Free Things To Do
The Boston area offers an abundance of free activities for everyone.
Festivals
SoWa First Friday
On the First Friday of every month, the artists, galleries, shops and showrooms of the SoWa Art + Design District open their doors to the public for an evening of art, culture and inspiration. Meet the artists in their element, view the latest gallery exhibitions, shop small, and...
2023 South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade
The annual South Boston St. Patrick's Day/ Evacuation Day Parade returns on Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 1:00pm! The parade begins at Andrew Square and ends at the Broadway 'T' Station, South Boston. We suggest grabbing a spot anywhere along Broadway to watch the parade! Parade...
Museums & Exhibitions
Of Many Minds Public Art Exhibit
Come to the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston to experience and enjoy a new sculpture exhibit by award winning Massachusetts artist Michael Alfano whose work is in private and public collections throughout the world. This free exhibit brings museum quality art to the public realm...
Art Exhibition: Inspiring Change for the Climate Crisis
View a powerful art exhibition by the members of i3C (inspiring change for the climate crisis), a group curated by Adriana Prat and consisting of artists whose work all centers around environmental pollution and climate change. SCHEDULE Open Thursdays through Saturdays from 12 -...
ICA Free Thursday Night
The ICA is free for all visitors every Thursday from 5 to 9 PM. Tickets for Free Thursday Nights will be available at icaboston.org/tickets at 10 AM on that Thursday morning. Beginning May 29, in line with the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and...
Step Into Art with Inspiration from Kehinde Wiley
Step into a magical world inspired by Kehinde Wiley! Step Into Art is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing art education programs that actively engage children with great works of art from museums in and around Boston. Let your imagination soar as we build a...
A Beautiful Resistance: Live!
Don’t miss an all new live event and evening celebrating A Beautiful Resistance from Boston Globe culture columnist, Jeneé Osterheldt! In her own words, Boston Globe culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt created A Beautiful Resistance “to carry on the tradition of Black artists and...
Free First Thursday at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Join us on the first Thursday of every month for a restorative evening of discovery and community. Museum admission is free from 3 pm through 9 pm and interactive programs kick off at 5 pm. Artists, activists, and musicians share songs, stories, and activities inspired by the...
The Odyssey Of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery And Independence
This is a hybrid event. FREE for MHS Members. $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for virtual attendees or Card to Culture participants (EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare). The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program will begin at 6:00. Please visit here to register:...
Family Friendly Activities
Jeff Jam Kids Singalong
Jeff Jam is a friendly, goofy guy who sings and performs songs for children of all ages. He travels all over Massachusetts, New England, and the world with his acoustic guitar, bringing songs and smiles to children everywhere. Join us in the Nook at the Boston Public Market on...
Performing Arts
Cry Me a River, Peel Me a Grape: Songs of Deception, Discovery, and Delight
Tuesday, February 14 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM EST The Center for Arts at the Armory - main hall 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville As always, admission is FREE but donations are enthusiastically accepted you can pick up a free ticket here: https://tinyurl.com/TiCCry or at the door....
Clover: A New Play
Clover is a full-length play by Laura Rocklyn and Ty Hallmark exploring the life of Clover Adams, wife of Henry Adams and pioneer female photographer. Upon arriving in Gilded Age Washington, D.C., Clover immerses herself in the political and social scene, but then, the death of...
Free Shakespeare on the Common: Macbeth
The highlight of the summer season will be the 27th annual Free Shakespeare on the Boston Common production of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth, directed by CSC Artistic Director Steven Maler. In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, an unexpected prophecy sends Macbeth on a quest...
Classes / Lectures
BPM Movie Night
Valentine's Day vibes at the Boston Public Market with a classic Rom-Com paired with local bites & brews from our vendors. Join us for a free screening of the Valentine’s favorite, Definitely, Maybe, in the HUB at the Boston Public Market on February 9th at 6pm! Come by early...
Sleep And Our Mental Health
We are all familiar with the classic saying “a good night’s sleep”, but what in fact are the repercussions on our bodies when we don’t experience healthy sleeping patterns? How does sleep, or lack of, impact the health of our brains and wellness of our bodies? Join us, in...
My Dearest Friend
Learn more about the courtship correspondence of Abigail Smith and John Adams and view a selection of letters on display.
A Beautiful Resistance: Live!
Don’t miss an all new live event and evening celebrating A Beautiful Resistance from Boston Globe culture columnist, Jeneé Osterheldt! In her own words, Boston Globe culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt created A Beautiful Resistance “to carry on the tradition of Black artists and...
Alchemy Unblended Class
Join George Howell Coffee at the Boston Public Market for an Alchemy Unblended Class! Come by and taste the components that make George Howell espresso blend so special! We’ll taste all 4 components independently, then combined, and discuss how each coffee contributes to this...
The Odyssey Of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery And Independence
This is a hybrid event. FREE for MHS Members. $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for virtual attendees or Card to Culture participants (EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare). The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program will begin at 6:00. Please visit here to register:...
Snapshots of My Father, John Silber
Join Rachel Silber Devlin, author of Snapshots of My Father, John Silber (Peter E. Randall Publisher, 2022) and Stephen Kinzer, author, BU graduate, and Brown University professor, for a lively discussion about John Silber, the transformational president and chancellor of Boston...
Clover: A New Play
Clover is a full-length play by Laura Rocklyn and Ty Hallmark exploring the life of Clover Adams, wife of Henry Adams and pioneer female photographer. Upon arriving in Gilded Age Washington, D.C., Clover immerses herself in the political and social scene, but then, the death of...
The Sculptures of Daniel Chester French at Forest Hills Cemetery
The Jamaica Plain Historical Society invites you to hear Dana Pilson curatorial researcher and collections coordinator at Chesterwood, the historical home, studio, and gardens of sculptor Daniel Chester French in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, who will present an illustrated talk...
Tours & Trails
Explore Boston Neighborhoods
Each Boston neighborhood tells its own story, a tale of community, culture, and eclectic commercial areas.
Boston - Airport/Chelsea/Revere
Boston - Downtown/Financial District
Boston - Airport/Chelsea/Revere
Explore the Outdoors in Boston
Enjoy beautiful waterways, elaborate bike paths & networks of urban green space.
Virtual Activities
Imagining the Age of Phillis
Revolutionary Spaces commissioned a short film series called Imagining the Age of Phillis to bring a selection of the poems from Jeffers's book to life. Directed by John Oluwole ADEkoje and produced by Patrick Gabridge of Plays in Place, the series was filmed on location in...
Nature as Artist: A Harvard Museum of Natural History Virtual Tour
We are happy to announce a new self-guided, virtual tour along the theme of "Nature as Artist." http://bit.ly/NatureAsArtistVirtualTour Nature has long inspired we humans to imagine and create art. Dancers, designers, musicians, painters, and sculptors – they are all found...
The Shot Heard Round the World
This microsite will transport you back in time through eye-witness artifacts, including one of the two Lanterns that signaled Paul Revere to begin his ride, and multi-media animations that bring this pivotal moment in our nation’s history to life. Be sure to visit the April 19,...
History of St John's Episcopal Church
The Jamaica Plain Historical Society presents Katharine Cipolla, Parish Historian, who will give a survey of the historic building from her recent book A History of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, The First Century . St. John’s Episcopal Parish was...
Disability and the American Past: Disappeared Disabilities
When the history of people with disabilities is discussed, the same names pop up: figures like Helen Keller or Franklin D. Roosevelt. However, accounts of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman’s activism have often failed to mention their disabilities or think about how their...
Disability and the American Past: Failures in Intersectionality
In America’s long 20th century civil rights movements histories, disabled people—and especially BIPOC and LGBTQ+ disabled people—are often erased. And in the prominent stories told of America’s disability rights movements histories, activist work and key issues usually have...
Disability and the American Past: Intro to Disability Justice
In reaction to a disability movement that treated disability as a single-issue concern, in 2005, activists Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, and Stacey Milbern conceived of the term and framework of “disability justice.” The movement wanted to focus on the way that systems are...
Disability Activism in Massachusetts and Nationwide
In reaction to a disability movement that treated disability as a single-issue concern, in 2005, activists Patty Berne, Mia Mingus, and Stacey Milbern conceived of the term and framework of “disability justice.” The movement wanted to focus on the way that systems are...
Making Maine: Statehood and the War of 1812
This is a hybrid event. FREE for MHS Members. $10 per person fee (in person). No charge for virtual attendees or Card to Culture participants (EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare). The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program will begin at 6:00. Please visit here to register:...
The Nature of Slavery: Environment and Plantation Labor in the Anglo-Atlantic World
In the late 18th century, planters in the Caribbean and the American South insisted that only Black people could labor on plantations, arguing that Africans, unlike Europeans, had bodies particularly suited to cultivate crops in hot climates. Historians have mainly taken planters...
Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House
Some of the most significant moments in American history have occurred over meals. Alex Prud’homme invites readers into the White House kitchen to reveal the curious tastes of twenty-six American presidents, how their meals were prepared and by whom, and the ways their choices...
Lethal Tides: Mary Sears And The Marine Scientists Who Helped Win World War II
When World War II began, the U.S. Navy was unprepared to enact its island-hopping strategy to reach Japan. Mary Sears, a marine biologist, was the expert they turned to, and she along with a team of quirky marine scientists were instrumental in turning the tide of the war in the...