|
|
BostonUSA
SUMMER 2008
|
 | |
|
| Summer in the City
|
| Summer fun and adventure and are just a short distance
away in one of America's truly great cities -
Boston! |
|
The 27th Annual Boston Harborfest, July 1-6,
2008 |
 Join the week-long
celebration as Harborfest showcases the colonial and
maritime heritage of the cradle of the American Revolution,
historic Boston. Harborfest infuses the city with a week of
celebration, spirit and fun. From food lovers to
historians, old salts to young partiots, adventurous tourists
to longtime residents, there is truly something for
everyone.
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 and a complete list of
events. |
| Fourth of July
Celebration |
|
On the 4th of July, the nation looks to
Boston, the city where American history and patiotism
began. The Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, under to
baton of Keith Lockhart, presents rousing renditions of
old-time favorites, patriotic sing-alongs and classical music
just before the sky is set ablaze with fireworks.
|
| SummersDay Revels, June
20-22,2008 |
 Celebrate the first weekend of
summer 2008 at SummersDay Revels, a free
three-day event celebrating Boston's cultural diversity and
the summer season. SummersDay Revels will bring together
children, teens and adults representing the neighborhoods of
Boston who'll perform on multiple stages scattered along Fort
Point Channel before uniting each evening for an exciting
inter-cultural SummersDay Revels performance on the Main Stage
near Boston Children's Museum. Enjoy music and dance from
China, India, Brazil, Ireland, Tibet, Cuba, Africa, the
Caribbean and Eastern Europe and musician David Coffin
and internationally renowned storyteller, Jay O'Callahan, not
to mention a 20-foot sea monster will be featured!
|
| Freedom Trail 50th
Birthday |
 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. Anniversary
highlights include: Copps Hill Bombardment of Bunker
Hill and the Battle of Bunker Hill Parade (June
10,17, 24 & July 1), Boston Harborfest
(July 1-6), 18th Century Garden Tours (July
3-5) and Redcoat Encampment on Boston
Common (Aug. 15-17), when more than 50 tents housing
hundreds of Redcoat re-enactors create a living history
weekend of camp life on Boston Common. Click
here for event details: Freedom Trail
50th.
Click here for Freedom Trail 50th Hotel Packages.
|
| 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. |
| 27th Annual Chowderfest, July 6,
2008 |
 2008 will be the year of the biggest
Chowderfest ever in Boston. Attracting restaurants from
all around metro-Boston to compete for the title of "Boston's
Best Chowder," more than 2,000 gallons of New England's
signature dish will be ladled out to a crowd of over 11,000
enthusiastic chowder-samplers in this fun-filled Boston
tradition. Admission: $10 adults/$7 children under 12.
|
| Scooper Bowl® Ice
Cream Festival, Boston City Hall Plaza, June 10-12,
2008 |
 You screm, I scream, we
all scream... at the 25th annual Scooper
Bowl®. Indulge your taste buds at this
all-you-can-eat ice cream fest hosted by New
England's best ice cream makers. And to top it
off - every scoop you slurp benefits the Jimmy Fund!
|
| Outdoor Dining in
Boston |
 Boston's finest chefs are
cooking up some of your favorite dishes using the freshest
ingredients of the summer. From the fashionable outdoor
cafes on Newbury Street in the Back Bay to lively Faneuil Hall
and the spectacular Boston waterfront, you'll find an array of
outside dining options that will please everyone's palate.
|
| Charles River Friday Night Kayak
& Barbeque |
 Enjoy an evening paddling one
of the most scenic sections of urban river in the country,
followed by some of the best food the area has to offer. We
will start off with an introduction to basic kayaking strokes,
then launch for a guided paddle on the Charles River. While
exploring, your guide will discuss the river's place in Boston
and Cambridge history. Upon return to the docks, we will sit
down for a barbecue picnic catered by local favorite
Redbones.
Click here for more information
or to make reservations. | |
 |
|
|
| Hollywood in Boston this
Summer |
 Visitors can anticipate stars
& Hollywood in Boston this summer: there
are nine (9) movies in production -or anticipated to begin
filming soon in Boston:
·
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 (filming began in March)
·
"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.
·
"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 (filming
April onward).
·
In May, Kevin James's comedy
"Mall Cop" is expected to start filming in Boston.
·
In May, Ricky Gervais's
"This Side of the Truth," a comedy about
a world where no one has ever lied will begin, starring
Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Jeffrey Tambor, Jonah Hill &
John Hodgman .
·
In May, Kate Hudson
is returning to Boston to film another movie, "Bride
Wars," costarring Anne Hathaway.
· In 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 film 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. |
| Festivals & Celebrations
this Summer |
|
 Each of Boston's
festivals, parades and celebrations promises to be bigger this
year!
·
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)
·
42nd Puerto Rican
Festival & Parade (July 26-27)
·
The 94th St.
Agrippina di Mineo Society 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)
·
St. Anthony's North End
Feast Celebration (August 23-24)
·
Click to view: Explore Multicultural Events at a Glance
2008. |
| Performing Arts 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) and 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). The American Repertory Theatre presents the USA
premiere of "Cardenio" (May 10-June
8).
·
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
and exciting "In the Upper Room" (May
15-18).
·
The Huntington
Theatre presents "She Loves Me," a
romantic comedy musical May 16- June 15, 2008 at the Boston
University Theatre and "Ennio!" May 13-June
1, 2008 at the Wimberly Theatre.
·
Boston will present a free two-week outdoor
performance of Shakespeare's "As You Like It" from
July 18-August 3, 2008 on Boston Common by the
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. On August 3, 2008 Celebrate
Shakespeare Day will feature a free afternoon of
activities including backstage tours, workshops and
performances by youth and statewide professional companies.
·
In late April 2008 we
anticipate schedules for five summer music festivals:
Bank of America Pavilion, Hatch Shell Summer Festival,
Tweeter Center Music Festival, South Shore Music Circus &
Landmarks Orchestra Festival. Please check back
for updates.
·
The summer concludes with the 19th Tanglewood Jazz
Festival (August 29-31).
|
| Sports & Outdoors in Boston
this Summer |
 ·
Fenway Park Tours
are offered year round:
adults $12; children $10. The tours provide fans with a
behind-the-scenes look at America's most beloved ballpark,
which includes the
Press Box, State Street Pavilion Box, Red Sox Hall of Fame
Plaques and the oldest seats in Major League History.
·
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. For more details: The Artemis
Transat.
·
The USA Gymnastics 2008 Visa
Championships will be held in Boston, June 5-7,
2008. For tickets of more information: USA Gymnastics.
·
The Boston Lobsters, Boston's newest
professional sports team, a member of the World Team Tennis
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. For more information or to purchase
tickets: NCAA Lacrosse.
·
The New England Major League Soccer
Revolution season begins March 29 at Gillette Stadium with
15 home games through the summer. Click to view: Sports Preview.
·
The 73rd Suffolk Downs
2008 season will begin on May 3, 2008. One of America's
most historic racetracks, consists of 166 acres in East Boston
and Revere, including 65 acres of open space Suffolk Downs is
easily reached by Boston's Blue Line "T" -with its own
stop-Suffolk Downs. The 66th MassCap will be run on Saturday,
September 20, 2008, five weeks prior to the Breeders'
Cup Classic. Click for more information: Suffolk Downs.
|
| Water Tours and
Cruises |
 ·
New 'Codzilla' fast boat cruise on Boston
Harbor: This is a new 40 miles-per-hour entertaining
harbor cruise. The waves will splash as the crew recounts the
legendary tale of how Codzilla came to Boston. This wet and
wild ride is 40 minutes of full blast, sensational fun for the
entire family. May 17-June 27, 2008- four times daily; June
28-Sept. 1, 2008 five times daily.
·
The 125 foot Schooner Liberty
Clipper begins daily sails on June 1, 2008. Docked at the
New England Aquarium, the Liberty Clipper offers three
2-hour sails daily: 12noon, 3:00pm afternoon sail & a
6:00pm sunset sail.
·
Whale Watch Tours this Summer: Visitors
have seven choices for one of the most amazing tours available
during the six-month April through October whale watch tour
season.
·
Boston Lighthouse Harbor Cruises:
five-hour cruises that feature several of America's most
historic lighthouses will be offered by Boston Harbor Cruises
from Long Wharf departing at 10:00am on June 14, July 12 &
19, Aug. 9 & 23, & Sept. 6, 2008. Tours begin in
Boston with passes by Long Island Head Light and Deer Island
Light, and then passes near Boston Light, the oldest
lighthouse station in America. Heading north, the tour will
pass by several sites including Graves Light, Hospital Point
Light, Marblehead Light, Fort Pickering Light, Bakers Island
Light, Eastern Point Light, Ten Pound Island Light,
Straitsmouth Island Light and more. The Northern Lights tour
culminates with a view of Thacher Island, site of the only
still operating twin lighthouses left in the entire
country.
·
Charles Riverboat Tours: Tours begin May
3, 2008 (weekends through June 2); five (5) tours daily June
2-October 2008.
·
Yankee Fleet: after over
30 years at the Cape Ann Marina, the Yankee Fleet is
relocating to downtown Gloucester.
|
| Boston
HarborWalk |
 The new Boston
HarborWalk is Boston's newest visitor attraction; more tours
than ever before including Greenway tours, new culinary
walking tours and a high-speed harbor cruise called
"Codzilla."
The Boston HarborWalk is Boston's newest
public walkway along the waterfront that is 82%
complete. Eventually 47 miles long, the Boston
Harborwalk - easily reached from hotels - features
parks, seating areas, boat ramps, cafes, exhibit areas,
interpretive signage, water transportation facilities
and waterfront museums. The Boston HarborWalk
includes spectacular views from wharves, piers,
bridges, beaches and shorelines from Chelsea Creek (north of
downtown Boston) to the Neponset River (south of downtown
Boston).
The Boston HarborWalk also connects to new and existing
networks of inland trails, which links the HarborWalk to the
Emerald Necklace system, the Charles River Esplanade, the
Freedom Trail, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway. In the future,
the South Bay Harbor Trail will offer visitors a Boston
Waterfront connection to Lower Roxbury, the South End, and
Chinatown neighborhoods. Among the museums along the Boston
HarborWalk include the new ICA contemporary art museum,
the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Museum, the Boston
Children's Museum, the New England Aquarium, the USS
Constitution ship and the USS Constitution Museum. Among the
historic sites is the oldest fortified site in the
USA: Fort Independence at Castle Island. Among the
restaurants & hotels along the Boston HarborWalk are: the
Marriott Long Wharf, InterContinental, Seaport Hotel,
Renaissance Boston Waterfront, Yacht Haven, Marriott Tudor
Wharf, Constitution Inn, the new Regent Battery Wharf Hotel,
Doubletree Bayside, the ICA WaterCafe, Anthony's Pier 4, LTK,
Salvatore's, Morton's, Joe's American Café, Meritage,
Miel "Brasserie Provençale," Oceana, Sel De La Terre,
Legal Seafood's and many more.
Click here for more information and
updates about the HarborWalk
|
| Urban AdvenTours Boston Art
& Architecture Bicycle Tour |
 The new
Urban AdvenTours Boston Art & Architecture Bicycle
Tour showcases the eclectic styles of Boston and the
character and charm of each neighborhood community. Boston has
a unique mix of historic and modern architecture unlike any
other city. This extensive tour, specially designed to show
you the city's public art and captivating architectural
styles, includes: the famous Faneuil Hall marketplace,
Frank Gehry's Ray and Maria Stata Center at MIT,
the Landmark Center - the recently renovated former Sears
warehouse, Historic Fenway Park and the nearby public gardens
of The Fens & the 'Emerald Necklace', the Museum of Fine
Arts (MFA) and the Gardner Museum - two extraordinary
buildings undergoing expansion, housing some of the countries
finest art, the dramatic headquarters of the Christian Science
Center, complemented by I.M. Pei's modern designs, South
Boston's rapidly changing waterfront, including the 'Green
award-winning' Manulife Building, the classical Boston Design
Center and the new Institute of Contemporary Art museum. On
this guided tour, you will also ride on paths created by
American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, see the
Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, the Commonwealth Avenue
Mall and the revamped Seaport District.
Urban AdvenTours also offers a new
'Greening the Greenway Tour' is the best way to explore
the infamous Big Dig and learn about the open space it has
created, the Rose Kennedy Greenway. This $18 billion dollar
project is the largest of its kind in the world, but promises
to leave Boston with a fabulous new green space, changing the
complexion of this historical city forever. This extensive
tour, specifically designed to show you the overall experience
of Boston, includes: historic Fenway Park, the Freedom Trail,
Haymarket (at the Greenway) or another public market for
refreshments, the North End - Boston's oldest residential,
Italian neighborhood and Copley Square, where you'll see
the Boston Public Library & Trinity Church
|
Shaping Up America: JFK,
Sports and The Call to Physical
Fitness Through September
27, 2008 |
|
 This year,
as Boston welcomes back the Boston Red Sox for the start of
the new season, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and
Museum and the Boston Museum of Science invite you to visit
our special exhibits to get geared up for the season. So
grab your peanuts and cracker jacks and head to Boston this
summer for two grand-slam exhibits!
The Boston Museum of Science - one of the worlds largest
science centers - will host Baseball As America from June 15 -
September 1, 2008. Produced by the National Baseball
Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, this
traveling exhibition will feature over 500 artifacts from the
collections in Cooperstown, highlighting the history of the
sport and the ways it reflects and sometimes shapes American
society. A special local Boston case will also feature a
number of items specific to Red Sox achievements, as well as
other Boston items.
Visit "Shaping Up America: JFK, Sports and the Call to
Physical Fitness" at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum
through September 1, 2008. As President, John Kennedy used his
love of sports and athletics as a springboard to address the
nation's declining physical fitness. He re-invigorated the
President's Council on Physical Fitness and encouraged
Americans to take physical fitness seriously. The effort, associated with
the future health and competitive readiness of America,
was seen as very much part of the "New Frontier." Among the
items being displayed in this special temporary exhibit are
President Kennedy's VIP National League and American League
baseball park passes and the baseball thrown out by President
Kennedy at the 1962 opening day game between the Washington
Senators and Detroit Tigers.
|
|
1. "The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts:
Celebrating 275 Years of Brotherhood"
National Heritage Museum, Through September
1, 2008 |
Celebrating
its 275th anniversary this year, the Grand Lodge is
the oldest Masonic
jurisdiction in the western hemisphere. On July 30,
1733, Henry Price, the Provincial Grand Master of North
America, constituted the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in
Boston This exhibition will trace the history of the state's
Masonic governing body, which grants charters, undertakes
charitable activities, and standardizes Masonic rituals and
customs throughout its jurisdiction. Among its members, have
been Revolutionary War heroes Paul Revere and Joseph Warren,
sports commentator Curt Gowdy and former pro football player
Russ Francis.
For more information and to view
exhibit images, click
here. |
Sea Creatures in Glass
Harvard Museum of Natural History: Runs through
January 4,
2009 |
|
Many years before they were commissioned by Harvard
University to make the "Glass Flowers," father and son artists
Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka meticulously shaped glass and
wire into lifelike models of marine animals.
Renowned for their beauty and exacting detail, the Blaschka
marine invertebrate models were commissioned by universities
and museums throughout world during the 19th century. This new
exhibition features 60 of these spectacular glass animals -
some never before on public display - taken from Harvard's
collection of over 400 models. Delicate jellyfish and
anemones, tentacled squid, bizarre sea slugs (nudibranchs),
and other soft-bodied sea creatures captured in glass are a
sparkling testament to the Blaschka legacy. Combined
with video, real scientific specimens, a recreation of the
Blaschka's studio and a rich assortment of memorabilia, these
invertebrate models offer intriguing insights into the
history, personality and artistry of the extraordinary men who
created them. |
|
"Stage Idols, Japanese Kabuki
Theater"
runs through January 25, 2009 at the Peabody Essex
Museum |
|
With
its dramatic storylines, lush costumes and celebrity actors,
kabuki was the ideal subject for Japanese print designers.
Stage
Idols, Japanese Kabuki Theater
features a stunning selection of woodblock prints from PEM's
collection, many of which are on view for the first
time.
The exhibition features a rotating selection of over forty
19th-century prints - including works by famed print designer
Utagawa Kunisada - as well as rare kabuki-related objects,
such as costumes, photographs and sign-boards. Curated by
Midori Oka, PEM curator of Japanese art and culture,
Stage
Idols
opens Feb. 2, 2008, and runs through Jan. 25, 2009.
Click
here for more information.
|
|
El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of
Philip III at the Museum of
Fine Arts, Through July 27,
2008 |
|
 This
groundbreaking exhibition examines a fascinating period
(1598-1621) bookended by the two giants of Spanish painting:
the late works of El Greco and the early paintings of
Velázquez. Discover the masterpieces of Philip III's court and
the artists who flourished in his reign in this magnificent
show of still lifes, religous paintings and portraits. The art
produced at and for the court reflected this style, replacing
the austere, relatively uninspired art created under Philip II
with the more naturalistic and emotionally expressive art that
became the hallmark of Philip III's reign. "El Greco to
Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III" features
paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts-including a partial
recreation of the camarín of the Duke of Lerma, possibly the
most important non-royal collector in Europe at the time and
the favorite of Philip III-organized around themes such as
portraiture, religion and the court, and still life and the
birth of naturalism.
Please click here for more
information. |
Wedded Bliss: The Marriage of Art and Ceremony
Peabody
Essex Museum, April 26, 2008 through Feb. 1,
2009 |
 This ambitious exhibition explores the wedding
as impetus for the creation of art in cultures around the
world. Approximately 130 objects from the United States,
Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific are showcased for a
unique look at the complex beliefs and emotions surrounding
the matrimonial experience. Works spanning three centuries,
from the 18th century to the present, reveal the diversity of
creative response inspired by weddings as well as changing
attitudes and customs over time.
 The
exhibition features objects in a wide range of media -
including paintings, sculpture, photography, film, ceramics,
and clothing - by over 50 major artists, designers and
craftspeople. Works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc
Chagall, Winslow Homer, Benjamin West, William Hogarth, Cecily
Brown, Claes Oldenburg and Jacob Lawrence are presented
alongside an extraordinary array of objects created for
wedding rituals. These include historic and couture gowns,
ceremonial items, and rare jewelry - ranging from Tiffany
& Company's one-of-a-kind creations to the diamond nuptial
crown of Alexandra, the last Russian empress. | | |
