Boston at a Bargain: Donna Summer Disco, Salem’s quadricentennial

August is here and greater Boston still has plenty of ways to fill out your “what I did with my summer vacation” bucket list. Whether you want to get your groove on, learn something new, or find a new six-legged friend, here are 11 free and fun events in Boston and beyond.

SALEM SHOWS ITS AGE (IN A GOOD WAY!) Hop the Newburyport-Rockport line and head to Salem, where Witch City is continuing its 400th anniversary celebrations. This August, the city’s packed year-long quadricentennial schedule features Heritage Days Parade, a through-the-ages spectacular that starts at Salem State University and ends with a waterfront fest at Derby Wharf in Salem Maritime park. Expect cardboard ships to set sail and local favorite food trucks ahoy, plus, on Sunday, free tours aboard a replica 19th century tall ship, the Pride of Baltimore II. Aug. 1, parade begins at 10 a.m., O’Keefe Center, 225 Canal St., Salem. salem400.org

Y2K ON THE WATERFRONT Brush off your cargo pants, butterfly hair clips, and neon tracksuits — AfroDesiaCity will bring its Soulful Bliss festival to the Seaport, and the theme is Y2K and the early aughts. The cultural nostalgia fest will include live performances by DJ Blicky, poets Osamase Ekhator and Herisa the Traveler, and headliner, Boston-bred rapper Nay Speaks. The day-long event will feature an artisan marketplace and gourmet food vendors, and marks the start of the AfroDesiaCity’s trio of family-friendly festivities in partnership with Boston Harbor Now, including a Spectacle Island cruise on Sept. 19 and the Tall Ship on Oct. 10. Aug. 1, 4-10 p.m., Viaduct Plaza, 9 World Trade Center Ave. afrodesiacity.com/soulful-bliss

BORDER STREET BLOCK PARTY Eastie will celebrate the country’s diversity, arts, and flavors with the 5th annual Festival Viva Colombia. The community-centered neighborhood fest — hosted by Latin American nonprofit, the Veronica Robles Cultural Center — will include live folkloric dancers and troubadours, artisan vendors, and authentic cuisine for an all-afternoon, full-family affair. Aug. 8, 1-8 p.m., 102 Border St., East Boston. givebutter.com/FestivalVivaCol2026

CURIOSITY WITHOUT A CURFEW Escape the heat and open your mind at SubSpace, the Museum of Science’s programming series for adults, where many of this month’s events center on the intersection of science and storytelling. Spoken word poetry will be explored through neuroscience, imagination and innovation are optimized with an Afrofuturism lens, and a conversation on Haitian heritage and history — in partnership with the Toussaint Louverture Cultural Center — sheds light on the living sciences around each and all of us. Various dates, Museum of Science, 1 Science Pk. Registration required. mos.org/events.

SECOND SHIFT AT THE SQUARE The Greenway’s Off the Clock series will pop up in Dewey Square this month. Dewey After Dark begins as the sun sets with two DJs, glow-in-the-dark face painting, and a blacklight “dance floor.” (The floor is Dewey Square.) Rixy’s electrifying The Midnight Ride mural provides the perfect on-theme backdrop for the occasion, but the aptly named Night Shift Brewery, which is seasonally on-site and will extend hours for the event, is just coincidence. Aug. 14, 7:30-10 p.m., Dewey Square, Boston. rosekennedygreenway.org/events/dewey-after-dark.

Related: Why elephants are coming to Boston?

BUG OUT Aspiring entomologists can join the Arnold Arboretum team on an insect safari in the Conifer Collection. Attendees of all ages will have access to digital microscopes, nets, and bug boxes as real-life bug experts help identify whatever creepy (or cute) crawlies you happen to find. The excursion is a drop-in event and we assume the plan is to set critters free once they’ve been ooh-ed and ahh-ed over and ID-ed. Our apologies to parents ahead of time should we be wrong. Arnold Arboretum. 125 Arborway. Aug. 15, 10 a.m.-noon. Registration required, rain date Aug. 16. arboretum.harvard.edu/event/all-ages-insect-safari-2

AN UN-RAGER Call it a night — before midnight. That’s the promise of High Street Place’s Home Before Midnight dance night. A (let’s be honest) millennial-centric DJ night that boasts throwback hits, a non-alcoholic drink menu, and a 6 p.m. start time. The downtown food hall’s vendors and bar will remain open, so dance breaks can be occupied by burgers, burritos, and bubbly. Aug. 15, 6-11 p.m., High Street Place Food Hall, 100 High St. highstreetplace.com.

PLANT PARENTS, RISE UP It’s not too late to stretch your green thumb this summer. Long Live Beer Works is hosting what they’re calling a Swap & Prop — a BYOP (bring your own plant) event where attendees can clip and trade houseplant cuttings for propagation. Attendees are encouraged to also grab a pint with your fellow plant parents, but while cuttings are free, a drink will cost you some green. Aug. 16, 1-6 p.m., Long Live Roxbury Brewery + Taproom, 152 Hampden St. longlivebeerworks.com.

OPENING ACTS This month, Global Arts Live presents live performances by Puerto Rican genre-benders (and Bad Bunny collaborators) Chuwi and highlife groove band, Kotoko Brass, to celebrate the Platform, the nonprofit’s soon-to-be performance home in Kendall. The outdoor concert series — which concludes with Rebirth Brass Band on Sept. 2 — will take place in nearby, picnic-friendly Termeer Square. Chuwi on Aug. 19, Kotoko Brass on Aug. 26; both at 6 p.m. 675 W Kendall St., Cambridge. globalartslive.org/events.

BARTER SYSTEM REBOOT Givvy — a new, Boston-based networking platform — replicates its online model IRL with a regular in-person exchange, this month at Aeronaut Brewing Co. The idea is this: exchange your hard skills for someone else’s, e.g. your coding know-how for someone else’s plumbing expertise or your gift-wrapping prowess for use of a flatbed truck for an upcoming move. Organizers assure no cash should change hands and everyone starts on the same footing, so there’s no need to sweet talk your way to an ask. Aug. 26, 5:30-7 p.m., Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St., Somerville. luma.com/861nk7kg.

LOVE TO LOVE YOU, BOSTON Wheels are in motion for the Donna Summer Disco Party to roll back into City Hall Plaza. The annual event — featuring ‘70s dance floor lighting, glow sticks, and, of course, the soundtrack of Dorchester’s own Queen of Disco — starts before sundown and transports attendees to summers past under a glittering disco ball. DJ Vince 1 will keep things spinning, and revelers are encouraged to bring their own skates and their best moves. Aug. 28, 5-9 p.m., City Hall Plaza. boston.gov/calendar/donna-summer-disco-party.

Details subject to change; check individual event websites for the most up-to-date information.