What's the bad news? A generational summer is coming to an end. And the good? This month is more packed with A-list events than U-Hauls on the streets right now as move in season goes all in.
You'll have to make some tough choices from Cambridge's first ever cat tour + Meowfest to an actual fest with Somerville's epic Fluff Fest. In between, you've got cooking classes on a rooftop, fireworks to celebrate the end of summer at Assembly and epic open mic variety shows that will make it really difficult to explain what you just witnessed unless you showed up.
Welcome if you’re new, or if you’ve been away all summer.
What the Fluff? Fest @ Union Square, Somerville - It’s finally here again: Union Square's marshmallow festival turns 21 this year, honoring the neighborhood's most famous invention. Fluff bowling, ring toss, touch-a-truck, parkour demos and more for the big fest
Yes & Everything: Sports! @ The Loov, Somerville - Catch one of Somerville’s biggest open mic x variety shows this Friday night. From magic to music to acrobats & everything else you’re not expecting. September's theme is sports, so dress accordingly
Cambridge Cat Tour & Meowfest @ Dana Park, Cambridge - Yes, you read that right. Cambridge hosts its first ever walking tour of our feline friends, the porch greeters and professional loafers. Register your cat, walk the tour or pull up to Meowfest afterwards
Riverfest @ Assembly Row, Somerville - The summer of ’26 is coming to a close and Assembly Row's end-of-summer block party helps mark the end of the season with fireworks over the Mystic River, stages of live music, 30+ artisan vendors and free rec sports at Club Volo
Somerville Nepali Street Food Festival @ Somerville City Hall, Somerville - Nepali food vendors on the City Hall concourse, with live music, dance performances and a DJ from Nepal | September 5th
Matcha Meetup with Nomu @ Kendall Center Urban Park, Cambridge - Love matcha? Good. Catch a weekly rooftop pop up with matcha from Nomu to help transition into the fall season. Bring friends or make new matcha-loving ones. First 150 guests get a complimentary...you guessed it: matcha | September 9th, 16th, 23rd & 30th
Salsa Night @ The Loov, Somerville - Live salsa from Los Mambiseros in the same warehouse that hosts Yes & Everything. Plus a live 8-piece band and a lesson + demonstration if you need a refresher before hitting the dance floor | September 10th · Sponsored
Oktoberfest @ Bow Market, Somerville - Remnant's three-day Oktoberfest, running Friday night through Sunday afternoon. Everything from stein holding competitions to lager runs to burn off the calories | September 11th to 13th
Speed Friending for Adults @ Somerville Public Library, Somerville - Want to make new friends? The SPL hosts round robin introductions adapted from speed dating, with crafting supplies and group chat after. Registration required | September 13th
Cook it UP with Chef Joe Gatto @ Kendall Center Urban Park, Cambridge - The last class of the season, with Gatto walking through kitchen skills like tortilla making and mozzarella pulls. You practice them, then eat what you make. Complimentary cocktails and mocktails. FYI these sell out weeks in advance so make sure to snag your seat when registration opens tomorrow | September 15th
Fall Thai Market @ Harvard Square, Cambridge - Thai street food, desserts and handmade goods along Brattle Street, with cultural performances on the main stage and a beer garden for the vibes | September 26th
Adult Night at Science Park @ Museum of Science, Cambridge/Boston - Science nerds rejoice. The museum hosts an after hours, adults only night with Omni Theater screenings, the Lightning! show and animal ambassadors | September 27th
Millennial Speed-Dating @ Aeronaut, Somerville - Drop Hinge for actual conversation, speed-dating format for monogamous millennials ages 30 to 45. Brought to you by the experts in making new adult friends + a free drink included with your ticket. Not enough? Hit STOOP20 at checkout for a gift from The Stoop | September 30th · Sponsored
327 Hurley St #2, Cambridge | 3 bed, 2.5 bath | 1,502 sq ft | $1,299,000 | condo · gut-renovated 1854 building
985 Memorial Dr #401, Cambridge | 2 bed, 2 bath | 1,340 sq ft | $1,295,000 | co-op
20 Marie Ave #1, Cambridge | 3 bed, 2 bath | 1,254 sq ft | $1,295,000 | condo · brand new 2026 conversion with a private fenced yard
22 Hunting St #3P, Cambridge | 2 bed, 2 bath | 1,225 sq ft | $999,999 | condo · 2023 build with two deeded parking spots
503 Huron Ave #4, Cambridge | 2 bed, 1 bath | 1,270 sq ft | $875,000 | condo
97 Winslow Ave #97, Somerville | 3 bed, 3.5 bath | 1,885 sq ft | $1,599,999 | townhouse · three parking spaces and a yard right on the Community Path
201 College Ave #3, Somerville | 2 bed, 2 bath | 1,305 sq ft | $879,000 | condo
296 Summer St #1, Somerville | 2 bed, 1 bath | 874 sq ft | $779,000 | condo
432 Norfolk St #4C, Somerville | 1 bed, 1 bath | 686 sq ft | $599,000 | condo
Cambridge
The council packed a lot into its one summer meeting on August 3rd. It asked the City Manager to assess what July's extended last call did for business and to press the state for permanent authority over closing times, with a report due October 1st, and a separate order starts work on a 3 a.m. service pilot running this fall through fall 2027. Mayor Siddiqui also won a 9-0 vote to explore restructuring the three-person License Commission, whose makeup was set by state law in 1919 and would take a home rule petition to change. On zoning, the Cambridge Street active use petition advanced 8-1, requiring active ground floors in new buildings over three stories and a special permit for chain stores. The next night the Planning Board unanimously backed the council's short-term rental crackdown but called the 90-day annual cap too short, and city lawyers said the number was a placeholder anyway. Also in August: ShotSpotter came back on the 17th after a 6-3 vote to reactivate it for 90 days while a resident assembly weighs its future, councillors held a working session on how City Hall uses AI, and a report on tree loss accounting is due the same day as the last call findings.
Somerville
The Davis Square tower is dead. Copper Mill's developer walked away from the 20-plus-story, 500-unit project on August 31st and blamed City Hall for a lack of cooperation; Mayor Wilson called that "laughable" and pointed to the state's rejection of the developer's affordable housing application. The Burren and Dragon Pizza have had their leases extended. With the tower gone, the Davis Square Neighborhood Plan survey runs through September 27th, with an open house at the Crystal Ballroom on the 16th. Applications also opened for six deed-restricted condos at One Inman Square, sold below market to first-time buyers earning up to 110% of area median income. City Hall opens its doors September 10th for the fourth annual Civic Day, and the state's first two human West Nile cases of the year, both in Middlesex County, pushed Somerville's risk level to "High."
Liars opened August 20th in the old True Bistro space in Teele Square, the bigger sibling of Davis Square's Spoke Wine Bar. Chef Paul Butler's menu runs to elk wraps, a beef tongue steak bomb and cocktails topped with tiny squirt guns
Cambridgeport has a donut shop. Greedy Cow Donut Factory opened at 114 Magazine St. from Paul Rungta of Brooklyn Bagel Factory, with daily fruit specials and six gluten-free options a day
Bragging rights for Inman Square: Erin Miller of Urban Hearth is one of the James Beard Foundation's 20 chefs to watch nationwide, and she'll headline the Boston stop of its Taste America tour
Davis Square is getting a brewery. Curiosity Brewing Co. is taking the old auto body shop at 49 Day St. next to Sacco's, with a taproom, espresso bar and patio, targeting 2027
Union Square gets two more. First Crush, the natural wine pop-up, opens a bar at 259 Washington St. in the old Juliet Social Club, and Korean-inspired Kima Cafe takes the former Fortissimo at 75 Bow St. Both target mid-September
Spindler Confections opens a counter inside Leavitt & Peirce on September 14th, filling the spot Fruition Chocolate left in Harvard Square. Lobster-shaped chocolates for the tourists
Two Mass Ave institutions cleared out before the wrecking ball. Keezer's and tailor Le Couturier moved a few doors down to 1730, and Simon's Coffee threw a farewell party for its 20-year home yesterday. Owner Simon Yu hopes to reopen at 1741
Two goodbyes. Clover closed its Inman Square shop in late August, two months after reopening it, part of a smaller footprint companywide; Central, Kendall and Harvard Square stay open. NU Kitchen closed on Washington Street after almost ten years
Beno | Male | Cattle Dog Mix - Beno spent his entire life in an apartment until a few weeks ago, and he is currently working out what a much bigger world looks like from a foster farm in Berlin (MA, not Germany but that’d be wild). He is a fast learner and genuinely eager to please, the kind of dog who asks politely before joining you on the couch and then falls asleep under your feet while you work. He is housebroken, only chews his own toys and brings them over when he wants you to throw one. New dogs get met with no drama at all, he will ignore cats that ignore him (unlike a certain dog that lives under my roof), and he shares his current home with chickens and horses without any trouble.
The catch: he is a velcro dog, and that closeness cuts both ways. He has real separation anxiety, so he needs someone around more often than not while his foster family keeps chipping away at crate training and solo time. Busy trails can overstimulate him too, though his recall is excellent and his foster reckons he would take to agility.
Beno is with Broken Tail Rescue and his adoption fee is $500. Fill out an application and the team will set up a meet-and-greet.
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