MA250

“One for the Revolutionary Road: Taverns and the American Revolution” with Malcolm Purinton
2024-11-12 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Action Memorial Library, Main Street 486, Acton, Massachusetts, 01720, United States
Northeastern University Professor Malcolm F. Purinton discusses the role of the tavern in local society as the colonies headed into the American Revolution. There were few places more important in colonial and revolutionary America than local community taverns that played witness to local, regional, and national events in American history.
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7PM
Acton Memorial Library

Concord Veteran's Day Weekend Events
2024-11-09 - 2024-11-11 | Concord, Main Street 58, Oak Hill, West Virginia, 25901, United States
Concord Events happening November 9, 10, and 11 to honor our Veterans

Hidden History of Black Boston with Joel Mackall
2024-11-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Action Memorial Library, Main Street 486, Acton, Massachusetts, 01720, United States
Discover Boston’s rich 400-year African American history! Many vibrant Black communities flourished in Boston stretching back to early colonial times.
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 6 PM
Acton Memorial Library

Spark of the Revolution: the 250th Anniversary of the Powder Alarm
2024-10-30 00:00 | Massachusetts
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Powder Alarm, the Somerville Museum is partnering with the City of Somerville to produce a re-enactment of the historic event, followed by a living history fair. The fair will include docent tours of the Powder House, activity tables, and even a scavenger hunt of the park!
What was the Powder Alarm? Learn more about the events leading up to September 1, 1774: May 23, 2024 Lecture – How to Lose an Empire: The Road to the Powder Alarm.
The re-enactment will begin at approximately 9:30 AM, followed by a living history fair and docent tours from approximately 10:00 AM until 12:30 PM.
Free and accessible. For additional ADA accommodations, please contact 311 (617-666-3311) in advance.

General John Glover Birthday Party
2024-10-26 13:00 - 14:30 | Swampscott Public Library, Burrill Street 61, Swampscott, Massachusetts, 01907, United States
Come celebrate General John Glover’s Birthday upcoming 292nd birthday (November 5) at the Swampscott Public Library, 61 Burrill Street, Swampscott, Massachusetts. There will be an illustrated talk by members of Save the Glover and birthday cake!
Free! All invited!

Sudbury Battle of Red Horse Tavern
2024-10-26 - 2024-10-27 | Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, 72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury, MA, 01776, United States
Come to the historic Wayside Inn on October 26, 2024 for an experience like never before. Start the day by listening to colonial music, talking with reenactors, visiting sutlers, observing cannon firing demonstrations and more. Then watch as the Colonial and British armies battle for control of the Red Horse Tavern.
Eighteenth century taverns were important in the Colonies as a place to hear the news and other current events, engage in commerce, conduct militia drills and provide respite for weary travelers. The Red Horse Tavern, sitting along the Boston Post Road, the major east-west route to and from Boston and New York, was crucial in that anyone or anything travelling into or out of Boston to/from the west would have to pass by its door. Which ever side controlled the Tavern could control the flow of supplies, troops and information.
The Redcoats are determined to wrest control, no matter the cost, while the Colonists will do all they can to stop them and send them back to Boston.
Who will control the tavern? Come and find out.

Program of the Day:
11:00 am
Troop formation
11:15 am
Engagement – East field
12:00 noon
Sudbury Fyfe & Drum Companie
Cannon demonstration
Nooning
1:15 pm
Troop formation
1:30 pm
Engagement – South fields

For reenactors only, contact the lt. colonel for morning activities.

This event is free and open to the public.
Please park in the designated parking area for the reenactment.
For more information contact the adjutant@sudburyminutemen.org.

You can view slideshows and videos of past Battles of Red Horse Tavern.

Acton and Concord’s Roads to Revolution with Robert Gross
2024-10-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Acton Town Hall, Main Street 472, Acton, MA, 01720, United States
The renowned author of the classic “The Minutemen and their World” will share the unique conflicts and changes Acton and Concord citizens experienced in their economic and social lives that led up to dramatic events of 250 years ago.
Wednesday, Oct. 23, 7-8:30 PM
Room 204, Acton Town Hall
https://www.actonma.gov/250

Concord250: Wright Tavern Pub Choir
2024-10-20 15:30 - 18:00 | Monument Square, Main Street 58, Concord, Massachusetts, 01742, United States
Freedom Concert: Terry Borderline and the Suns
Date: Saturday, October 5
Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Location: Monument Square, Concord MA
Join us for an electrifying performance by Terry Borderline and the Suns. This seven-piece band will perform a set of original songs about freedom, spirituality, nature, and social justice, including an original piece inspired by Thoreau and Garrison. The concert will be followed by a 45-minute Q&A session.
Wright Tavern Pub Choir
Date: Sunday, October 20
Time: 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM
Location: Monument Square, Concord MA
Lift your voice to sing! Accomplished choir director and musician Tim Bongiovanni will lead the events by the sculpture. Here, participants will learn and perform in three-part harmony. Enjoy refreshments and a beer garden at the Wright Tavern as part of this unique musical event.

Liberty & Union Festival
2024-10-19 11:00 - 16:00 | Old Colony History Museum, 6 Church Green, Taunton, MA, 02780, United States
The Liberty & Union Festival, hosted by the Old Colony History Museum, is an annual event that transports you back in time to 1774 through historical reenactors, music, food, beer, and much more.

Preparing for Winter Preparing for War
2024-10-14 - 2024-10-15 | Hartwell Tavern, 35 Virginia Road, Lincoln, MA, 01773, United States
Autumn in Colonial New England was a time of change and transition when many gathered to share the fruits of summer labor and prepare to survive the coming winter. In 1774 it was also a time of preparation for the coming conflict.

The 250th Anniversary of the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress
2024-10-11 09:30 - 16:30 | Wright Tavern Center, 2 Lexington Road, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
The 2024 Massachusetts Provincial Congress
“Exploring Democracy – Our Rights and Our Responsibilities”
October 11, 2024
9:30am – 4:30pm
First Parish in Concord and The Wright Tavern
*Register here to attend*
In October 1774, the political conflict between Great Britain and Massachusetts reached a crisis. Parliament enacted the “Intolerable Acts” to punish the province for the Tea Party, and they revoked the charter of 1691 by which the popularly elected House of Representatives joined with the Council and Crown-appointed Governor to rule the Bay Colony. In the ensuing furor, county conventions protested the changes; crowds closed courts, Patriots took over county militias, and encouraged towns to resist the new regime of the General Court. Royal Governor Thomas Gage called the Court to meet in Salem, but the Assembly never convened.
Although Gage canceled the session, the representatives decided to meet behind closed and locked doors and reorganize as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. Its first session opened a week later, on October 11th, in Concord, safe from the control of British authorities. The gathering was a landmark in the history of self-government. The Congress set the colony on a collision course with Britain and an eventual road to independence. Even as it proclaimed loyalty to the Crown, the Congress mobilized the province in a struggle to reclaim the rights and liberties Massachusetts had enjoyed. Without declaring independence, the popularly elected body seized the reins of power, charted a new future for Massachusetts, and set a model of self-government.
October 11, 2024, marks the 250th Anniversary of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. To commemorate this occasion and honor our forebearers, the Wright Tavern Legacy Trust is sponsoring a gathering in Concord’s First Parish Meetinghouse and the Wright Tavern next door, where the delegates to the Congress met. This will be a day-long, engaging program. With noted historians to guide us, we will return to this crucial moment in the history of the American Revolution and ask what we can learn from the past. With state legislators joining us, we will examine the state of democratic governance in Massachusetts and the United States today. And, with students and teachers from Massachusetts schools, we will collaboratively explore the future of democracy. Come join us for this remarkable day.
REGISTER for this historic event!

Acton Walking Tours with Amy Cole
2024-10-09 08:00 - 17:00 | Action Memorial Library, Main Street 486, Acton, Massachusetts, 01720, United States
Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. in South Acton. Register at ActonMemorialLibrary.org

250th Anniversary of the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress
2024-10-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Hawthorne Hotel, Washington Square West 18, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970, United States
On October 7, 1774, ninety chosen representatives met at Salem in defiance of General Gage’s order. They elected John Hancock to serve as chairman. They resolved to form themselves into “a Provincial Congress…to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation of public affairs in this province, and to consult and determine on such measures as they shall judge will tend to promote the true interest of his majesty, and the peace, welfare, and prosperity of the province.” The establishment of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was essentially a coup détat: a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power. The royal government, headed by General Gage, was now isolated and virtually powerless except for the presence of the army and navy in Boston.

The Great Salem Fire of 1774: Walking Tour
2024-10-06 15:00 - 17:00 | Salem Armory Visitor Center, New Liberty Street 2, Salem, Massachusetts, 01970, United States
Tour the site of the Great Salem Fire, October 6, 1774 with retired park ranger, Curtis White. The fire destroyed shops, a meeting-house, dwellings, and the Custom House. Was the fire a diversionary tactic to deter the arrest of Massachusetts delegates who met in defiance of the Massachusetts Government Act?
The 1.25-mile walking tour will meet outside the Salem Armory Visitor Center located at 2 New Liberty Street in Salem.

Concord250: Freedom's Silhouette Events
2024-10-05 11:00 - 17:00 | Monument Square, Main Street 58, Concord, Massachusetts, 01742, United States
Freedom Concert: Terry Borderline and the Suns
Date: Saturday, October 5
Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Location: Monument Square, Concord MA
Join us for an electrifying performance by Terry Borderline and the Suns. This seven-piece band will perform a set of original songs about freedom, spirituality, nature, and social justice, including an original piece inspired by Thoreau and Garrison. The concert will be followed by a 45-minute Q&A session.
Youth “Upstander” Art Project
Dates: Saturday, October 5
Times: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Location: Monument Square, Concord MA
Presented by the Robbins House, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of Concord’s African, African American, and antislavery history, this art project engages local youth in artmaking and dialogue about freedom and social justice. Explore Concord’s African American history and connect past struggles for equality with modern movements.

Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic
2024-10-02 19:00 - 20:00 | Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Renowned presidential historian and Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, joins us for a conversation on John Adams’ five year-battle to defend the presidency. 1797 wasn’t too different from 2024, with pandemics, battles over immigration and citizenship, legislation to limit free speech, foreign interference in national elections, and contested election results. Dr. Chervinsky’s new book Making the Presidency is the authoritative account of the second president that shows how John Adams’ leadership and legacy defined the office and ensured the survival of the American republic. The ideas and legacy of John Adams’ presidency are ever resonant amid this pivotal election year.
Free for Members | $10 Non-Members | Free Virtual

Colonial Books and Brews
2024-10-01 18:00 - 20:30 | Action Memorial Library, Main Street 486, Acton, Massachusetts, 01720, United States
Join the Acton 250 Committee and the Acton Memorial Library for this 21+ after hours library event featuring the Acton 250’s Isaac Davis Brown Ale from Dirigible Brewing, the Acton Minutemen, colonial music, the unveiling of the new Isaac Davis Plow mural, food and more! Free entry. Merch available for purchase. A portion of ale and store receipts fund Acton 250’s programming.
Funded by the AML Foundation and the Acton Lions Club.

98th Hingham Historic House Tour
2024-09-29 11:00 - 16:00 | Massachusetts
The 98th Hingham Historic House Tour features six private homes once occupied by American Revolutionary War Patriots.
Each of the stunning private homes featured on the tour, as well as the Society’s two House Museums: the Benjamin Lincoln House, and The Old Ordinary, in addition to the Old Ship Meeting House were all built before 1775. The Hingham Historic House tour is one of the longest running house tours in the country. Tickets on sale on Society’s website.

Sudbury Colonial Faire and Muster
2024-09-28 10:00 - 16:00 | Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, 72 Wayside Inn Road, Sudbury, MA, 01776, United States
Thrill to the sights and sounds of early America on the beautiful grounds of historic Longfellow’s Wayside Inn. Dozes of craft booths offer beautiful handmade authentic gift items, while old-time games and farm animals delight the kids. Sample both Colonial and modern food and drink while browsing the history exhibits.

Crown Resistance Day with Mary Fuhrer
2024-09-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Submit Attraction
Historian Mary Fuhrer returns to explore this critical point in Acton history in the next edition of the Acton 250 lecture series. Remote Participation: You can participate in the Q&A using ZOOM http://tinyurl.com/Acton250-ZOOM or watch live at Acton TV http://tinyurl.com/Acton-TV.
Please see https://www.actonma.gov/250 for all programming information and a link to our commemorative store.
What happened in Acton on that fateful day, and why was it considered so momentous? The talk delves into the character of the town and its leading citizens at this time, how and why they responded to the growing crisis with the Crown, and what brought them to the point of revolution. By zooming in to focus on the distinct character of Acton and the personalities of its leading citizens, we will see how important personal convictions and individual actions were in shaping history. Every town’s story was different, and Acton’s story was unique – and inspiring.
Mary Fuhrer is an Acton resident and Ph.D. social historian. For the past 30 years, she has interpreted village life in colonial and early Republic Massachusetts. She has authored two books and numerous articles on daily life and change in small town Massachusetts, presented at history conferences and institutes, and served as a consulting historian to Freedom’s Way, Massachusetts Humanities, and the Massachusetts Historical Society, as well as serving as the co-author of MassMoments.org. She was awarded the Massachusetts History Commendation for her work in public history.
Generously supported by the Acton Lions Club.

Location: Acton Town Hall, Room 204

How to Become Famous with Cass Sunstein
2024-09-24 19:00 - 20:00 | Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
What makes someone who becomes famous, famous? Harvard law professor, public intellectual, and bestselling author Cass Sunstein offers clear and surprising answers in his new book How To Become Famous: Lost Einsteins, Forgotten Superstars, and How the Beatles Came to Be. Using modern data analysis techniques to show the role of accident and serendipity in producing the enduring fame we associate with names like Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Leonardo da Vinci, Jane Austen, and Oprah Winfrey, Professor Sunstein shares why some people rise to the top, and others land with a thud.
Free for Members | $10 Non-Members | Free Virtual

Chelsea 400th Anniversary Parade
2024-09-21 13:00 - 15:00 | Mary O’Malley State Park, Commandants Way, Chelsea, MA, 02150, United States
We welcome you to our annual celebration 3rd Saturday in September. Chelsea Day is a community event with music, live entertainment, street performers and so much more.
This year Chelsea Day will be held September 21.
Rain Date is set for September 22.

Marbleheaders in the Revolution
2024-09-21 11:00 - 2024-09-22 15:00 | Attractions
Learn about Marbleheaders during the Revolutionary War and visit various historic sites in town during this weekend-long event. Pick up a program book and experience Revolutionary War-era Marblehead at various sites in the Historic District. Meet the wife of war hero, James Mugford; explore Fort Sewall with Glover’s Regiment; meet diarist Ashley Bowen portrayed by Donald Friary and experience a loyalist Anglican service at St. Michael’s church; participate in a recreated town meeting and decide whether or not to support the Patriot cause at the Old Town House; visit the Powder House; see the Spirit of ’76 painting; tour the Jeremiah Lee Mansion; and learn about the town’s Tory population at the “King” Hooper Mansion; among other opportunities.

1774 and All That: Reflections on a Long Year of Revolution
2024-09-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, Concord, MA, 01742, United States
Named a best book of the year by The Wall Street Journal, one of the most acclaimed and original colonial historians of our time, Mary Beth Norton, shares her landmark text 1774: The Long Year of Revolution chronicling the changes that occurred from December 1773 to April 1775—from the Boston Tea Party to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Norton captures the tension and drama of this pivotal year in American history and brings it to life as no other historian has done before. Professor Norton will be joined in conversation to bring to life this foundational moment in American history.
Co-sponsored by the Society of Colonial Wars of Massachusetts.

Acton 250 Committee's Isaac Brown Ale Release Party
2024-09-11 15:00 - 23:00 | Submit Attraction
Come join us in celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution! We can’t wait to share our new Colonial Style Brown Ale brewed with molasses.
Food truck: Twizted Pickle; Hand Crafted Sandwiches and Pickle Specialty Food Truck

Concord250 Event: 51 Walden presents: Charles Ives’ “Concord Sonata” Lecture
2024-09-08 14:00 - 16:00 | Attractions
The Board of 51 Walden and the Concord Orchestra are arranging for well-known Canadian pianist Louise Bessette to play Charles Ives’ Concord Sonata at 51 Walden on Sunday afternoon September 8, 2024.
As part of the year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the fight at the Old North Bridge, Canadian pianist Louise Bessette will give a lecture and then perform The Concord Sonata by Charles Ives at The Performing Arts Center at 51 Walden on Sunday, September 8 at 2 p.m. Admission will be free.
The Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass., 1840–60 (commonly known as The Concord Sonata) was composed by Charles Ives in 1915. It is one of Ives’ best-known and most highly regarded pieces. The sonata’s four movements represent figures associated with transcendentalism: Emerson, Hawthorne, The Alcotts, and Thoreau. The opening bars of Beethoven’s Symphony.

History Through The Ages
2024-09-08 10:00 - 15:00, 2024-09-07 10:00 - 16:00 | Attractions
Living History Timeline Exhibition and Encampment Event
Experience the uniforms, equipment, music, and lifestyles of soldiers from the Ancient Roman Legions thru Vietnam eras, encamped on historic Redway Plain! Walk among the camps and time travel through history to experience what life was like during many eras of history all at one event! Various demonstrations, music, & talks throughout the weekend. Come join the party! A family fun and hands-on educational event. Kick off the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution right!

Free event. $5.00 parking donation per carload requested.

Sponsored by the 13th Continental Regiment and the Rehoboth Historical Commission

Dedication Ceremony: Monument to Fallen Crown Soldiers
2024-09-07 10:00 - 11:00 | Submit Attraction
On Saturday, September 7th at 10am in the Old Burying Ground join the Arlington 250th Committee and His Majesty’s 10th Regiment of Foot during the unveiling and commemoration of the memorial to the fallen British soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle of Menotomy on April 19th, 1775.
Welcome
Angela Olszewski
Co-Chair, Arlington 250 Committee
Historical Remarks and Acknowledgements
George Parsons
Chairman, Monument Committee
Arlington Historical Society
Life of a British Soldier in 1775 America
William Rapp, Ph.D
Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Arlington Historical Society
Commemoration of Fallen Comrades and Conclusion
Rain date: September 14th.
