Contents of What’s New in BostonUSA? 2008-2012
What’s New in 2008 ?
What’s New in 2009 ?
What’s New in 2010 ?
What’s New in 2011-2012 ?
1. Museums BostonUSA this Summer: Boston will open five (5) major exhibitions this summer ranging from the rich baseball heritage of America (500 artifacts from the Cooperstown Hall of Fame) to turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau jewelry (more than 120 designer objects). "Anish Kapoor, Sculptor "exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, May 30-September 1, 2008; “Baseball as America” exhibition Museum of Science June 15-September 1, 2008; “Luisa Rabbia” exhibition Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, June 27-September 28, 2008; “Art Nouveau Jewelry” Museum of Fine Arts July 23 – November 9, 2008; "Nicolas Hlobo" exhibition Institute of Contemporary Art July 30-October 26, 2008. Visitors can view twenty (20) different exhibitions this summer (15 others open before May 2008) Click here for details: Click to view: Museum Exhibitions
2. Performing Arts BostonUSA this Summer: Boston’s summer performing arts season will feature major concerts by Celine Dion (Aug. 12), Kenny Chesney (July 26) , Roger Waters (July 9), Natalie Grant (July 25-26), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (June 13) , Dave Brubeck (June 13 & 14), Jethro Tull 40th Anniversary Tour (Aug. 4) as well as theatre and annual music festivals (Bank of America Pavilion, Boston’s Hatch Shell, Boston City Hall Plaza series). The 123rd Boston Pops (May 7-July 2) will feature Dizzy Gillespie (June 21-22,) and Arturo Sandoval (June 10-11). American Repertory Theatre presents the USA premiere of “Cardenio” (May 10-June 8) and the Boston Ballet presents three celebrated works by three master choreographers: George Balanchine’s elegant, luminous “Concerto Barocco,” Antony Tudor’s profoundly moving “Dark Elegies,” and Twyla Tharp’s explosive, exciting “In the Upper Room”( May 15-18). The summer concludes with the 19th Tanglewood Jazz Festival (August 29-31). Details: Click to view: BostonUSA! Cultural Insider 2008 Edition.
3. Airport /Air/Rail service news: Logan International sets passenger record; 2007 Boston airport record: Logan served 28.1 million passengers in 2007 surpassing the record 27.72 million passengers it handled in 2000 (375,167 more passengers). Summer 2007 volume - a record 8 million passengers, eclipsed the Summer 2000 record of 7.8 million passengers….Boston Logan International Airport’s newest and greenest terminal. Terminal A is the world’s first LEED certified airport terminal…. online ‘Wayfinder’ big success Logan International Airport has established Airport Wayfinder™, the animated visual information program uses the latest Internet streaming video technologies to welcome and orient passengers to Boston Logan in both English and Spanish on its website….;..In November 2007 Continental Airlines has moved to Terminal A…more news from MASSPORT about Logan & CruisePort Boston: click here: MASSPORT: About Massport: Pressroom
4. Hollywood In BostonUSA this Summer: Throughout 2008 Hollywood will continue its record-breaking film production in Boston. Now filming the next Martin Scorsese Boston-set-and-filmed movie “Ashecliffe” (based on ”Shutter Island” by local author Dennis Lehane (Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone) will star Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kinsley. “The Surrogates” the upcoming Disney movie starring Bruce Willis is now in pre-production. Shooting will begin in April all over Boston and the surrounding towns. Hyde Park and Easton, MA were among many scouted locations. Underway: "The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," which stars Jennifer Garner & Matthew McConaughey and a cast that includes Anne Archer, Michael Douglas, Emma Stone, and Lacey Chabert will begin. Kevin James's comedy "Mall Cop" is expected to start filming in Boston in May. Also in late April/May Kate Hudson is returning to Boston to film another movie, "Bride Wars," costarring Anne Hathaway. In April/May/June "Sexual Healing," which chronicles the last years of singer Marvin Gaye’s life, will star James Gandolfini and Jesse L. Martin; the film will also include Los Angeles & Belgium. "The Proposal," starring Sandra Bullock & Ryan Reynolds, is anticipated to shoot north of Boston in May. Late this summer/fall "The Fighter," the big-budget movie about "Irish" Micky Ward starring Mark Wahlberg & Brad Pitt will film northwest of Boston in Lowell. 9. BostonUSA & Hollywood news: Steve Martin “Pink Panther II, “ “21” Kevin Spacey, “Bachelor No. 2” filming completed; Cameron Diaz “The Box” & Morgan Freeman “Lonely Maiden” now in Boston filming
In 2007 Boston & Massachusetts Became one of America’s most popular cities & regions to film movies The new movie “21” starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne, was filmed in several locations ranging from Chinatown to the Mass. Ave bridge based on the true story of MIT students who made millions of dollars by counting cards playing blackjack in Las Vegas. Completed in 2007- out later this year: "The Women" starring Meg Ryan and Annette Bening; The Steve Martin movie "Pink Panther 2," 'Bachelor No. 2'"The Great Debaters," the Denzel Washington-directed movie .Currently being filmed in Boston: Cameron Diaz "The Box" and William H. Macy, Morgan Freeman, and Christopher Walken "The Lonely Maiden." If your readers, viewers, listeners, clients are movie buffs- Boston Movie Tours offers visitors an opportunity to experience Boston's movie magic by visiting filming hotspots made famous by your favorite TV shows and movies. Learn behind-the-scenes trivia and insider gossip about Good Will Hunting, The Departed, Ally McBeal , Mystic River, Cheers and many more. The most filmed part of Boston, the Boston Movie Mile, includes more than 30 filming locations.
5. Festivals & Celebrations BostonUSA this Summer: Each of Boston’s festivals, parades and celebrations promises to be bigger this year: The six-day 26th Boston Harborfest (July 1-6) & the Boston July 4th Celebration, 29th Dragon Boat Festival (June 7), 38th Gay Pride Parade & Festival (June 14), the Bunker Hill/ Charlestown Parade (June 15), 33rd Boston Bastille Day Celebration (July 11) 13th Italia Unita Festival (July 12-13), Bastille Day in Cambridge (July 13) , 35th Festival Betances (July 19-20) , the 42nd Puerto Rican Festival & Parade (July 26-27 tentative), the 94th St. Agrippina di Mineo Society Feast Celebration (August 2-3), 18th Irish Festival ( Aug. 8-10 tentative) 93rd Madonna Della Cava North End Feast Celebration (August 8-10), Boston’s Chinatown August Moon Festival, (Aug. 10,) 35th Caribbean Carnival Parade & Festival (August 23 tentative) Caribbean Carnival, St. Anthony’s North End Feast Celebration (August 23-24), Summer Revels (June 21-22), a two-day multicultural food and music kickoff to summer at Fort Point Channel, near Boston Children’s Museum. Click to view: Explore Multicultural Events at a Glance 2008.
6. Cool for Kids BostonUSA this Summer: Family visitors this summer can celebrate the 50th birthday of the Freedom Trail (50 events including a British Encampment on the Boston Common) or take a high-speed ferry to Georges Island, one of 34 islands lying within Boston Harbor that make up the Boston Harbor Island National Park, and start island hopping. There are free activities for families all summer long.
· Click here for event details: Freedom Trail 50th.
· Click here for Freedom Trail 50th Hotel Packages
· Click here for Free Family Fun Days on the Boston Harbor Islands
7. Sports & Outdoors BostonUSA this Summer & Beyond: Transatlantic Races, Lacrosse, Professional tennis, and Boston HarborWalk & Boston Harbor Islands: In 2009 Boston hosts the Tall Ships in July and the Volvo Ocean Race in May, both of which originate in Spain. This year Boston hosts the finish of the 2,800-mile transatlantic sailing race the Artemis Transat, originally called the Ostar. Starting May 11, 2008 from Plymouth (UK), the race will finish in Boston on May 28, 2008. Details: www.theartemistransat.com. The race is followed by the USA Gymnastics 2008 Visa Championships Boston, June 5-7, 2008. The Boston Lobsters, Boston's newest professional sports team, a member of the World TeamTennis will announce their schedule and venue soon. Click here for details: Boston Lobsters LLC. The 2008 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championships May 24-26,2008 features championships in Divisions I, II and III, the only NCAA championship that involves all three divisions at one site. The New England MLS Revolution season begins March 29 at Gillette Stadium with 15 home games through the summer. …Boston- the birthplace of field hockey in the United States - will host the 2009 BDO Women’s Junior World Cup, Aug. 4-16, 2009. The 16-team Junior World Cup will be held at Harvard University where English physical education teacher Constance Applebee first introduced the game of field hockey to the United States in 1901… Now open at Fenway Park: 800 new seats in the expanded State Street Pavilion and in the "Standing Room Corner" near the left-field foul pole. The opening of the Bleacher Bar & Grill, a year-round restaurant in center field. America’s oldest urban ballpark, Fenway's capacity is now almost 37,000. ….. Cooperstown Comes To Boston: For ten weeks beginning June 15, 2008 Baseball As America, a blockbuster exhibition, at the Museum of Science Boston will showcase the treasures of the Hall of Fame from their legendary home in Cooperstown. Baseball As America is a national celebration of America's romance with baseball and is a once-in-a-lifetime venture. The exhibition includes approximately 500 of the Museum's most precious artifacts, dating from baseball's early roots in the 19th century to today, ranging from uniforms, balls, bats and gloves, to books, recordings, artworks and films, to historic documents, advertising and ephemera. Among the highlights of the exhibition are The Game's most sacred relic, the Doubleday Ball, from baseball's mythic first game in 1839; Jackie Robinson's 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey; a variety of artifacts from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League; record-setting bats from the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa home run chase of 1998, as well as those of Babe Ruth (home run #60 in 1927) and Roger Maris (home run #61 in 1961); FDR's January 15, 1942 "Green Light" letter calling for the continuation of professional baseball as a way to heighten morale during World War II; Norman Rockwell's 1949 painting The Three Umpires; the "Wonder Boy" bat from the movie The Natural; a 1908 Thomas Edison recording of "Casey at the Bat,” "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's shoes; and the most valuable baseball card in the world, the T206 Honus Wagner.
Click to view: Sports Preview
Outdoors this Summer: Boston Harbor Walk is Boston’s newest public walkway along the waterfront - 82% of its 47-miles of paths are complete – featuring parks, seating areas, boat ramps, cafes, exhibit areas, interpretive signage, water transportation facilities, waterfront museums. Visitors can enjoy spectacular views of the Harbor and so much more. For more information visit www.bostonharborwalk.com
8. Food & Wine BostonUSA this Summer: The biggest-ever Summer Restaurant Week Boston® August 10-15 & August 17-22, 2008. The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau and American Express present Restaurant Week Boston® which, as a result of its popularity, is now two weeks long. The offer is incredible: 3-course lunches for $20.08 and/or 3-course dinners for $33.08 at more than 200 restaurants in Boston, Cambridge, the suburbs and beyond. The website for complete list, menus and reservations goes ‘live’ in July, 2008. Click here for current offers: www.bostonusa.com/restaurantweek. The biggest Chowderfest ever on Boston City Hall Plaza is set for Sunday July 6, 2008. For more information, please visit our BostonUSA Culinary Events & Tours Page.
9. New hotel, hotel restorations & renovations, & hotel packages news: Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel: The new 21-floor, 456- room, Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel, opened on Feb. 18, 2008. The newest addition to Boston Harbor, the hotel’s new landmark restaurant- is legendary chef Michael Schlow’s (Radius, Via Matta) new restaurant 606 Congress……. Chef Lydia Shire's restaurant Scampo -Italian cuisine in the new Liberty Hotel is set to open in March 2008; the hotel’s Clink & Alibi are now open… Colonnade $18 million transformation; Copley Sq. Hotel $14 million renovation; Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel will open in February 2008. The Colonnade Hotel is engaged in an $18-million redesign by Alexandra Champalimaud & Associates, slated for completion this Spring. The transformation includes renovation of all guestrooms, suites and public spaces, resulting in a new look, sophistication and comfort level that places a high priority on environmental sustainability. The 143-room Copley Square Hotel has closed for a $14 million renovation; scheduled to re open late Spring ’08 as a contemporary, four-star boutique hotel. Throughout the renovation the popular nightclub, Saint will remain open; in February the fine dining Domani Bar & Trattoria will reopen; a new casual restaurant XHALE will open in late Spring. …Hotel Packages & Promotions BostonUSA this Summer: July 4th Packages: Over the years, Boston Harborfest has grown from a local event to a national celebration. In 1982 there were 35 activities over the course of three days. Now in its 27th year, Harborfest is considered to be the largest patriotic celebration in the nation with visitors enjoying more than 200 activities during the Festival. Click here for more details. Harborfest and 4th of July Hotel Packages coming soon to www.bostonusa.com / Hotel Packages.
10. BostonUSA Green Visitor Program: D2E Down to Earth Expo; Boston US GreenBuild announces theme and keynote speaker
The American Institute of Architects National Convention and Design Exposition May 15-17, 2008 www.aiaconvention.com the US Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Boston November 19-21, 2008 (http://www.greenbuildexpo.org) has announced that in honor of Boston, the home to innovations that have far-reaching impact. The theme will be “Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability.” The keynote speaker will be Archbishop Desmond Tutu….This Summer: Car Free to Boston Harbor Islands. Minutes from downtown Boston by fast ferry the Boston Harbor Islands offer countless opportunities for visitors to participate in recreational activities such as hiking, camping, swimming, and fishing, along with touring historical sites, observing wildlife, and even enjoying a relaxing picnic lunch amid the spectacular scenery. For more information visit www.bostonharborislands.com. Click to view: BostonUSA Green Visitors Program.
11. New BostonUSA Tours: PBS TV Boston WGBH TV initiates new tour for public /groups; Boston By Foot offers Kennedy Greenway Tour; Chocolate Trolley Tour, Chinatown Culinary Tour success. PBS TV Boston WGBH TV, the home of “NOVA, American Experience, Antiques Road Show, This Old House, Arthur - WGBH TV now offers a free behind the scenes 45–minute tour of WGBH's new all–digital studios in Boston's Brighton neighborhood. Details: WGBH Studio Tours. The Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau is in the midst of launching a dedicated mini site for BostonUSA Culinary tour options. Both annual and new tours are increasing in popularity. A sampling: the new Chinatown culinary tour details: Boston, MA Chinatown Walking Culinary Food Tasting and Cultural. The ten-year-old Chocolate tour: Details: Boston Chocolate Trolley Tour. The Boston By Foot organization, which has offered walking tours for 32 years will offer a new Rose Kennedy Greenway narrated tour : the tour will be offered Memorial Day Weekend on Sunday, May 25, 2008 from 10 am to noon and again on Saturday, July 5. The tour meets at Boston’s North Station and tells the story of the celebrated mile-long public works project, the biggest in USA history, the ideas behind each of the three major parks within the Greenway, namely the North End, the Wharf District, and the Chinatown Park. during Boston Harborfest on Sunday July 5, 2008. Details www.bostonbyfoot.com. The tour may be offered daily in the future. The six-day July 1-5, 2008 Boston Harborfest will offer more than 30 different tours - from the Greenway to Harbor Islands. Details on the festival: BostonHarborfest
12. Boston’s Holiday Season 2008 & Boston’s November2008-March 2009 Shopping Season : The Boston 2008 Holiday Season begins with the Boston Christmas Festival at the World Trade Center, & the 49th Ellis Antiques Show Boston Park Plaza Castle November 1-2; the Faneuil Hall Lighting Ceremony, November 15; Merry Tuba Christmas, Faneuil Hall, November 29; the Boston Common Holiday Lighting, December 2; the Boston Ballet Nutcracker nightly performances on November 28; the 34th Holiday Pops at Boston Symphony December 8 - 31, 2008 & FIRST NIGHT 2009 on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008…Boston’s 5-month Shopping Season 2008 begins on Friday November 28, 2008 (Super Friday-the day after the American Thanksgiving Day) when shops extend their hours from early morning to late night through New Year's Day 2009 (Thursday). Sales continue through March 29, 2009 with major shopping sales during the Dec 26-Dec. 31 period, ; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Weekend Jan. 16-19; Valentine's Weekend- Presidents' Weekend Feb 13-16; Presidents/School Vacation Week Feb. 16-22,: St. Patrick's Weekend March 13-15-17, 2009.
What’s New in 2009 ?
2009 will be the Year of the Harbor & Charles River
· Two new hotels will open: the “W” Theatre District Hotel & the Ames Hotel on State Street
· Newest Apple Store in America will be open : on Boston’s Back Bay Boylston Street
· 40th birthday of the New England Aquarium on Boston’s downtown waterfront
· New Boston House of Blues 2500-person capacity two level 50,000 sq ft next to Fenway Park
· Eight new filmed-in-Boston movies will be released internationally - from Martin Scorsese movies to Brad Pitt & Mark Wahlberg film
· The Tea Party Ship will feature three complete ship replicas & museum complex on Boston waterfront
· Tall Ships 2009 - the biggest ever- July 8-13, 2009
· The 44-mile new Walk-along-the Boston Harborfront- will be complete
· The transatlantic Volvo Ocean Challenge Race will berth in Boston for 10 days in May 2009
· 30th birthday of the dramatic I. M. Pei designed John F. Kennedy Library Museum will celebrate its birthday in October 2009
· The New England Aquarium will open its new $3 million Marine Mammals permanent exhibition
· The Museum of Science will open its new $2 million “Hall of Human Life”permanent exhibition
· Cruise ship tours will increase from Boston for 5th year in a row; Costa Cruises will begin service
· The new Gillette Stadium Patriot Place attractions will open: The Hall at Patriot Place a unique museum of the Patriots & the SuperBowl.
· The 30th Cambridge River Festival- its largest-ever- will be held in June 2009
· The new Charles River SkatePark - the largest on East Coast USA - will be half completed
· The Museum of Fine Arts will present “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese : Rivals in Renaissance Venice” exhibition March 15-July 19, 2009
· Increase inner Boston Harbor service will increase- direct service to Marina Bay likely
· Boston, the birthplace of field hockey in the United States - will host the 2009 BDO Women’s Junior World Cup, Aug. 4-16, 2009. The 16-team Junior World Cup will be held at Harvard University where English physical education teacher Constance Applebee first introduced the game of field hockey to the USA in 1901
· Boston will host the 2009 Men’s Lacrosse Championships in May 2009
· Boston will host the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in August
· $1 billion Harvard University Life Sciences complex under construction; South Station Tower; Fan Pier $3 billion Seaport project construction;
· 20th birthday of Chocolate Bar at Langham Boston Hotel
· Boston will host the 2009 ACC Baseball Championships, Fenway Park, May 18-24, 2009
· Boston will host several major international medical congresses: American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Heart Rhythm Society, American Transplant Congress, International Atherosclerosis Society -Triennial, the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, American Academy of Dermatology, XIVth World Congress of Neurological Surgery,American Academy of Period ontology, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Association for Study of Liver Disease, Association of American Medical Colleges, and several others.
What’s New in 2010 ?
2010 will be the Year of Boston’s Cultural Landmarks in the Fenway
· Two new hotels in the Seaport District will open: a new hotel at Fan Pier and a new hotel on Congress Street
· The $450 million Museum of Fine Arts Americas Wing Opens
· The new Waterside Place shopping distance opposite the BCEC Convention Center will open in late 2010-early 2011
· The Boston Pops turns 125! Adolf Neuendorff directed the first Promenade Concert, the original name of the Pops, on July 11 at the old Boston Music Hall in downtown Boston
What’s New in 2011-2012 ?
· In 2011 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - originally ‘Boston Tech’ in Boston’s Copley Square- will celebrate its 150th Birthday..
· In 2012 , designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the New Center will open , a stunning landmark on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, across from the iconic arch of Rowe's Warf. When completed in 2012, its presence will contribute to the rejuvenation of downtown Boston and to the reclamation of its magnificent waterfront for cultural and public use. The New Center will honor our remarkably diverse city, where young people and adults from many nations speak countless languages and dialogues, affording future generations' experiences that render them more tolerant, more appreciative and more engaged with the world around them.
· In 2012 , Boston will celebrate the Centennial of Fenway Park- America’s oldest ballpark.