The Boston Traveler

Although the French national holiday Bastille Day officially takes place on July 14, Boston residents and visitors will get to celebrate it early when Harvard Square hosts a marathon block party this Sunday, July 13, to commemorate the start of the French Revolution in 1789.
The assorted activities scheduled during the family-oriented event include attractions for children, ranging from a parade with the one and only Curious George to face painting, as well as highlights for adults, such as scrumptious French cuisine provided by Sandrine’s Bistro, Chez Henri, Brasserie Jo, the Elephant Walk, Rialto, and Petit Robert.
Attendees will also have a …read more

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That’s right — I dare to bring you the same Weekend Highlight this week as I did last week, and for good reason. Thanks to generally lousy weather and unforeseen exploding manholes, May 4th’s scheduled MayFair celebration was canceled.
Those excited to attend need not worry about having to wait another entire year for the event to roll around again, however. It’s back on the Harvard Square roster this Sunday, May 11th — or at least it is as I write. So, before you throw the kids in the car or on the bus/train and head all the …read more

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This Sunday, May 4, gather the family, dress warm and casual, and head over to Harvard Square in Cambridge for its 25th annual MayFair festival, which coincides with the last day of Harvard University’s yearly, four-day Arts First celebration.
From 12pm-6pm, attendees will enjoy a diverse selection of activities, entertainment, shopping opportunities, and foodstuff, all for the admission price of $0.
According to organizers, this year’s MayFair features “six stages of LIVE entertainment, 30+ Restaurant Vendors, hundreds of Street Vendors selling artwork, jewelry, vintage clothing, neighborhood sidewalk sales and Chalk on the Walk.” And, that’s not even to mention the free …read more

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First there was the gas main line rupture downtown less than a week ago, and now Harvard Square in Cambridge has suffered exploding manholes.
At about 2:30am, (un)lucky residents and passersby had the opportunity to witness fire literally shooting out of a Harvard Square manhole and ten feet into the air at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Dunster Street. A series of four or more explosions were the result of fire beneath the ground, and fortunately, no one was hurt.
The fire eventually extinguished itself around 8:30am, about five hours after the Cambridge Fire Department responded to the emergency. …read more

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Movie lovers, are you ready for a little something besides the mainstream stuff playing at a local multiplex near you? If so, the Boston Underground Film Festival, aka BUFF, just might have something to offer by way of freshness and diversity this weekend.
The ten-year-old annual event began as an informal affair in 1999, but has since matured and expanded into a full-fledged, more conventionally arranged series of screenings. And, unlike the fare you’ll find at whatever national chain happens to service your community, many of the scheduled works at BUFF will be hosted by the writers, directors, and …read more

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And, boy, did they pick a fine time to do it too—the day after the heavens dumped a humongous pile of snow on all of New England.
The occasion was the current writers strike plaguing the film and television industries. If you haven’t been keeping up with that story, writers want a cut of the money made from so-called new and digital media—you know, prevalent stuff like DVDs, iPod downloads, and online video streaming—but the production studios that currently control the money are saying, “No way. We love everything just as it is right now, with all of the …read more

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