The historic tour of Willowdale Estate covers historic background, context and conversation about the Arts & Crafts style mansion. Here is your chance to go inside the Willowdale Mansion (willowdaleestate.com) for a unique guided tour. Now an event and wedding venue, this over 100 years-old Arts and Crafts style home has been beautifully restored. The second floor is not accessible. Best for ages 8 years & up.
Stop by Gloucester’s new weekly farmers market, the Backyard Growcery, managed by Backyard Growers. The Backyard Growcery is located at Burnham's Field, an urban park near Gloucester’s thriving waterfront, and features small-scale North Shore farmers, bakers, a seafood vendor, an artisanal pizza maker, and more, throughout the season.
Come for a stroll with the Park Interpreter along various trails throughout the park, with special interest points noted. Hike is of moderate difficulty, about 2 miles. This is best for ages 8 years and up. Meet at the Main Parking Lot, 40 Asbury St., Topsfield.
As part of COASTSWEEP Beach Cleanup, volunteers are encouraged to come to Stage Fort Park to help in the statewide effort to keep our coastline clean along the shore in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Trash collected will be measured and analyzed, and the data will be sent to Washington DC to aid the government in creating legislation to minimize trash in our oceans!
Maritime Gloucester is hosting their annual Heritage Day in honor of the Gloucester Schooner Festival 2024. Step aboard a schooner, learn about traditional shipbuilding and fitting out, watch America’s oldest marine railway in action, or explore the unique biology that makes our oceans so amazing. You can find it all at Maritime Heritage Day! Maritime Gloucester will be hosting a variety of local community organizations with an exciting array of demonstrations and interactive options for all ages.
The Gloucester Schooner Festival is a wonderful celebration of Gloucester's fishing and maritime history during labor day weekend. This year's festival, hosted by Maritime Gloucester, is Gloucester’s major marine event, with participating vessels coming from ports along the Eastern seaboard and beyond. There will be both large and small vessels—ranging from 19 feet to over 100 feet in length. You will see new boats and old boats, from newly built (Ardelle - launched 2011) to over 100 years old!
Climb aboard Naumkeag, Essex Heritage’s landing craft for a trip to Bakers Island Light Station. Enjoy a 30-minute cruise from Salem past rugged coastline, harbor islands, and five lighthouses to Bakers Island. The light station is a 10-acre property that has been in use aiding in maritime navigation for almost 250 years. The site features an 1820 light tower, two keepers houses, and historic trails. During your visit you will have the chance to explore the natural landscape, learn about the history of the light station, and relax on the island setting.
Discover our special barnyard animals! Our Angora rabbits Violet, Mabel, Oiver and Charles; Nubian goats Maeve, Morgana, and Mordred; dairy cows Gray, Jasmine, their calves Gigi and Joanie and our friendly flock of heritage chickens will take center stage as we learn about what makes them so unique.
The Rockport Farmers Market offers a variety of locally-grown produce, hand-crafted products, baked goods, and live music. It provides a community space to support local farmers and artisans.
Every week, we will highlight a different ocean animal that lives in our aquarium and can be found in and around Gloucester. Learn some interesting fun facts about the creature as you get up and close and personal through a meet and greet and a take-home craft. For kids aged 4-8.
Enjoy a self-guided walking tour of the 25th Annual Outdoor Sculpture at Maudslay Exhibit September 8-29 featuring 50 site specific sculptures by local artists addressing this year’s theme, ‘Thread' within the magnificence of Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. Look for the large green trail head...
Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development.
Classes are 45 minutes...
Maudslay State Park has created this program for their youngest crowd! For the young set that loves nature, the park interpreter will lead a three-part preschool aged program that includes a story, craft & walk that involves outdoor exploration. A different nature topic each week so come every...
Essex Hertiage invites you to learn the true causes and events behind the Salem Witch Trials in our documentary film, then discover the myths during our walking tour. The Salem Witch Trials happened over 300 years ago, and it has been dramatized in books, documentaries, movies, and even TV shows....
Explore the Nature Center at your leisure. The Park Interpreter will be on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. Come see and touch animal furs, replica skulls, animal models, and other natural history materials. For little artists, coloring pages and washable markers will be on hand.
Join the National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a tour of the colonial industrial site. On select days, you may be able to stick around and witness pop-up molten iron pour, blacksmithing, waterwheel demonstrations, and take part in hands-on river stewardship activities.
The 15th Happy as a Clam 5k Race, Walk and Fun Dashes - powered by Great Marsh Brew Co, our exclusive Flagship Sponsor - is Friday, September 15, 2023! This event is open to anyone who wants to support a community school and all the wonderful enrichment programs the students hope to enjoy...
Families are invited to the Beverly Regional Airport for a weekend of fun! Come for an action-packed day featuring six amazing live performers, remote control aircraft displays, and static and military aircraft exhibits. Watch skydivers at noon and enjoy a variety of food trucks on site. Take a...
Halibut Point State Park is also a granite quarry with a history that goes back billions of years! Over one hundred years ago, the Rockport Granite Company quarried granite stone here.
The Trustees of Reservations invite you to join our expert guides for a tour around Long Hill’s stunning Sedgwick Gardens and learn more about the special plants it’s most known for. In addition to learning about what plants are in bloom as well as the rare and unique species in our collection, you...
Come to Marini Farm for a group hike through the forest to White Farms for an optional ice cream. The group will hike the same route back. Approximately two hours.
Essex Hertiage invites you to learn the true causes and events behind the Salem Witch Trials in our documentary film, then discover the myths during our walking tour. The Salem Witch Trials happened over 300 years ago, and it has been dramatized in books, documentaries, movies, and even TV shows....
Join us for our Annual Fall Celebration at Appleton – Farm Days! Spend the afternoon exploring the farm, listening to music, enjoying great food & beer, hiking our trails, entertaining the kids and more. Please Note: Tickets are per vehicle, not per person, and include access to the farm and...
PlumFest is a non-profit volunteer-run organization incorporated as a Charitable Foundation to bring local musicians, island residents and visitors together to showcase the natural beauty and artistry that make Plum Island such a special place. As an early participant in the “porch-fest” movement...
Join the Amesbury Carriage Museum & Industrial History Center for a family-friendly open house about all things automobiles! Amesbury, known as “carriage town,” also had a thriving early automobile industry.
Enter a world of early 20th-century country elegance and contemporary garden design all in bloom at Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens. These expansive manicured gardens boast both plentiful European-inspired flower beds as designed in the 1920s, as well as newly installed gardens featuring...