Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend

Photograph courtesy of Boston Salsa Festival

Environment
Boston GreenFest 2014

Boston GreenFest will have abundant resources available to visitors to learn about and celebrate ways to live more sustainably. Indulge in a wine and beer garden that stocks only sustainably-made booze, shop at a local food emporium, and enjoy live entertainment on four stages. Film screenings and a speaker series will provide further environmental education.

Free, Friday, August 15, and Saturday, August 16, 12-10 p.m., Sunday, August 17, 12-5 p.m., City Hall Plaza, 1 Congress St., Boston, bostongreenfest.org.

Dance
Boston Salsa Festival

The Boston Salsa Festival brings performers from across the country and around the world—Germany, Colombia, Italy, and Mexico, to name a few—to Waltham for a weekend of workshops, performances, and dancing. The workshops are geared toward a range of skill levels, and the dancing lasts until three in the morning. “It’s a very fun and welcoming event,” says Andres Giraldo, co-director of the Salsa Fest and owner of the Salsa y Control dance studio in Allston. “The salsa community in Boston is a very friendly one.” Thursday night, the Salsa Fest kicks off with a pre-party at the Havana Club, a 21+ event that begins with a one-hour salsa lesson followed by hours of dancing.

$20+, Friday, August 15: 8:30 p.m.-3 a.m., Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17: 10:30 a.m.-3 a.m., Westin Waltham Boston, 70 3rd Ave., Waltham, bostonsalsafest.com.

Cruise
Adult Prom Night Dinner Cruise

Oh, did you think your high school prom dress was destined to sit in the closet forever, a memento of years past? Well, time to unpack those beads and rhinestones again. Cruise Boston Harbor on the Spirit of Boston and have dinner while a DJ blasts prom hits. The ship will be strung with streamers and bedazzled with balloons to inspire memories of packed hotel ballrooms of years past. Don’t worry: the attire doesn’t need to fit into any particular era.

$86+, Friday, August 15, 7-10 p.m., Seaport World Trade Center, 200 Seaport Blvd., Boston, spiritcruises.com.

Fitness
Clean Water 6K

This run is six kilometers long rather than the more typical five because, on average, people in developing nations have to traverse six kilometers to access clean water, according to Because Water, the Boston-based organization hosting the run. After the 6K—which is two and a half laps around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir—organizations like the Charles River Watershed Association will have tables at the neighboring Waterworks Museum to educate attendees about ways to become more water sustainable locally. “We want to raise awareness of the importance and value of clean water,” says Matt Thomas, founder and president of Because Water. “It’s something that’s taken for granted in the United States.” All proceeds from the 6K go to Water.org.

$25, Saturday, August 16, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Chestnut Hill Reservoir, Boston, eventbrite.com.

Celebration
IAGB India Day

The India Association of Greater Boston has been celebrating India’s independence day at the Hatch Shell since 1997. India is a multi-state nation and, while each state has its own traditions, “the goal is to bring cultural diversity together,” says Anil Saigal, president of the IAGB. Singers and dancers will take the stage, both Indian and American food will be sold, and vendors will have booths to sell clothing, crafts, and more. A number of nonprofits, like the Association for India’s Development, will also be in attendance. “I strongly encourage people of all walks of life to join us as we celebrate independence and democracy in general,” Saigal says.

Free, Sunday, August 17, 2014, 4-8 p.m., DCR Hatch Shell, 47 David G. Mugar Way, Boston, iagb.org.