Free Things to Do in Boston, November 2017

Watch the iconic Christopher Columbus Park trellis light up this November / Photo courtesy of Matt Conti

Celebrate
Dia de los Muertos Evening Celebration

Celebrate your loved ones at this Day of the Dead celebration at the Peabody Museum in Cambridge. Harvard professor David Carrasco will be presenting on the significance and symbolism of this lively Mexican holiday. Enjoy sweet Mexican hot chocolate and pan de muerto while listening to Harvard voice students perform traditional folk songs or mariachi musician Veronica Robles sing with her band. Later in the evening, attendees will have a chance to enter the costume contest and win prizes.

November 1, 4-8 p.m., Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, harvard.edu.

Watch
Bright Lights Film Festival by Emerson College

Bright Lights is a free, public film festival hosted by Emerson College beginning this fall. The series screens at least 50 percent of films directed by women and is dedicated to featuring films related to people of color, queer identity, and disabilities. This November, catch The Love Witch, a comedy/horror film about a beautiful witch with men dying at her feet. After the screening, director Anna Biller will discuss and answer audience questions.

Throughout the month of November, 7 p.m., Paramount Theatre, 559 Washington St., Boston, emerson.edu.

Watch
Whose Streets? Screening and Discussion

Join the Boston University Arts Initiative for a free screening of Whose Streets?, a documentary about the activists protesting for justice in Ferguson. Following the film, there will be a panel discussion with one of the directors, Damon Davis, and three Boston University professors from social work, history, and theology. Jessica Simes, an assistant professor of sociology and moderator of the event, believes Whose Streets? is more important than ever to the college community and Boston public. The film “raises important questions about justice and inclusion, which are historically pressing and significant for our campus and broader community,” says Simes.

November 8, 6 p.m., Tsai Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, bu.edu.

See
Reynolds Gallery Pop Up Reception

The Virginia-based Reynolds Gallery is back to host its third pop up in the Boston area. Its pop ups are all about “getting work out there to new collectors, pushing new voices, and creating a fresh dialogue about contemporary art,” according to Janie Hall, a gallery assistant. “With family members, supportive collectors, and Richmond connections in Boston, it was a natural fit to expand in that direction.” The two-week exhibition features local and internationally acclaimed artists, including Nell Blaine, Alex Katz, and Andrea Donnelly, “an emerging talent who creates geometric textiles conveying the poetic, lyrical nature of loom weaving,” says Hall. The public opening reception will be hosted on Friday, November 10, though the exhibit will be open every day from Nov. 7-19.

November 10, 6-9 p.m., Reynolds Gallery, 220 Newbury St., Boston, reynoldsgallery.com.

Learn
Boston Antiquarian Book Fair

Visit the 41st annual Boston Antiquarian Book Fair and browse rare books sold by international sellers, from ancient manuscripts to modern exclusive editions. In addition to the vendor stands, the fair also boasts bookbinding workshops, author panel discussions, and free expert appraisals. The event is hosted by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, established in 1949 to “promote interest in rare and antiquarian books and book collecting, and to foster collegial relations.”

November 11, 12-7 p.m. and November 12, 12-5 p.m., Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston St., Boston, bostonbookfair.com.

See
Fenway Open Studios

More than twenty artists will showcase their studios to the public and discuss their artistic inspirations and personal styles. For example, Anne McGhee will be showing off her prints of Fenway Park and Martha’s Vineyard, and Teri Malo will have her nautical, nature-inspired landscapes on display. The 112-year-old Fenway Studios is the oldest ‘purpose-built’ studio space in the country, created specifically for local artists and recognized as a national historic landmark.

November 11-12, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., 30 Ipswich St., Boston, fenwaystudios.org.

Celebrate
Veteran’s Day Parade

Join the City of Boston for its Annual Veterans Day Parade. Local organizations, battalions, and veterans and their families will march rain or shine from Boylston and Charles Streets to City Hall Plaza. Marching bands and military vehicles will make the celebration even livelier.

November 11, 1 p.m., Boylston and Charles St., Boston, facebook.com.

Dance
Global Arts, Eats, and Beats

Immerse yourself in the unique cultures around Latin America at CIC Boston, a coworking and entrepreneurial office space. Make your own crafts, learn to dance the salsa, and munch on treats from the live food making station. Ten Tumbao, a Latin jazz band, will also be performing live at the end of the night. Shakti Rowan, the CIC Wellness Program Coordinator, says they hope to celebrate international entrepreneurs and innovation. “It’s been my dream for many years to host an event to honor different regions of the world,” says Shakti. “This first event is for Latin America but we will continue honoring different regions of the world quarterly.”

November 17, 4-8 p.m., CIC Boston, 50 Milk St., Boston, cic.com.

Learn
TEDx at JFK Library

Watch the 6th Annual TEDxBeaconStreet Talks centered around values promoted by President Kennedy: courage, inclusion, service, and innovation. Hear from a former congressman, astronauts, scientists, entrepreneurs, and more. The event, themed “Ideas in Action,” will also take place in other Boston locations earlier in the month.

November 18, 8 a.m.-9 p.m., John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, Columbia Point, Boston, eventbrite.com.

Photo courtesy of Brookline Arts Center

Art
Brookline Artist Marketplace

Browse jewelry, pottery, woodwork, greeting cards, accessories, and even homemade jams at this local artists’ market. In addition to a number of private art vendors, the Brookline Artist Marketplace hosts a “faculty booth where our teachers at the center can display and sell their work,” according to Meghan Missett, the communications coordinator. The event is sponsored by the Brookline Arts Center, a community hub for art classes and outreach founded over 50 years ago.

November 18, 12-5 p.m. and November 19, 12-3 p.m., Brookline Arts Center, 86 Monmouth St., Brookline, brooklineartscenter.com.

See
Holiday Trellis Lighting

See Boston’s waterfront be transformed into a winter wonderland with this 15th annual lighting at Christopher Columbus Park. Mayor Marty Walsh, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, and the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park organization will brighten up the park’s iconic walkway with festive colored lights.

November 20, 5-6 p.m., Christopher Columbus Park, 110 Atlantic Ave., Boston, facebook.com.

Play
Trident Book Swap

If your bookshelf is just collecting dust, switch it up at Trident Booksellers. Bring up to five books to trade with other attendees for some new reads to add to your shelves. The swap will be ordered at random, so grab a drink and enjoy book-themed activities while you wait.

November 22, 7 p.m., Trident Booksellers, 338 Newbury St., Boston, tridentbookscafe.com.

Listen
Boston Tuba Christmas

Come watch the 32nd Annual Boston Tuba Christmas Concert and hear more than 150 musicians play your favorite holiday tunes outdoors at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. The concert is sponsored by the Harvey Phillips Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at “developing, expanding, and preserving the music arts.”

November 25, 2-3 p.m., Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 4 South Market Building, faneuilhallmarketplace.com.

Festive
Greater Ashmont Pop Up Holiday Market

Kick off the beginning of the holiday season with the third annual pop up market in Peabody Square. Greater Ashmont Main Street is partnering with Small Business Saturday to bring local vendors, pastries, winter clothing accessories, holiday wreaths and a festive tree lighting. Dot Art will keep the kids busy with arts and crafts activities, so you can relax, sip on some hot cider, and shop around.

November 25, 3-7 p.m., Peabody Square, 1900 Dorchester Ave., Boston, facebook.com.

Photo courtesy of Faneuil Hall Marketplace

Watch
Blink! Light & Sound Show

Faneuil Hall will brighten up this holiday season with decorations and twinkling lights synchronized to festive music. Beginning on November 29, the show will run until New Year’s Day every half hour from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The show has been redesigned this year to feature more colors, animations, and sing-along tunes. “It’s become a holiday tradition for local families and visitors for the past five years, and this year’s Blink! will be truly spectacular,” says Carol Troxell, President of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace Merchants Association. The marketplace will also host an 85-foot Christmas tree, the largest in the northeast.

November 29-January 1, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, 4 South Market Building, faneuilhallmarketplace.com.

Learn
13th Screening and Discussion

Watch Emmy-award winning documentary 13th, a film about the “intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in the United States,” titled after the Thirteenth Amendment. The Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics is hosting the screening to address solutions to the health and human rights crises surrounding mass imprisonment. The documentary discusses history spanning from the Civil War through to the modern prison-industrial complex.

November 29, 6:15-9 p.m., Armenise Building at Harvard Medical School, 210 Longwood Ave., Boston, facebook.com.

Watch
Boston Common Tree Lighting and Frog Pond Skating Spectacular

Wave goodbye to November at the Frog Pond Skating Spectacular, where national and international competitive figure skating soloists and groups will perform. After the show, stick around for the Boston Common Tree Lighting ceremony with Mayor Marty Walsh.

November 30, 5-6 p.m., Boston Common, bostonfrogpond.com.