In partnership with Lost Grove Brewing

Two weeks until...

​Shade City Brewfest! The ’70s-inspired, sustainability-driven, beer-filled jamboree is back on Friday, April 21 from 5-9 pm & Saturday, April 22 from 1-6 pm at the Idaho Botanical Garden.

NEW this year: after party at the Old Pen! Following the fest on Saturday, April 22 from 6 pm - 10 pm, catch live music from Héctor, Floating Witch's Head, and The Shivas along with a liquid light show from Mad Alchemy (as seen at Treefort in 2022 and 2023).

You can buy tickets for the entire weekend, daily tickets, or after party only tickets. Get your tix asap - they're going fast!

Farmers' Markets are opening

It's market time! Here's markets that are open or dates they plan to open:

Saturdays: Boise Farmers' Market opened last weekend & will be open every Sat from 9am-1pm at 1500 Shoreline Drive. They've got allll kinds of goodies from bread to broccoli and flowers to fish. Also cool job alert: Boise Farmers Market is looking to hire a Markets Manager & Market Assistant! More info here.

Saturdays: Nampa Farmers' Market opened last weekend & will be open every Sat from 9am-1pm at Lloyd Square in downtown Nampa. Tons of vendors and live music!

Saturdays starting April 15: Capital City Public Market plans to open next weekend on April 15 and will be open every Sat from 9:30am-1:30pm on the Grove Plaza. This is an artsy market with lots of local vendors and makers, there's a few food items here too.

Saturdays starting April 15: Meridian Main Street Market plans to open next weekend and will be open every Sat from 9am-1pm on Broadway and City Hall Plaza. Food, crafts, live music and more.

Saturdays starting May 6: Eagle Saturday Market plans to start up at the beginning of May and will run every Saturday from 9am-2pm in Heritage Park in downtown Eagle.

Tuesdays starting May 16: Caldwell Farm to Fork Farmers' Market plans to start up in Mid May and will run every Tuesday evening from 5-8pm at Indian Creek Plaza.

I'll keep you updated on other markets that pop up as spring comes around.

First Thurs + Fri

TONIGHT: It's First Thursday in downtown Boise! A few fun things for ya:

• The Boise Phil Pub Crawl is happening at Barbarian Beer Bar, Mad Swede, and Pengilly's Saloon. Go see live music and drink a beer!
• The Basque Market has 3 for $5 pintxos, wine specials & paella at 6pm til it's gone.
• Meriwether Cider is hosting a party/tap takeover for the debut of Bauman's Cider in Idaho.
• The Chocolat Bar is doing a wine pairing with Par Terre.
• Voodoo Cellar is doing $5 beer flights and a beer pong tournament.
• Cactus Bar has free bingo.
• JD's Bodega is releasing a new zine.
• Leap Photography is doing professional headshot photos for $60.
• Boise Art Glass is doing a make your own Yard Art on a Stick class (30min). It's $75 and goes 4-9pm.
• See all events at downtownboise.org/events/first-thursday​

TOMORROW: It's First Friday in Garden City! It's the first of the year. There's a ton of different art and community events happening all throughout Garden City's Live-Work-Create District.

Click around on the First Friday Map to see what's going on, or just go wander!

Egg hunts & Easter stuff

Fri Apr 7: Idaho Reptile Zoo has its annual Easter EGGstravaganza. Bring your basket, they supply the eggs! Starts at 6:30pm.

Fri Apr 7: Nampa Parks & Rec is hosting a Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt at the Harward Rec Center. It's for teens age 13-17 & begins at 9pm sharp. $5 to participate, byo bag & flashlight.

Sat Apr 8: Indian Creek Plaza is celebrating from 11am-3pm. There's over 20,000 eggs hidden! The Easter bunny will also make an appearance, there's a "cutest chick contest" and a spring market. It's free!

Sat Apr 8: Zoo Boise is celebrating from 10am-5pm. Enjoy Easter Bunny photo-ops, face painting, special treats for the animals, and candy.

Sat Apr 8: West Bench Easter Egg Hunt is happening at Fairmont Park.

Sat Apr 8: Easter Egg Hunt at Settlers Park in Meridian 10am-1pm.

Sat Apr 8: Community Easter Egg Hunt is happening at Storey Park in Meridian from 3-5pm.

Sat Apr 8: Nampa Parks & Rec is hosting an Easter Egg Swim! It's open to kids age little to 12. Free w/ rec center admission.

Sat Apr 8: Easter at Lakeview Park in Nampa starts at 10am, egg hunt start at 11am.

Sat Apr 8: Star Chamber Easter Eggstravaganza is happening at Hunters Creek Sports Park from 12-2pm.

Sat Apr 8: Becky's Glow in the Dark Easter Egg Hunt is happening at Foote Park in Middleton. It's for teens and adults, ages 12 and up. Starts at 8:30pm.

Sat-Sun Apr 8-9: Western Collective is having a Bad Bunny Adult Easter Beer Hunt. Kids egg hunt is at 10am, adult beer hunt is at 12pm.

Sun Apr 9: Twisted District Brew Co. is doing Easter Brunch with bottomless mimosas, brunch specials & more from 9:30am-2pm.

Sun Apr 9: Spring Creek Brewing Company is doing Easter brunch from 11am-2pm. Fam-friendly and they take reservations.

Sun Apr 9: Wepa Cafe is doing a Puerto Rican Easter Dinner. The menu looks amazing! Reservations available. Also heads up they are closing early at 6pm.

Sun Apr 9: Chandler's is doing Easter Dinner with a
special four-course prix fixe menu. Includes appetizer, soup or salad option, entrée, and dessert. Opens at 1pm, they take reservations, and they have a kids menu and free valet!

Tunes & shows

Did y'all see the Albertsons Boise Open music line-up? Sheryl Crow, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Weezer will be playing during the annual golf tournament on August 24-27. Fun!

Here's some more fun shows coming up this weekend + next week:

• TONIGHT: Gene Harris Jazz Festival
• TONIGHT: Michigander + Abby Holliday at The Olympic
• TONIGHT: Vanessa Carlton at VAC
• Fri Apr 7: Knickerbocker and Rundle at Lost Grove Brewing
• Fri Apr 7: Tejon Street Corner Thieves vs. Them Coulee Boys at The Olympic
• Fri Apr 7: The Velvet Hour at Ironwood Bar & Grill
• Sat Apr 8: Ritmo Cascabel + The Madcap Laughs at Neurolux
• Sat Apr 8: Moontricks + St. Terrible at The Olympic
• Sat Apr 8: Sleep Signals at The Shredder
• Wed Apr 12: GA-20 at Neurolux

​B-Side Magazine has a full calendar of upcoming shows for ya.

Comedy & storytelling

• TONIGHT: Check out An Evening with Leah Sottile, author of When the Moon Turns to Blood at Ochos. It's a deep-dive dialogue about the Vallow/Daybell case and trial. Come with questions. It's free. 21+
• Sat Apr 8: Battle of the Sexes Comedy Night is happening at Mad Swede Downtown. Guys go on at 7pm, ladies follow at 9pm (see below). Tix are $20 or $35 for both shows.
• Sat Apr 8: Femme Fatale Comedy Show is happening at Mad Swede Downtown. Tix are $20 and it starts at 9pm.

Food finds & things to drink

• Look at these springy drinks at Eight Thirty Common. Yum!
• The popular family-style dinner Under The Table Boise has 6 seats left for their Easter Sunday dinner. These will go quick!
• Idk about you but I need some of this Lemonberry Coffee Cake from Cinnaholic at the Village.
• Sat Apr 8: Payette Brewing is hosting Wild Wild West themed Gelande Quaffing from 1-6pm. It's a crazy beer drinking game, here's a video. You can play on teams of 4 for $60 or watch for free!
• Sat Apr 8: Clairvoyant Brewing is throwing an anniversary party with music, food trucks, games & specials. Kids & dogs welcome.

Things to do

• Fri Apr 7: There's a Garden Party happening at Mad Swede Brewing on Cole Road! Join Global Gardens for a free class on Planning Your Garden For Success. Mad Swede will be pouring beers &Jordan's Garden Center will be raffling off garden goodies. 6-9pm. It's free!
• Fri Apr 7: Join the Kitten Shower at Telaya Winery! It's kitten season, which means there's hundreds of kittens coming through our local animal shelters. Bring in some kitten supplies and buy a glass of wine to benefit the Idaho Humane Society.
• Fri Apr 7: Go see new work by artist Jaki Katz at VAC. Starts at 5:30pm. 21+
• Fri Apr 7: Boise Little Theater is preforming The Mad Ones April 7-22. Tix are $25.
• Fri Apr 7: Dr. Strangelove is showing at The Egyptian Theatre. Starts at 7pm and tix are $10.
• Sat Apr 8: Les Bois Film Festival is back for its 7th year! The fest screens nature & outdoor films to inspire viewers to forge a deeper connection with the natural world. Tix are $20 and there's two showings at 1:30pm and 6:30pm, at JUMP.
• Sun Apr 9: Go on a Spring Bird Walk at Hull’s Gulch. The event is intended for ages 30 and under but all are welcome. Starts at 10am. It's free! Bring your binos.

Just trust me...

there is so much to unpack here.

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Also just want to say thank you so much for all the sweet messages after my dumb newsletter glitch on Tuesday. Y'all are so nice & understanding. You will receive the story on local races next week!

Thanks for reading! Have a fun weekend!

With love from Boise,

Marissa

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