Halloween may be a few weeks away yet the celebrations are already here. Though not before this week’s full slate of live street bands that cover almost every part of neighborhood.
Honk’s street band themed parade fills up the whole weekend. Everyting starts tomorrow with lantern making workshops that turn into a parade at Union, followed by back to back days of ceremonies at Davis and Harvard Square.
The movie screenings also continue their summer runs, this time just shifting indoors like at Remnant where found footage is the theme, screeening classics like Blair Witch Project + popcorn if you prefer settling into a slower Sunday (plan accordingly with potential rain).
Curiosity Brewing is turning a former auto body shop at 49 Day Street into a Davis Square brewery, taproom and all-day coffee bar, with a spring 2027 opening planned · Wicked Local
MIT professors are bedazzling campus surveillance cameras with rhinestones, googly eyes and tinsel to protest 500+ new cameras that can run AI, though MIT says it isn’t using AI on the footage · Cambridge Day
Median rent hit $3,500 in Cambridge, up 6% from last year, and $3,400 in Somerville, up 7%, as rising costs shelve new housing in what Cambridge’s city manager calls the weakest construction environment in decades · Zumper, The Harvard Crimson
Cambridge had two shootings in two days, Tuesday afternoon on Rindge Avenue near Russell Field and Wednesday night near Columbia Terrace in The Port, each sending one person to the hospital · Cambridge Day, Cambridge Police
The old Davis Square Starbucks is reopening as Diamond Factory, a pop-up art gallery featuring ten artists, with a free ribbon cutting next Saturday · The Somerville Times
Margaret Hamilton, who led the MIT team that wrote Apollo 11’s guidance software and later started her own software company in Cambridge, passed away at 90 · Hoodline
Starting next Wednesday, Somerville landlords must tell tenants within 48 hours of listing their building for sale, and Cambridge councillors voted unanimously Monday to pursue a similar rule · The Somerville Times, Cambridge Somerville Independent
The man charged in last week’s Porter Square Planet Fitness locker room assaults already had a prior conviction and was arrested in Cambridge two months ago on a registry violation · NBC Boston
Somerville is putting about $250K in ride-hail fees toward Vision Zero street safety design, while acknowledging its protected bike lane network will run past the 2030 deadline, with about 15 of 29 miles still to build · The Tufts Daily
Oktoberfest & HONK! Festival @ Harvard Square, Cambridge - Oktoberfest returns to Harvard Square for the 47th time this Sunday, teamed up with the HONK! Festival: marching brass bands, Oktoberfest pours, food stalls, music throughout the entire day
HONK! Festival @ Davis Square / Harvard Square / Union Square - The 21st annual activist street band festival hits Somerville and Cambridge this weekend. Lantern parades Friday, Davis Square bands noon to 9 Saturday, then a parade down Mass Ave to Harvard Square Sunday | FREE • Oct 9-11
Lantern Parade @ Connexion, East Somerville - East Somerville's HONK! lantern parade opens with lantern making at Connexion, breaks for snacks, then lines up to walk the neighborhood lit up | FREE • 5-9PM
Ceramic Mug Making Pottery Workshop @ Cafe Zing, Cambridge - Pottery with a Purpose covers the whole thing: a guided host, every material, a coffee or tea from the cafe, and the hand-building technique to make another one on your own | $98 • 5:30-7PM
Bikes, Books & Beats @ Portico Brewing, Somerville - Ride over to Portico for the release of The Book of Rad & Land of Lost Bikes, plus a rundown on Bicycle Benefits and how to grow biking support locally | FREE • 6-8PM
Drop-In Chess @ MIT Museum, Cambridge - Chess fans have a new place to compete as MIT student mentors from NYC Chess Connections set up boards at the MIT Museum for free. Beginners get strategy tips, seasoned players get a match, and everyone competes for a good time | FREE • 11AM-1PM
Spin & Socialize @ The Handle Bar, Cambridge - Madi Beumee hosts a free spin class at Harvard Square's cycling bar through the ClassPass community. An hour on the bike followed by coffee, snacks and a social hour for women looking to connect in Boston. You may have to download Bumble to access | FREE • 12:20-1:20PM
FITFO Run Club @ John Weeks Bridge, Cambridge - If you're in college in the Boston/Camberville area and looking for a new way to meet people off campus, try a casual 2.5 mile run along the Charles. Meet at the John Weeks Bridge by Harvard | FREE • 5PM
Acoustic Open Mic Night @ Winter Hill Brewing Co., Somerville - Whether you're playing Dolly Parton covers or nursing a craft beer while someone else does, Winter Hill's acoustic open mic is back Saturday night on Broadway | FREE • 7-9:30PM
Sunday Scaries Halloween Movie Screenings @ Remnant Brewing, Somerville - Remnant turns every Sunday in October into a horror night, and week two is all found footage with The Blair Witch Project and As Above, So Below
Drop-In Chess @ MIT Museum, Cambridge - Chess has a new playing environment. Drop in for a casual chess meetup for anyone who knows how the knight moves. Beginners and longtime players are both welcome, so pull up a chair and see how your endgame holds up
Watercolor Workshop: Custom Pet Portraits @ The Shared Palette, Somerville - Submit a photo of your pet by tomorrow night and artist Kaitlyn Ripaldi pre-draws the portrait. Then drop into Bow Sunday morning so you can paint it in watercolor and add some new art to the living room | $75 • 10AM-12PM
Oktoberfest & HONK! Festival @ Harvard Square, Cambridge - Oktoberfest and HONK! take the same Sunday in Harvard Square for its 47th year, with marching bands weaving between the pours and food stalls all day | FREE • 11AM-6PM
City Championship 4v4 Volleyball Tournament @ Club Volo, Somerville - Sign up solo, as a small group or as a full team for Volo's 4v4 coed city championship. Two guaranteed games minimum, bar on site, and exclusive shirts for everyone who plays | $33 • 12-4PM
BREWgrass Music Festival @ Portico Brewing & Remnant Satellite, Somerville & Cambridge - Remnant and Portico team up for a day of back-and-forth strings, twangs, and all sorts of live music sets across the day at both breweries | FREE • 12-6PM
Collage Night @ Lamplighter Broadway, Cambridge - Stop in for paper cutting and craft beer at Lamplighter's Broadway taproom Sunday, with guided group collaging and a slow reset for the start of the week | $13 • 4-6PM
Sunday Scaries Halloween Movie Screenings @ Remnant Brewing, Somerville - Week two of Remnant's four-Sunday horror series lands on found footage: The Blair Witch Project and As Above, So Below. Popcorn available or bring your own | FREE • 5PM
Millennial Speed Dating @ Aeronaut Brewing, Somerville - Speed dating for millennials who would rather meet someone across a brewery table than through a screen. Your first drink comes with the ticket and the prompts do the heavy lifting
Found Vintage Mega Market @ Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge - One of Boston’s biggest vintage mega market is coming to Cambridge Crossing, with 100+ vendors and a scavenger hunt that sends you digging between the racks. A beer garden and live DJ cap everything off
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