Boston, Massachusetts
2009 Festivals and Events
January 1 New Year's Polar Plunge
See the L-Street Brownies (America's oldest "polar bear" swimming club) take their annual plunge in the icy waters of Boston Harbor as they've done for the past 100 years.
January 5 - April 3 20th Annual Boston Wine Festival
The Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf opens it's doors to the nation's longest running food and wine festival. The festval includes food and wine pairing dinners, educational seminars, a rare wine auction and New England's premier culinary event; the Anthony Spinazzola Gala.
February 6 - 15 African Film Festival
The Museum of Fine Arts hosts this annual event showcasing African American films.
March 12 - 15 New England Spring Flower Show
Held at the Bayside Expo Center, this flower show attracts around 150,000 people who will attend more than 100 lectures by authors, garden designers and plant experts at the largest indoor show in New England.
March 15 St. Patrick's Day Parade & Evacuation Day
South Boston's Annual Saint Patrick's Day Parade is the second biggest in the USA with approx 850,000 people. It is rated by many as the best parade in the nation and coincides with Evacuation Day, commemorating the evacuation of the city of Boston by British forces during the American Revolutionary War.
April - September Swan Boat Rides in the Boston Public Garden
The return of the swan boats is a true sign of spring! The Swan Boats are famed for their appearance in the stories of Make Way For Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan.
April 20 Patriot's Day & The Boston Marathon
Patriots' Day commemorates the battles fought at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which marked the start of the American Revolution. The Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon, is run each year on Patriots' Day.
May 3 May Fair
Celebrate the spring season with more than 300 craft and food vendors, in addition to a children's block party with rides, entertainment and other activities in Harvard Square.
May 10 Lilac Sunday & The Duckling Day Parade
On Lilac Sunday, garden enthusiasts from all over New England gather at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University to picnic, watch Morris dancing, and tour the lilac collection.
The Duckling Day Parade is a Mother's Day tradition in Boston; celebrating the return of the tiny duckling sculptures, inspired by the children's book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, which are a fixture in the Charles Street corner of the Public Garden during the warm months.
June 6 - 7, 13 - 14, 20 - 21, 27 - 28 North End Italian Feast Days and Processions
The Italian community celebrates feast days of the Italian saints with weekend street fairs, processions, parades and Italian cuisine in Boston's oldest neighborhood, the North End.
June 6 - 7 Hong Kong Dragonboat Festival
Established in 1980, Boston's Dragon Boat Festival takes over the Charles River between JFK Street and Western Avenue Bridge for the traditional boat races. The event also includes traditional Chinese arts, crafts, music and dance.
June 9 - 11 Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl
The nation's largest all-you-can-eat ice cream festival serves up ice cream from nine of the nation's leading ice cream companies while raising money for the Jimmy Fund, which supports cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
June 13 Cambridge River Festival
A celebration of the arts along the Charles River, with entertainment, art-making activities and art exhibitions.
June 17 Bunker Hill Day
Commemorates the crucial 1775 battle against the British during the American Revolution and is celebrated at the Bunker Hill Memorial in Boston National Historic Park.
June 30 - July 5 Boston Harborfest
A six-day long Fourth of July Festival that showcases the colonial and maritime heritage of the cradle of the American Revolution: the historic City of Boston. The celebration has more than 200 events, including the ever-popular Chowderfest, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, turnaround by the USS Constitution, fife-and-drum shows, harbor tours, concerts and more in the historic downtown and waterfront districts and along the Charles River Esplanade.
July 4 - 5, 11 - 12, 18-19, 25 - 26 North End Italian Feast Days and Processions
The Italian community celebrates feast days of the Italian saints with weekend street fairs, processions, parades and Italian cuisine in Boston's oldest neighborhood, the North End.
Aug 1 - 2, 8 - 9, 15 - 16, 22 - 23, 29 - 30 North End Italian Feast Days and Processions
The Italian community celebrates feast days of the Italian saints with weekend street fairs, processions, parades and Italian cuisine in Boston's oldest neighborhood, the North End.
September 11 - 13 Boston Arts Festival
Theater, dance and music performances from Boston's finest music ensembles and dance troupes, as well as a juried art show with paintings, sculptures, prints, ceramics, jewelry, glass, woodwork, mixed-media works and photographs at the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park in the North End.
October 10 Oktoberfest
International cuisine, free music, dance performances, street artists and children's entertainment abound on three stages in Harvard Square.
November 26 Thanksgiving Day
A public holiday which commemorates the feast held by the Pilgrim colonists and members of the Wampanoag people at Plymouth in 1621.
December 16 Boston Tea Party Re-enactment
This event takes places at the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum and also in Cambridge at Harvard's Sanders Theater
December 31 First Night
The country's oldest and largest New Year's Eve celebration fills the day with at least 200 performances and events in more than 40 venues. Highlights include gigantic ice sculptures in parks and gardens, a Mardi Gras-style parade and fireworks at 7 pm and midnight, as well as theater, dance, music, puppetry, storytelling and visual-arts events.