5 Things: Chenery Courtyard Celebration, Magic at the Beech

1. Don't let the rain stop you from coming to the 10th annual Chenery Courtyard Celebration of the Arts, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., rain or shine, in the courtyard of the Chenery Middle School. The musical performances by the Bellaires and Chenery students will start promptly at 5:20 p.m. Meet the students, artists, and community members who have been inspired by Chenery’s courtyard gardens and enjoy nature as viewed through music and art. Refreshments will be served. Sponsored by the Chenery Middle School and Massachusetts Audubon’s Habitat Intergenerational Program (HIP).

2. There will be magic in the air at the Beech Street Center as Magician Ryan Lally returns to delight the audience with card tricks and illusions beginning at 1:15 p.m. The Watertown teenager has a dry sense of humor to accompany his slight of hand. The show is free for all. 

3. Benton Library's Pre-school Story Time is a 45-minute program geared toward children between 3 and 5. It features a variety of stories, as well as music, finger plays and/or a craft. Parents and caregivers must remain with their preschooler during the program. Sign up is not required. The program begins at 10 a.m.

4. Drop-in yoga classes, taught by professional instructors in the Vinyasa style – flowing with the breath – will be held in Gardner Hall (enter via Alexander Street) of the Plymouth Congregational Church, 582 Pleasant St., beginning at 9:15 a.m. All levels welcome. Bring your own mat. Childcare is available for $6 per child with a $12 family maximum. There is also free parking on Pleasant and Leonard streets and behind Macy's. All proceeds benefit Plymouth Nursery School.

5. On this day in 1837, Boston's Great Broad Street Riot occurred when a more than a thousand hardscrabble Protestant Yankees and newly-immigrant poor Catholic Irish "kicked up a row" that saw battles in the streets (as well a the sacking of a few homes) for the entire day before the military stepped in. Surprisingly, no one was killed in the affray and only three participants – no surprise that all were Irish – were convicted in the melee's aftermath. The riot was the talk of town for decades and is considered the first public battle in Boston's and the regions long-running conflict between the two communities. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones wrote a song about the event.