5 Things To Do This Weekend, From Fancy Lawn Parties To A Mural Scavenger Hunt

The dog days of summer are now fully upon us; the city feels sleepy and abandoned. But there is still plenty to do around Boston before the air cools and the leaves start to fall. This week, it’s murals, neo-noirs, lawn parties and more.

Roaring Twenties Lawn Party | Saturday, Aug. 5 - Sunday, Aug. 6 | Crane Estate, Ipswich

The annual Roaring Twenties Lawn Party brings swing dancing, flapper dresses and full-blown nostalgia to the sprawling, impeccably manicured Crane Estate in Ipswich. Guests don vintage attire and take in the stunning view of Ipswich bay from high up on Castle Hill; they also eat a lot of food, listen to live music, and compete in something called the “Dandy Dash,” which involves solving puzzles and running an obstacle course. Be sure to buy your tickets and parking passes ahead of time.

'American Moor' | Through Aug. 12 | Boston Center for the Arts

In “American Moor,” Keith Hamilton Cobb portrays a classically trained, industry-weary actor auditioning for the part of Othello. Cobb, who also wrote the play, is by turns defiant and sarcastic, piercing and eloquent, as he unpacks his many encounters with racism in the theater, be it from casting directors or the text of “Othello” itself. (Read Carolyn Clay’s review here.)

Go Find Lynn's 15 New Murals | Hopefully Forever! | Lynn, Massachusetts

The Beyond Walls Mural Festival may be over, but the 15 extraordinary public paintings that were commissioned for the July event have only just begun their long residency in Lynn’s downtown district. (Check out our feature on the project's goals, photos of the murals and a map of where to find them.)

'The Friends of Eddie Coyle' | Friday, Aug. 4 - Sunday, Aug. 6 | The Brattle Theatre, Cambridge

“The Friends of Eddie Coyle” is a classic neo-noir flick set against the gritty backdrop of 1970s Boston, and it features a delightfully haggard Robert Mitchum as the titular Coyle, a down-on-his-luck gangster. A recent restoration by the Criterion Collection returns the film to the big screen for the first time in many years — just in time for what would have been Mitchum’s 100th birthday. (Here's more on the classic film from our critic Sean Burns.)

GospelFest | Sunday, Aug. 6 | City Hall Plaza, Boston 

Round out the weekend with the 17th annual GospelFest, which returns to City Hall Plaza this Sunday night for three hours of free music. Billboard-charting contemporary gospel singer Anthony Brown headlines with support from local groups Kingdom Builders, Margaret Holmes & The Gospel T’s and Mayor Walsh’s Community Gospel Choir.