Things to Do in Concord

Click above to buy tickets for the Boston Derby Dames August 15 games. Click here to buy tickets for the Boston Derby Dames July 18 games.

Buckle into the transformative vests and prepare to be transported into another dimension. Laser tag is an affordable way to live out video-game dreams, work out tensions with your roommate, or live out your fantasy of starting a ragtag militia of space marines with Erik from accounting. Instead of cartoon re-runs, treat the kids you babysit or your actual kids to a more active adventure for the imagination. Get a small group together and make it a social excursion—laser tag is great for double dates, office outings, or post-dental cleaning parties.

Founded in 2007, A Far Cry is a self-conducted chamber orchestra made up of 17 young professional pluckers and bow-wielders, known as the Criers, who have played alongside cellist Yo-Yo Ma and rock band This Will Destroy You within the last month. The New York Times proclaims that the orchestra “brims with personality” that yields “performances of such passionate involvement,” and the Boston Globe writes that "members of the conductor-less string orchestra love nothing more than to throw themselves into a musical phrase with vital conviction." The collective pushes the boundaries of orchestra repertoire, eschewing the tradition of smashing their instruments on a gong after each performance while favoring collaboration and rotating leadership. This particular program features Shostakovich’s dark Eighth Quartet, John Adams’s Shaker Loops, and the premiere of double concerto K2, with fiddler Kip Jones and bassist Karl Doty. Racking up more than 200 of those performances so far, the ensemble has also released three albums and is the chamber orchestra in residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which often entails serving as live statues to fill in for artwork that’s being restored.

The Brattle Theatre’s screens have been glowing with an eclectic slate of films since 1953, but its cultural legacy stretches back to 1890 when it first opened as a live theater. Its productions seemed destined to eventually intertwine with the burgeoning Hollywood industry, and today, the venue keeps its artistic roots alive by showing a full roster of classic, foreign, and independent movies. The cinema-savvy staff frequently bundles pictures into special repertory series—past programs have centered around a vast array of topics, ranging from tributes to Greta Garbo and Ingmar Bergman to a series of documentaries on Clark Gable's mustache. To bolster the cinematic experience, moviegoers snack on locally-made concessions including traditional box office candy as well as baked goods and beer.

With three haunted houses, a spooky hayride, and a bustling carnival, Witch’s Woods is a Halloween theme park that rises from the mist for only one month a year. Ferried along by a sputtering tractor, Haunted Hayride passengers cower for 20 grueling minutes as they are assailed from all sides by zombies, werewolves, ghouls, and cows trying to nibble the hay. At the end of the ride, three paths lead to additional attractions, including Castle Morbid, in which medieval spirits chase interlopers through the halls and into the depths of the keep, where it becomes increasingly apparent that the weapons that once kept intruders out are now employed to keep them in. Nightmare Mansion is inhabited by a cursed family whose eternal life has left them as withered husks driven insane with rage at visitors who still possess the ability to die. The final path leads to the 3-D Keeper’s Crypt, where the undead shamble and scream as they pursue their prey, and where the walls themselves seem to be closing in.

A creepy carnival awaits survivors with rides, games, and more attractions. The Horror wood Chamber of Chills puts favorite Halloween and horror-movie characters on display, including such icons as Frankenstein, Freddy Krueger, and Mary Shelley’s original version of Shrek. Meanwhile, the Jack O’ Lantern Jamboree displays rows upon rows of professional carved pumpkins, eerily glowing at self-guided passersby.

Strictly Sail Chicago, the largest indoor boat show in the United States, brings the sails to the stage for its 16th year at Navy Pier. With more than 250 global vendors, designers on-hand to answer questions, and a veritable storehouse of sailing gear, accessories, and hardware, watercraft enthusiasts will find everything they need to set aside their aquaphobic doubts and explore the beauty of sailing and the mysteries of sea legs. Sit in on one of the many seminars that are included with admission, such as Cruising the Bahamas, A Sailor Looks at Leadership, or Hey! Is That a Kraken!?—all of which are led by some of the world's leading sailors—then stop in at the sailing pond to re-create the Battle of Trafalgar with remote-control boats. Those who choose the membership option enjoy entry to the members-only lounge, which features a coat check, a cash bar, munchies, and Internet access.