There’s nothing like a club darty or a game of pong in a cramped, smelly dorm room to round out the end of a Harvard week. But as students settle back into life on campus, it’s good to remember that beer games are not all Cambridge has to offer. Sometimes it’s nice to go across the Charles River, too—and no, I don’t mean having another disappointing night at Bijou.
These sports games, flea markets, festivals and more will spice up your weekly itinerary. Read on and plan your next week.
- While tickets for the Boston Film Festival and Manhattan Short Film Festival may now be sold out, opportunities to explore cinema close to campus remain alive and well. Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston invites spectators to enjoy four award-winning films from emerging talent around the world: Spain, Costa Rica, Croatia, and France. MFA’s The Boston Women’s Film Festival Fall Showcase will be screening carlota Pereda’s “Piggy,” Nathalie Álvarez Mesén’s “Clara Sola,” Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s “Murina,” and Audrey Diwan’s “Happening” from September 23-25, joining together cineastes and creatives alike in a showcase that celebrates the power of the female voice. Tickets for each individual viewing can be purchased on MFA’s website at $12 for members and $15 for non-members.
- Oktoberfest, the annual folk festival in Munich, began this past Saturday after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic. Though most students won’t be able to make the seven-hour flight to Germany, there is absolutely no reason for a good pair of lederhosen to go to waste. The holiday, marked by stein-hoisting—a competition testing who can hold a stone mug of beer at an arm’s length for the longest—Schnitzel, and Bavarian beer, can still be enjoyed right here in Boston. From 5 pm to midnight on Thursday, September 29th, jazz-bar and restaurant The Beehive will host their 15th annual Oktoberfest Der Beehive, featuring music from Cocek! Brass Band. Dinner reservations, made on their website, are recommended, though one can still get a seat at the bar. Alternatively, Samuel Adams Downtown Taproom Oktoberfest offers stein-hoisting competitions, live music, food trucks, and pop-up shops from September 23-25. Pre-sale tickets for $10 include a free first pint and can be found online.
- Carly Rae Jepseon is performing on September 26th, so for those averse to the jarring cacophony of “Call Me Maybe,” make sure to stay away from Roadrunner after 8 p.m. Instead, I invite all “Harvest Moon” enthusiasts to storm The Burren the night before. The Irish pub and restaurant will host the Forever Young band for a tribute to the songs of Neil Young. Enjoy dinner and drinks in The Back Room as, for the fourteenth year, the band engages with all types of Young’s works from rock to folk to country. The concert will be on Sunday, September 25th at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
- Harvard’s quidditch team, the Horntails, has its Massachusetts Quidditch Conference (MQC) Opener on Tuesday, September 28th. Enough said.
- Frog Pond has been the site of free yoga classes since the beginning of June, but Summer Yoga ends in two weeks, leaving Bostonians only September 22nd and September 29th to participate. The program, part of the Boston Parks Summer Fitness Series, offers individuals of all ages and abilities the chance to dive into meditation, sweat away stress, and engage with the larger Boston community every Thursday from 6 to 7 pm in Boston Commons. Sign up for the workout on Eventbrite.
- The New England Patriots play against the Baltimore Ravens at 1 pm. on September 25th at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. The two NFL teams have been in a bitter rivalry since 2007 and will go head to head this coming Sunday, with both teams holding one win and one loss since the 2022 season began on September 8th. Tickets to the game are available on numerous online platforms.
- Since 2011, Food Truck Festivals of America (FTFA) has striven to support small business owners by bringing the gourmet food truck trend to the foodies of New England. This year, FTFA will host nearly one hundred different food and craft beer vendors from noon to 6 pm. on Saturday, September 24th and Sunday, September 25th at its Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival in Salem. Visitors are invited to chase down lobster rolls, chicken tacos, chocolate-covered strawberries, and Sopapillas with craft beers from over fifty different vendors—one of which is (unfortunately) selling cheeseburger dumplings. Tickets can be purchased on their website via Showpass.
- This weekend, pro.found’s fall vintage market will bring together over 120 vintage, antique, art, and lifestyle curators in an event which embraces “collaboration over competition.” The event takes place in Lancaster Fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday, September 24th and 25th, with tickets starting at $12. Visitors are encouraged to engage with this curated community of small business owners by perusing through antique watches, handmade linen duvet covers, and vintage bar carts. Although the market is a forty-five minute drive from campus and alarmingly resembles Midsommar before all the human sacrifice, the chance to explore different vintage and handmade gems while sipping on wine, munching on tasty foods, and listening to local artists, makes the event well worth the drive—and subsequent nightmares.
Claire Beddingfield ’25 (clairebeddingfield@college.harvard.edu) is awaiting the 18th annual Boston Pignic with bated breath.