5 Things To Do, From A Movie At The Prudential To A Jazz Festival

We're officially in the month of August which means there's only a few more summer weekends left! Get out and enjoy the warmth and sunshine before the inevitable chilliness of autumn hits. With the number of things to do in the city and beyond, there's little excuse to stay inside with the air conditioning on blast.

We know Thursdays don't really count as a day of the weekend but we like to get our weekend activities started early. If you've never been to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for a neighborhood night, the is the night to check it out. Neighborhood Nights are free and include lots of activities for both kids and adults. This iteration highlights Brown Art Ink, a community incubator for women artists of color. DJ Real P will provide the tunes for the night and food trucks will be on site for quick bites.

With a lineup like this, the drive to Newport, RI is worth it. The Newport Jazz Festival bills itself as the oldest jazz festival in the country and it's commemorating its 65th anniversary with an eclectic melange of musical acts. It's not everyday you get to see long time jazz staples like Herbie Hancock and Dianne Reeves alongside sound innovators like Tank and the Bangas and Thundercat. Did we mention that it takes place on the waterfront and features panoramic views?

What does makeup mean to you? Cosmetics are inherently political and are often used to subvert and interrogate societal power structures. "Face Value" at the Dorchester Art Project explores this political history of makeup, showcasing the ways that its employed to transcend gender binaries, challenge misogyny and build connections between generations of makeup users. The exhibit, ranging from sculpture to painting to photography, will challenge some previous notions you had about makeup. (Read Olivia Deng's piece on "Face Value.")

There's no better time than the weekends to catch a good movie with the family and luckily, the Prudential Center has you covered for the remaining Saturday nights of the summer. Each week, the massive Boston landmark shows a free, family friendly movie on the lawn of its South Garden. Kids activities start at 6 p.m. and the movie starts promptly at sunset. This week's flick? The fantasy and adventure driven "How To Train Your Dragon: Hidden World."

The SoWa Artist Guild is a non-profit association of professional studio artists. Each first Friday of the month, they open up their studio and work spaces to the general public. Browse the works of the eighty artists who call SoWa home and meet local taste makers in the art community. Scope out some new art or take some of it home with you! Either way, it's bound to be a (visually) interesting and fun visit.