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.

* What makes The Big Quiz Thing at Oberon different from your neighborhood bar’s trivia night and more like a live game show spectacular? There’s a host (and his comedian sidekick), audio and video puzzles, and if you don’t know an answer you write something funny and possibly win “smart-ass points.” It’s like if I recommended a kind of lame event, but then made a really funny joke and totally redeemed myself, except I would never do that. 6.2. 8 p.m. FREE

* Anytime there’s an opportunity for you to get drunk with astronauts, I’m going to let you know about it. A special edition of Science by the Pint at the Burren in Davis Square welcomes scientists from NASA’s Kepler space telescope team, the first mission capable of finding Earth-sized habitable planets surrounding other stars. 6.3. 6:30 p.m. FREE

* The Jimmy Fund’s annual Scooper Bowl fundraiser returns to City Hall Plaza to dish out more than 20 tons of ice cream over three days. It’s an all-you-can-eat event, but don’t be discouraged by the little kids walking around with stacks on stacks on stacks of empty sample cups because they’re kids and don’t have to deal with the consequences of your adult-onset lactose intolerance. The only way the Scooper Bowl could be better is if they combined it with the Super Bowl and you could watch Peyton Manning drop his ice cream cone and make the Manning Face. 6.3 to 6.5. 12 p.m. $5-10

* Want to be the next Katniss (current reference), Legolas (less current), Robin Hood (pretty old) or William Tell (15th century)? Check out some top archery talent on display and get an expert lesson at the Kendall Square Archery Festival. The Cambridge high-tech hub might seem like a strange choice for an event celebrating such an old-school weapon, but that’s also what they said about the 2009 Bird Sling-Shotting Festival in Palo Alto, California, and look what that inspired. 6.4. 12 p.m. FREE

* Somerville has become the go-to spot for former Allston hipsters who’ve traded their music snobbery for food snobbery, with longtime favorites like Highland Kitchen joined by newcomers like Union Square’s Bronwyn. Taste of Somerville will feature dishes from both of those, plus more than 40 other restaurants, breweries and retailers that make their home in the City of Seven Hills (that’s my new, classy nickname for Somerville because “Slummerville” doesn’t really apply anymore). 6.4. 5:30 p.m. $40

* Former jm Curley chef Samuel Monsour and Roxy’s Grilled Cheese are teaming up for the Street Meats summer picnic series on the Greenway, featuring fresh takes on dishes traditionally served in food trucks. Volume One on Wednesday offers a pork-heavy Puerto Rican menu including pork shoulder roasted for 12 hours, pig’s blood sausages, twice-fried breadfruit, mashed plantains and more. One $35 ticket gets you food and drink for two plus the use of a super-cozy fleece blanket, which if you couldn’t find a date should help ward off the cold sting of loneliness. 6.4. 6 p.m. $35

* 1621: Pilgrims and Indians bond over beers at the first Thanksgiving. 1630: Boston issues its first brewery license. 1773: Colonists plan the Boston Tea Party over pints at the Green Dragon. 1920: Prohibition ruins everything (lame). 1985: Sam Adams debuts (yayyyyy!) Author Norman Miller stops by Trident Booksellers and Cafe to talk about these and other events in Boston’s illustrious beer history as outlined in his new book, “Boston Beer: A History of Brewing in the Hub.” A sampling of some local beers selected by Miller follows the discussion. 6.5. 7 p.m. FREE

Comments