No longer. The song now plays numbing agent, much like the rest of corporate America's insistence to force Christmas down our throats the first week of November in order to secure profit margins. No Christmas until after Thanksgiving, please.

However, there are exceptions to the rule, including this weekend's annual Boston Christmas Festival at the Seaport World Trade Center. For 23 years now shoppers have been able to browse products and designs from hundreds of craft artists, with items including designer fashions, artisan jewelry, and handcrafted holiday décor. The event also features specialty foods and a gingerbread house competition.

The show continues today and tomorrow. Cost of admission is $12 (kids are free). For a $2 discount coupon, visit the Christmas Festival's web site. This year's festival is expected to draw more than 30,000 people.

Early Holiday Shopping a Breeze at Annual Christmas Festival originally appeared on About.com Boston on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 08:47:23.

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Beer and barbeque for a cause? Yes, please.

Harpoon Brewery and the New England Barbeque Society team up to present the "Harpoon Helps pre-Thanksgiving Beer-B-Q," Nov. 15 at the Northern Ave. brewery. This barbeque-style Thanksgiving meal (featuring jalapeño poppers, brined turkey, and smoked pumpkin) will help raise funds for the Greater Boston Food Bank's annual food fund, which supplies Thanksgiving meals for families in and around Boston.

The $60 admission can help provide more than 124 families in need with a Thanksgiving meal. According to Harpoon, the Greater Boston Food Bank provided 38,000 turkeys, last year to families with its food fund.

Tickets are limited to only 200 seats, and can be purchased online.

Image courtesy Harpoon Brewery

Harpoon Presents Third Annual Beer-B-Q originally appeared on About.com Boston on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 14:21:35.

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The retail world may want to push you directly into holiday shopping, but November offers plenty to avoid the commercial jingles for a few more weeks. Bob Dylan, the Celtics and Bruins, and the start of the annual tradition, the Nutcracker, highlight November in Boston.

From Plimoth Plantation to Sonic Youth, here's a glance at the top November events that the city has to offer.

Photo courtesy Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

November Events in Boston originally appeared on About.com Boston on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 20:22:22.

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According to Fox 25 News, incumbent Thomas M. Menino still holds a 20-point lead over challenger Michael Flaherty in his bid for re-election. But while that race may be a slam-dunk win, there are plenty of other district races that may indeed come down to the wire. The Election Department also has a complete list of candidates on the ballot.

All polling areas (156 of them throughout greater Boston) in the city will open Tuesday morning at 7. Click here to find out where your polling location is. All precincts will have ballots written in English and Spanish and ballots fully translated in Chinese and Vietnamese will also be available. Interpreters will also be available in the following languages: Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects), Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, and Russian.

Election Day in Boston originally appeared on About.com Boston on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 17:52:56.

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The magazine ranked the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy-New Hampshire area the fourth-safest (tied with Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.) in the nation, based on criteria that included population, violent crime, workplace fatalities, traffic death rates, and natural disaster risk.

Boston finished the survey as the safest city in the nation for traffic deaths, which probably makes sense if you understand the meaning of the term, "gridlock." Its lowest score was under the category of natural disaster, where the area finished 28th, presumably for the likelihood of blizzards and hurricanes.

Nearby Providence-New Bedford-Fall River finished sixth in the survey, 11th in traffic death rates and tied with Boston for the risk of natural disaster.

Forbes Names Boston One Of Country's Safest Cities originally appeared on About.com Boston on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 18:33:52.

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Don't be a blockhead and miss the opportunity to catch the Brattle Theater's free screening of "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown," Saturday afternoon, part of the Cambridge theater's annual family Halloween event. There will also be special treats and other spooky cartoons shown at the independent, non-profit theater over the course of the afternoon.

That won't be the only Halloween noteworthy event in Harvard Square this weekend though. On Friday night, the "Harvard Scare" takes place, featuring a costume parade for children and an all ages "Monster Mash" block party. Local retailers will also be serving up all sorts of Halloween-related specials. The fun kicks off at 4 p.m. For more information on what there is to do in Harvard Square, check out our walking tour.

Of course, if you're so inclined to channel your inner Linus and sit in a pumpkin patch on Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin himself, there are plenty of those close to Boston. It's just that, you know, he's probably not going to show up this year either.

Brattle Theater photo by Eric Wilbur

Good Grief: Celebrate Halloween in Harvard 'Scare' originally appeared on About.com Boston on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 17:42:04.

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The debates rage on: Regina's or Santarpios? Presto's or Pino's?

Everyone has his or her favorite pizza place in Boston, and nobody is exactly wrong. From the North End to collegiate classics, Boston can hold its own when it comes to some of the country's best pizza spots.

Check out our list of 10 of Boston's best, then let us know which one is your favorite.

Photo courtesty Ernesto's Pizza

Boston's Best Pizza Spots originally appeared on About.com Boston on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 19:23:18.

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Halloween is just a week away, which means the local calendar is jam-packed with ghoulish events.

Some of the events that begin today include Halloween Town, Boston's largest family Halloween celebration, the Zoo Howl at the Franklin Park Zoo, and the Boston Ghost Cruise. Meanwhile, it is sure to be a busy week in Salem, where Halloween goes big-time with an infamous history of witches and supposed hauntings.

For a complete listing of Halloween events in the Boston area, click here. To see what's going on in Salem, click here.

If Halloween isn't quite on the brain yet, we can't recommend today's Boston Book Festival enough. Ben Mezrich, Ethan Gilsdorf, and Dennis Lehane will be among 90 authors and presenters at the Copley Square event. Should be a cool time.

Photo courtesy Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

Fright Week: Halloween Events In Boston and Salem This Week originally appeared on About.com Boston on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 06:38:11.

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If you were planning on receiving the swine flu vaccine, you're going to have to wait a little longer.

Shipments of the vaccine to Massachusetts are reportedly running about three weeks behind schedule. Even then there's no guarantee that the shot will be easy to find. The state's Department of Heath and Human Services wrote on its blog: "It's important to note that there are no public H1N1 vaccination clinics currently scheduled in the state. This is because, like all other states, we have only received a very small allotment of the total amount of H1N1 vaccine expected."

The state is trying to make sure that high-priority groups do receive the vaccine as soon of possible. Those groups include pregnant women, persons six months to 24 years old, and persons ages 25 to 64 years old who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

For complete information on the swine flu vaccine, and any other questions about the virus, it's best to frequently visit the Department of Heath and Human Services' web site.

Photo courtesy Center for Disease Control

Swine Flu Vaccines Are Running Late originally appeared on About.com Boston on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 08:25:39.

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The streets surrounding Government Center will be packed to the ghouls this Saturday, when the Boston Monster March will do its part in an attempt to break the world record of a simultaneous dance to the late Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Last year, a little more than 4,000 participated, a number that should easily be eclipsed in the year of the artist's death.

The "Thriller" dance is only one component of the Monster March, which will benefit the Samaritans' suicide prevention mission. The day will include a family and an adult walk, a costume contest, $18,000 in prizes, and a Government Center carnival, including mechanical bulls, human bowling, and a Velcro wall.

For more information, or to donate, click here.

Monster March Aims To Break 'Thriller' Record originally appeared on About.com Boston on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 18:54:28.

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