Welcome to the Week in Weird! Here are this week's top items, and click to see the complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events.

Salem's So Sweet Chocolate & Ice Sculpture Festival		2/5 - 2/7	North Shore
Just because it's winter doesn't mean we can't have some festivals! Here are a few. This one's in Salem and they'll have ice sculpting. Salem, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Acton, Winter Carnival at NARA Park		2/6	Metro West
This one's in Acton, with a cardboard sled race, dog sledding and a human sled race, fire spinners, curling demonstrations, snowball toss competition, and a lot more. 2009: 4-7:30pm. NARA Park, 25 Ledge Rock Way, Acton, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Lowell's WinterFest Celebration		2/5 - 2/6	North Shore
This one looks even better! Fireworks, hot soup competition, and a "human dog sled championship". Lowell, MA.(978) 459-6150. see details on the complete Johnny's List see details on the complete Johnny's List
Chelmsford Winterfest		2/5 - 2/7	Northern Mass
The winter festivals don't just stop, though. Chelmsford is hosting nighttime snowshoeing, nature walks, sledding & skiing, and a pancake breakfast. Chelmsford, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List see details on the complete Johnny's List
Annual Greenfield Winter Carnival		2/5 - 2/7	Western Mass
Out along Route 2 in Western Massachusetts, Greenfield has a festival, too. Make a cardboard sled and race. Snowshoeing, ice skating, snow volleyball, a tug o' war, and a snowman competition with an entire snow village. Greenfield, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Annual Keene Ice & Snow Festival		2/6	New Hampshire
Now heading north, on your way to go skiing perhaps, this free festival includes ice carving and snow sculpting. 10am-4pm. Keene, NH. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Mount Washington Valley Ice Festival		2/5 - 2/7	New Hampshire
If you dare, you can climb a waterfall of ice, and take on other adventures that all sound insane. International Mountain Climbing School, North Conway, NH. see details on the complete Johnny's List

And a lot more this week at the Complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events, including:

Grace Chapel's Annual WinterBlast, Maple Syrup Tapping (Yum!), Winter Campfires at Mass State Parks, Owl Festival, Ippi's SuperBowl Ice Derby on Sluice + The Seelley Memorial, This is Spinal Tap, Chinatown Main Street Annual Chinese New Year Gala, Salem State College Darwin Festival, Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, Love Letters by the Fire, The Supreme Court and Race, Commerford Zoo, Harvard Square Winter Carnival Chili Cook-Off & Volleyball, Boston Media Makers Meeting, Ludwig and Hilda's Oktoberfest in February, Showshoe Hike, Forbes House Museum Annual Lincoln Celebration, Snowflake Sunday re: Paper Capers: Adventures in Paper Art - Opening Party, Cranapalooza, Magners Comedy Festival, The Barber of Seville, International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella - Quarterfinals, and more.

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Here are this week's top items, and click to see the complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events.

Sleep No More		10/8 - 2/7	Boston Metro
I finally went to see Sleep No More and you really MUST go. They've transformed over 40 rooms of a schoolhouse into a haunted house based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, complete with actors who dance, fight, and perform without speaking a word. It's too weird to describe. JUST GO. Some School, Brookline, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
MIT 6.270 Robot Competition (physical robots)		1/28	Boston Metro
7pm. Also, it's robot competition week at MIT, as different classes come to an end. This one's the biggest and best, where students build physical robots and have them compete. MIT Room 26-100, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List see details on the complete Johnny's List
Market Day at Birka: Renaissance Faire		1/29 - 1/30	New Hampshire
Perhaps you prefer the past to the future. This is the largest local event by the SCA, the Society for Creative Anachronism, as seen in the 2008 movie "Role Models". They'll have a medeival market place, food, costuming, fight tournaments, and you'll learn something about history. Radish Hotel, 700 Elm Street, Manchester, NH.603-715-5523. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Annual Snow Sculpting Competition		1/29 - 1/31	New Hampshire
Also in New Hampshire, watch artists make sculptures out of snow. Pretty neat! Black Mountain, Jackson, NH.603-383-9356. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Superbowl of Birding @ Joppa Flats		1/30	Northern Mass
This week you can also go birdwatching and "compete" in teams to find the most birds. Everyone welcome. 5am to 5pm. Joppa Flats Education Center, Newburyport, MA.978-462-9998. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Carny Knowledge: A Sideshow Extravaganza of Original Plays and Extraordinary Oddities		1/29 - 2/6	Boston Metro
This series of performances also comes with sideshow displays, like a real old-timey carnival. It seems strange and engaging! Cambridge YMCA, 820 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List see details on the complete Johnny's List
Amherst Railway Society - Big Railroad Hobby Show		1/30 - 1/31	Western Mass
Way out west is a model train show. They hook together dozens of privately built tracks to create one huge railroad track system. They don't actually say where it is to be held. But here's the address from last year. Eastern States Exposition, 1305 Memorial Ave, West Springfield, MA.617-822-4046. see details on the complete Johnny's List

And a lot more this week at the Complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events, including:

Battles at the Buzzer (Breakdancing), Charm School @ MIT, Maslab Robotics Contest, MIT 6.370 Robot Competition (software "bots"), Annual Hummus Taste Off, Death By Chocolate 2010, Integration Bee, Winter Volunteer Day @ Franklin Park, Full-Moon Family Snowshoe Hike, Great Rotary Ice Fishing Derby, Instrument Petting Zoo, AIDS Action's Dance Party, Rock-paper-scissors Championship, Cranapalooza, Winterfest Weekends @ Fruitlands Museum, Sleigh rides & smores at Point of View Farm, Kimball Farm Horse-Draw Sleigh Rides, Breakdance Classes, MIT IAP (Independent Activities Period), Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Bread and Puppet Theatre, Atwater-Donnelly, Annual A Cappella Fest in Brookline, and more.

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I have an extra ticket to see Sleep No More this Friday, January 22, at 7pm. See the description below and contact johnny@wheelquestions.org to come along with our group of five. It's supposed to be the most amazing theatre in Boston this year, or possibly ever.

Also, did you know that I have an art project? It's called Wheel Questions, and I'm writing a book. I'm looking for some volunteers to read and comment on sections as they come out. Please write me.

Welcome to the Week in Weird! Here are this week's top items, and click to see the complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events.

MIT Bad Ideas Competition		1/22 - 1/24	Boston Metro
The event of the week is the Bad Ideas Competition at MIT. Students are given funding to build wacky outdoor structures, like a small roller coaster. Go watch or take part! East Campus, Ames Street, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Newburyport Winter Carnival		1/23	North Shore
This festival looks more like a winner! There's no shopping mall involved. They just got a little confused naming the local park. It features horse-drawn hayrides, skating on the pond, sledding, and a "human dog sled race"! 10:30am-4:30pm. Bartlett Mall (which is really a park), Newburyport, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Experience the Way of Tea - Japanese Tea Ceremony		1/23	Boston Metro
Also at MIT, as part of their annual arts month, learn new social skills at this formal tea ceremony. 2-3pm. Free but RSVP in advance. Mezzanine Lounge W20 (Student Center), 84 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Ipswich Chinese New Year Celebration		1/23	North Shore
Festivals are few in January, but here's one, several weeks too early for Chinese New Year. See a lion dance and taiwanese drum performance, then get to try it yourself. Snow date the next day. 3-4:30pm. Ipswich Performing Arts Center, 130 High St, Ipswich, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Beatles Sing-Along in Brookline		1/24	Boston Metro
What's the only way to make a high school concert more painful? Let the audience sing along! Well... since this Beatles Sing-Along takes places the Brookline Music School, it's probably on-key. Give it a shot! 2pm. Brookline Music School, 25 Kennard Rd, Brookline, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Somerville Maple Syrup Project (Tree Tapping)		1/21	Boston Metro
I really want to see this! They tap actual maple trees and you get to help! Meet near Tufts University main library at 3pm. Boildown event March 12-14 all day at the Somerville Community Growing Center. Meet at Professors Row & College Ave, Somerville, MA.617-628-9988. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Rock-paper-scissors Championship		1/27	Boston Metro
Also in Somerville, test your mettle at the ultimate psych-out game: Rock Paper Scissors. And this time, you're doing it for prizes. What I want to know is, how can they stretch such a rapid sport into an entire evening's entertainment? 6:30pm. $5. 21+. PA's Lounge, 345 Someville Ave, Somerville, MA.617-776-1557. see details on the complete Johnny's List

And a lot more this week at the Complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events, including:

Surrealist Nite with Roger Miller, Bigfoot Stomp: A Snowshow Hike, Welcome to Our House' A Living History Tour, Fried Rice Iron Chef, Annual Science Fiction Marathon @ MIT LSC, Movie Magic, Free Science Talk & Exhibition @ HMNH, Burn Your New Year's Resolutions: erotic mistakes and amorous misadventures, Winterfest Weekends @ Fruitlands Museum, Sock Hop to benefit the homeless, Hot Chocolate Tasting, Integration Bee, Boston Wine Expo, National Hug Day, Sleep No More, Sleigh rides & smores at Point of View Farm, Kimball Farm Horse-Draw Sleigh Rides, Breakdance Classes, MIT IAP (Independent Activities Period), Concord Museum is Free, Atwater-Donnelly, Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Free performance of Commedia Dell'arte, and more.

Want this weekly? subscribe and see Wheel Questions, too. Send encouragement & ideas to johnny@weirdbostonevents.org.

Welcome to the Week in Weird! This week: finally, I find something truly weird for Martin Luther King Day beyond standing in the cold listening to overly serious speeches. But what's with websites not offering photos of their events?

Here are this week's top items, and click to see the complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events.

SPS Marathon of Fiction Science		1/14	Boston Metro
TONIGHT! Students at MIT are showing a ton of science fiction films, including a free sneak preview of "District 13", the awesome action flick. MIT, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Arisia Fan Convention		1/15 - 1/18	Boston Metro
Not geeky enough? Try going to Arisia, the largest science fiction (and anime, and roleplaying, you get the idea) convention in New England. I guess they're against posting up photos to entice you to come. Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
MIT Mystery Hunt		1/15	Boston Metro
Even more geeky, which is saying something, is the MIT Mystery Hunt, which people from the Boston community can probably find a team to sneak into. Join a team that unpuzzles a clue path and spends all weekend chasing down the location of a hidden coin. My suggestion: shadow the hunt's organizers as they hide the coin. MIT, Cambridge, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Annual Flax Ice Derby		1/17	North Shore
Have you ever wanted to try ice fishing? Me neither! But it would be cool to at least see it. Someplace with ice and fish, Lynn, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Japanese New Year		1/17	Boston Metro
Also, Asia is several times zones behind us, so they're still celebrating New Years in Japan. Boston Children's Museum, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Civil Disobedience @ Walden Pond		1/17	Metro West
It's also Africa's New Year, and Walden Pond is doing a fun outdoor/indoor program with a re-enactor talking about Henry David Thoreau, the american author who like Martin Luther King believed in civil disobedience. Walden Pond, Concord, MA.978-369-3254. see details on the complete Johnny's List
Martin Luther King Day Concerts		1/18	Boston Metro
Nobody seems to really "nail" Martin Luther King Day with a parade or fireworks or festival containing more than just speeches. But they'll have some lectures at Faneuil Hall. Their website doesn't mention music but they've had music in past years, too. Faneuil Hall, Boston, MA. see details on the complete Johnny's List

And a lot more this week at the Complete Johnny's List of Weird Boston Events, including:

Martin Luther King Day Celebration @ Harvard Square, Anti-Slavery Programs at Concord's Old Manse, Martin Luther King Day @ Old Sturbridge Village, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Martin Luther King Day Open House @ MFA, Joyful Noise w/ the Harlem Gospel Choir, Benjamin Franklin in Boston: A Walking Tour, Greater Boston Antiques Festival, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival @ Salem, Winterfest Weekends @ Fruitlands Museum, Sleep No More, Sleigh rides & smores at Point of View Farm, Kimball Farm Horse-Draw Sleigh Rides, Breakdance Classes, MIT IAP (Independent Activities Period), Concord Museum is Free, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), PuppetSLAM, Freestyle Motorcycle Stunts (Nuclear Cowboyz), and more.

Want this weekly? subscribe and see Wheel Questions, too. Send encouragement & ideas to johnny@weirdbostonevents.org.