Edouard Manet’s “The Monet Family in Their Garden at ­Argenteuil,” on loan from the Met as part of the MFA’s “Boston I Love” weekend. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

This Memorial Day weekend, the Museum of Fine Arts is waiving its $25 admission fee in honor of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has been gracious enough to loan the MFA three paintings as part of the weekend’s “Boston I Love” event, which will also feature expressions of solidarity and support from around the country.

The MFA has traditionally offered free admission on Memorial Day, but this is the first time in recent memory they’ve done so for the full three-day weekend.  As the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day is a time to not only look ahead to barbecues and beaches, but also to reflect and to remember those who sacrificed for our country. The MFA is expecting tens of thousands of people to attend over the three-day weekend, and I’m continually amazed at how our communities have come together in the wake of a tragedy. If you’re looking for something fun, cheap, and uplifting this Memorial Day weekend, look no further than the MFA.

The joys of owning a dog are timeless, but the City of Cambridge is looking for some new ideas for our dog parks. Image via Flickr.

The City of Cambridge is looking for a few good dog lovers. All you have to do to apply is send a letter of interest to the Cambridge Department of Public Works, and you’re in the running to help officials from the City and Commonwealth to make our dog parks even better.

The City’s dog park working group will deal with just about everything related to man’s best friends and how they enjoy our parks. The committee is expected to discuss off-leash parks, dog waste disposal, lighting needs, and much more.

This invitation is open to the entire community, not just dog owners, since the purpose of the working group is to improve our parks for everyone.

Two East Cambridge streets will see construction soon, and the City wants your input. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Fulkerson and Thorndike Streets are slated to undergo construction starting this fall. Tomorrow night, the City of Cambridge will hold its second public meeting on the subject. The meeting runs from 6:30-8:30pm in the cafeteria of the Kennedy-Longfellow School (158 Spring St.), and all Cantabrigians are encouraged to attend.

The first community meeting focused on the concerns of our neighbors, and tonight’s meeting will feature a discussion of how the City can address those concerns. If you live in the affected area, or if you regularly travel on these streets, I encourage you to attend tonight’s meeting.

The author, Emily Cataneo, correctly points out that both Cambridge and Somerville are leading the way on making cycling both easier and safer. She spoke with several cyclists who seemed to think that Somerville is pushing the infrastructure envelope a little bit further, but that Cambridge is home to more bike-friendy automobile drivers. I’m not sure I agree with either of those assessments, but I walk much more frequently than I cycle, so I’d love to hear from the cyclists online: if you had to choose between cycling in Cambridge and cycling in Somerville, which would you pick and why? Leave your comments below, or just Tweet them at me, @TimToomey1.

You never have to look far for a reminder of why Cambridge is a great place to live, and that’s never more true than when our entire community comes together for a festival like this. Please check out the event’s brochure and join us in celebrating the artists next door.

The Appalachian Mountain Club’s “Great Streets of Cambridge” event begins at Harvard Square’s Brattle Theater. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Yes, you read that headline correctly: the Appalachian Mountain Club is sponsoring a May 14 hike through Cambridge. The event is free for AMC members and costs only $1 for non-members.

The AMC is one of our nation’s oldest outdoor groups, and they’re perhaps best known for their maintenance of the Appalachian Trail. At this event, the AMC will be exploring the “Great Streets of Cambridge” on a sunset walk, beginning in Harvard Square and meandering through Porter Square and Huron Village. Participants are encouraged to bring a snack (though there’s plenty of delicious food to be found in Harvard and Porter Squares), and, of course, to wear appropriate shoes.

If you’d like to join, just meet up with the event’s organizers outside the Brattle Theater (40 Brattle St., Cambridge) at 6:45pm on May 14. The four-mile walk will take about two hours, weather permitting. Thanks to Cantabrigian Robert Winters for publicizing this event on his personal webpage.

Interest in qualifying for the 2014 Boston Marathon is at an all-time high, but until then, this is a wonderful way to show your support for our neighbors who were affected by the bombings. If you’ve got some free time on Sunday morning, I hope you’ll attend.

The scene inside today’s Venture Cafe.

If you’re an entrepreneur with an idea, but you don’t know how to make it happen, consider dropping by the Cambridge Innovation Center‘s Venture Cafe. For more than a decade, the CIC has been the incubator within the incubator, giving start-ups not only the room to grow but also an ecosystem in which they can collaborate.

That sounds like a lot of buzzwords…but it’s all true. The CIC is really a big sandbox in which entrepreneurs can play with like-minded entrepreneurs; ideas get a chance to grow, mix with other ideas, and then take off. Smart people gather together in one building, help each other solve problems, meet in the kitchen for coffee, chat about what they’re working on, and, through a mix of perspiration and inspiration, find the breakthroughs that drive the Commonwealth’s economy forward.

Venture Cafe is the same idea in a much less formal setting, and anyone can attend. Every Thursday at 3pm, the fourth floor of the CIC hosts an informal meet-and-greet with angel investors, programmers, doers, and dreamers gathering to chat, trade ideas, and enjoy a drink or two. Kendall Square is now recognized as a model for how businesses, neighbors, and cities can grow together, and the Venture Cafe should be recognized as an important part of that equation. You can find a full calendar of Venture Cafe events here, and even if you’re not interested in starting a business, I’d encourage you to attend at least one event: one of the conversations around you might be the start of the Next Big Thing.

While the main event starts on Saturday, some artists are participating in a sneak preview this Friday night. Every part of the city is represented in this year’s Open Studios, and with the trees and flowers in full spring bloom, I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the weekend. Come out and see what Somerville’s artists have been up to!