Boston JerkFest: Summer and spice and everything nice

(Photo credit: Sean O’Connor)

The Boston Calendar team stopped by yesterday’s Boston JerkFest Caribbean festival on assignment for Boston.com:

Boston’s ties to Jamaica go back lot further back than the Fenway fans who serenaded right fielder Shane Victorino with Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” before every at-bat last fall.

Some historians believe the neighborhood of Jamaica Plain was named after the rum distilled here from Jamaican cane sugar, and the island’s signature jerk seasoning traces its roots to the beach-side pork and chicken stands that sprung up after trade with the Boston Fruit Company sparked an economic boom on Jamaica’s north coast.

So it’s no surprise that the second annual Boston JerkFest brought a diverse crowd to the Franklin Institute of Technology campus to celebrate all things Caribbean, with two sessions featuring food and cocktail demonstrations, spice and craft vendors, live music, and more.

Read the full story: Food, Drinks, and More at the 2nd Annual Boston JerkFest

Dance parties, naked bike rides, and more weekend events

(Photo credit: rekha6/Creative Commons)

We’re getting into that time of year when you can’t leave the house without immediately sweating through your shirt, so you might as well get sweaty on the dance floor with a bunch of other sweaty, sexy people. And if you wake up with a hangover the next morning? Just sweat it out, baby. Sweat it out. (more…)

Celebrate summer with giraffes, recycled art and more weekend events

(Photo credit: ucumarie/Creative Commons)

Happy solstice, pagans everywhere! Saturday is the longest day of the year and the first day of summer — or, for pessimists, it’s when the days start getting shorter and summer is basically almost over. Hurry up and go do some fun stuff while you have the chance, because winter is coming. (more…)

Whiskey, wine and beer events this week

(Photo credit: Neil Girling/Creative Commons)

Hope all you dads out there had a great Father’s Day! And I hope all you kids out there got back from dinner in time to watch the “Game of Thrones” finale. Or maybe you went to dinner late because dad had to finish watching golf, but give him a break, golf is the closest thing old people have to “Game of Thrones.” Anyways, here’s some stuff to do this week to fill that Iron Throne-shaped hole in your life. (more…)

Bikes, breakfast, benefits and more things to do this week

(Photo credit: calamity_hane/Creative Commons)

Happy Monday! I hope you spent the weekend in the sun drinking delicious beers mixed with lemonade and working on a sweet farmer’s tan. If you watched the Tonys last night and want to break out the black tie, you might as well do it for a good cause (and hang out with Big Papi) at Sunday’s David Ortiz Children’s Fund Gala to benefit MassGeneral Hospital for Children and the World Pediatric Project.

(more…)

This weekend in Boston: Flowers, photos, festivals and more

(Photo credit: Andreanna Moya/Creative Commons)

This weekend Boston offers up some solid date ideas, plus a class on getting better at dating so you can take advantage of them. Although it’s totally OK to go to any of these events alone. You have a phone, right? You’re never alone when you have a phone, that’s what I always say. (more…)

Boston’s Run to Remember

(Photo credit: Georgia Paraskevopoulou)

The Boston Police Department and Boston Police Runner’s Club in cooperation with Boston Athletic Association, organized Boston’s Run To Remember on May 25, 2014 to honor Massachusetts Law Enforcement Officers killed in the line of duty by celebrating their lives and giving back to the community. (more…)

This week’s Boston events: Archery, astronauts, and ice cream

(Photo credit: comedy_nose/Creative Commons)

It’s June and you’ve officially turned off your brain for the summer (a little less “Mad Men,” a lot more “Bar Rescue”) so this week’s slate of events tends to emphasize food and ice cream and beer instead of, I don’t know, arts and learning. But you can at least drink that beer with some NASA scientists, and food is kind of like art because “you eat with your eyes,” right? Sure, why not. (more…)