallery, come explore expressions of sex, cultural tropes, and gender by a group of talented contemporary artists.

Free, Friday, April 5, Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., 617-425-5000, bcaonline.org