Lowell Folk Festival Various Locations, Downtown Lowell July 25-27 Free More information These days, the phrase "free folk" can carry a host of connotations, but the Lowell Folk Festival sticks with the one that has the broadest appeal: "free" as in beer, not as in freaky. This year's festival marks the 22nd year of free folk music in downtown Lowell, if you count the three years that Lowell hosted the touring National Folk Festival, and......

We’d just like to remind you of how lucky you are to be living in New England. Why, you ask? If it’s not the weather, the traffic, or the football team, whatever could it be? Well, the beer, naturally. For whatever reason—possibly the weather and the traffic—New England has a high concentration of amazing breweries and brew pubs. You can hardly finish a drunken stagger without falling over one. Pardon the blasphemy, but forget Sam......

--Are too many activities hurting the condition of the Common? The folks at Parks and Recreation think so. But what's the point of having a Common if people can't go there? [WBZ] --The fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq caused a local contrast. Local National Guard soldiers came home. [WHDH] --Meanwhile, five people in Boston and eight people in Chicopee were arrested for protesting the war, and about 100 people were at the......

It’s been pretty quiet on the fashion front. The shows in Europe are almost over and the Spring/Summer collections are on display in store fronts up and down Newbury Street. So in between listening to Papelbon complain and trying to get tickets to see Shiny Toy Guns on St. Patrick’s Day, why not take a well deserved fashion break. Fashionistas on a budget should check out Jovovich Hawk at Target. Models Mila Jovovich and Carmen......

--Logan Airport is getting wind turbines. And we look to opponents of Cape Wind to ask, "So, what's your issue with wind power again?" [Boston Globe] --Governor Deval Patrick is putting his weight behind a bill that will protect transgendered people. [Boston Globe] --Brigham & Women's will be the first hospital in the United States to perform partial face transplants. [Boston Globe] --Anyone hear a sizzle? Live wires fell on an MBTA bus today......

The Globe is blushing right now. Columnist Adrian Walker, most frequently seen getting Universal Hub's dander up, was arrested early Sunday on an OUI. Making matters worse for the Globe, he was driving a company car when Transit Police in Dorchester arrested him for speeding. He told officers that he had been at Silvertone earlier. He has pled not guilty. But the word is out. The Globe mentioned the incident in "New England in Brief."......

--Find out where to meet up on March 6 to ask Rep. Ed Markey (aka "Biz Markey") to support Cape Wind. [Blue Mass Group, more on Cape Wind from Bostonist] --Holy crap. This guy eats a Big Mac in one bite. Honest. Where is Morgan Spurlock when you need him? [Andy Eats via Menu Pages] --Following a more highbrow food track, Le Cordon Bleu is opening in Cambirdge on April 7. [Beantown Bloggery] --Apparently Barstool......

Bostonist called it! Once we wondered if Tom Brady was evolving into his panty model girlfriend Gisele Bundchen. Well, he might be. The New York Post has unleashed a bombshell that Brady, who is a Stetson model and a Smart Water model and an everything model, might be donning Calvin Klein underwear for a new series of ads. The Calvin Klein label has a sweet tooth for New England men, as Mark Wahlberg once......

Short Cartoons You saw the nominees for the Live Action Short Film Academy Award last night; come back to the ICA for the contenders in the animated category. Formats include traditional 2D animation, CGI, and claymation. Check out the John Lennon interview film "I Met the Walrus." Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Avenue, South Boston, 7:00pm. $7/$9. Recover Heal a broken heart with laughter. Ben Karlin has assembled a collection of raucous breakup......

Bostonist never thought of Bill Belichick as cover material, unless one counts the awesomeness of the Sports Illustrated cover with Belichick as Santa. But a few gay males might get a surprise when they pick up the latest issue of Spirit Magazine, "Boston's Premier Magazine for the Gay and Lesbian Community." Because there's Bill Belichick's mug and hoodie alternative on the cover. Fabulous it is not. First off, Belichick is a cougar-sexual. Second, "Belichick" and......

Dark Side of the Moon, Sorta... --The last lunar eclipse for the next 2 years is happening tonight. With binoculars or even the naked eye, the moon will start to look pretty darn red around 9:00 pm EST, as if the green cheese has turned into a port wine spread. The prime time will be between 10pm and 10:30pm. Why not get a better look at an obsevatory? Harvard Observatory, 60 Garden St, Cambridge,......

We don't like to think back to the final moments of Super Bowl XLII. If we could, we'd erase the name Plaxico Burress from our memory, and we'd focus on the good times we've had with Ellis Hobbs. But on Tuesday, Boston was asked to go back to the Super Bowl and that second, 35 from the end of the game and a perfect season, when Burress beat Hobbs and scored the touchdown that set......

Can you put a price on Super Bowl immortality? MasterCard would likely say no (because let's face it, it's priceless), but some people in St. Louis offer a resounding "hell yes." The estimated price of a 2002 Rams Super Bowl win, according to a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, is $100 million. The lawsuit, which names the Patriots organization and Coach Bill Belichick, stems from former Rams player Willie Gary,......

--Old hotness: Late trains on the Worcester-Framingham line. New hotness: Changing the timetables so they don't look late anymore. [WBZ] --House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has offered up a budget with a sizable tax cut for corporations that would drop the percentage from 9.5 percent to 7 percent. Let's see--the state is in a budget crunch, so he wants a tax cut? The budget also didn't include casino licenses, which sets up another Battle Royale......

Look outside the window. Grimace. Then realize that somewhere, in a magical land known as Florida, spring is only one day away. Pitchers and Catchers Day is almost here, which means that spring is creeping closer to our frozen city. Ballplayers will be ready to welcome in the season when they finally get back to Fenway. The journey just happens to take them to Florida, Japan, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Toronto before spring finally reaches......

Meet our new food columnist, Lisa Dacundo of "Transplanted Tastebuds." She'll bring you food ideas for the weekend, such as this comforting pasta meal. Growing up in New England, many of us know what it's like to endure bitter cold winters that seem to last well into April. When we were kids, a little tomato soup from a can somehow melted away the chill that crept into our bones during the hours of sledding, snowmen......

We would like to take a moment to thank this week's advertisers on Bostonist. The 2009 Toyota Corolla, which encourages you to "Live the Dream for Less Coin." Joe Jackson's Rain, available now on Amazon.com. Busted Tees, selling a special shirt to honor the New England Patriots. If you're interested in advertising on Bostonist or any other site in our network, check out our online mediakit.......

Rudy Giuliani might be out of the presidential spotlight, but one of his comments regarding the Boston Red Sox is back to haunt him thanks to the Topps Baseball Card Company. The supposed die-hard Yankee fan will be in the background of a card featuring the celebration of the Boston Red Sox winning the 2007 World Series. To refresh your memory, a reporter asked Rudy who he was rooting for last October and he......

--Bostonist hasn't seen a "flagrant foul," or a sports-related blotter entry, in some time. The bad situation that was the Super Bowl loss just got worse for New England Patriots defensive back Willie Andrews, who was busted driving an unregistered car and having pot on him in Lowell. If it had happened to anyone one else, on any other day, no one would have cared. But the Herald points out that Andrews has a record.......

Update: At least someone found humor in the hoodie. Let the finger-pointing begin. Whose fault was it that the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl? Tom Brady? Bill Belichick? Or was it ... Bill Belichick's new hoodie? Bostonist blames the hoodie. Belichick came out in a hoodie with the sleeves cut off at three quarters, but the hoodie was in a hot-red shade that no one could miss.......

Tina Cervasio, whose aerodynamic behind put Papelbon in a state of awe, is leaving NESN at the end of March. Wailing and gnashing of teeth ensued, as New England--not to mention players--were besotted with Cervasio. What happened? Cervasio was a big enough name that it would be surprising if NESN didn't fight to keep her. The Track Girls say, however, that Cervasio wanted more money in her contract, and http://www.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view.bg?articleid=1070220&srvc=home&position=2">NESN wasn't willing to cough up.......

Bostonist has uncovered an underground society of lifelong Bostonians who totally hate football and do not give a rat's hairy, dreadlocked behind about the NFL Superbowl, The New England Patriots, or Tom Brady. Even more shocking: Bostonist has confirmed that several locals know only two facts about Patriots superstar quarterback Tom Brady, which they learned from US Weekly magazine: a) he is dating Giselle, and b) he recently had a baby with another woman,......

"Bye-weeks. Bronco Nagurski didn't get no bye-weeks! And now he's dead! Well, maybe they're a good thing." - Moe, The Simpsons These are the times that try fan's souls. The cavalcade of ridiculousness that is Media Day is long over, but the actual game is still three looooooong days away. But with 564,000 media members stomping around Greater Phoenix, stories will be filed even if there's no story there. And we have to talk about......

--A Brazilian doctor pled guilty today of manslaughter after allegedly killing a woman in a botched liposuction surgery that took place in a Framingham house in 2006. However, the judge has rejected the guilty plea. [WBZ] --The elderly and disabled are understandably unhappy that the Rolling Rally will be held the same day as Super Tuesday should the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl. During a Rolling Rally, it is impossible to cross......

The mayors of Boston and New York City, Mayors Menino and Bloomberg, are engaging in the standard "friendly wager" based on the outcome of the Super Bowl. If you compare the two lists, it's pretty clear which city has the better food options, and we're not talking about the Big Apple here: --100 cups of New England Clam Chowder from Legal Sea Foods; --42 pounds of coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts in honor of Super......

The New York Times did a flyover article about Boston now that Boston is a sports powerhouse. Why they choose to recognize this fact now is beyond us, but the author reveals a change in New York's attitude toward Boston. Instead of a blazing contempt (displayed in the past by Radar and Gawker), the New York Times is feeling some ambivalence now that Boston is winning games left and right. Here's a paragraph: All this......

Here's something we never thought of: the Patriots' (hopeful) victory parade would have to be on Tuesday, thus conflicting with the Massachusetts primary. The team won't be back on Monday, and most of them have to go to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii on Wednesday. So Tuesday (and not AFTER the Pro Bowl, which would just be crazy talk) it is. "We have to have a plan," saidMayor Menino. "I'm just thinking about it; I......

Politicians will squeeze the juice out of pretty much anything, including the World Series and the Super Bowl. Only recently, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani made a legendary blunder when he said on a Boston trip that he was rooting for the Red Sox. Yankees fans were appalled, and Sox fans felt a little scuzzy. But former president and First Campaigner Bill Clinton was smooth 'n' silky when asked about his favorite for the......

----------BEGIN TRANSMISSION---------- Gumshoes: Listen up. We have an important mission for you. Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, is missing. New England media is asking questions. Fans are gettin' nervous. It's up to you to find him. The dossier: Thomas Brady. Grew up in California. Attended Michigan. Plays in New England. Cavorts in New York. Likes knit caps, Stetson, white flowers, cowboy boots, and throwing touchdown passes. Keep your eyes peeled for a......

Listen hard enough, and you'll hear it: a slurping noise from the next table over. Loud jazz and the clanking sounds of metal soup pots can't drown it out. Order your own soup, and you'll be making those same slurping noises in no time. Some people don't think of soup as a meal unto itself. The soups at the New England Soup Factory, however, are rich and filled with diverse ingredients, making them a perfect,......