Boston Events and Festivals 2014 / 2015

(Boston, Massachusetts - MA, USA)

The Marshfield Annual Fair, the Chowderfest, the Boston Pops concerts and St. Patrick's Day celebrations are just a few of the great number of spectacular events that complement this most famous city. There are also many popular festivities that take place in nearby Cambridge.

National Public Holidays

• 1st January - New Year's Day
• Third Monday in January - Martin Luther King Day
• 12th February - Lincoln's Birthday
• Third Monday in February - Washington's Birthday
• Third Monday in April - Patriot's Day (Massachusetts)
• Last Monday in May - Memorial Day
• 4th July - Independence Day
• First Monday in September - Labor Day
• Second Monday in October - Columbus Day
• 11th November - Veterans Day
• 4th Thursday in November - Thanksgiving
• 25th December - Christmas Day

January

• New Year's Day - January 1st, see the L-Street Brownies, a group of elderly swimmers (many in their eighties and nineties) take their annual plunge in the icy waters at Carson Beach

February

• Boston's Chinatown - mid-February, Chinese New Year celebrations
• Wine Festival - held at the Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf, includes a rare wine auction and the Anthony Spinazzola Gala, New England's premier culinary event
• The Museum of Afro-American History - in conjunction with the New England Conservatory of Music, celebrates Black History Month
• Ice Hockey - several Sundays, the annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament between college teams

March

• St. Patrick's Day Parade - March 17th, big celebrations throughout the city. Also Evacuation Day, commemorating the expulsion of British troops from South Boston by General Washington in 1776

April

• The Red Sox - another hopeful season at Fenway Park
• Swan Boats - the return of the swan boats in the Public Garden is a real sign of spring
• Patriot's Day - the Monday nearest April 19th, re-enactments of Paul Revere's famous ride from Hanover Street in Boston's North End to Lexington
• Boston Marathon - on Patriot's Day, the local Athletic Association fills the streets with runners from Hopkinton to the Back Bay

May

• Great Boston Kite Festival - mid-May, this event is held at Franklin Park
• Arnold Arboretum - celebrations of the 400 varieties of lilac in bloom, on 'Lilac Sunday'
• Ducklings - from Beacon Hill to the Public Garden lagoon, people 'make way for ducklings' during their Mother's Day waddle

June

• Early Music Festival - early June, this week-long event takes place once every other year, in odd-number years. It features dozens of lectures, classes and performance of a rare, fully-staged baroque opera
• Scooper Bowl - with proceeds going to the cancer-fighting Jimmy Fund, this is an 'all you can eat' ice cream bonanza
• Bunker Hill Weekend - mid-June, weekend of activities culminating in a parade on Bunker Hill, remembering the battle in Charlestown
• Boston Yoga and Chant Fest - mid-June, held at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Trade Center in Marlborough, this is a two day event featuring yoga presentations, classes, Indian dance performances, children's yoga and much more besides
• Boston Globe Jazz Festival - lasting a week, at venues throughout the city
• Fourth of July celebration - late June / early July, the city's annual Harborfest includes a concert with fireworks over the harbor

July

• Boston Pops Concert and Fireworks Display - early July, this is a wonderful musical extravaganza at the Hatch Shall
• Chowderfest - sample New England clam chowder from the city's best restaurants
• Civil War Battle Re-enactments - weekend closest to July 18, held at the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial on the Common
• Lowell Folk Festival - late July, more than 100,000 music-lovers make their way to Lowell for this festival
• Marblehead's Race Week - end of July, attracting boats from all along the Eastern seaboard

August

• Dragon parade - mid-August, this parade through Chinatown is part of the August Mood Festival
• GreenFest - mid-August, with various interactive exhibits and ongoing entertainment, organic and vegetarian cuisine, and environmentally friendly fashion

September

• Cambridge River Festival - mid-September, numerous events take place along the Charles River
• North End 'Feasts' - the North End honors a variety of saints with great food and music (Italian)

October

• Columbus Day Parade - early October, this parade travels from East Boston to the North End
• Massachusetts Cranberry Harvest Festival - Columbus Day weekend, held in both Plymouth and neighboring South Carver's Edaville Cranberry Bog. The nation's oldest county fair, the Topsfield Fair, recalls our farm heritage
• The Bruins and Celtics both start their basketball seasons

November

• Pilgrim's Stroll - weekend before Thanksgiving, modern-day Pilgrims walk through Plymouth's historic homes
• Boston Ballet's Nutcracker - late November to early January, the start of another season

December

• Christmas Lights - trees in the shopping centers and on Boston Common are covered in thousands of tiny lights - and also on the big evergreen in front of the Prudential Center
• Newbury Street Holiday Stroll - entertains shoppers with music, food and holiday activities
• Boston Tea Party Re-enactment - mid-December, this event takes places at the Tea Party Ship and Museum and also in Cambridge at Harvard's Sanders Theater
• Christmas Celebrations - general festivities, including music at Faneuil Hall, dance and folk plays from around the world
• New Year's Eve - this is a full day and night of outdoor and indoor concerts and festivities, culminating in fireworks over Boston Harbor