Gloucester Schooner Festival

Gloucester Schooner Festival 2024

The Gloucester Schooner Festival celebrates maritime, sailing and fishing heritage of Cape Ann Massachusetts

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!

When: 
Labor Day Weekend, August 28-September 1, 2024

Schooner Festival Fireworks

The Gloucester Schooner Festival will light up Gloucester Harbor with Fireworks!

Following the Gloucester Schooner Festival's Parade of lights in Gloucester Harbor, A fireworks display will light up the sky over Gloucester Harbor to celebrate a great day of maritime history and tradition.  Good vantage points for viewing fireworks include Gloucester's Boulevard, Stage Fort Park, Pavilion Beach and the

When: 
Saturday, August 31, 2024 9:15pm

Heritage Day in Gloucester

Maritime Gloucester & Ocean Alliance hosts a day of free exciting demonstrations and interactive fun for all ages in Gloucester Massachusetts.

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.

When: 
Saturday, August 31, 2024 10am-4pm

Mayor's Cup Schooner Race

The Mayor's Cup Race at the Gloucester Schooner Festival is just part of the fun

Note: Due to the weather, these events have been postponed to Labor Day Monday. The Mayor's Race is a major part of the Gloucester Schooner Festival 2024, where participating schooners in the weekend activities compete for for the Esperanto Cup, Ned Cameron Trophy and Betty Ramsey Trophy off Eastern Point and East Gloucester.

When: 
Rain Date: Monday September 4, 2017 1pm

Coast Guard Open House and Tours

Gloucester's US Coast Gaurd Station host an open house at their station in downtown Gloucester!

United States Coast Guard Station Gloucester is having an open house on Saturday, May 14, 2016. Stop by and learn all about the Coast Guard and its important role in Gloucester!  The United States Coast Guard Station Gloucester annual Safe Boating Day Open House will feature local marine vendors, safe boating displays, flare demonstrations, and tours of Coast Guard vessels, and more. Free to the public. Recreational boaters, commercial boaters, Loads of fun for the kids!

When: 
Saturday, May 14, 2016 at 10AM

Lobster Bake at Maritime Gloucester

Enjoy lLobster on the wharf at Maritime Gloucester duirng the Schooner Festival!

Come to Maritime Gloucester for a community celebration of food, music and Gloucester's Maritime heritage! Enjoy freshly steamed lobster, corn on the cob, and a Virgilio's roll— all for $15 per person!  Where else can you get a boiled lobster for that price?  Relax on the wharf with your dinner or on the slopes of the Fitz Henry Lane lawn while listening to Old Cold Tater & Friends.

When: 
Saturday, August 30, 2014 4:30-7:30pm
Art Academy Summer Program at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly MA

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

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

Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic

The Annual Hampton Beach, NH Master Sandsculpting Competition 2025
The fun starts when 200 tons of imported sand is dropped on Hampton Beach and the “Grady Bunch” starts pounding up the sponsor site. The entire area is illuminated for night viewing through June 23rd. Watch Greg Grady and “The Grady Bunch” build a mammoth Sand Demo Site. 
7:00 am to 11:00 pm

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

StoryWalk Series at Maudslay

“Magnificent Monarchs” by Linda Glaser Storywalk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts
Enjoy this pre-school StoryWalk® at your leisure with the younger set and combine reading and time in nature! “Magnificent Monarchs” by Linda Glaser is featured in this StoryWalk Series. Younger kids will love this gentle, richly illustrated children’s nonfiction book aimed at preschool–third grade...
7:00 am to 8:00 pm

Inclyousion Sports at North Shore Children's Museum

Inclyousion Paly Session at the North Shore Children's Museum in Peabody Massachusetts
Join coaches from Inclyousion Sports to learn and play. Inclyousion Sports provides inclusive sports enrichment programs to children in Massachusetts, using innovative behavioral methods to teach sports, fitness, and social skills.
10:00 am to 11:00 am

Swan Boat Rides in Boston Public Garden

Swan Boat Boston North Shore Parent, North Shore Parents Summer Activities Guide
The Public Garden may be one of the most ideal picnicking locations in Boston. Well-groomed and overflowing with tulips, cherry-trees, with willows cascading over the duck pond, the Boston Public Garden is a great place to relax during Boston's most beautiful season.
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Annual Art in the Barn Exhibit and Sale

Art in the Barn is a fundraiser for the Essex County Greenbelt Association Essex Mass
Art in the Barn is recognized as one of the North Shore’s premier art events, showcasing the work of some of the most talented artists in the region. An annual fundraising event for over 30 years, the show takes place at Greenbelt’s headquarters, Cox Reservation in Essex, an iconic plein air...
10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Music Together - Friday

Marblehead, Beverly Farms, Hamilton, Salem, Peabody Music Together
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...
10:30 am to 11:15 am

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

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

Saturday, June 14

StoryWalk Series at Maudslay

“Magnificent Monarchs” by Linda Glaser Storywalk at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts
Enjoy this pre-school StoryWalk® at your leisure with the younger set and combine reading and time in nature! “Magnificent Monarchs” by Linda Glaser is featured in this StoryWalk Series. Younger kids will love this gentle, richly illustrated children’s nonfiction book aimed at preschool–third grade...
7:00 am to 8:00 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

Hampton Beach Master Sand Sculpting Classic

The Annual Hampton Beach, NH Master Sandsculpting Competition 2025
The fun starts when 200 tons of imported sand is dropped on Hampton Beach and the “Grady Bunch” starts pounding up the sponsor site. The entire area is illuminated for night viewing through June 23rd. Watch Greg Grady and “The Grady Bunch” build a mammoth Sand Demo Site. 
7:00 am to 11:00 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

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

Marblehead Farmers' Market

Find fresh local produce and other foods at the Marblehead Farmer's Market!
The Marblehead Farmer's Market boasts 15+ local farms, and booths with an educational spin nutrition, vendors and farms selling homemade prepared goods and craft vendors that are switched up in a rotation basis week to week. Additionally there are entertainers and exhibits by environmentally...
9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Rockport Farmers' Market

The Rockport Farmers' Market runs every Saturday at Rockport Music in Downtown Rockport!
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.
9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Crane Outdoors: Kayak Adventure on the Castle Neck River

Take a guided kayak paddle adventure on the Castle Neck River with the Trustees of Reservations!
One of the best was to enjoy the natural beauty of the Massachusetts North Shore is kayaking the placid waters of the Great Marsh—the largest continuous stretch of salt marsh in New England, extending from Cape Ann to New Hampshire. The Castle Neck peninsula on the Crane Estate is a vast barrier...
9:00 am to 5:00 pm

CraneOutdoors: Kayak Historic Fox Creek

Kayak the twists and turns of Fox Creek in Ipswich with the Trustees of Reservations
The Great Marsh—the largest contiguous salt marsh in New England—is not only brimming with fascinating natural history, it is also home to a rich cultural history. Nowhere is this more evident than in the meandering waters of Fox Creek. Connecting the tidal estuaries of the Essex River basin and...
9:00 am to 12:30 pm

Interpretation Station at Maudslay

Learn about the bloom cycles at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport Massachusetts
Join the park interpreter at this station to discover the many park perks at Maudslay! Each week a different feature and area will be highlighted. Check the board at each entrance to find the location of the Interpretation Station. For all ages.
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
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