Things to Know in the South End Today: SoWa First Fridays

1. Weather: The National Weather Service is a cloudy day with a chance of rain in the afternoon. Temperatures will hover around 40 degrees. 

2. First Fridays: Several art galleries in the SoWa area are holding exhibition opening celebrations tonight. At Laconia Gallery, (433 Harrison Ave.) is Danielle Kelly & Gary Lapointe: Force/Fragments and at Galatea Fine Art, (460 Harrison Ave) is Steve Barylick: "Sensate Focus."

3. Knife Sharpening: Today at 4 p.m., Patti from On the Edge Knife Sharpening will be at Formaggio Kitchen South End (268 Shawmut Ave.) to help you with sharpening your knives. The price for knife sharpening is $5 for knives with blades under 6" and $10 for knives with blades over 6". See here for more information.

4. Night at the museum: MFA First Fridays are held on the first Friday of every month from 6-9:30 p.m. With the purchase of admission to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave. ($25 adult, $23 seniors), you can explore the exhibits, enjoy music, cash bars featuring signature cocktails and delicious tapas available for purchase. DJ Holtie will be featured on Jan. 4. This event is open to visitors ages 21 and up; purchase tickets in advance at mfa.org or at the door. See here for more information. 

5. Poetry Competition: Happening this weekend in the South End is the Boston edition of the statewide "Poetry Outloud" competition for teens. Poetry Out Loud (POL) is a national recitation competition that celebrates the power of the spoken word and a mastery of public speaking skills while cultivating self-confidence and an appreciation of students’ literary heritage as they take poetry from the page to the stage. You can catch the action at the Boston Center for The Arts 539 Tremont St. starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Things you can do every day on South End Patch:

• Share your news with the rest of the community. Click here to add an announcement. 
• Add your events to our events calendar.
• Click here to sign up for breaking news updates.
• Want up-to-the-minute news? Click here to follow us on Facebook or Twitter. 
• Share your thoughts on your community in a blog. Click here to get started.