TGIF! Get ready for another sticky, humid day — and an equally sticky final round of our "full Boston" food bracket. After a few Round 1 upsets, we have fried clams, steak tips and Fluffernutters among the finalists. Vote here. Now, to the news: Kicking off: Boston's official World Cup fan fest at City Hall Plaza opens at 2 p.m. today — but don't try to just walk in. While the central watch party is free to attend, advance registration is required and RSVPs have sold out through Sunday, according to the website. Organizers have set a cap for each session at 5,000 people. But popular matches, like tonight's U.S. opener against Paraguay or the Haiti-Scotland game at Foxborough tomorrow, have attracted more interest than they can handle. "More than 5,000 people filled out registrations and wanted to be entered into the lottery to get entrance," Meet Boston CEO Martha Sheridan told reporters yesterday. - How it works: In total, Boston 26 says the 16-day festival — which will run through the World Cup group stage — has drawn nearly 150,000 registrations. But for high-demand matches, registration is only the first step. A random lottery system is then used to allocate passes to a portion of those registered. " We wanted to give everyone an even chance, and we certainly didn't want to have just a first-come, first-serve structure," Boston 26 President Mike Loynd said. Loynd stressed that anyone who received an actual pass is guaranteed entry.
- What to expect: The festival is centered around live World Cup match broadcasts on a multi-story TV screen, with two to three games a day. But there'll also be live music between the games. (For example, this afternoon's lineup includes a local DJ and an "up-and-coming" Massachusetts indie band.) And if you work up an appetite, you can grab a bite from local restaurants, like the Ghanian Roxbury spot RedRed Kitchen, Dumpling Daughter, Summer Shack and The Sausage Guy.
- Go deeper: You can read the fan fest's full food and music lineup here. Plus, check out their updated FAQ page for more details on registration.
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| A look inside the FIFA Fan Festival at Boston City Hall Plaza during a media tour Thursday. (Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez/WBUR) |
Meanwhile, inside Boston City Hall: Mayor Michelle Wu is warning that the city could face layoffs, due to the changes the City Council made to her budget proposal. On Wednesday, councilors voted to reallocate almost $12 million in Wu's original $4.9 billion budget to increase funding for immigrants, housing, seniors and the arts. While it's a tiny percent of overall city spending, Wu told WBUR's Eve Zuckoff those changes cut heavily from the city’s assessing and transportation departments. - What's next: Wu has seven days to decide whether to reject or accept the Council's changes, which were approved by a veto-proof margin. If the mayor accepts them, she said she’d have to begin exploring layoffs when the budget takes effect in July. Eve has more on the situation here.
Bourbon Street, meet Brattle Street: Cambridge's new public drinking areas go into effect today. The city created six outdoor districts where drinking alcohol on the sidewalk will be allowed through July, under the recently passed state law. The zones include parts of Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard Square, Central Square, Inman Square and Kendall Square. Click here to see the specific district maps. - The details: Publicly drinking alcohol you've brought from home or bought at the liquor store is still illegal in the districts. But the city will let businesses in the zones sell alcohol in labeled plastic cups that people can take outside. "No glass or metal containers," city administrator Matthew Nelson said during a meeting Wednesday. "We are going to implement an ID bracelet system, so all customers must be ID checked inside the establishment and issued a bracelet to consume in the designated public spaces." (Read a summary of the rules here.)
- Where and when? So far, just four bars have been licensed to participate: Phoenix Landing, Row 34, Grendel’s Den and Sea Hag. The zones will run seven days a week through July 31, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Save the date: This year's Massachusetts sales tax holiday will be the weekend of Aug. 8-9. State lawmakers announced the dates yesterday — during which most retail items below $2,500, with some exceptions, will be exempt from the state's 6.25% sales tax. (Check out our guide on the types of purchases worth saving for the tax-free weekend.) P.S.— The Miyawaki method is a growing trend in Massachusetts and beyond. What is it? Take our Boston News Quiz and test your knowledge of this week's stories. |
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