Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

What about this isn’t appealing? (Photo used with permission.)

Tipple
16th Annual Nantucket Wine Festival
Really the name speaks for itself: Wine Festival! On Nantucket! The main event, the Grand Tasting, will take place at the Nantucket Yacht Club, where more than 200 wineries will be serving tastes alongside Island Creek Oysters’ incomparable mollusks. The Harbor Gala will feature food from local restaurants and celebrity chefs, wine and food seminars will be plentiful, and three luncheon symposia will begin with a discussion lead by distinguished winemakers, followed by a four-course luncheon. A celebrity chef and winemaker auction dinner will give guests a chance to bid on rare and large-bottle wines, while Executive Chef Bernard Guillas of The Marine Room in San Diego and Executive Chef Frederick Bisaillon of Nantucket’s Brant Point Grill make culinary magic.
$40–$800, Wednesday, May 16 through Sunday, May 20, White Elephant Hotel, 50 Easton St., Nantucket, nantucketwinefestival.com.

Kids
Franklin Park Zoo Day
The city’s zoo turns 100 this year — and to celebrate, Franklin Park will be hosting a slew of activities including a performance by children’s musical group The Jumping Monkeys, while some of the zoo’s residents will be fed birthday-themed treats. The first 1,000 visitors to the zoo will get a free mini cupcake from Sweet (complimentary sugar rush? Sign me up!). And, the 100th customer to come through the gates wins a free party at the zoo with up to 20 friends.
$11–$17, Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Franklin Park Zoo, One Frankling Park Rd., Boston, 617-541-5466, franklinparkzoo.org.

Music
The Polyphonic Spree
More is more for this Dallas-based symphonic pop band. The most current lineup includes 21 band members — all of whom wear white choir robes during performances. It’s hard not to see something cultish at first glance, but the group’s diverse repertoire includes more instruments than any standard band — we’re talking beaucoup strings, percussion, horns, and more. A wide-ranging style of music, from the Flaming Lips-ish sound of tracks like 2002’s “It’s the Sun” to covers of Nirvana’s “Lithium” and undeniable on-stage energy make this band a must-see.
$18, Tuesday, May 22, 7 p.m., Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, 617-562-8800, thedise.com.

Outdoors
19th Annual EarthFest
Sponsored by Radio 92.9, this annual event is equal parts live music and environmental awareness. Free concerts run starting at 11:30 with local band Twin Berlin, followed by an über-90’s lineup including Eve 6 (of ye olde “Inside Out” fame), Switchfoot, Spin Doctors (wait, what?!), and Third Eye Blind. The event will also host environmental non-profits, as well as a “Vendor Village” where free samples will be doled out by companies with a devotion to being green. Children can post up at the Kids’ Planet, which will feature exhibits, entertainment, and interactive events with an environmental focus.
Free, Saturday, May 19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., DCR Hatch Shell, myradio929.com.

Dance
Mark Morris Dance Group
Expect breathtaking ballet set to classical music from Brooklyn-based company Mark Morris Dance Group. The troupe will perform three pieces that are new to Boston: The Muir, Festival Dance, and Socrates. Morris’s style is known for being eclectic at times, but is always ingenious.
Tickets start at $53, Thursday, May 17 through Sunday, May 20, times vary, Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St., Boston, 617-824-8000, celebrityseries.org.