READINGS
‘Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life:?The Musical’
Tonight
Oberon
2 Arrow St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
$10, 617-496-8004
Author Steve Almond is a total rock nerd, or as he’d describe it, a drooling fana-tic. He reads from his latest memoir as a DJ cues spot-on musical interludes and slides that are every bit as hilariously self-deprecating as his prose. His pal Dayna Kurtz will also provide her own confessional tunes.
ART
William Wegman: Inside/Outside
Reception with artist: Tonight, 8
Exhibit through September 17th
Panopticon Gallery, Hotel Commonwealth, 502c Comm. Ave., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Kenmore
Free, 617-267-8929
Mass. native William Wegman is back with more pictures of his beloved Wei- maraners. When will he tire of these dogs? There must be something more to it. Perhaps they’re superintelligent, vain, Weimaran-eroid aliens, forcing him to shoot them for some frivolous intergalactic Facebook page. We must free this man! Alert the government! Editor’s note: Please don’t tell the government. We like these photos a lot.
CULTURE
Chinatown Main Street Festival
Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Chinatown
Harrison Ave., Boston
MBTA: Orange Line to Chinatown
Free, 617-350-6303
Grab some food and crafts from the vendors, check out the lion dances and martial arts demos, delight at the ground fireworks, and even make some dough art. But here’s a little warning: If you buy a Mogwai, for heaven’s sake, don’t get it wet!
The New England Sand Sculpting Festival
Begins Wednesday
Revere Beach
500 Revere Beach Blvd., Revere
MBTA: Blue Line to Wonderland
Free, 978-749-6700
www.reverebeachpartnership.com
Artists use the beach as their medium in this annual competition, creating incredibly intricate sculptures destined to be knocked down and absorbed back into the dunes in a beautiful lesson on impermanence — but not before the winner gets $15,000! Live music begins over the weekend and a fireworks display rings out the final night.
Bastille Day in Harvard Square
Sunday, all day
Holoyoke St., Cambridge
MBTA: Red Line to Harvard
Free, 617-491-3434
www. harvardsquare.com
Juggling, dancing in the streets, a beer garden, French food, and something billed as a “French Waiter’s Race,” all for free! That and a public viewing of the World Cup finals. Hey, so what if France isn’t in the finals?
MUSIC
HarborWalk Sounds: Sierra Hull
Thursday, 6 p.m.
Institute of Contemporary Art
100 Northern Ave., Boston
MBTA: Silver Line to World Trade
Free, 617-478-3100
This teenage mandolin prodigy has a sweet voice and is cute as a button, with an accessible sound that won’t alienate bluegrass neophytes — but that doesn’t mean she and her band don’t still shred it bluegrass-style. Call her the Taylor Swift of bluegrass, but with a much stronger roots background — so not really like Taylor Swift at all (burn!).
FOOD
Beer and Chocolate=Food of the Gods
Tonight, 6:30
Peabody Essex Museum
161 Essex St., Salem
MBTA: Commuter Rail to Salem
$15, 866-745-1876
Thanks to archaeology, we now know why the Mayans loved chocolate so much — they mixed it with alcohol! Though their original recipe remains a mystery, the PEM will provide the next best thing, following a tour of their new Mayan exhibit with samplings of Taza chocolate and a couple modern, chocolate-infused beers. Human sacrifice optional, sobriety sacrifice likely!
