Top 10 things to do in Boston this weekend: April 28 – May 1, 2022

Events

BosTen is your weekly guide to the best and coolest happenings in and around Boston.

This week BosTen offers a mix of personal and virtual things to do in Boston this weekend. Do you have an idea of ​​what we should cover? Leave us a comment on this article or in the BosTen Facebook group, or email us at [email protected].

Set your sights on four independent film festival sites

The 19th Annual Boston Independent Film Festival (IFFB) is really spreading this time around, with screenings of more than 60 films in four venues in four different cities and towns. From now until May 4, fans of adventure films will be able to pick up feature films and documentaries, in both fiction and short formats, at Somerville Theater (Somerville), Brattle Theater (Cambridge), College Corner Theater (Brooklyn), and Cityspace (Boston). . As always, the fare will range from those with business inclinations to those who are definitely on the edge. Among the many highlights is the closing night film “Marcel, the Shell with Shoes On,” an animated documentary about a little seashell (yes, who wears shoes), with the voice of Jenny Slate of Milton, who tries to track down his parents after he disappears. The rumor about this is that she is a witch but she might make you cry a little. For a full list of titles and events, visit the IFF Boston website. – Ed Simkus

Get a banned book for free and celebrate the diverse voices of literature

BookTalk, Inc. joins. The local nonprofit is on Thursday to the University of Massachusetts’ Boston Honors College to host a banned book fair, with the goal of highlighting the diverse voices in literature. The event will feature books by marginalized authors who have been the target of book bans across the country, such as Mickey Kendall’s “Feminist Hood,” Tiffany Jackson’s “Grown,” and Aiden Thomas’s “Tomb.” Students who attend the event, which will take place in the backyard of the University Auditorium and Campus Center at UMass Boston from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., will be able to browse through the books on offer and choose one to take home free of charge for shipping. – Dylan Dwyer

Watch Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater return to Boston

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater began with modern dance performances by a group of young black dancers led by Alvin Ailey in New York in 1958. Since then, the company has performed to an estimated 25 million people worldwide. This springtime show at the Wang Theater that begins Thursday marks the company’s first return to Boston since the start of the pandemic. Attendees can expect a range of new and classic works in their presentations, along with the company’s signature detectioncreated by Ailey for his memories of the Deep South, with blues and gospel influences. – Natalie Gill

Chill out with The Weather Station piano band

A year has passed since the completion of the album “Ignorance” Tamara Linderman, the mastermind behind The Weather Station, decided to record another album, this album almost completely transformed into piano solo. It was released this year, “How Should I Look at the Stars” between March 10-12, 2020, according to Pitchfork, just as the world began to shut down as COVID-19 became a global pandemic. Back in March of last year, the band broadcast a live show from Revolution Recording Studios in Toronto. The band played all ten tracks of “Ignorance” during the show. For those intrigued by the latest album, they can watch Linderman perform The Weather Station at Crystal Ballroom on Thursday. – Ariana McNeil

Take in the art of MFA in Bloom

For the first time since 2019, the Museum of Fine Arts’ annual flower festival will return on Thursday. The Art in Bloom The weekend event features all-flowers celebrating the return of spring with guest speakers, events, shopping, and a large selection of fresh flower arrangements. Fifty New England floral designers will collect stunning flower arrangements and interpretations throughout the museum’s galleries. In the courtyard, Art in Bloom Market will display items from 10 vendors for sale—plus a Garden Cart, with home and garden items like teacups filled with fresh flowers. Free guided tours of flower arrangements will be available with museum admission throughout the weekend. – Natalie Gill

Head to SoWa Open Market

Starting Sunday, the SoWa Open Market returns every weekend through October. More than a hundred vendors head to Harrison Avenue in the South End, along with dozens of Boston’s favorite food trucks. The market even set up a beer garden and offers live music entertainment. The SoWa Open Market is part farmers market, part art market, and part food festival. Local farmers and food suppliers line up to sell fresh produce, animal products, baked goods, and other foods, while artists sell handmade jewelry, clothing, home decor, and ceramics. The SoWa Art + Design District also has a large number of artist galleries and the SoWa Vintage Market, an indoor flea market filled with second hand. You’ll also find boutiques, design galleries, tons of surrounding restaurants, and rotating galleries at the power station. This summer, guests can check out Beyond King Tut from July 8 through September 18. – Natalie Gill

Watch The Zombies come to life in The Cabot

Those who unthinkingly decline the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame do so for one or a combination of three reasons: 1) they’ve ignored their favorite artists, 2) they’ve recognized artists who debuted after rock and roll stopped meeting Homer’s Simpson definition of perfection, or 3) He has recruited artists whose sound is not exclusively composed of electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, and keys/synths reasonably used. However, lifelong members of psychedelic pop group The Zombies were over the moon in the ’60s when they won the pick in 2019. Despite their belated agitation, the group has had a huge number of notable fans over the years, from Tom Petty to Dave Grohl and Eminem. Fans can look forward to hearing songs like “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and the calls of others at The Cabot on Friday at 8 p.m. – Blake Maddox

See art on the go at Somerville Open Studios

Somerville will honor its vibrant art scene this weekend, with hundreds of artists in more than 80 of the city’s studios showing their work during the annual Somerville Open Studios from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Stroll a street you’ve never traveled to to find art you’ve never dreamed of, or for a more organized approach, take the city’s free rickshaw to some of the major studios. – Kevin Slan

Chinatown celebrates International Tai Chi Day

Right from the famous Chinatown gate, students and instructors from the Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Association gather to perform the sweeping flow of gentle Tai Chi during a free and public celebration of International Tai Chi Day this Saturday at 10 a.m. Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts and Rose Kennedy Greenway partner for a two-day performance 90 minutes not only for tai chi, but also a variety of other Chinese martial arts including qigong, xing yi, bagua, weapon forms and much more. While the annual event has been promoting majors in 80 countries and several hundreds of cities since 1999, this local gathering also celebrates the legacy of Grandmaster Mark, who black belt A magazine once named her one of the most influential martial artists of the 20th century. – Sheryl Fenton

Watch baseball and rock ‘n’ roll on Hot Stove Cool Music

For the first time since moving online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the To Be Named Later’s annual Hot Stove Cool Music concert finally returns to the stage this Saturday at Paradise Rock Club. This year’s show features top Good Goo Dolls player Johnny Resnick along with a lineup that features FTBNL co-founder and former Red Sox vice president and general manager Theo Epstein and journalist Peter Gammons in the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with the Boston All-Stars. Also shortlisted are French Lake, Boston Celtics owner Wake Grosbeek, Letters to Cleo singer Kay Hanley with their own Band of They band, former Yankees player and jazz bassist Bernie Williams, and former Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo. – Chris Gavin

See more events