10 things to do in Boston this weekend
BosTen is your weekly guide to events and cool happenings in and around Boston.
Skip Netflix this weekend — here are 10 ways to get out of your home and not be bored in the city. If you’d like BosTen delivered to your inbox every Thursday, click here. Want more things to do? Check out our events calendar at boston.com/events. You can also learn even more about awesome events around Boston by joining the BosTen Facebook group.
School Vacation Pizza-Making Class
With spring vacation week in full swing, help your kids realize their culinary potential through chef Sean MacAlpine’s pizza-making class at the Lenox Hotel on Thursday. While the pizzas bake in the oven, kids can take part in some crafts. Best of all, parents are invited to either participate or leave their children in the hands of the capable hotel staff and enjoy some free time. (Thursday, April 18 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Lenox Hotel, Boston; $40; all ages)
Forecasting Food
The latest edition of WGBH’s BostonTalks, the public broadcaster’s “smarter happy hour,” will look ahead to the future of food with the help of three forward-thinking local foodies. Attendees can learn about meat-free innovations like Impossible Meatballs from Clover Food Lab COO Greg Donoghue, advances in cannabis edibles from Cloud Creamery founder David Yusefzadeh, and a five-year quest to bring rare and delicious spices from around the world to Boston from Curio Spice Shop founder Claire Cheney. (Thursday, April 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; WGBH, Boston; $15; 21+)
Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren may best be known to sports fans for his upbeat stadium jam “Bang the Drum All Day.” But to prog-rock fans, the multi-instrumentalist offers much more, as he continues to push his music in wildly experimental directions more than 50 years after he started performing. Rundgren will visit Boston as part of his appropriately named The Individualist Tour, playing the Berklee Performance Center on Friday. (Friday, April 19 at 8 p.m.; Berklee Performance Center, Boston; $45-110; all ages)
Anime Boston
Boston’s geek community will be out in force this weekend as Anime Boston returns to the Hynes Convention Center. The event schedule is a dizzying mix of hundreds of talks, demonstrations, and activities centered around video games, anime, cosplay, and other traditionally nerdy pursuits. Even if you don’t attend, expect to see some stunningly elaborate costumes on the Green Line. (Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21 at various times; Hynes Convention Center, Boston; $25-75 GA, free for children ages 5 and under; all ages)
“Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic”
Boston kids surely will be tickled by “Sesame Street Live!” this weekend, as the show’s giggly red monster Elmo will be the star of the show. From Friday through Sunday, the furry monsters of public television will be at the Agganis Arena, and Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and more of your favorite characters will teach audiences about the magic of practice and perseverance. You can also purchase tickets for a preshow experience that will include an onstage tour of the “Sesame Street” neighborhood, a scavenger hunt, and a meet-and-greet with Elmo and two other “Sesame Street” friends. (Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21 at various times; Agganis Arena, Boston; $15 and up; all ages)
Museum of Science Astronomy After Hours
With the last vestiges of winter finally behind us (we think), the Museum of Science has brought back its free, after-hours astronomy evenings, which are held every Friday from April through October, with hours varying slightly depending on the month. When weather permits, the museum will give visitors small telescopes for a hands-on viewing experience, as well as let them examine the night’s featured astronomical object through the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope in the museum’s Gilliland Observatory. Even if the weather doesn’t cooperate, the museum will have indoor activities planned. (Friday, April 19 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Museum of Science, Boston; free; all ages)
Turkuaz
There will be power in numbers at the Paradise on Saturday when nine-piece funk group Turkuaz takes the stage. Like a groovy Voltron, each member of the Brooklyn band plays an integral part in achieving the group’s technically proficient and eminently danceable sound. (Saturday, April 20 at 8 p.m.; Paradise Rock Club, Boston; $22; 18+)
“Awkward Sex… and the City”
You don’t need to be a daily reader of Love Letters to know that sometimes not everything goes smoothly in the bedroom. This Saturday, a quintet of bawdy storytellers — four women and one man — will take the stage at Nick’s Comedy Shop for “Awkward Sex… and the City,” a series of laugh-out-loud tales about some of their most cringeworthy sexual encounters. (Saturday, April 20 at 8 p.m.; Nick’s Comedy Shop, Boston; $20; 21+)
Happy Birthday, Jack Nicholson
Actor Jack Nicholson will turn 82 on Monday, and the Somerville Theatre is celebrating his birthday with a double feature and a birthday cake. This weekend’s double billing, part of a larger, yearlong Nicholson retrospective, will feature 1972’s “King of Marvin Gardens,” in which Nicholson plays a depressed talk radio host, and 1971’s “A Safe Place,” in which the actor plays one of two suitors of a free-spirited woman. Ticketholders can also grab a slice of cake from Lyndell’s Bakery, while supplies last. (Sunday, April 21 with double features at 1:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.; Somerville Theatre, Somerville; $8; both rated R)
Laura Jane Grace
As the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist of punk band Against Me!, Laura Jane Grace has been an integral contributor to the punk rock landscape for a large part of the 2000s. Now she’s touring her new project, Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers, on the heels of its debut full-length album, “Bought to Rot.” Grace will play the Sinclair on Sunday, along with New Jersey quartet Mercy Union and Philly noise rock trio Control Top. (Sunday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m.; The Sinclair, Cambridge; $20-$25; all ages)
