Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend
Memorial Day 2014. / Photo by Yiqing Shao
MEMORIAL DAY
Memorial Day Flag Garden
Remember to honor our nation’s heroes this Memorial Day weekend. At Boston Common’s Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund will once again place 37,000 tiny American flags in the ground—one for every Massachusetts service member who has fallen while protecting our nation since the Revolutionary War.
Free, May 26–30, Boston Common, Tremont St., Boston, 888-909-HERO (4376) massmilitaryheroes.org.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Bracken
SHENANIGANS
Cats in Space Tour
If you’ve ever dreamt of brandishing a lightsaber on Boston Common in an epic feline-style space battle after dark (who hasn’t?), don’t forfeit what could be your only chance. Pick a side—good or evil—and may the force be with you. Attendees can purchase space cat T-shirts and color-changing glow swords online to pick up at the event. Newmindspace, a nonprofit urban event organization best known for facilitating International Pillow Fight Day, is hosting the showdown. “The way we come up with all of these events is the same,” Newmindspace cofounder Kevin Bracken says. “We take a childhood activity—whether it’s a pillow fight or game of capture the flag—put it in an urban setting, and multiply the participants by 100.” He says they’re expecting almost 2000 on Saturday. The Cats in Space Tour benefits those on Earth, with proceeds going to Make-a-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Free, Saturday, May 28, 8–11 p.m., Boston Common, Tremont St., Boston, facebook.com.
Cirque du Soleil. / Photo provided
THREE-RING CIRCUS
Cirque du Soleil, Kurios
Friday, the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil returns to Boston with its 35th full-scale production. The show follows the story of a 19th-century inventor whose workshop has gone wrong. Kurios has no shortage of mind-blowing circus tricks, including an act where performers dangle upside-down from their hair. The Chicago Tribune reviewed the show when it came to the windy city last April, giving it four stars and writing, “If you’re the kind of person who likes clockwork toys, wacky gadgets, old amusement machines, arcades and pianolas, then ‘Kurios’ will land right in your wheelhouse.”
May 27–June 16, Grand Chapiteau at Suffolk Downs, 525 William F. McClellan Highway, Boston, 877-924-7783, cirquedusoleil.com.
Photo by Cassidy Hopkins
ARTS
Museum of Fine Arts Memorial Day Open House
This Memorial Day at the MFA Open House, you can drop in on a tour, create your own masterpiece, or catch up on special exhibitions, from Megacities Asia to #Techstyle, free of charge. Awaken your inner Picasso and sketch a live clothed model from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. or let your kids’ imaginations run wild as they illustrate a house to add to the community mural. Be sure to come mid-day so you don’t miss Sociedad Latina’s Music Ensemble Group high school students perform original music at 1 p.m.
Free, Monday, May 30, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston, 617-267-9300, mfa.org.
Photo via Campfire. Festival 2016 Facebook event
MUSIC
Campfire. Festival
Overplayed radio hits got you down? Look no further for fresh voices and faces than “Campfire. Festival,” an event dedicated to celebrating up-and-coming musical talent. Passim has been hosting the biannual festival, recurring every Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend, since it started 15 years ago. Audience members may even get the opportunity to perform while supporting local artists.
$10–25, May 27–30, Club Passim, 47 Palmer St., Cambridge, 617-492-7679, passim.org.
