STATEWIDE
Blue Star Museums
Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment of the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 1,500 museums across America. First launched in the summer of 2010, Blue Star Museums offers free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 27, through Labor Day, September 2, 2013.
GREATER BOSTON
Service of Commemoration
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge 1:30-3:00pm
Words and music will help us to remember those who have gone before us during this Memorial Day Service on Bigelow Chapel Lawn. In the event of inclement weather, the Service will be held in Bigelow Chapel.
Street Performers Festival – Boston
May 25-27
Street performers, world-class jugglers, clowns, storytellers, mimes, acrobats,
dancers, storytellers, and others will perform on the cobblestone streets of the
Faneuil Marketplace. Location: Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Time: all day. Cost:
Free. 617- 523-1300
Memorial Day Weekend Sale
Wrentham Village Premium Outlets
May 25 - May 27
Don't miss the annual Memorial Day Weekend Sale. Enjoy extra discounts on top of already low outlet prices.
Museum of Fine Arts
Free Memorial Day open house
GREATER BOSTON PARADES
Arlington: 9:30
Cambridge: 9:30
Hudson: 10:00
Medford: 10:00
Needham: 6:50
NORTH OF BOSTON
Aussie Adventures at Stone Zoo
Aussie Adventure is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the fascinating wildlife from the land Down Under. Spend your summer Down Under at Stone Zoo and say g’day to koalas, kookaburra, tawny frogmouth and more! Be sure to take a stroll through the aviary filled with brightly-colored budgies. Watch in amazement as the birds fly around you in this interactive experience. Purchase a seedstick and you may be lucky enough to have the birds land right on it!
Annual Memorial Day Remembrance
Sunday May 19, 2013 12:30 PM
Lowell Cemetery
Belvedere Gate
Knapp Avenue
Lowell
Parade to begin at 12.30 p.m. at the Belvidere Gate on Knapp Avenue and will proceed to the G.A.R lot. Parade will be followed by a flag raising ceremony and a military fly-over by a Blackhawk Helicopter.
Newburyport Spring Fest – Newburyport
May 26-27
Celebrate the season in downtown Newburyport! Thousands attend to enjoy great live music, art, fine crafts, food from Newburyport's best restaurants and Kid's Korner featuring entertainment for children and families and the ever popular Teddy Bear Parade.
Location: Downtown Newburyport
Time: 10a.m.– 5 p.m.
Cost: Free
Information: 978-462-6680
NORTH OF BOSTON PARADES
Haverhill: 10:30
Lexington: 9:00am
Marblehead: 9:00am
Methuen: 10:00am
Salem: 10:30am
SOUTH OF BOSTON
Mayflower Museum House!
The Mayflower Society is offering free tours of the historic 1754 Mayflower Museum House from 11am to 4pm for the first three weekends of the season, starting Friday, May 24th of Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-27, May 31-June 2, and June 7-9). Come experience four centuries of antiques and furnishings, imagine life in the 18th century, and play our scavenger hunt for a chance to win prizes! The historic Museum House is a 5-minute walk up the hill from Plymouth Rock, just off North Street at 4 Winslow Street, on one of five original roads laid out by the Pilgrims for their colony. Built in 1754 by the great-grandson of Edward Winslow, governor of the Pilgrim colony, the Mayflower Museum House is an exquisite example of grand living by Pilgrim descendants, a century after the Pilgrims first arrived. If you are a genealogy enthusiast, and want to discover if you have links to the Pilgrims, look no further than The Mayflower Society Library, set behind the Museum House and the lovely formal gardens. Open to the public during the week, from 10am to 4pm for a $5 fee, the Library is a treasure trove of histories, vital records, and genealogies focusing on families descending from the Mayflower passengers.
North River Arts Society: 37th Annual Festival of the Arts
Please plan to join us as we celebrate the North River Arts Society’s Festival of the Arts on Saturday and Sunday, May 25 & 26, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the Village of Marshfield Hills (Old Main Street). FREE PARKING AND SHUTTLE FROM EAMES WAY SCHOOL (off Pleasant Street, end of Eames Way). The Festival takes place rain or shine. The very popular Preview Party kicks off the festivities on Friday, May 24 at 7:00 p.m. Awards announcements at 8:00. The public is welcome; $25 advanced purchase (northriverarts.org) or $30 admission fee collected at the door. Full cash bar, live entertainment: The Gathering in the Entertainment tent, and Swing Set inside the G.A.R. Hall. Hearty hors d’oeuvres will also be offered.
Pearl Harbor Experience Season Opening
Battleship Cove, Fall River
NEW EXHIBIT - Recreates the sights and sounds of the surprise attack on December 7, 1941. The only outdoor multimedia reenactment of Pearl Harbor anywhere, it forges an emotional connection with the men & women whose lives were forever changed on that fateful day. Honors the bravery and sacrifices of our "greatest generation".
Military Service Appreciation Day
Buttonwood Park Zoo
425 Hawthorn St., New Bedford
May 25 - 27
On Memorial Day Weekend all active duty, retired and reserve military personnel and their dependents who show proof of served will be honored with free admission to the Zoo.
Spring Revolutionary War Encampment
Fort Phoenix, Fort Street, Fairhaven
May 25-26
10:00 a.m. Saturday to 3:00 p.m. Sunday.
The Fairhaven Village Militia, the Fairhaven Office of Tourism and guests present a two-day historical encampment at Fort Phoenix. Talk to period costumed men and women about the fort’s history and life in the 1770s. See military drilling, flintlock musket and cannon firing demonstrations and camp cooking demonstrations. Try tomahawk throwing or children’s games. Also see activities such as spinning, fire starting, demonstrations of 18th-Century dentistry and more.
Memorial Day Holiday - Fall River
May 25-27
FREE ADMISSION FOR VETERANS: Memorial Day Weekend - all active duty,
retired and reserve military personnel who show proof of service will be honored
with free admission to Battleship Cove! Special oral histories from
veterans will be shown throughout the weekend. Location: Battleship Cove, 5 Water
Street, Fall River
Annual Fisherman's Memorial Service
Starting at the Seamen's Bethel
May 27
10:00 am
Annual walk from Seamen's Bethel on Johnny cake Hill down Union St. to Pier 3 on the New Bedford Waterfront for a service honoring all of the many fishermen who have lost their live going to sea.
Spring Planting Moon Pow-Wow
May 25-26 Dancing, crafts, food and fun
PILGRIM AVIATION
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND SPECIAL: ATTACHED TO PILGRIM AVIATION RACK CARDS ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND THEIR WILL BE A "$10.00 OFF" COUPON USABLE ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND ONLY ON OUR SCENIC FLIGHTS. LIMIT ONE COUPON PER FLIGHT. Coupons are available at the Waterfront Visitor Information Center 130 Water Street Plymouth Center
SOUTH OF BOSTON PARADES
Brockton: 11:00
Cohasset: 10:30
Taunton: 9:30
Fairhaven: 8:30
New Bedford: 11:00
Plymouth: 9:30
Somerset: 10:00
Fall River: 1:00
Swansea: 1:00
Westport: 8:00
CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
Massachusetts National Cemetery
May 27
Annual Memorial Day Services.
Bourne
508-563-7113
Cape Cod Scenic Railroad
May 25
Opening day, tickets on sale for scenic passenger train rides from West Barnstable, until train time 11:50 am. Visit the historical museum 9:00am to 2:00pm every Saturday, May 28 through October 15, 2011
Location: 2469 Meetinghouse Way, West Barnstable
Information: 508-362-9287
42nd Annual Figawi Regatta
May 25-27
Sailboat race from Hyannis to Nantucket Island and back; weekend-long festivities
Hyannis Yacht Club, Hyannis & Nantucket Boat Basin, Nantucket
Information: 508-778-6100
Memorial Weekend Local Foods Buffet at Coonamessett Farm
May 24-25
Celebrate the holiday weekend with a farm-fresh dinner at Coonamessett Farm. Both Friday and Saturday evenings, from 5 to 8 p.m., the buffet will feature all-vegetarian soups, salads, entrees, and side dishes, while barbecued pulled pork will be available at the grill. The ice cream stand will be open for dessert! Adults and children age 10 and older, $21.95; children age 4-9 years, $12.95; children age 3 and younger, no charge.
CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS
Wool Days at Old Sturbridge Village – Sturbridge
May 25-27
Wool Days means sheepshearing at Old Sturbridge Village, plus demonstrations of other parts of the seasonal processing of wool, including scouring, carding, dyeing, spinning, and weaving. Try your hand and learn about other fibers available to early New Englanders at our textile exhibit. Wool Days fall on Memorial Day weekend, when the Old Sturbridge Village stagecoach returns for the summer, along with the Quinebaug River Boat Ride.
AIS 45th Annual Memorial Powwow
May 25-26
Native American powwow
4H Camp Marshall, 92 McCormick Rd., Spencer
CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS PARADES
Ashburnham: 8:45am
Ashby: 10:00am
Fitchburg: 10:00am
Westminster: 11:00am
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS
Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair
May 25-26
Sheep shows, sheep dog trials, spinning contest, fiber contests & workshops, handcraft & hand spun yarn contests, fleece show & sale, shearing demo & shearing service.
Location: 97 Fairgrounds Rd., Cummington
Fee: $10:00 per vehicle
Antique & Classic Automobile Show
May 26
Chesterwood, Stockbridge
Car enthusiasts of all ages make a day of it, looking at cars and exploring the historic home, studio, gardens, and woodland walks of America’s foremost public sculptor Daniel Chester French, creator of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial. Chesterwood offers breathtaking vistas of the Berkshire Hills that provide a fitting backdrop for the occasion. Local food and beverage vendors from around Berkshire County will be serving throughout the historic site. 10am – 4pm. Rain or Shine.
Memorial Weekend Sidewalk Sale
May 24-27
Annual Memorial Weekend Sidewalk Sale featuring incredible savings on spring clearance and summer merchandise at participating stores.
Lee Premium Outlets
Lee
4th Annual Memorial Day Marathon Races
May 25-26
Lenox
This annual event starts and finishes at the iconic Tanglewood Music Center in the beautiful Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Come experience The Berkshires, a true slice of Americana featuring the quaint towns, beautiful views, and friendly people depicted in Norman Rockwell's art and James Taylor's music, as we celebrate running - a true American pastime - on the national holiday honoring our fallen soldiers. The weekend will feature The Memorial Day Marathon & 1/2 Marathon, The Berkshires 10K & 5K, The MDM 15K Trail Race, The MDM Trail-Road Challenge, The MDM Kids Run and The MDM Pre-Race Expo at Tanglewood.
Paradise City Arts Festival
May 25-27
3 County Fairgrounds, Northampton
Ranked the #3 arts fair nationwide. This is truly one of the most spectacular fairs of fine craft, painting and sculpture in the whole country, lauded for its fresh, innovative approach. Four buildings, a big tent and a lush Sculpture Garden showcase 260 of the nation’s finest artists and craftspeople, featuring furniture, glass, large-scale sculpture, jewelry, paintings, ceramics, fashion and home furnishings. The Festival Dining Tent cooks up sensational cuisine by Northampton's best chefs and a soundstage featuring live music with a New Orleans beat by the likes of Charles Neville and Samirah Evans. The theme this spring is “Wild Things!”, with an exhibit of art inspired by the animal kingdom, a silent art auction to benefit the Dakin Animal Shelter and a host of children’s activities and demonstrations centered on animals. Boston Magazine writes, 'There's no better place in the country to pick up original artwork than the Paradise City Arts Festival.'
WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS PARADES
Agawam: 10:30
Amherst: 9:30
Chicopee: 10:00
Easthampton: 10:30
East Longmeadow: 10:50
Greenfield:10:00
Hampden: 10:00
Holyoke: 9:00
Ludlow: 9:00
Monson: 10:00
Montague: 10:15
Northampton: 10:00
Palmer: 10:15
South Hadley: 11:00
Southwick: 9:30
Ware: 1:00
West Brookfield: 9:00
Westfield: 10:00
West Springfield: 9:00
Wilbraham: 10:30
Map of the Regions in Massachusetts
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Win a Prize Package |
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Mass Jazz |
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- Where to Go
- Things to Do
For New England's largest theme park, head to Six Flags New England in Agawam. Experience the "Glow in the Park Parade", an all new nighttime spectacular with dramatic state-of-the-art floats, cirque-style music and thousands of sparkling lights! The Dept. of Conservation and Recreation presents Park Passport, a program where families are encouraged to continue to visit parks statewide in an effort to fill their passport with stamps from all the parks.
- Plan Your Trip
- 50 Under $50
- Getting Around
State and regional resources, including air, land, and water transportation; Boston public transit info; detailed info on travel to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island
