Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

A holiday tree lighting, shopping extravaganzas, Footloose at Berklee, and more.

faneuil hall

Blink! at Faneuil Hall in 2012 (Photo by Mark Pijanowski via Facebook)

Tree Lighting
Blink! A Light & Sound Extravaganza at Faneuil Hall

Blink all you want—there’s no way you’ll miss the 350,000 LED lights in this light and sound extravaganza, which returns to Faneuil Hall for its second year this weekend. You can catch the Blink! holiday show through January 5, but the first performance will follow a special tree lighting ceremony this Saturday. You can catch the whole thing from the comfort of your home live on WBZ-TV (Channel 4) and WSBK-TV (Channel 38) at 7:30 p.m., but if you’re feeling up for braving the cold, you can experience the 80-foot tree—the tallest in the northeast—and the 300,000 lights and strobes used to decorate it—that’s right, those are in addition to the 350,000 lights from Blink!—in their full glory. Between the holiday cheer and special tribute to outgoing Mayor Menino, who will flip the switch, it promises to be a heartwarming event for all ages.

Free, Saturday, November 23, noon-8 p.m., Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Marketplace Center, 4 South Market St., faneuilhallmarketplace.com

Holiday Shopping
First Light at Brookline Pop-Up Marketplace

For the past 17 years, businesses in Brookline’s Washington Square have been hanging glowing snowflakes in their storefront windows at First Light to welcome the holiday season and spread some cheer. But this year, the Brookline Pop-Up Marketplace—featuring three pop-up stores selling arts and crafts with the potential of becoming great holiday gifts—is turning First Light into an even bigger celebration with Sina Lightworks, performances by six local music groups, and one-of-a-kind displays—available for purchase, of course—by artists including Anna Koon, the pop-up marketplace’s first artist-in-residence, who will be creating art on site.

Free, Thursday, November 21, 5-8 p.m., Brookline Pop-Up Marketplace, 2 Brookline Pl., Brookline, popuprepublic.com

Musical
Footloose: The Musical—Performed by Berklee’s Musical Theatre Club

They may not be Broadway stars or a star-studded cast with Zac Efron and John Travolta, but the 22 performers and 13-piece pit orchestra led by director Tre’von Griffith and music director Max Wolpert—all student members of Berklee’s Musical Theatre Club—have been hard at work on their own version of the upbeat pop musical. A night—or two, if you wish—of comedy, dancing, and ’80s music awaits.

$8-14 in advance (discount applied at checkout), $12-18 day of show, Thursday, November 21, and Friday, November 22, 7:30-10:30 p.m., Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave., berklee.edu

Historic/Educational
Wreath-Laying Memorial Ceremony for 50th Anniversary of JFK’s Assassination

This Friday marks the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination. It’s common knowledge that the Kennedy family has close ties to Massachusetts, but even closer than the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, 83 Beals Street in Coolidge Corner was the birthplace and boyhood home of the 35th president. Now known as the John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, the Brookline residence has already been closed for the winter, but will open its doors to the public this weekend for tours, special performances, reflections by local religious leaders, and a wreath-laying ceremony at 2 p.m. on Sunday. And if you’re a history bluff and just can’t get enough, there will be plenty of other events commemorating JFK in the Boston area this weekend.

Free, Saturday, November 23, and Sunday, November 24, John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site, 83 Beals St., Brookline, nps.gov

Art Sales
17th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show and SMFA Art Sale

If you’re looking for a new piece of artwork to spruce up your home or office, this weekend is the time to make a purchase. (Or two. Or three.) Starting on Friday—following a gala preview Thursday night, to be attended by Governor Patrick, Mayor Menino, and prominent members of Boston’s art community and benefitting Shriners Hospital for Children—the BCA’s Cyclorama will host the 17th edition of the Boston International Fine Art Show. Take your pick from a wide selection of paintings, works on paper, sculpture, photography, fine prints, and mixed media from artists hailing from the United States, Canada, and Europe. Additionally, enjoy special programs including a showing of a magnificent stained glass triptych by John La Farge and a panel discussion of the MFA’s John Singer Sargent exhibit. But if you’re really itching to discover new talent, head over to the SMFA’s annual art sale, featuring works by students, alumni, faculty, and affiliated artists. As a bonus to the possibility of finding the next big thing in art, you’ll go home assured that your purchase will foster future talent, as all proceeds benefit student scholarships.

Boston International Fine Art Show: $15 admission, free for children under 12, Friday, November 22, 1-8 p.m., Saturday, November 23, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday, November 24, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Cyclorama at Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., fineartboston.com

SMFA Art Sale: Free admission, Thursday, November 21, to Saturday, November 23, 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday, November 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., School of Museum of Fine Arts, 230 The Fenway, smfa.edu