Holiday Events Guide
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December 8–21, 2014 THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO BOSTON PANORAMAEVENTS | SIGHTS | SHOPPING | MAPS | DINING | NIGHTLIFE | CULTURE HOLIDAY EVENTS GUIDE Including Boston Ballet’s CELEBRATING HANUKKAH IN THE FENWAY THE 241ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOSTON TEA PARTY DOWNTOWN DINING FOR LUNCHTIME bostonguide.com SHOPPERS OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST rolex oyster perpetual and datejust are trademarks. December 8–21 2014 THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO BOSTON Volume 64 • No. 15 contents Features PANO’sGuideto 10 HolidayEvents Enjoy yuletide cheer on stages all over the Boston area Departments 5 Calendar 6 HUBBUB The 241st anniversary of the Boston Tea 6 Party, Hanukkah at the Museum of Fine Arts, SoWa Holiday Market and more 8 High5 8 Downtown lunch spots 37 Back Bay architectural treasures 39 North End historic sites 9 APeekatthePast The Boston Common Christmas Tree 12 Boston’sOfficialGuide 12 Current Events 18 On Exhibit 21 Shopping 8 27 Cambridge 30 Maps 36 Neighborhoods 43 Sightseeing 49 Freedom Trail 62 51 Dining 62 BostonAccent Boston Baroque Music Director Martin Pearlman ON THE COVER: Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Photo: Lia Cirio by Angela Sterling. PHOTOS (TOP TO BOTTOM): COURTESY OF SOWA HOLIDAY MARKET; COURTESY OF BONAPITA; MARTIN PEARLMAN BY PATRICK O’CONNOR BOSTONGUIDE.COM 3 THE OFFICIAL GUIDE TO BOSTON bostonguide.com December 8–21, 2014 Volume 64 • Number 15 Tim Montgomery • Publisher Scott Roberto • Art Director/Acting Editor John Herron Gendreau • Associate Art Director Celina Colby • Editorial Assistant Lizz Scannell • Photography Intern service with sarcasm! Tim Montgomery • President & CEO Tyler J. Montgomery • Vice President, Operations Rita A. Fucillo • Vice President, Publishing Jacolyn Ann Firestone • Vice President, Advertising Melissa J. O’Reilly • Business Manager fun Niki Lamparelli • Operations Assistant Lenard B. Zide, Butters Brazilian LLP • for Corporate Counsel all, all in fun! PANORAMA is published bi-weekly by New Venture Media Group LLC. Editorial and advertising offices at 560 Harrison Ave., Suite 412, Boston, MA 02118. Telephone (617) 423-3400. Printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. No part of this publica- Hey You, bring in this ad for tion may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission of the publisher. PANORAMA is a member of the Massachusetts Lodging 20% OFF GRUB! Association, The Back Bay Association, The Greater Boston One per table. Not valid w/ any other offers. Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cambridge Chamber of And, of course, you must have this ad, Genius! Commerce, the Greater Boston Concierge Association, the Harvard Square Business Association, the Newbury Street League, the South End Business Alliance, the Downtown Crossing Association, the Kendall Square Association and the Faneuil Hall Marketplace Central Square Business Association. Quincy Market Building Boston, MA 02109 a magazine affiliate 617-267-8080 FOLLOW US! Facebook.com/PanoramaMagazineBoston Twitter.com/PanoramaBoston Instagram.com/PanoramaBoston www.DicksLastResort.com PanoramaBoston.Tumblr.com 4 PANORAMA A TWO-WEEK PRIMER ON December 12–14 BOSTON’S BEST EVENTS The South Shore-based Bay Colony 12.8.14–12.21.14 Shakespeare Company presents its acclaimed one-man version of A Christmas Carol starring Neil McGarry at the First Church in Boston. McGarry doesn’t just recite the text—in a whirlwind turn, he embodies all of Charles Dickens’ distinctive characters. Visit baycolonyshakespeare.org for tickets. December 14 Restaurant/rock club The Sinclair in Harvard Square hosts Eat Your Heart Out Boston, a charity event pairing music- inspired dishes made by local celebrity chefs (including James Beard Award- winner Jamie Bissonnette, pictured) and live music. Visit sinclaircambridge.com or eatyourheartoutboston.com for tickets. December 18–20 Stand-up comedian extraordinaire Jake Johannsen, a frequent guest on “The Late Show with David Letterman” who has also appeared on HBO and Showtime, brings his observational humor to the Laugh Boston stage at the Westin Seaport Waterfront Hotel in the red-hot Seaport District. Refer to listing, page 12. December 18 & 21 Celebrate A Bach Christmas at Jordan Hall with the Handel and Haydn Society and conductor Scott Allen Jarrett, who leads a program that includes Bach’s joyous Cantata 40 and Cantata IV from the Christmas Oratorio as well as Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and works by Schütz, Vulpius and Sweelinck. Refer to listing, page 12. December 19–21 Cambridge-based José Mateo Ballet Theatre brings its 28th annual production of The Nutcracker to Dorchester’s Strand Theatre. With tickets starting at just $15, you can enjoy the beloved holiday dance classic with your family without breaking the bank. Visit ballettheatre.org/nutcrackertickets for more information. CALENDAR BOSTONGUIDE.COM 5 DUMP THE TEA INTO THE SEA—AGAIN! Walk in the footsteps of history as the Old South Meeting House (refer to listing, page 49) and the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum (refer to listing, page 44) celebrate the 241st anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, often considered the most important event leading up the American Revolution. On December 16 at 6:30 p.m., those with tickets (available at gottea.bpt.me) can grab a seat at the Old South Meeting House and witness a re-creation of the pivotal tea tax debate in the place where it actually happened. Then, at 7:30 p.m., the general public is invited to join a fife and drum band-led procession to the waterfront where re-enactors board the Beaver—a replica of one of the three ships involved in the original incident—at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum and dump real tea into the harbor as the crowd cheers on. As a new treat this year, the museum has collaborated with Harpoon Brewery (306 Northern Ave., 617-456-2322, harpoonbrewery.com) to create a limited-edition, tea-infused ale that is only available at the museum and the brewery. What better way for a thirsty revolutionary to unwind? WHAT BOSTON’S LIGHT UP THE NIGHT BUZZING ABOUT Celebrate the Festival of Lights this year at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (refer to listing, page 19) as the venerable Fenway institution hosts several 12.8.14 events and activities related to the eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah on December 17 from 6–9:45 p.m. It all begins with the symbolic lighting of an electric menorah by special guests Rabbi Zecher of Boston’s Temple Israel and Yehuda Yaakov, Consul General of Israel to New England. Highlights of the evening include film screenings, musical performances and tours of the museum’s collection of historic Jewish artifacts, as well as the first art installation at a major museum to feature the Oculus Rift, a motion-controlled virtual reality headset. Also enjoy a festive menu at Taste Café and Wine bar and an olive oil tasting courtesy of Boston Olive Oil Company. 6 PANORAMA HUBBUB TOP PHOTO: MICHAEL BLANCHARD; BOTTOM: ZE’EV RABAN, HANUKKAH LAMP, ABOUT 1920 ONE-STOP HOLIDAY SHOPPING Looking for a gift this holiday season to show everyone from your quirky aunt to your work BFF that you’re thinking of them? Find fun gifts for all the folks in your life at the SoWa Holiday Market on December 13 from 11 a.m.–6 p.m. and December 14 from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Taking place at the Benjamin Franklin Institute at 141 Berkeley St. in the South End, this 11th annual fair features dozens of independent artisans offering trinkets, toys, clothing and more, including handmade scented soaps, unique jewelry, colorful ceramics, original art and Christmas tree ornaments. Need to keep your energy up while shopping? In addition to a caffeine jolt courtesy of Boston’s own Black Magic Coffee Company, there’s also sweet treats like locally made brownies, chocolates, jams and even donuts available. For only a $5 admission (free for children under 12), enjoy all the bounty of New England’s finest crafters. For more information, visit sowaholidaymarket.net. GETTING IN THE SPIRIT There’s more to the Freedom Trail Foundation’s Freedom Trail Players (refer to listing, page 46) than telling tales of Boston’s famed Colonial era-sites. During the yuletide season, visitors can also learn about the evolution of Christmas traditions in the Hub from costumed guides in Dickensian garb on a Historic Holiday Stroll. Running through January, this unique tour begins at Faneuil Hall and follows along the famed Freedom Trail, not only giving the history of the birth of our nation, but also revealing the inside scoop on the days, 75 years later, when Charles Dickens himself brought his iconic ghost story A Christmas Carol to Beantown for its American premiere. When all is said and done, warm up with coffee, tea or wine and Boston cream pie at the place where the dessert was invented, the Omni Parker House Hotel—one of Dickens’ favorite “haunts” when he was in town. For tickets, visit thefreedomtrail.org. ELF ON THE (RETAIL) SHELF Who said Elf on the Shelf was strictly for kids? Grown-ups can get in on the action, too, with the Newbury Street League’s own Elf Challenge, taking place up and down the renowned retail district through December 19. More than two dozen shops participate in this whimsical scavenger hunt in which shoppers take pictures of strategically placed elf dolls and share them on social media (Instagram, Facebook and Twitter) along with the tag #NewburyStreetElf. Every Friday of the challenge, the most popular and creative posts are chosen as the winners of a Newbury Street shopping spree in the form of a bag of gift cards. That’s an early Christmas present sure to be on anyone’s list. Visit newburystreetleague.org for details. —Scott Roberto BOSTONGUIDE.COM 7 HIGH 5 DOWNTOWN LUNCH SPOTS Take a break from your holiday shopping and enjoy a quick bite at these new and old favorites to satisfy your mid-day cravings BONAPITA (49 Franklin St., 857-350-4606, bonapita.com, pictured): A relative newcomer, Bonapita boasts healthy Mediterranean fare—nothing on the menu is fried or served with cheese.