Chinese New Year Harvard Square is celebrating the Year of the Rat with a Lion Dance Parade. Perhaps even more meaningful for some Cambridge residents, the Hong Kong (yay scorpion bowl!) is holding an open house in honor of its 54th anniversary. But be aware that they are having a craft party, not a scorpion bowl party. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, free. Art Instruction You've seen the MFA's British Prints show, and you......

The cold weather is no excuse for you not to get out! Human Dogsledding No kidding. The 8th annual National Human Dog Sled Competition will start today in Lowell. You can learn more about other Lowell Winterfest events, which sound like fun. However, for Bostonist, it is all about the human dogsledding--and teams usually wear costumes. Challenger rounds will be tonight at 6:45 and 10:00 pm, and championship rounds will be tomorrow at 3:30 and......

ImprovBoston is, well, getting a little closer to Boston by getting closer to the T. They are almost ready to open their new location right by the Central Square T stop, next door to The Field. From now until the 9th, ImprovBoston shows will happen at Durrell Hall at the Central Square YMCA. The new ImprovBoston opens on the 15th. And the Funny Money Capital Campaign, which is raising money for the move, continues. ImprovBoston......

WGBH Open House Sunday, October 14 9:00 am to 6:00 pm One Guest Street, Brighton More info. Bostonist had the opportunity to visit WGBH's new studio and monster digital wall recently. While the digital wall screams for attention from anyone passing by on the Pike, get a little closer, and you'll discover the architecture and all WGBH's new offerings for locals. Those offerings include theater that will show WGBH programming, and a top-notch recording studio.......

The Globe supplemented today's print edition with a 16 page supplement on the ICA (including the ads). The ICA has been the topic of the local arts blogs and print media arts press for the last few months, a fury of activity has picked up over the past few weeks. The Institute for Contemporary Arts location in the Back Bay closed earlier this year with the promise of a new location on the Boston Waterfront......

We got a couple emails this weekend from concerned citizens who had spotted Mounties on the shore at Charleston Navy Yard. Yep, it's true. The U.S. Navy, National Park Service, and colonial-dressed docents alike allowed the Canadians to dock and take shore. We hoped for a South Park-style battle to be brewing, unfortunately it was merely a PR campaign for Canadian-based Bay Ferries new CAT high-speed ferry service from Portland, ME. Formerly only making trips......

The weekly Ist wrap-up is written by Seattlest editor Dan Gonsiorowski. Gothamist posts on the capture of a NYC perv thanks to Little Brother and a camera phone. They also scour the city for vodka martinis and Shamrock shakes and spot the friend from the Wonder Years at a city law firm. New York police think that Littlejohn is their man. Houstonist is no stranger to megachurches or stripmalls or mega-strip-churchmalls. The children of Houston......

Oh, the Holiday Season, how it makes us remember that we really should get back on that diet and start working out. Now that the leftovers from Thanksgiving are finally eaten up we’ve already started upon the cookie circuit. Time to get ahead of the curve (well, our curves, mostly growing around the middle), stake out our resolutions, and join a gym. With FitCorp, Boston Sports Club, Gold’s, and even Beacon Hill Athletic Club locations-a-plenty......

The weekend forecast is a bit troubling with the constant fear of rain being touted by every forecaster in Boston. Unfortunately, there are a lot of outdoor events going on this weekend. Bostonist has rounded up a list of them (with the big disclaimer: weather permitting) Head over to the Hatch Shell tomorrow where WBOS 92.9 is holding their annual Earthfest from noon until 6 p.m. For the price of free, you can see acts......