Boston Event Calendar

September 2009

September welcomes the annual influx of students as classes begin at the city's many colleges and universities. 

Many Bostonians will spend the month obsessing about the Red Sox chances in the American League playoffs. 

Boston theater, concerts, lecture series, and of course, pre-Halloween festivities are underway all over the city.  Boston's fall foliage will start showing signs of color by the end of the month - my weekly foliage updates will keep you posted about changes and best foliage viewing spots right in the city.  Now's also the time to book a fall foliage cruise for next month.

If you're visiting Boston in September, here's a selection of September's best events for you to check out. 

Quick Links:  Boston events calendars:  October   l   November   l   December

Kiss Me Kate at the Lyric Stage Company

September 4 - October 10, with evening performances Wednesday - Saturday and matinees on Saturday and Sunday
For tickets, call 617-585-5678 or go to the Lyric Stage website

Lyric Stage Company, 2nd floor of YMCA Building, 140 Clarendon Street (near Copley Square), Back Bay, Boston

Cole Porter fans will rejoice in the Lyric Theatre's lively production of "Kiss Me Kate," the 1940s musical based on Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew."   Sure, the story line is a little passé - how many people genuinely believe that assertive women need to be "tamed" these days? - but the fun is in the double-entendres that abound in this musical's many songs and stage action.   With Peter Davenport and Amelia Broome in the starring roles of Fred/Petruchio and Lilli/Katherine and Director Spiro Veloudos at the helm, there's plenty of terrific acting, singing, and action.

The non-profit Lyric Stage Company, founded in 1974, is Boston's oldest theater group and is located in the beautifully restored historic YWCA Building near Copley Square in Back Bay.

SoWa Open Market and Antiques Market

September 13, 20, 27, plus every Sunday in October, 10am - 6pm
540 Harrison Ave., South End, Boston; nearest T station: Orange Line/Back Bay; free parking at 500 Harrison Ave.

Boston's biggest open air market unfolds on Sundays through the end of October when artists and artisans sell their creations under a sea of white tents in a huge parking lot in the South End on Harrison Ave in SoWa (South of Washington). 

New this year at SoWa Open Market is an eclectic antiques market in an old factory building at the back of the parking lot - lots of fab jewelry and decorative objects.  A different mix of vendors comes every week, and no matter how many times I go, I always find a lot that's new and different.  Great place to shop for holiday gifts! 

32nd John Coltrane Memorial Concert

September 26 - 7:30pm, Northeastern University's Blackman Auditorium, Boston
September 27 - 3:30pm, ACT/Roxbury, Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street, Roxbury

This annual 2-day event brings together top jazz musicians for tribute performances honoring legendary saxophonist and composer John Coltrane with contemporary interpretations of his work. 

What's cool about this event, if you love 'Trane, is that you'll be hearing this music with other fans who are as into his music as you are.  And because these are interpretations, you never know exactly what you'll hear.

This year, the Saturday performance by the 14-piece John Coltrane Memorial Ensemble will be introduced by local jazz expert and radio host Eric Jackson ("Eric in the Morning" on WGBH).  On Sunday, instrumentalist and vocalist Stan Strickland teams up with special guests Laszlo Gardony and Yoron Israel.

For more information, go to the John Coltrane Memorial Concert website.

School of Fashion Design - Student Designer Sample Sale

September 26, 10am - 4pm - School of Fashion Design, 136 Newbury Street, Boston

Message to all fashionistas:  you can get fabulous buys on original one-of-a-kind fashions designed by students at this special sample sale held at the School of Fashion Design on Newbury Street in Back Bay.  Meet the designers - and predict which ones you think will be the future stars of the fashion industry.

The event is free . . . but you'll want to spend some money.  Cash and checks only. 

For more information, contact SFDBoston@aol.com

Rocky Horror Picture Show

September 26 at midnight - AMC Loews Harvard Square 5 Theatre; also October 30 and 31
10 Church Street, Cambridge; nearest T station: Harvard Square; 617-864-4581

Rocky Horror Picture Show has been screening here at midnight on most Saturday nights since 1984. 

You've probably seen this R-rated cult classic one or many times before . . . but the fun here is dressing up in your favorite over-the-edge goth attire and joining fellow RHPS fans in Harvard Square at midnight.  Clothing, makeup, and hair becomes even more outrageous as Halloween draws near, making this a favorite late-September thru October destination. 

Girl Power Workshop  by Rachel Simmons

September 29, 6pm - Rabb Lecture Hall, Boston Public Library, Copley Square, Boston

Join a free Girl Power Workshop for girls and adults conducted by Rachel Simmons, author of The Curse of the Good Girl and Odd Girl Out, best sellers about bullying in middle school and the need for girls to build a strong identity that goes beyond stereotypes. 

Bring your copies of Ms. Simmons' books for signing!  If you don't already have her books, check out these links to Amazon where you can usually find very attractive prices:  The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence, Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls