Hey, small spender

Strapped for cash this summer? There are plenty of alternatives to pricey Sox tickets and $25 parking at the beach

By Meredith Goldstein, Globe Staff  |  July 17, 2008

Last summer, you probably didn't think much about spending money on summer entertainment. Ten dollars for a movie here, $40 for a bleacher seat there - none of it seemed extravagant.

This year it's a different story. Just about everything is more expensive, and you may feel guilty about spending money on entertainment when headlines suggest you should stay home and save. Thankfully, there are ways to enjoy summer in the city without breaking the bank. Here are a few less expensive alternatives to activities that may have kept you busy during more prosperous summers past.

Baseball

Tickets to a Red Sox game will set you back a pretty penny - and probably more if you buy them from an independent ticket vendor or on Craigslist.org. If you can't afford the expense of a Sox seat this year, you may be better off trying a minor league or collegiate game. The North Shore Navigators (nsnavs.com), for instance, sell tickets for just $5. The team, which is a part of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, had replaced the now-defunct North Shore Spirit at Fraser Field in Lynn. The Navigators may not have Manny or Beckett, but it's still quality baseball - and you may get an early glimpse of a future star. The next home games are Saturday against the Torrington Twisters and the North Adams Steeplecats.

Sox bleacher seat: $75 (on Craigslist)
Navigators bleacher seat: $5
Savings: $70

Film

The average summer blockbuster costs $10, and sometimes the film doesn't even meet your expectations ("Hancock," left, seems to have already disappointed many). But there are ways to see movies for free, so if you don't like what you see, you've lost nothing but time. The Boston Harbor Hotel has a Movies by Moonlight series (bhh.com), a weekly screening of free classics outside at the Intrigue Café. The movies, including tomorrow's screening of "Some Like It Hot," are free, but you may wind up spending money on a drink or food at the restaurant. A safer bet for saving might be the City of Cambridge's "Screen on the Green" series (cambridgeartscouncil.org) of big-budget, family-friendly films shown at green spaces around town. Next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Hoyt Field, you can see Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns."

Average movie ticket: $10
Outdoor movie: Free
Savings: $10

Rock concert

There's nothing like a rock show under the stars at the Comcast Center or the Bank of America Pavilion, but that experience doesn't come cheap. It will cost you $36 to $66 to see Sheryl Crow at the Bank of America Pavilion on July 30. For the Police at the Comcast Center on July 31 it's $40 to $225. But there are ways to get an outdoor rock experience without spending any cash. Not only does Kendall Square host a summer concert series with the Berklee College of Music (berklee.edu), Mix 98.5 also runs a series of free, outdoor shows at the Prudential Center (prudentialcenter.com). Next Thursday, the featured act is Augustana, the California band best known for it's song "Boston." When the band played the Palladium with Dashboard Confessional last fall, the show fetched $32 a seat, so this is a deal.

Ticket to Sheryl Crow: $36-plus
Ticket to Augustana at the Pru: Free
Savings: $36-plus

Theater

As Shakespeare would say, the play's the thing, even in the summer. But "Assassins" at the Boston Center for the Arts is $35 a seat. And the Blue Man Group (left)? It'll cost you at least $48. The Apollinaire Theatre Company (apollinairetheatre.com), formerly TheatreZone, puts on its outdoor plays for free - and in two languages, no less. The company's productions of Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound/El Verdadero Inspector Sabueso" and Aaron Sorkin's one-act "Hidden in this Picture" run through July 26. You can see the shows in English on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and in Spanish on Fridays and Sundays.

Blue Man Group admission: $48-plus
Apollinaire admission: Free
Savings: $48-plus

Art

Nothing against the Museum of Fine Arts or the Institute of Contemporary Art (Sidekick loves them both), but unless you stop by on one of their free nights, you have to pay to get in. If paying the MFA's adult entry fee of $17 isn't in the cards this summer, there are other, cheaper ways to see great works. At the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (smfa.edu), for instance, you can tour galleries for free. On Aug. 12, the SMFA opens its "Staff Art Exhibition," which features work by MFA employees. Brooke Witkowski, a spokeswoman for the SMFA, says that sure, it's not the MFA's collection, but you'll be seeing work by artists who spend their days near the MFA's collection. The show runs through Aug. 22 in the Anderson Auditorium.

MFA admission: $17
SMFA admission: Free
Savings: $17

Classical concert

Tanglewood is lovely in the summer, isn't it? It's also more than 100 miles away. Gas is more than $4 a gallon. You do the math. Luckily, classical music lovers can see live music on the cheap on Boston thanks to groups such as the Longwood Symphony Orchestra (longwood symphony.org), which plays a free show on Aug. 20 on the Esplanade. The program includes music from the Indiana Jones movies, so really, it's the Pops on a budget. There are also lesser-known ensembles that perform free outdoor shows, such as the Metropolitan Wind Symphony (mws-boston.org), a 70-member John Philip Sousa-style concert band that plays a series of summer gigs at Hastings Park in Lexington. There's a schedule of concerts (including tonight's performance) online.

Tanglewood concert (gas included): about $100
Longwood or Metropolitan Wind Symphony concert: Free
Savings: $100

Beach

Parking at Good Harbor and Wingaersheek beaches in Gloucester is $20 on weekdays and $25 on weekends; it's $20 at Old Silver Beach in Falmouth. If those rates are too steep for your budget, there are cheaper options for sun and sand. Instead of visiting Old Silver Beach, you can stop by Grew's Pond at Falmouth's Goodwill Park; parking is free and there's a beach with lifeguards. At Duxbury Beach (duxbury beach.com), there's free parking over the bridge for those who arrive early. Most of the urban beaches, like Wollaston Beach in Quincy and Castle Island in South Boston, are free (mass.gov/dcr), or you can spend $35 for the entire summer to park at all state parks and beaches, including Scusset Beach in Sandwich and Horseneck Beach in Westport.

Good Harbor Beach parking: $25 on weekends
Duxbury Beach parking (nearby): Free
Savings: $25