What to Do This Labor Day Weekend

Photo by Kalman Zabarsky

Classes may have officially started, but the homework hasn’t started piling up yet. So take some time to explore the city and the campus this Labor Day weekend. We’ve put together a list of events—from museums to concerts to movie classics to fireworks—guaranteed to ensure that your three-day weekend is fun.

Friday, September 4

Treat Yo’ Self Featuring Retta

Start your holiday weekend than with a few laughs, courtesy of comedian and actor Retta (Marietta Sirleaf), best known for her work as the audacious office comrade Donna Meagle on NBC’s hit comedy Parks and Recreation. Make your way to the George Sherman Union and enjoy stand-up comedy that will have you laughing in your seat.

Treat Yo’ Self featuring Retta is free and being held in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom, 775 Commonwealth Ave. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., and the show begins at 10. RSVP online here.

First Fridays | Endless Summer at the ICA

It may be Labor Day weekend, but summer’s not officially over yet, so head over to the Institute of Contemporary Art for First Fridays | Endless Summer. You can sip the ICA’s signature sangria, listen to live music by Boston synthpop band Bearstronaut; DJ Thaddeus Jeffries will also be there. If you get hungry, check out the harbor-side street food.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave., Boston, hosts First Fridays | Endless Summer on Friday, September 4, from 5 to 10 p.m. This event is 21+ only. Tickets are $15 for the general public, free for ICA members. Advance tickets and reservations are recommended, as it often sells out. Tickets can be purchased online here. Find directions here.

Mass Brewers Guild Fest

If you’re a craft beer enthusiast, don’t miss the Sixth Annual Mass Brewers Festival sponsored by the Massachusetts Brewers Guild at the World Trade Center. Sample over 100 beers, including local favorites and specialty beers brewed exclusively for the festival, from 40 member breweries.

The Mass Brewers Fest is Friday, September 4, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Head House Concourse at the World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd., Boston. You must be 21 or older to attend. Tickets are $40 and purchasing in advance is recommended as they often sell out. Buy online here. Find directions here.

Screening of The Quiet Man at Boston Harbor Hotel

Each summer, there are free outdoor screenings of classic movies all over Boston. One of the most popular is the Boston Harbor Hotel Music and Movie Fridays, part of the hotel’s Summer in the City entertainment series. The final movie of the season is The Quiet Man, the 1952 classic starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara and directed by John Ford. It’s the story of an American boxer who returns to the Irish village of his birth, where he falls in love. The film earned Academy Awards for best director and best cinematography. Be sure to arrive at this popular event well before the screening begins; you can enjoy the spectacular views of Boston Harbor.

The Quiet Man screens at sunset (7:14 p.m.) at the Boston Harbor Hotel’s outdoor terrace at 70 Rowes Wharf. The movie is free and open to the public. Find directions here. If the screening is canceled for weather reasons, a notice will be posted on the hotel’s Facebook page by 3 p.m.

Saturday, September 5

R-Rated Hypnotist

This event is part of BU’s annual Weeks of Welcome festivities. Comic hypnotist Frank Santos, Jr., returns to perform his annual bawdy hypnosis show, which has become a crowd-pleasing hit over the past several years. Santos’ spellbinding shenanigans will turn even the most die-hard skeptics into fans.

R-Rated Hypnotist begins at 10 p.m. in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom, 775 Commonwealth Ave.; doors open at 9:30 p.m. The event is free. RSVP online here. 

New England Revolution vs. Orlando City SC

Soccer fans won’t want to miss out on this chance to travel to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro with classmates to catch Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution take on the Orlando City SC. Tickets, at $20, include transportation, a hot dog, a drink, and a snack and are available only to members of the BU community. A BU ID is required for purchase and pickup.

The New England Revolution vs. Orlando City SC game begins at 7:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium, One Patriot Place, Foxboro, Mass. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased here.

22nd Annual Summer Poster Show

Vintage poster lovers will enjoy the International Poster Gallery’s 22nd annual summer show, titled Endless Summer. The exhibition features more than 50 posters from the 1890s to the present, depicting summers at the beach, travel, music, sport, and fine food and spirits. The show’s headliner is the mid-century modern poster Kajak by celebrated Austrian designer Walter Hofmann, who created dozens of posters for suntan lotion and swimwear producers. The eight-foot-tall billboard is awash in searing neon colors. Another highlight is a rare airline poster for Tasman Empire Airways (TEAL), depicting the seaplane that was the first direct connection between Britain and its most distant colony. These enticing posters will make you want to escape to one of these exotic locales.

Endless Summer is on view at the International Poster Gallery, 205 Newbury St., Boston, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; phone: 617-375-0076. Admission is free.

Summer on the Waterfront’s Boston Harbor Fireworks

See the summer out with a ka-boom. The city’s Summer on the Waterfront series concludes with its annual Labor Day weekend fireworks display, which will light up Boston Harbor starting at 9 p.m. The “battle of the barges” is a dazzling pyrotechnics show set to music as barges anchored off the North End and the Seaport volley back and forth. Boston’s HarborWalk, which includes Christopher Columbus Park, Fan Pier, and Piers Park, offers ringside views.

Summer on the Waterfront’s Boston Harbor Fireworks begin at 8:30 p.m. Find more info about the HarborWalk here.

Sunday, September 6

Student Performance Showcase

Here’s a chance to catch performances by BU’s top student groups in a cappella, comedy, and dance. Three separate venues at the George Sherman Union host this free showcase: BU Central (comedy), the Metcalf Ballroom (a cappella), and the GSU Alley (dance). Find a full schedule here.

The Student Performance Showcase is being held in the George Sherman Union, 775 Commonwealth Ave., beginning at 9 p.m. RSVP online here.

South End Open Market @ SoWa

Need to buy some fresh produce or find some vintage plates for your new apartment? Head over to the South End Open Market @ SoWa, on a compact three-block area along Harrison Avenue. (SoWa is short for “south of Washington Street.”) Billing itself as “New England’s largest outdoor weekly bazaar,” this open-air market boasts a farmers market with locally grown flowers, produce, and baked goods; an arts market featuring handmade jewelry, paintings, photographs, and ceramics; and more than a dozen food trucks offering Asian, Mexican, Italian, and organic cuisine. There’s also an indoor vintage market where you can find all manner of knick-knacks, glassware, and china. With the exception of the Vintage Market, which is year-round, the markets operate seasonally, from May through the end of October.

Shop at the South End Open Market @ SoWa every Sunday through October 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Farmers Market is at 500 Harrison Ave.; the Arts Market is at 460 Harrison Ave.; and the Food Truck Court is at 540 Harrison Ave., in front of the old power station. The SoWa Vintage Market is at 450 Harrison Ave. and is open on Sundays year-round. Find directions here.

Berklee College of Music’s Summer Concert at Spectacle Island

Take a quick boat ride to Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor for a relaxing afternoon of music. This free concert features groove-based R&B and soul music by the multicultural band Foreign Hues. Sponsored by Berklee College of Music, this concert brings to a close Berklee’s Summer in the City Summer Concerts at Spectacle Island series, performances by some of the rschool’s most talented up-and-coming musicians. The Spectacle Island concerts offer spectacular views of Boston Harbor and the city’s skyline as well as great music.

Berklee College of Music’s final Summer Concert at Spectacle Island is Sunday, September 6, at 1 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Round-trip ferry tickets to the island are $17 and depart from Long Wharf. View ferry schedules and rates here. 

Monday, September 7

Frank Hatch Free Day at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Boston is full of world-class art museums, and there may be none more breathtaking—and more idiosyncratic—than the Fenway’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The collection of 2,500 paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and other works of art—collected by Gardner in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—is housed in a 15th-century-style Venetian palace. Today, visitors can view the collection for free, during the museum’s annual Frank Hatch Free Day, named for Francis “Frank” Hatch, a former museum trustee and supporter of Boston arts and culture. Traditionally held on New Year’s Day, Frank Hatch Free Day was moved to Labor Day in 2013 so visitors can enjoy the museum’s gardens while they are in bloom.

Free timed tickets will be available at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway, Boston, on Monday, September 7, beginning at 11 a.m. Tickets are timed for entry every 30 minutes, with the last entry at 4 p.m. Tickets will be distributed until capacity for the day is reached, so you may have to wait for your time slot. Find directions here. 

Jaws at Coolidge Corner Theatre

Summer 2015 has been the summer of sharks, with sightings and attacks generating headlines. So it’s fitting that Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre closes out the Labor Day weekend with a 40th anniversary screening of the Oscar-winning blockbuster Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg (Hon.’09), part of the Coolidge’s popular Big Screen Classics series. The film stars Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, a menacing great white shark (okay, it was a mechanical one), and an unforgettable score by John Williams (Hon.’85), who won an Oscar for it. After watching, you’ll understand why beach tourism took a nosedive after the film’s 1975 release. It might make you rethink that next trip to Revere Beach.

Jaws screens tonight, Monday, September 7, at 7 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline. Tickets are $11.25 for adults, $9.25 for seniors and children. Purchase them here. Find directions here.

Italian Wind Music from the 16th and 17th Centuries—Labor Day Concert

Boston is renowned for the richness of its classical music offerings, from the Boston Symphony Orchestra to the dozens of chamber groups that play in smaller venues to student recitals. In honor of Labor Day, the Back Bay’s First Lutheran Church of Boston is hosting Italian Wind Music from the 16th–17th Centuries, an evening of instrumental works by Italian composers, played on historic instruments including the cornetto, recorder, cello, harpsichord, and organ.

The Labor Day concert at the First Lutheran Church, 299 Berkeley St., Boston, begins at 7:30 p.m.; phone: 617-536-8851. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students. Find directions here.

Michelle Marino can be reached at michelle.g.marino@gmail.com.