What to do in Boston this weekend (Feb 13 - 15)

If you have an event, a new attraction, a hotel, or a restaurant opening you’d like me to cover, please reach out!

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Ciao to Ciao. Chef Sonia Torreta’s Ciao Restaurant and Bar in Lynn announced it will close its doors on February 21. In an Instagram post, the owners announced that the restaurant will transition to “new hands in the coming months” as they shift focus to other projects.

Little Black Dress heading to Downtown Crossing. A new restaurant is heading to West Street in Downtown Crossing, according to Boston Restaurant Talks. Little Black Dress, led by Obi Anosike, plans to pen a lounge, cafe, and dining rooms on both the mezzanine and second floor.

New pizza joint coming to Beacon Hill. From the masterminds behind Somaek and Zurito comes Willie’s, a “neighborhood pizza joint” that “let’s [their] food freak flag fly” via an Italian-American fusion menu, according to Boston Magazine.

Goodbye Neiman Marcus, hello Casa Tua Cuccina. While Neiman Marcus has just closed its doors, there are already plans for the multi-level space at Copley Place. Casa Tua Cuicina, a Miami-based high-end Italian-style food market; Estiatorio Milos, a Greek seafood restaurant; and a handful of luxury boutiques, including Dolce & Gabbana, will move into the space, according to Boston.com.

Boston Harbor Distillery is coming to The Greenway. The Dorchester distillery will be replacing Trillium in the Garden on the Greenway this summer, according to Boston Restaurant Talk.

What I’m cooking this week:

Paired with:

MBTA’s money troubles continue. Sales tax has always been the major source of the T’s funding. But with revenues below expectations for over a decade, the MBTA is struggling to achieve long-term stability, according to The Boston Globe.

American Airlines turns 100. To celebrate, the airline is launching a special menu inspired by the sophistication of 1920s hotel dining, according to Afar. This includes Waldorf salads, beef Wellington, and prawn cocktail.

FIFA FanFest coming to Boston. Boston City Hall Plaza will be home to a huge soccer festival during the FIFA World Cup, during which the city anticipates “more than 2 million international visitors,” according to WBUR. This will be a space to catch games, watch performances, plus grab food, drink, and merchandise.

Food and Drug Administration blocks new flu vaccine. Moderna received a “Refusal to File” letter from the FDA after submitting its latest flu vaccine for review. According to The Boston Globe, this is the first time Moderna has received this type of letter during its vaccine reviews.

Local Medal Watch. Southborough native Korey Dropkin, along with his Minnesota-based teammate Corey Thiesse, brought home silver in curling for Team USA. Plus, Maxim Naumov, the figure skater from Norwood, advanced after an emotional men’s short program, according to WBUR.

What I’m reading this week:

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A curated rundown of unique events happening this (long for some) weekend in and around Boston that I’m either attending or wishing I were. If you’re looking for weekly happenings, like wine tastings and yoga classes, scroll to the next section.

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Watch the journey of “three struggling Bostonians whose lives have been derailed by the MBTA’s shortcomings” in T: An MBTA Musical at The BCA Plaza Theater (539 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02116) from Friday, February 6, through Sunday, February 15. Tickets are $35.

Be part of catch_release, an “immersive pole dance production” that will be happening in Garage B (1420 Soldiers Field Rd, Boston, MA 02135) on Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14. Tickets range between $15 and $100.

The Lunar New Year Flower Market is back at the China Trade Center (2 Boylston St, Boston, MA) in Chinatown from Wednesday, February 11, through Monday, February 16, from 9 am to 6 pm each day.

Head to Drawdown Brewing (3204 Washington St, Boston, MA 02130) to watch the Women’s Hockey Quarterfinal on Friday, February 13, from 3 to 5:30 pm. This is a free event with food and drink available for purchase.

Grab your closest gal-pal and head to the Galentine’s Cocktail Class on Friday, February 13, from 6 to 8 pm at High Street Place (100 High St Place, Boston, MA). In this “cocktail party-style class,” you’ll learn how to craft 2 - 3 signature cocktails or mocktails and snack on light bites from women-one restaurants in the Food Hall. Tickets are $78

Start the weekend with a Valentine’s Vinyl party at Aeronaunt Brewing Company (14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA 02143) from 6 to 10 pm. Common Groove Records and Lyric Vendors will be on hand selling vinyl while DJ Sprino spins in the taproom. Entry is free. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

Sensual meets scary at Spotlight: A Royal Gothic Wedding drag extravaganza on Friday, February 13, at 7:30 - 9 pm at The Maso Studio at The Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115). Tickets are $27.50.

Find some clarity about your love life at Love After Dark, a tarot pop-up with Laura from Venus House Boston at Midnight Morning (14 Birch St, Boston, MA 02131) on Friday, February 13, from 5 to 8 pm. This is a first-come, first-served reading experience, where you can ask two love-focused questions. Readings are $22 for individuals and $44 for couples.

Immerse yourself in Heart Strings: A Far Cry’s Valentine to Boston on Saturday, February 14, from 7:30 to 10 pm at NEC’s Jordan Hall (30 Gainsborough St, Boston, MA 02115). This performance blends works by Bach, Tchaikovsky, Clyne, Janáček, and Coleman with poetic responses by Puerto Rican poet Anthony Febo and artwork by Christine Arveil. Chocolate and wine, plus a “facilitated conversation experience,” will follow the performance. Tickets are $30.

Celebrate Boston Bockfest at Sam Adams Boston Brewery (30 Germania St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130) on Saturday, February 14, from 12 to 6 pm. To kick off this celebration of German lager, Sam Adams will also be hosting a special Four-Course Valentine’s Day Brunch ($81.75) care of No Joke Smoke (11 am to 12 pm). This will be followed by the release of four hearty German lagers, live music, more food specials, and more.

Drawdown Brewing (3204 Washington St, Boston, MA 02130) is hosting a Women’s Sports Festival on Saturday, February 14, from 12 to 4 pm. Get to know the women’s sports teams that represent Boston, plus buy merch and game tickets, giveaways, and more. This is free to attend, with food and drink available for purchase.

Get crafty at Democracy Brewing’s Crochet Club on Saturday, February 14, from 2 to 5 pm, at Democracy Brewing Downtown Crossing (59 Temple Pl, Boston, MA 02111). Materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own. This is a free event, with food and drinks available for purchase, including a special preview of Democracy’s new wine lineup. Donations welcome to help keep materials free.

Get grounded together with Partner Yoga at Long Live Roxbury (152 Hampden St, Boston, MA 02119) on Saturday, February 14, from 11 am to 12 pm. You’ll get into traditional yoga poses, plus challenging, creative partner poses “that invite trust, balance, and laughter.” No prior yoga experience necessary. Tickets are $17.85. Please bring your own mat. Some will be available for rent for $5.

Pick out the perfect book for your partner or best friend at the VDay Book Swap at Harvard Bookstore (1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138) on Saturday, February 14, from 12 - 2 pm. There will be a DIY bookmark bar, photo ops, exclusive discounts, and more.

Enjoy a special Valentine’s Day Wine Tasting at Petrova Chocolates (61 Salem St, Boston, MA) on Saturday, February 14, from 12 to 4 pm. Learn about Eastern European natural wines and sample a few. This is a free event, with bottles and chocolate available for purchase.

Step into a world of pure imagination at the Willy Wonka Valentine’s Day Party at Short Path Distillery (71 Kelvin St, Everett, MA 02149) on Saturday, February 14, from 1 to 11:30 pm. There will be colorful cocktails, a Mei Mei Dumplings pop-up, and five lucky guests will receive a Golden Ticket, which allows the holder to return for a behind-the-scenes tour at a later date. Entry is free. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

Finish a visit to the WNDR Museum (500 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111) with a Valentine’s Day Paint + Sip on Saturday, February 14, at 6 pm or 8 pm. Tickets are $50 and include museum admission plus painting supplies. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

Remnant Brewing (2 Bow Market Way, Somerville, MA 02143) is throwing Dark Hearts: a Valentine’s Metal Night on Saturday, February 14, from 8 pm to midnight. There will be heavy metal and late-night vibes. This event is free to attend, with food and drink available for purchase.

End Valentine’s Day weekend with a special Sunday Yoga & Piano “Unlock Your Heart” flow on Sunday, February 15, from 10 am to 12 pm at Museum of Modern Renaissance (115 College Ave, Somerville, MA 02144). The class is meant to help open the heart chakra, “the body’s center for love, compassion, and connection.” Tickets are $39.19.

Make sense of the 2026 eclipse season with an Into the Eclipses Workshop at Venus House (16 Cohasset St, Boston, MA 02131) on Sunday, February 15, from 2 to 3 pm. Led by astrology Laura Domanico, you’ll examine the upcoming Solar Eclipse on February 17 in Aquarius and the Lunar Eclipse on March 3 in Virgo — how their energies will interact and amplify each other both in the world and in your birth chart. Tickets are $35.

Ring in the Year of the Fire Horse with a special Lion Dance Performance at the Lunar New Year Celebration on Sunday, February 15, from 12 to 12:30 pm at Faneuil Hall (Boston, MA 02109).

Start the Year of the Fire Horse with a special Lunar New Year Dinner at Next Door Speakeasy (103 Porter St, East Boston, MA 02128) on Sunday, February 15.

Get a special message from your spirit guides at a Tarot pop-up with Heronkind at All She Wrote Books on Sunday, February 15, from 1 to 4 pm at All She Wrote Books (75 Washington St, Somerville, MA, 02143). Readings are $25.

Keep the Valentine’s Day vibes going with a Valentine’s Champagne Brunch with the Boston Wine & Food Festival (70 Rowes Wharf, Boston, MA 02110) on Sunday, February 15, beginning at 11 am. Tickets are $145 and include a walk-around brunch with an Espresso Martini station, champagne, an omelet bar, fresh fruit, waffles, and pastries.

Find new true (book) love at the Book Swap at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition (50 Liberty Dr, Suite 500, Boston, MA 02210) on Sunday, February 15, from 2 to 3 pm. For every book you bring to swap, you’ll get a number so you can leave with the same number of books you brought. This is a free event with food and drink available for purchase from Travel Mug Cafe.

Spend an evening painting and playing at a Music-Infused Paint Workshop: Olivia Dean Edition on Sunday, February 15, at 1:30 pm at Boston Public Market (100 Hanover St, Boston, MA 02108). Tickets are $50 and include all materials.

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Crafted with L-theanine, lemon balm, gentian root, damiana, and elderflower, Vesper is sparkling, tart, and beautifully herbaceous—truly crave-worthy.

Winter isn’t about cutting back. It’s about choosing what feels good. And Vesper makes every pour feel like a yes.

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As a reminder, the Commuter Rail has $10 weekend passes, which give the ticket holder unlimited travel on Saturday and Sunday. The pass is activated during your first trip on Saturday and remains active until Sunday night.

For more ideas of what to do in Boston this weekend, check out our Guide to Roaming Boston.

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Boston Frostival continues this month with new fun activities that make leaving the house worthwhile. Get a peek at snow-covered Boston from the top of the 75-foot Frostival Ferris Wheel on the Greenway (Feb 4 - March 1). Or, warm up and catch up on Winter Olympics action in the Frostival Lodge by Wayfair (Feb 6 - 28).

Walk through the North End Tunnel of Love in Christopher Columbus Park (110 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA) from now through Saturday, February 28. The tunnel’s usual holiday lights received a special upgrade, with red lights and large heart archways added to the blue lights.

Signal and Strata, a first-of-its-kind exhibition in the U.S., is now on display at The Carpenter Center (24 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA 02138) through April 5. The show features the work of “three Peruvian artists—Elena Damiani, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, and Ishmael Randall-Weeks—whose practices examine the complex entanglements of land, history, and extraction through materially rich, architecturally resonant, and often pre-colonial forms.” This gallery is free to the public.

From the Opening Ceremony on Friday, February 6, through to the final events on Saturday, February 21, head to High Street Place Food Hall (100 High St, Boston, MA 02110) for Winter Olympic Watch Parties. Catch your favorite athletes on “the biggest TVs in Boston” while sipping and snacking on delicious treats from the hall’s vendors.

Shop the Charles River Farmers’ Market every Friday (12 - 6 pm) and Sunday (10 am - 3 pm) at The Charles Hotel (1 Bennet St, Cambridge, MA, 02138). During the winter, vendors are set up in red sheds and still have fresh bread, pasta, meat, and seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Jamaica Plain holds its weekly Farmers Market every Saturday from 12 pm to 3 pm year-round in the Bank of America parking lot (677 Centre St, Jamaica Plain, 02130).

Shop the legendary Haymarket, America’s oldest open-air market, every Friday and Saturday from 6 am to 7 pm. Vendors offer fresh, affordable produce, dairy products, meat, and seafood. Just steps from Boston Public Market and MBTA’s Haymarket Station.

Every Saturday from November 1, 2025, through April 11, 2026, you can shop for local and healthy foods at the Somerville Winter Farmers Market at Arts at the Armory (191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143). The market is held weekly from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm except for 11/29/25 and 12/27/25.

Boston Common Frog Pond Ice Skating is now open. Admission price is based on height: $12 for 58 inches and over, while anyone 58 inches and under is free. Locker rentals and skate rentals are also available.

Skate at DCR Kelly Outdoor Rink (Jamaica Plain) for $0 Sunday through Friday from 12 to 7:30 pm. Skate rentals are available for $4 (or $5 with a credit card).

Brookline’s Jack Kirrane Rink at Larz Anderson Park (Brookline) is open daily except Wednesdays (Fri: 12 - 3, 6 - 8 pm. Sat + Sun: 12 - 2; 2:30 - 4-30 pm. Tues + Thurs: 9 - 12). Admission is $10. Skate rentals are $8.

Kendall Square’s Skate @ Canal District is open daily (M: 12 - 5 pm, Tues - Thurs: 12 - 8 pm, F: 12 - 9 pm, Sat: 11 - 9 pm, Sun: 11 am - 6 pm). Admission is $7. Skate rentals are $12.

You can find a full rundown of recurring walking tours, food tours, bus tours, and trolley tours of Boston in my Beginner’s Guide to Boston.

Start your weekend with a dose of wellness at The Hidden Art Gallery (25 Myrtle Street) in Beacon Hill, which hosts weekly Explore Meditation with Watercolor classes. Held every Friday from 3 pm - 6 pm, learn the basics of meditation while intuitively creating with watercolor. Classes are $55.

Reconnect with your ability to digest and rest during a Sound Bath Meditation with Ramon of Ib and Flow (247 Walnut St, Brookline, 02445). Sessions ($50) are held every Sunday.

If you’re trying to bring balance into your life this year, start your Sunday brunch with a gentle yoga flow with Brewery Yoga at Lamplighter CX. The class is held every Sunday from 12:30 - 1:30 pm at Lamplighter Brewing Co.’s CX location (110 North First Street, Cambridge, 02141) in their upstairs taproom. Tickets are $25 and include a beer token or a complimentary non-alcoholic drink.

Or, if you’re looking for a grounding experience free of any alcohol, join NamaStay Sober’s weekly free Yoga Session at The Point Yoga and Barre Revere (56 Salt St, Revere, MA 02151). These sessions are appropriate for all levels, including beginners.

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to navigate Boston by bicycle but have been too intimidated to start, join a Weekend In-And-Back Guided Ride with A Better City TMA. On Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm this spring and summer, join a free, three-hour bicycle ride from one of the many bike paths outside the city (meeting location disclosed upon sign up) and traverse the Urban Loop through downtown before returning to the start location.

Whether you already love screenprinting or are completely new to this printing method, DARK MODE hosts DIY Screenprinting workshops at their storefront in Bow Market (1 Bow Market Way, #24) in Somerville on Friday (7 pm) and Saturday (6 pm and 7 pm) nights. Tickets are $45, including t-shirts.

DARK MODE also hosts Candle-Making and Intention-Setting Workshops every Thursday at 7 pm in their storefront at Bow Market in Somerville. Tickets are $50.

Spend your Friday learning to make classic Italian cuisine with Self Up Cooking Classes (19 Kingston St) in Downtown Crossing from 6 pm - 9 pm. Every week, they host an Italian Dinner with Tiramisu Finale cooking class and dinner experience, where you can learn how to make a three-course meal, including a luscious tiramisu for dessert. Tickets are $100 and include all ingredients.

Love Child hosts free wine tastings every Friday from 5 pm to 7 pm and Saturday from 12 pm to 3 pm at their South Boston location (364 West Broadway, Boston, MA). These tastings are free and require no reservations.

Coffee lovers, this one is for you. Every Friday at 10 am, Counter Culture Coffee (374 Somerville Ave) in Somerville opens their Training Center for free coffee tastings. Anyone can learn and connect over perfectly brewed, high-quality, sustainable coffee.

Come to DeLuca’s Market Wine Cellar (11 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114) in Beacon Hill for a free wine tasting every Friday from 4 - 7 pm. Every week, resident wine expert Donovan handpicks a mix of familiar favorites and bottles from up-and-coming vineyards or hard-to-find vintages to share among participants. No ticket is required.

On Saturdays, Boston Harbor Distillery (12R Ericsson St, Boston, 02122) leads VIP tours ($50) and barrel-side tastings of their spirits ($20).