what’s happening around town
SOUTH END
21st Annual
South End
Open Studios
Sept. 15– 16
More than 300 artists
open their studio doors.
617-267-8862;
useaboston.com
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
BACK BAY
Blue Notes
Sept. 22– 23
The Hatch Shell is
home to the Boston
Blues Festival.
bluestrust.com
On the weekend of Oct. 20– 21, a flotilla of
rowers competes on the Charles River
for the 43rd annual Head of the Charles
regatta. More than 7,500 singles, doubles
and team boats from collegiate, high school and
club teams (including youth and master’s events)
navigate the green-and-orange buoys that line
the three-mile course during the two-day event.
Watch the boats fly across the water Oct. 21 when
the college rivals go at it as only college rivals can.
Along the banks of the river, which separate Boston and Cambridge, are “teams” of
spectators, supporters, picnickers and tailgaters,
numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Arrive
early to snag a coveted grassy spot and be ready
to walk—Memorial Drive, the main drag along
the river, is closed to cars.
The races begin early and go through the
afternoon. In addition to the rowing races, the
Row-a-Palooza music festival, at the halfway
mark of the race, the Weeks Footbridge, provides live music from a bunch of bands. And
the best part? Spectating is free! 617-868-6200.
hocr.org.
FENWAY
High Notes
Oct. 4
The Boston Symphony
Orchestra opens its
127th season.
617-266-1200; bso.org
HARVARD SQUARE
Oom-pah-pah
Oct. 7
The Yard resembles a
Bavarian village for a
day of live music, dance,
sidewalk sales and food.
617-491-3434;
harvardsquare.com
An Afghan widow
holds a photo of her
deceased husband
in the documentary
Beyond Belief.
There Are No Small Roles
Producer Jerry Wientraub (Ocean’s 11 through 13,
The Karate Kid, The Avengers) will be honored
during the 23rd Boston Film Festival, Sept. 14-21
at various theaters throughout the city. Screenings
include the highly acclaimed, compelling docu-
mentary Beyond Belief, which follows two Boston
women from their post-Sept. 11 grief and rage to
refugee camps in Afghanistan. 617-523-8388.
WEST END
The Greatest
Show on Earth
Oct. 5– 14
The Ringling Brothers
Barnum & Bailey circus
will be at the BankNorth
Garden.
617-931-2000
