Huge List of Things to Do in Boston: October 1-8

Boston Local Food Festival

Saturday, October 1 11am-5pm

Boston Waterfront, Fort Point Channel

617-575-9165

All Ages

Free

The Boston Local Food Festival offers a free day of festivities designed to promote the healthy benefits of eating local food; that is, food that is sourced from the Boston area, other parts of Massachusetts and throughout New England. The festival will feature booths where guests can purchase yummy dishes for $5 or less. There will also be local craft beer, mead, and wine tastings, demonstrations, a crop share, and live music from local musicians.

Brew at the Zoo 2011

Saturday, October 1 5-9pm

Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Road, Dorchester, 02121

617-989-2000

Ages 21+

$50

Brew at the Zoo will feature beer stations from several local breweries, set up around the Franklin Park Zoo, where guests can obtain tasting samples while enjoying the animal exhibits. There will also be food from John Harvard's Brew House and live entertainment. Additionally, Boston Duck Tours will be providing free transportation, with shuttles to the zoo from the Forest Hills T-stop from 5pm-7pm and from the zoo back to Forest Hills T-stop from 7pm-9pm. To order tickets for Brew at the Zoo 2011, call 617-989-2010 or click here.

CollegeFest

Saturday, October 1 Noon-7pm

Sunday, October 2 Noon-6pm

Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston St., Boston 02115

College Students

$10

CollegeFest is an annual expo held at the Hynes Convention Center and created to give college students opportunities to learn about new products and companies, obtain bags full of free stuff, enjoy live music from local and national acts, enter to win prizes, and socialize with peers. CollegeFest expects an attendance of over 15,000 undergrads this year. There are several ways to get tickets for CollegeFest: 1) Contact the Student Activities Office at your university 2)Get them the CollegeFest Street Team when they visit Boston area colleges prior to the event 3) At the door for $10 cash or credit card 4) Online at Eventbrite. There are also a couple opportunities to possibly get free or discounted tickets: 1)'Like' CollegeFest on Facebook and check regularly for ticket updates or 2) Snatch up a 2 for 1 coupon that you may find circling around your college campus.

HONK! Fest & Oktoberfest

Saturday, October 1 Noon-9pm

Sunday, October 2 Noon-6pm

Davis Sq. and Harvard Sq.

All Ages

Free

The HONK! Fest and Oktoberfest celebration is annual event taking place in Harvard Square and Davis Square, featuring live performances by activist street bands from all over the country. There will also be restaurant vendors, beer gardens, street vendors, sidewalk sales, and more. The festivities will begin at noon on Saturday, October 1^st in Davis Square and will go until 9pm that night. On the following day, Sunday, October 2^nd, the HONK! Bands will parade in the streets from Davis to Harvard Squares from 12pm to 2pm. They will then perform in Harvard Square from 2:15pm to 6pm. See Full Schedule

Tastes of Community Cooks

Sunday, October 2 4pm-7pm

Somerville Museum, 1 Westwood Rd., Somerville, 02143

617-666-9810

$35/in advance; $45/at the door

Community Cooks is an organization whose volunteers partner with local agencies to cook meals for those in need. The Tastes of Community Cooks fundraising event will showcase some of the organization's chefs and the foods they make as well as original artwork by the cooks and agency clients. There will also be several guest speakers. More Info

Science on Screen: The Little Shop of Horrors

Monday, October 3 @ 7pm

Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline, 02446

617-734-2500

$7.75-$9.75

As part of the Science on Screen Series of film and presentation events, the Coolidge Corner Theatre and Museum of Science present a special screening of The Little Shop of Horrors, preceded by a discussion w/ Ecologist, Aaron Ellison about the complex world of carnivorous plants. Get Tickets

George Scialabba Discusses The Modern Predicament

Monday, October 3 @ 7pm

Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 02138

617-661-1515

Free

Harvard Book Store presents author and critic, George Scialabba, who will discuss his latest collection of essays, The Modern Predicament, in which he explores the world of humanities in search of insight into morality. Scialabba will be introduced by James Wood, fellow essayist and critic.

Steven Pinker @ Harvard Book Store

Tuesday, October 4 @ 7pm

Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 02138

617-661-1515

Free

Cognitive Scientist and Psychologist, Steven Pinker, will be at the Harvard Book Store to discuss his newest book, The Better Angles of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, which explores violence in ancient history in comparison to that of modern times with an attempt to explain the drastic difference.

Cambridge Forum Presents Anita Hill

Tuesday, October 4 @ 8pm

First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 02138

617-661-1515

Free

Anita Hill, law and social justice scholar and Brandeis University professor, will talk about themes from her new book, Reimagining Equality: Stories of Gender, Race and Finding Home, for this Cambridge Forum discussion and as part of the fall "How We Live Today" series.

Science vs. Spirituality w/ Deepak Chopra & Leonard Mlodinow

Wednesday, October 5 @ 7pm

First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 02138

617-661-1515

$28

Harvard Book Store presents physician and spiritual writer, Deepak Chopra and physicist, Leonard Mlodinow, who will engage in an intellectual debate and discussion of their new book, War of the Worldviews: Science vs. Spirituality. Harvard Theologian, Harvey Cox, will moderate the talk. Tickets are $28 and include a copy of the book.

Arlington International Film & Video Festival

Thursday, Oct. 6 thru Sun., Oct. 9

Times Vary

The Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington 02476

781-646-4849

$10/per ticket; $35/festival pass

The Arlington International Film and Video Festival will showcase films by residents of the Arlington community that feature people and cultures all around the world. See Full Program Schedule

Friday Forum w/ Foreign Policy Expert, Swanee Hunt

Friday, October 7 @ 3pm

Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 02138

617-661-1515

Free

Harvard Book Store and Amnesty International present Swanee Hunt, former U.S. Ambassador to Austria, who will discuss lessons to be learned from the Bosnian War and her recent book, Worlds Apart: Bosnian Lessons for Global Security.

Archaeology Fair @ Museum of Science

Saturday, October 8 @ 10am

Museum of Science, 1 Science Park, Boston 02114

617-723-2500

All Ages

Free w/ Museum Admission

The Archaeological Institute of America and the Museum of Science present the annual Archaeology Fair, where visitors will have the chance to converse with and learn about more than 25 New England based archaeologists and their research. There will be hands on activities, live presentations, and other special programs.

Killjoy Festival

Saturday, October 8

Times Vary

Central Square, Cambridge

$0-$15

Various venues and stores around Central Square will participate in the Killjoy Festival to showcase local authors, musicians, painters, beekeepers, and other notable figures of the Boston community. Each location will feature different events and performances; some cost money to enter and some do not. You also have the option of buying an all-access wristband, which will get you a bunch of cool free stuff in addition to admission to all of the club events. See Killjoy Festival on Facebook for more info.