Five Reasons to Leave the House this Weekend

Kirby is only the tip of the Anime Boston iceberg. (Photograph courtesy of Anime Boston.)

Geekery
Anime Boston & PAX East
Oh. My. Goodness. I’m not sure if it was the best or worst idea ever to schedule both the East Coast’s largest Japanese animation and video gaming conventions over the same weekend. I mean, what if I want to learn how to survive a robot apocalypse and design a D&D dungeon? Well of course robots always win over D&D, but I guess I’ll have to make sure mom can give me a ride. Betwixt hundreds of panels, screenings, demos, vendors, and (indubitably) legions of outrageous attendees (check out our slideshow from last year), fans, who will have crossover conflicts, no doubt, will have quite an epic challenge in sorting out which events to attend.
$55, Anime Boston, Friday, April 6 through Sunday, April 8, Hynes Convention Center, animeboston.com; $35, PAX East, Friday, April 6 through Sunday, April 8, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, 415 Summer St., Boston, east.paxsite.com.

Kids
Easter Egg-Stravaganza!
Finding hidden treasure is one of the best games to play as a kid (come on, you remember, don’t you?), so indulge the kiddos and head over to Cambridge Common park on Saturday for a massive egg hunt, prizes, games, and more. By the time you get the little ones home, their sugar-fueled romp through park will have them sleeping like some sort of small, fuzzy, baby animal.
Free, Saturday, April 7, 10:00am – 12:30pm, Cambridge Common Park, Cambridge, aletheiaboston.com.

Music
Magnetic Fields w/ DeVotchka
Even though this Boston-based band’s (check out pics of cellist Sam Davol’s condo on our Boston Home blog, Roost) latest release, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, has received mixed and mostly middle-of-the-road reviews from both fans and critics, I’m still in love with their fuzzy, indie pop sound — and you should be, too. It’s been 21 years since the group played its first live performance at T.T. the Bear’s Place in Cambridge in1991, so no doubt performances are a well-oiled machine at this point — plus, Denver-based DeVotchka’s eastern European-tinged tunes (tuba, theremin, and Nick Urata’s otherworldly voice, anyone?) will make for a solid opening act.
$32.50, Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7, 8:15 p.m., Berklee Performance Theater, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 617-266-7455, berkleebpc.com.

Tipple
Seasonal Sips at Meritage
Chef Daniel Bruce and Sommelier Betsy Ross will be kicking off their weekly wine event, Seasonal Sips, this Thursday — this week’s four-course menu will include Pinot Noirs from Germany, Oregon, France, and New Zealand, all paired with duck four ways: grilled duck breast with shallot sobe, a fennel and black pepper-tossed duck confit spring roll, wild mushroom and smoked duck fritters with white truffle oil, and duck prosciutto with melted leek crespelle. Is it Thursday yet?!
$25, Thursday, April 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Boston Harbor Hotel, 70 Rhowes Wharf, Boston, 617-439-3995, meritagetherestaurant.com.

Theater
Floyd Collins
Allison Olivia Choat’s production of Floyd Collins is based on a true story about a Kentucky caver who in 1925 got trapped in a system of underground caves (a tourist attraction at the time) 55 feet below the ground’s surface. Collins, thanks to the newfangled rise of technology like radio and film, experienced a flood of media exposure throughout the ordeal (à la Baby Jessica, involving thousands of otherwise-would-be-outsiders in the event. It may be historical subject matter, but something tells me there’s a modern message in there somewhere.
$32–$37, Friday, April 6 through Saturday, April 14; Thu. (7:30 p.m.), Fri. (8 p.m.), Sat. (2 p.m. & 8 p.m.), & Sun. (2 p.m.), BCA Plaza Theatre, 539 Tremont St., Boston, 671-933-8600, bostontheatrescene.com.