Boston Events

Boston's Italian district is known as the North End and each summer it brings a little tradition from the mother country to the city. From early June until the end of August, Boston's Italian community celebrate its saints feast days. On any given weekend during the summer, visitors are likely to see street processions held in honour of various saints.

Held at The University of Massachusetts (UMass), the Boston Folk Festival is a two-day event that promotes the city's diverse musical talents with healthy doses of country, blues and folk performances. Past highlights have included Patty Griffin, Ollabelle, Janis Ian, Suzanne Vega, Guy Davis and Ruthie Foster. In addition to a great musical line-up, there is also an arts and crafts fair, dance performances, oral traditions sessions, workshops and exhibitions. The first Boston Folk Festival was held in 1998 and has grown over the years to become one of the city's best-loved music events.

Street party with music, food and dancing.

All-you-can-eat ice cream festival.

A must for music-lovers.

Ending with a bang to coincide with the US's Fourth of July celebrations, Boston Harborfest is a seven-day celebration that gets the city in the party spirit with a packed programme of entertainment. Events show off the city's rich colonial and maritime heritage through a series of re-enactments, exhibitions, guided city tours and historic displays. Always popular with families, Children's Day is one of the main events where younger visitors can enjoy a mix of sports events, performances, jugglers and face painters. With fun, games and entertainment for visitors of all ages, the Boston Harborfest is one of the biggest celebrations in the city.

More than 2,000 gallons of this New England delicacy are served up in City Hall Plaza during Boston Chowderfest, a cornerstone of the annual Harborfest celebrations. Twelve of Boston's most ambitious restaurants ladle out their 'chowda' to be guzzled or shunned by voting fans. A few dollars gets you unlimited access to the best of the hot and creamy seafood soup. Fresh from the city's immense natural harbour, experts say that you can taste the unique essence of Boston's waters in the perfect clam chowder.

As the city inextricably linked with the start of the American Revolution, Boston takes its independence seriously. The day starts at 0900 with an official flag raising in City Hall Plaza. Then a parade begins on route from Tremont, Bromfield, Washington, to Court Street, pausing at the Old Granary Burial Ground to place wreaths on the graves of John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Peter Faneuil, and Robert Paine, followed by reading of the Declaration of Independence in front of the Old State House. There are then 4 July celebrations all over the city followed in the evening by a spectacular fireworks display (10,000 shells and devices are used each year). The Boston Pops have entertained music fans on the Esplanade along the banks of the Charles River since 1930 and the tradition continues with the orchestra providing the soundtrack for the celebration.

Concert and spectacular on the Esplanade.

Arts First presents more than 200 music, theatre, dance, and visual arts events. The festival celebrates all kinds of creative activity at various indoor and outdoor venues including Harvard Yard, Sanders Theatre, the Harvard Museums and the undergraduate houses. It is Harvard's annual four-day celebration of the arts, instigated in 1992 at which undergraduates and graduate students present a great programme of drama, music, dance, film, and literary and visual arts.

Dragon parades, fireworks and street markets.

Saint Anthony's Feast is the largest Italian religious festival in New England. This authentic Italian street festival has something for people of every age: parades, strolling singers, live entertainment, contests and daily religious services. Visitors can stroll the beautifully decorated streets sampling the best Italian foods from about 100 different pushcarts. Enjoy arancini, sausage peppers and onion, quahogs, calamari, pizza, pasta and of course zeppole, cannoli and gelato. The highlight of the Feast is the 10-hour procession of the Statue of Saint Anthony through the streets of the North End accompanied by devotees, numerous marching bands and floats.

Each fall, rowers and spectators from around the world gather in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts, for the two-day Head of the Charles Regatta. First held in 1965, the race was established by the Cambridge Boat Club members D'Arcy MacMahon, Howard McIntyre, and Jack Vincent, under the guidance of Harvard University sculling instructor Ernest Arlett. Each year the event attracts some 7,000 rowers and crowds in excess of 300,000 who turn out to enthusiastically cheer them on.

March from the Old South Meeting House to the Harbour.

Entitling the bearer entrance to a range of music, dance, theatre, visual arts and film events, a First Night Button is a passport to a whole raft of activities and entertainment as part of Boston's First Night New Year's Eve arts festival. The entertainment programme features over 250 performances, exhibitions and workshops which are held at some 40 different venues in this exciting city. Attractions and entertainment, ranging from a city parade to a fireworks display, begin at around midday and continue through until midnight; the First Night Button also offers discounts at selected venues well into the New Year.

This unique event features 100 musicians and performers representing Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic traditions. This is a great opportunity to sample Celtic culture with lots of concerts, ceilidh and workshops for all ages.

The city of Boston celebrates the anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr's birth on 15 January 1929 with a series of concerts, exhibitions and special events. The revered civil rights leader was a figurehead of the campaign for equality for African Americans whose famous “I have a dream” speech is known throughout the world. King gained a PhD in Systematic Theology from Boston University in 1955 and is enshrined in the city's cultural identity. In 1986, 18 years after his assassination on 4 April 1968, the anniversary of his birth became a public holiday throughout America. Boston marks the holiday weekend with a series of special events, church services and exhibitions in various locations across the city.

An absolute must for car enthusiasts, the New England International Auto Show is an annual showcase of the latest models of both import and domestic vehicles. At the show, visitors can explore row upon row of cars, vans, light trucks and sports convertibles. Representatives from approximately 35 exhibiting car manufacturers are on hand to answer questions about their vehicles and visitors can see price and specification comparisons of the different vehicles all under the one roof. And, for anyone that doesn't have the finances to buy their dream car, there are plenty of competitions to win cars dotted around the show.

The Boston Harbor Hotel plays host to over 50 guest wineries for 3 months of wining and dining on a grand scale. As well as some of the best established names in the wolrd, the festival is renowned for introducing some of the very best new wines available and so is very popular with connoisseurs.

A must for cinema fans.

This is the oldest continuous Italian festival in the North End of Boston. Since 1911, this North End Feast has celebrated the devotion of immigrant Sicilian fishermen to the Madonna del Soccorso di Sciacca (Our Lady of Help). Besides a delicious selection of Italian food and cooking demonstrations, there is also a variety of entertainment, live music, traditional processions and an assortment of children's events, contests, giveaways, and games. In the evening, the fishing waters are blessed, followed by the Cheese Tower building competition, and a procession with the statue of the Madonna.

The Boston race is the oldest annually contested marathon in the world. Beginning in the rural New England town of Hopkinton, the course runs the customary 42.2km (26 miles 385 yards) to the centre of Boston, with Men's Elite, Women's Elite and amateurs starting in turn. Boston's was the first marathon to introduce a wheelchair division. The field limit is 20,000 participants and would-be runners are always advised to get their applications in early. The event enjoys a lively, holiday atmosphere and among the better vantage points are Boston College and Beacon Street, just before the finish line.

Forever stamped in history as the place where the American Revolution began, each year the city of Boston marks the 19 April. It was on this day in 1775 that the first major battle between the British troops and the colonists took place. According to the history books, Paul Revere rode out to Lexington to warn the colonists that the British troops had begun to march towards Concord. A bloody battle ensued and the American Revolution had begun. The day is marked each year with battle re-enactments, formal ceremonies, exhibitions, historic displays and performances and the popular Boston Marathon.