The Weekender: October 6 to 10

The hot fried chicken sandwich at Hot Chix Boston. Photo courtesy of Hot Chix Boston

Eat, shop, go

Congrats! You’ve made it through the first month of classes, and now you get a break with the long Indigenous Peoples Day weekend. Support a new local restaurant by grabbing some Nashville-style hot chicken or head to the North End to stock up on coffee and tea. Grab a blanket and watch a free showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or attend one of the many cultural events going on in the city. However you choose to spend the weekend, take a break, bundle up, and get outside. 

Hot Chix Boston 

Craving Nashville-style hot chicken? Head to Hot Chix Boston in Cambridge’s Inman Square for sandwiches, sides, and—of course—hot fried chicken. Try a fried chicken, fried fish, fried shrimp, or fried mushroom sandwich served with remoulade sauce, coleslaw, and dill pickles, or order a chicken tender plate served with remoulade, white bread, fries, and coleslaw. You can choose your desired level of heat (sauces range from nonspicy to extra hot) and some delicious sides, such as potato salad, broccoli slaw, waffle fries, and honey butter biscuits. Finish your meal with some decadent banana pudding. This recently opened restaurant—one of the owners is a BU alum, Alex Kim (SHA’16)—is currently in its soft opening phase, with a hard opening date yet to be announced. Check out their Instagram for current hours and updates. 

Hot Chix Boston is at 1220 Cambridge St., Cambridge. Hours vary by week. 

Polcari’s Coffee

Polcari’s Coffee has been a North End institution since 1932. Known for its old-world flavor and charm, the shop sells a variety of coffees, teas, spices, and Italian goods. It’s not a café, but you can still pick up a cup to go. There are regional coffees from Brazil, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Copenhagen, and Colombia, or select a flavored blend, such as pecan rum, snickerdoodle, maple nut crunch, amaretto, and butterscotch. Look for tea varieties—such as Earl Grey, Darjeeling, jasmine, oolong, and English breakfast—and don’t forget to purchase spices like saffron and cinnamon. Head to the back of the store to browse Italian candies, snacks, and imported products. Come back during the summer to try their famous lemon slush, a popular seasonal specialty.

Polcari’s Coffee, 105 Salem St., Boston, is open 11 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, and 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday; closed Sunday.

Boston Together Again: Movie Night 

Got plans Thursday night? No? Catch a free outdoor showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in Copley Square. The screening is part of Boston Together Again, a series of weekday events in downtown Boston designed to bring Bostonians together in the city’s business district. Bring a blanket, sweatshirt, and folding chair to watch the show on a giant LED screen while munching on food from local vendors. This is the season’s final movie night, which has been held weekly since July 2022. 

Boston Together Again: Movie Night is Thursday, October 6, from 5 to 9 pm in Copley Square. Showtime is 7 pm, but come early to grab a snack from vendors. 

The Wilderness Project at Marsh Chapel

The Wilderness Project is an interactive art installation that invites participants to write prayers, proverbs, and poems on ribbons tied to woven structures of Asiatic bittersweet vines. Visitors can view the exhibition at Marsh Chapel all day on October 7 and attend a live performance from 7 to 9 pm. The exhibition was created by Dzidzor Azaglo (STH’23), a Ga-Ewe folklore performing poet and community archivist, and Crystal Bi, a multimedia artist and professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Wilderness is also on display at the Franklin Park Overlook Shelter Ruins through October 6, and invites communities to preserve stories, languages, cultures, and traces of living.  

The Wilderness Project live performance by Dzidzor Azaglo will be held Friday, October 7, from 7 to 9 pm at Marsh Chapel. The event is free, but attendees can register online. The art installation will be open to the public all day at Marsh Chapel. 

Opening Our Doors Festival

Founded by the Fenway Alliance in 2001, the Opening Our Doors festival celebrates the Fenway Cultural District with free performances, crafts, art, music, dance, and more. It also features garden tours, nature walks, and historic walking tours. Now in its 21st year, the festival is Boston’s longest running and largest day of free cultural experiences. The Fenway Cultural District is a community of member institutions, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Fenway Studios, Huntington Theatre Company, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Massachusetts Historical Society, Museum of Fine Arts, and the New England Conservatory. Check out the festival map and full schedule of events here. 

Opening Our Doors will be held Monday, October 10, from 10 am to 4 pm at the Christian Science Plaza, at the intersection of Massachusetts and Huntington Avenues, Boston, with open houses throughout the Fenway Cultural District. 

Drumfolk 

ArtsEmerson and Step Afrika! present Drumfolk, a percussive and movement-filled celebration of the human spirit through music, stepping, and ring shouts. Drumfolk is inspired by the Stono Rebellion of 1739, where 20 enslaved Africans used drums to start an uprising in South Carolina. The rebellion was suppressed, and later the Negro Act of 1740 took away the African people’s rights to assemble, read, and use drums. Drumfolk begins in the 1700s and takes audiences to the present day, illustrating how drums have shaped US history.

Drumfolk will run through October 16 at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St, Boston. Performance dates and times vary, so check the schedule before purchasing tickets. Ticket prices start at $25 and can be purchased online.