BOSTON
For additional event, attraction,
restaurant and hotel information,
visit bostonusa.com
by Peter O’Dowd CITY GUIDE
SAVE the DATE
ESPLANADE
FOURTH OF JULY
EXTRAVAGANZA
July 3–4
Two days of free concerts end
with the renowned Boston
Pops playing to, hands down,
the best Fourth of July fireworks show in America.
july4th.org
REVERE
ART IN THE SAND
July 22–24
Some of the world’s best
sand sculptors gather on
Revere Beach to turn a few
billion grains of sand into
soaring castles and lifelike
sea creatures. 781-902-9742;
reverebeachpartnership.com
SEAPORT
WALKER S TALKER 2016
July 30–31
The Westin Waterfront turns
into the scene of your worst
nightmare when fans of the
undead gather in costume to
honor their favorite zombie
flicks. 617-532-4600;
walkerstalkercon.com/
boston
SALEM
ANTIQUE BOAT SHOW
Aug. 20–21
Go below deck on a tour of
vintage yachts and sailboats in
this 34th annual celebration of
New England’s rich maritime
history. 978-740-9890;
boatfestival.org
FRANKLIN PARK
CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL
Aug. 21–27
Intricate and colorful costumes
accent this multiple-day
festival of parades and music
that celebrates Caribbean
culture. 617-512-7803;
bostoncarnival.org
Fred Sullivan Jr. as Malvolio and Kerry O’Malley as Olivia in the Shakespeare
on the Common production of Twelfth Night.
Shakespeare by
Moonlight
Since the inception of Shakespeare on the Common in 1996, more than a million people have seen the Bard’s work performed under Boston’s moonlit sky.
Over the years, actors from the Commonwealth Shake-
speare Company have taken on the canon, from tragedy to
comedy: King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth.
A different play is staged every summer, and this year an
ensemble cast will take up Love’s Labour’s Lost, one of
Shakespeare’s early comedies about a group of friends
who unsuccessfully swear off the comfort of women.
The plays are held under the Parkman Bandstand on the
Boston Common. Bring your own chair or a blanket. Pack a
picnic dinner or visit one of the food trucks parked nearby.
Close your eyes and imagine you’re at one of the outdoor
playhouses of Shakespeare’s time. July 20–Aug. 7.
617-426-0863; commshakes.org
Indulge in the
Atlantic’s Bounty
A LOBSTER BAKE AND A LESSON ON CUTTING EXOTIC FISH
FOR GENERATIONS, BOSTONIANS have made a living at sea.
“Fishing is one of New England’s oldest professions,” says Chris Basile, pres-
ident of the Boston Fisheries Foundation. “Boston is the hub of the universe
for seafood, but I don’t think people understand exactly what fishermen do and
where the fish come from.”
So consider the 102-year-old Bos-
ton Fish Pier your classroom on Aug.
7, when Basile hosts the fifth annual
Boston Seafood Festival. Scientists
will offer talks about the condition
of New England’s fisheries, which
locals have been keeping a close eye
on for years as the population of
their beloved Atlantic cod dwindles.
The biggest draw, however, is
always the all-day lobster bake, Basile
says. But if you have time for only
one event, don’t miss the contest to
crown the city’s best fish cutter.
Often immigrants from China,
Colombia and Portugal, the cutters
spend most of their days in local markets filleting haddock and other mundane
species. But Basile’s contest forces them to contend with a mysterious assort-
ment of deep-water perch and other oddballs like the prehistoric-looking cusk.
“It’s fun to give them a box of fish and have them say, ‘What the hell am I going
to do with this?’” he says.
The cutters are judged on speed, appearance of the cut, and how little is
wasted.
Basile promises you’ll walk away with a new appreciation for the job. “
People’s eyes are glued to those knives flashing back and forth,” he says. 617-986-
3573; bostonseafoodfestival.org
Participants in the best fish cutter contest.
