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Dare to be different
Tired of the same old summer pastimes? Here are 25 activities you probably haven’t tried.
BY NINA SCHWARTZ

WHEN THE WEATHER gets sunny and warm, everyone starts to get mighty ambitious. Suddenly people who previously knew only how to make dinner reservations are vowing to teach themselves to shuck oysters and sear tuna. Those who spent all winter torpid and swaddled in blankets now feel the overwhelming urge to water ski and play softball. And yet, faster than you can say "maybe tomorrow," these newly motivated action heroes are booking tables and snoozing away once more. It’s the same old thing every year. We’re in a rut. The usual summer activities just don’t excite us any longer. Call us jaded, call us spoiled, but the fact is, our routines need some spicing up.

Stop moping and read on. We’re here to help you revive your precious summer months. No more head-scratching. No more saying, "I know there must be something I haven’t tried," and drawing a blank every time. Here’s a list of 25 things to do in Boston this summer, things we’re pretty sure you haven’t tried. This year, there will be no defaulting to shopping or sitting in the Public Garden or fantasizing about a house on the Cape. We’ve got your summer right here.

Roof Top Pool at the Colonnade

On sweltering summer days, you generally enjoy languid afternoons poolside, your charming and attentive staff waiting on you hand and foot as you sip a margarita and work on your tan. Right? Well, at least most sweltering summer days? Some? Okay, it’s really not so crazy. Through Labor Day (weather permitting), you can toss your sunscreen and designer sarong in your bag and head up to the Roof Top Pool at the Colonnade Hotel in Back Bay. Actually, it’s RTP to those who know, and now you’re among them. For $40, you get a towel and the opportunity to cool off in the pool and lounge with the beautiful people all day long. You can even order food from the hotel’s Brasserie Jo, to be served to you poolside, or reserve space for your own special evening event. So go play hooky and spend your days lazing about at RTP — cocktails, suntan, wait staff and all. Dahling, it’s the only way to live.

Roof Top Pool, Colonnade Hotel, 120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, (617) 424-7000; www.colonnadehotel.com/roof_top_pool

Barbecue at Formaggio Kitchen

Everyone loves a barbecue. It’s the smell of the coals heating up and of lighter fluid all over your hands after spilling it everywhere in the endless process of trying to get the grill to light. It’s the satisfying sizzle of the meat hitting the grill (though those burgers have been sitting out in the sun for a while, and you must be careful not to let any part of them touch the soy burgers). But boy, is it hot as hell over that grill or what? And where did everybody go? Someone was supposed to get you a beer while you manned the burgers. That coleslaw smells like it’s starting to turn. Perhaps barbecues are better when held sparingly. In the meantime, you can spend every Saturday during the summer months at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge. The shop has its gourmet grill set up on the sidewalk of Huron Avenue, with freshly grilled food for purchase and a pretty decent crowd milling about. Shop around for specialty foods inside, then grab some barbecue outside. You can handle the eating — but let’s leave the grilling to the professionals.

Formaggio Kitchen, 244 Huron Avenue, Cambridge, (617) 354-4750; www.formaggiokitchen.com

Publick Theatre

Here’s the thing: whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the crowds and winos of Boston Common, or to take arms against a sea of irritation and annoyance by finding a different place to see Shakespeare in the park. Was that a question? Regardless, the answer seems pretty obvious. Shakespeare on the Common is nice and all, but what about the Publick Theatre, located on a man-made Charles River island in Brighton? Its acclaimed actors put on a helluva show, and it even runs both youth and adult summer acting workshops. This season it’s putting on Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, opening on June 30 and July 21, respectively. Single-show tickets are $30 for the general public and $25 for students and seniors.

Publick Theatre, Christian Herter Park off Soldiers Field Road, Brighton, (617) 332-0546; www.publicktheatre.com

Boston Public Library

What to do on a rainy summer day? You can stay home and watch movies and stuff your face with candy and chips. Somewhat appealing, but let’s put that one on the back burner for now. You can go to the movies, wait in line for half an hour, pay $80 for tickets and concessions, fight your way into a decent seat, and then sit sandwiched between a shouter and a snorer. Or you could just spend a day at the Boston Public Library. A library card is free, believe it or not, but you don’t even need one to go and enjoy an afternoon. Find a book that interests you and plop yourself down at a table in Bates Hall, the historic and astounding barrel-vaulted reading room that runs the entire length of the Copley Square façade. And did you know that the BPL houses a gallery of murals painted by John Singer Sargent, as well as a breathtaking and peaceful Italianate courtyard? If you get hungry during your perusing, grab a bite at Novel restaurant, which overlooks the courtyard, or at Sebastian’s Map Room Café, located in the former map room of the library. Turn off your cell phone, choose a book or two, and just relax.

Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, (617) 536-5400; www.bpl.org

Boating on the Charles

Here we are in Boston, and we’ve got this great river, and all we ever do is run along it or sit beside it or drive by it. While being in it may not be ideal, what’s wrong with on it? That’s enough prepositions — now to action. Community Boating Inc. is a Boston institution. It offers a variety of membership options, including whole-year ($190), a 60-day boating pass ($135), or a 30-day "Learn To Sail Package" ($80). Once you join, you’re entitled to guest privileges, unlimited instruction and classes (for beginner and advanced sailors), and unlimited use of the boats, as well as invites and discounts for all of CBI’s social events, fundraisers, barbecues, and parties. If tying knots and hoisting jibs isn’t for you, try Charles River Canoe & Kayak. Its rentals start at $14/hour and $56/day, depending on the size and type of boat you choose, and it also offers lessons if you don’t quite yet have your sea legs. On Friday nights, Charles River Canoe features the Boston Barbeque Tour: for $60 you get an intro lesson in kayaking and a guided paddle down the Charles, which even includes a lesson in area history. Once you get back to the dock, it all culminates in a barbecue picnic catered by Redbones. What more could you want? Nothing, that’s what.

Community Boating Inc., on the Esplanade between the Hatch Shell and Longfellow Bridge, Boston, (617) 523-1030; www.community-boating.org. Charles River Canoe & Kayak, Soldiers Field Road, Allston, (617) 462-2513; www.ski-paddle.com

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Issue Date: June 10 - 16, 2005
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