50 things to do this summer

Vegan menus

Learn to love the meat-free lifestyle with any of a number of delicious vegan dining experiences this summer. The Elephant Walk’s three locations offer a selection of vegan Cambodian and French dishes; The Otherside Café has tasty vegan treats like the mock chicken salad with pecans and cashews and the veggie burrito; and True Bistro in Teele Square has a multitude of upscale choices, such as the seitan piccata with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and seared rapini or a Vietnamese crepe with honshimeiji mushrooms and fried tofu. Plus, Upstairs on the Square is featuring a Summer Vegan Dinner Series, held June 8 and July 27: For $45 (or $65 with vegan wine pairings), you’ll delight in a four-course menu featuring dishes like minted pea lasagnette and spring minestrone heaped with local veggies.

Great Boston Beer Marathon

Attention, hopheads: on July 16, test out your liver’s prowess at the sixth annual Great Boston Beer Marathon, the self-proclaimed “mother of all pub crawls.” Last year’s crawl boasted 3,000 participants, 26 bars, T-shirts, free food, giveaways and Viking hats, so this year is sure not to disappoint. Stops along the way will include An Tua Nua, The Draft, La Verdad, Tequila Rain and White Horse, to name a (very, very) few, and you can count on free pool and bowling, drink specials, and your very own koozie to keep your booze cozy. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online. Great Boston Beer Marathon (greatbostonexperience.com)

Harbor Islands Art Encampment

Take the ferry to the place where everybody’s a bumpkin: Bumpkin Island! But don’t expect kazoos and skinny bald kids playing banjo, this here is the best in modern art. You will see a wide array of art installations, sculpture, sound, performance and mixed-media, all inspired by the gorgeous Boston Harbor Islands. Shuttles will be leaving directly from Long Wharf. (bostonharborislands.com)

Europe at Mid-Century at the MFA

Travel back to the days when men were men and women were hideous figures with twisted multiple legs, disembodied eyes and triangular faces. Yes, we’re talking about the dynamic re-imaginings of the human body pioneered by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Jean Debuffet and Alberto Giacommetti. This MFA exhibit traces the fragmentation of standard form in the art world, and promises some rare work by the masters. June 25—January 22; The Museum of Fine Art; 465 Huntington Ave, Mission Hill; Boston (617-276-9300; mfa.org)

Outdoor Films

Here’s the best way to experience the outdoors without losing that secure sense of being indoors: go see an outdoor movie. It’s just like the theater experience except that there are mosquitoes and no plush seating. But hey, it’s free! This summer go to The Hatch Shell on Fridays, (celebrateboston.com/free-friday-flicks.htm) or if the movie is not to your liking, head over to the Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf, also showing films on Friday nights (bhh.com). Finally, Films At the Gate will be showing their outdoor Kung Fu extravaganza out near the Chinatown Gate on Hudson Street for four as yet unannounced days in August (filmsatthegate.org).