Boston events you should know about

March 17 — Evacuation Day

The most Irish city in America kicks up its heels every years on March 17th in celebration of... Evacuation Day? Yup. Which isn't to say that the St. Patrick's Day celebrations aren't huge, but city and state workers don't get the day off because of the arrival of the Irish. They get it off because the British left Boston.

Third Monday in April — Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon

Patriot's Day commemorates the battle of Lexington and Concord. It's also the day of the Boston Marathon, which can cause traffic jams all along the course from Hopkinton to Boston.

April through September — Fenway traffic

When the Sox are playing a home game, traffic near the Fenway becomes a nightmare. Also, the Green Line is crowded with fans before and after the game.

May — Graduation

Late spring is Boston can be a tricky time to visit. All those colleges graduate at about the same time, and you need to compete with proud families for the hotel rooms.

Fourth of July

No one celebrates Independence Day like Bostonians. It's a great time to visit, but plan your trip early since more than 750,000 people come from all over the world to see the Boston Pops play a free concert on the Esplanade. Traffic is heavy, security is tight, and crowds are thick. Plan accordingly.

May through August — Cape Cod traffic

Planning to drive to the Cape for a weekend? You and thousands of others will all be trying to cross the Cape Cod bridges on Friday night and Sunday afternoon. The traffic is at its heaviest in July and August.

August 31 - September 1 — The Students arrive

Every year, at the end of August, The Student arrive. Bostonians regard the event as something like a natural disaster. U-Haul and Ryder trucks clogs the streets, traffic snarls with lost parents and clueless freshmen, grocery and hardware stores explode with mini-fridges, and bars and pizza parlors overflow with freshmen.

Late September through mid-October — Leaf-peeper traffic

Columbus Day weekend marks the height of fall foliage tourist and its attendant traffic. In Boston and throughout New England, highways are clogged with folks slowing down to marvel at the show. Hotels and B&Bs are booked months in advance.

Mid-October — Head of the Charles Regatta

The Head of the Charles is the the world's largest two-day rowing event and Cambridge overflows with crew rowers and their support teams every year in October. The event is one of Boston's best spectator sports, but be aware of the date if you have any non-regatta plans for that weekend in Cambridge, especially near Harvard Square. Official site: www.hocr.org

Sunday after Thanksgiving — tolls in Sturbridge

The usual holiday traffic bedevils Boston, but there's an especially bad bottleneck at the tolls at Sturbridge. Almost every college student coming back from Grandma's house has to come through there to get on the Mass Pike on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The backup can be more than four hours and cars frequently run out of gas. Get up early or plan to sit in gridlock for hours.

July 2004 — Democratic National Convention

Good luck booking a hotel room in or around Boston during the last week of July — just about all of them are booked already. The Democrats are coming to town, bringing an estimated 35,000 people for the July 26 - 29 event