Food

Essex Clam Fest 2024

Enjoy food, live music and all kinds of family fun at the Essex Clam Fest! Photo: An order of steamed clams from Woodman's of Essex

Join us for the 39th Annual Essex ClamFest and Arts & Crafts Festival, from 11 am to 4 pm in Shepard Memorial Park in Essex. Although the highlight of the day is the Chowder Tasting Competition (Come taste Cape Ann’s finest chowders from Noon to 1 pm and vote for your favorite!) there is also a great variety of family-friendly activities, including arts and crafts vendors, live entertainment, live reptile and kid's games, live Police K-9 Demo (11am) and plenty of food vendors on-site! 

When: 
Saturday, October 26, 2024 11am - 4pm
Chowder Tasting Noon-1pm

School Vacation Week Fun in Salisbury!

Seaglass Restaurant, Joes Playland Arcade and the Salisbury Beach Carousel team up to bring affordable vacation week fun to North Shore Massachusetts families!

Seaglass Restaurant, Joes Playland Arcade and the Salisbury Beach Carousel team up to bring affordable vacation week fun to North Shore Massachusetts families!

Dine at Seaglass Restaurant, buy the Seaglass Kids Lunch Deal and receive a Free Ocean Activity Booklet, a $5 Joe's Playland Arcade Gift Card and a ticket to Ride the Salisbury Beach Carousel. For kids aged 12 and under.

When: 
Monday-Friday, February 19-March 1, 2024 11:30am-3pm

12th Annual White Ribbon Event

Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center hosts the 12th Annual White Ribbon Event at the Andover Country Club

Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center is excited to announce our 12th annual White Ribbon event, Pledge for Change. We invite the members of our communities to gather together and pledge their support to end gender-based violence. This evening event will raise critically needed funds for our Youth Empowerment Services (YES). The Center’s YES programs work to foster healthy, safe and equitable relationships for youth, and help them thrive through meaningful connections in safer communities.

When: 
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 6-10pm

Flatbread Fundraiser Pizza Night | Amesbury Library

Friends of the Amesbury Public Library teams up with Georgetown Flatbread Company to raise funds!

Come to Flatbread Pizza - Georgetown for great wood-fired, home-made flatbread pizza and help the Friends of the Amesbury Public Library raise funds for their programs! A portion of all pizza sales will be donated to the Friends. Dine in or take-out, join us for our Friends' Flatbread Fundraiser and 50/50 raffle!

When: 
Tuesday, January 30, 2024 5-9pm

Nature Playgroup at Appleton Farms

Come to Appleton Farms in Ipswich Massachusetts for a nature playgroup for toddlers

To encourage outdoor play and familiarity with the natural world, a nature-based toddler play group will be held at Appleton Farms every Wednesday. Come to one or all of the sessions, explore the fields and forest, and imagine hidden worlds beneath our feet and above our heads. Children and their caregivers will peek under rocks, inspect tree bark for hiding bugs, jump in puddles, and have fun together in the fields, forests, and ponds. Recommended for ages 2-5; babies in backpacks are welcome.

When: 
Wednesday through December 20, 2023 10-11am
Location: 

Annual Cookie Walk at Rowley Library

Rowley Public Library celebrates the Holidays with a cookie walk!

What is a Cookie Walk? This is a fundraiser where we sell homemade cookies by the tin. We ask enthusiastic bakers donate batches of their favorite Holiday cookies (about 3 dozen) to donate for the walk. The day of the cookie walk a festively decorated community room at the library awaits you with large platters of donated cookies. Shoppers choose one of two decorative tins (3 inches tall for $15, 4 inches tall for $20) and walk around the tables and fill their cookie tins. Get a huge variety of holiday cookies without baking them all yourself!

When: 
Saturday, December 16, 2023 10am-1pm

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Landmark Summer Experience at Landmark School in Beverly Massachusetts

Babson Farm Quarry Self-guided Walking Tour at Halibut Point

Kids will enjoy this tour of the Halibut Point State Park and Quarry with a focus on its stone-cutting history!
Take a self guided tour at one of Massachusetts most beautiful locations!
7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works Park Grounds & Estuary Walk

Take a hike along the Saugus River Estuary ande explore the Saugus Iron Works Park grounds in Massachusetts
Learn about the natural world in Saugus while ecploring the park ground ast the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site in Massachusetts.
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Trails & Sails

Explore the North Shore with over 150 Free Events in Essex National Heritage Area's Trails & Sails celebration in Massachusetts.
Essex National Heritage Area sites will offer over 150 free family fun events from September 14-29, 2024 for the annual celebration of TRAILS & SAILS. Discover special places in your backyard and be guided through unique landscapes on land and sea, explore historic properties, and take in...
7:00 am to 10:00 pm

Maudslay in Bloom Self-Guided Walk

 Maudslay in Bloom self guided walk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts.
Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, Massachusetts, offers a delightful self-guided walk that is perfect for families with children. The park's 480-acre expanse, once the Moseley Estate, is rich with historical charm and natural beauty. Families can embark on a self-guided tour through lush...
7:00 am to 7:00 pm

Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit at Pingree School

Pingree School in Hmailton Massachusetts hosts their annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture exhibit each Fall. Sculpture: Phoenix by Robin Tost.
Pingree School hosts the 16th annual Flying Horse Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit on their campus in South Hamilton, Massachusetts .
8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Crescent Farm Corn Maze

Crescent Farm corn maze in Haverhill Massachusetts
Imagine the biggest puzzle you’ve ever seen. Now imagine a day in the sunshine with your friends or family. Now add an adventure that takes teamwork and memory skills. All these things and more can be found at Crescent Farms Corn Maze. Crescent Farm Corn Maze trails cut into 9 acres of corn. Inside...
9:00 am to 9:00 pm

Salem Witch Hunt Walking Tour

Learn about the true reality of the Salem Massachusetts Witch Trials Salem Massachusetts on a self guided walking tour with Essex Heritage
This self-guided walking tour is designed to help explain the true history behind the Salem Witch Trials. After more than three centuries of storytelling through countless books, movies, and television shows, the line between historical fact and dramatic fiction has become increasingly blurred....
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Sing & Dance with the Music Man

Sing & Dance with the Music Man Brian Doser in Hamilton visit Massachusetts
Come join the fun at Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham Monday, Thursday and Saturday mornings at 10am for 30 - 45 minutes of great music with Brian Doser! Sing and dance with the Music Man during a family concert, featuring familiar and original tunes, performed by local dad and musician,...
10:00 am to 10:45 am

Beverly Farmers' Market

Get fresh local produce at the Beverly Farmers Market in downtown Beverly Massac
The Beverly Farmers’ Market supports local agriculture while making healthy food available to all members of the Beverly community at affordable prices; the market promotes sustainable living practices and fosters community connections through our vendors, free activities and events. The market...
Where: Odell Park
3:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Paddle Around Historic Rockport Harbor

Paddle around Rockport Massachusetts Harbor for FREE as part of Trails and Sails
Come join North Shore Adventures and Outdoor Center for some fun on the water! No experience necessary. Depart from our private beach in one of our safe, stable kayaks or paddle boards and paddle around the historic Rockport Harbor for 30 mins. See lobster boats, Motif #1, the Rockport Break water...
10:30 pm

Saturday, September 20

Marbleheaders in the American Revolution

Glovers Regiment in Marblehead Massachusetts is just one stop on this Trails & Sails tour.
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 an Anglican service at St....
11:00 am to 4:00 pm

Long Hill Garden Tours

Tour the Gardens at the Trustees of Reservations Long Hill Gardens in Beverly, Massachusetts!
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. Visit Long Hill’s breathtaking gardens and stately historic house for a guided tour. Enjoy the rich history of this grand country estate...
11:00 am to 12:00 pm

Color the Skies with Kites at Salisbury Beach

Kites and Castles at Salisbury Beach is just one event of many for families during Salisbury Days in Massachusetts
Beginners to experts are invited and encouraged to attend. -Parking is FREE at Hunt Memorial Parking Lot on 380 Beach Rd -FREE children's kites (while they last). A Salisbury Days Event.
11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Saugus Iron Works House Tours

Free Ranger guided tours of the Saugus Iron Works House in Massachusetts
Join National Park staff at Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site for a 30-minute tour of The Iron Works House.
11:00 am

Family Day at the Industrial History Center!

Open House at the Amesbury Carriage Museum and Industrial History Center Massachusetts - a Trails and Sails Event
Join Amesbury Carriage Museum for a hands-on fun-filled day for the whole family at our Open House! Try out our hand-powered machines – test your skills at drilling or winding a bobbin, just like workers did in the mills!
12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Historic Port of Ipswich Tour

Ipswich Museum hosts a Trails and Sails Historic Tour of the Town of Ipswich Massachusetts as a port.
Join local history buff, Scott Jewell, on a walk around the town of Ipswich and learn about the fascinating history of its former bustling port. Once a hub of maritime trade and commerce, the fate of the port was intricately tied to the rise and fall of the town’s 18th century economy, and the...
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Step Aboard the Friendship of Salem

Permission to come aboard the Friendship of Salem is granted at Derby Wharf in Salem Massachusetts!
Explore the FRIENDSHIP OF SALEM, a replica tall ship based on a 1796 Salem vessel at Salem Maritime National Historic Site.
1:30 pm to 4:30 pm

Saugus Iron Works Tours

Free Ranger guided tours at Saugus Iron Works Colonial Industrial Site in Massachusetts
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.
2:00 pm

History Walk at Maudslay State Park

Kids will learn about the history of Maudslay State Park through storytelling by the park interpretor
Join Maudslay State Park interpreter on a tour of the former Moseley Family estate. There are so many stories about the Moseley’s and their beautiful former estate. Join the park interpreter on a guided tour to view the site of the family mansion and their daughter Helen’s house, both areas are...
2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Low-Sensory Play at North Shore Children's Museum

Low-Sensory Play at NorthShore Children's Museum in Peabody Massachusetts
Join us for a low-sensory play session. For some children, visiting places like NSCM can be over-stimulating. This special play session will have reduced noise, crowds, and stimulation. While medical diagnosis is not required, we encourage that these limited tickets be used for families with a...
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
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