We’re kicking off the first astronomical weekend of summer with the final edition of our Summer Entertainment Guide. Here’s what we’ve put together already:
- All the best food festivals coming up.
- The live music venues and shows to look forward to.
- How to beat the heat and stay cool.
- How to plan the perfect Boise summer day.
- Which patio to plant yourself on, depending on what you’re looking for.
Today, we’re focusing on Boise traditions: summer events you should do at least once, and possibly every summer after.
ARTS:
🎭 Pull up a chair or a blanket for an Idaho Shakespeare Festival play. “As You Like It” is running now, “Sense and Sensibility” opens July 7, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812” starts on Aug. 4, and “Dracula: The Bloody Truth” closes the season in September.
🕺 Why not pick up or sharpen your dance skills this summer? Ochos has year-round dance lessons, but summer is unofficially dance season, in my opinion, so there’s no better time.
🎸 Every Wednesday, you can catch free live music in The Grove Plaza during Alive After 5.
FOR THE KIDS:
📽️ Idaho’s dearth of drive-in movies is somewhat remedied in the summer with Movies Under the Stars, put on by the City of Boise. Meridian has them too!
✍️ There are still spots left in some of The Cabin’s summer writing camps, and there are lots of different camps and age levels to select from.
🎸 The Neighborhood Concert Series is a free batch of shows designed to be just around the corner, so check which one is closest to you — they run every other week.
🌭 I can’t guarantee that a baseball crowd will be entirely PG, but going to a Boise Hawks game at least once a summer is a must. And it’s super cheap!
IN THE MOUNTAINS:
⛰️ For an arts-and-craft fix (with food and music, of course), head up to the Sawtooth Festival on July 15 and 16 in Stanley.
🍧 Another good family-friendly pick is spending the 4th of July in McCall. Don’t expect to have much space to yourself in town, but the festivities are worth it.
That’s all for our recommendations — now what have you got? Any summer traditions I missed that I should share? Send them my way.
