Head over to the Essex Shipbuilding Museum and the historic schoolhouse at 28 Main Street for unique local holiday gifts! Shop Local and stuff your stockings with unique gifts from curated vendors and our Museum Gift Shop.
Kids of all ages are welcome to come down to Essex Town Landing for a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus! Enjoy Woodman’s chowder and cocoa while we await the arrival, then let the kids take a turn sitting with the big red couple to plead their cases for gifts that breathe and/or are outside of any reasonable budget - you know, all the stuff they can only get from Santa. The arrival itself will happen at 5:00pm and visits will take place on the front porch of the Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum.
The Essex Lion's Club hosts the annual turkey trot in beautiful Essex Massachusetts! This year the race is a 5K and a 5k fun walk. Race starts at 11:00am for runners and 10am for walkers. Registration is at Woodman’s Restaurant (upstairs), 121 Main Street, Essex, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, or pre-register online.
Essex Shipbuilding Museum wants to celebrate the Fall with friends and neighbors. Come enjoy fun, food, drink and a special race on the river - The Apple Armada! Fun for all ages! This family friendly event is a great introduction to Essex culture.
Canceled - The Essex County Greenbelt Association and North Shore Nature Programs to meet some of our favorite critters! Some critters get a bad rap! But there is lots to love about the creepy, wiggly, and crawly creatures in our woods! We'll look for spiders, bugs, centipedes and millipedes, as well as signs of cool predators like owls, coyotes, and weasels.
Essex River Cruises hosts a narrated sightseeing tour that winds down the beautiful Essex River aboard Essex River Queen, a pontoon boat. We’ll cruise up close to Hog/Choate Island to get a view of the area's magnificent dark spruce forest. See the leaves change into brilliant hues of yellow and orange. Enjoy complimentary hot cider and donuts from Russell Orchard of Ipswich. Don’t miss this magnificent opportunity to view some of New England’s most spectacular fall foliage.
Essex County Greenbelt Association will host the annual road cycle event to raise funds for conservation efforts on the North Shore! Cycling enthusiasts of all abilities can ride through some of Essex County’s most beautiful landscapes in this annual road cycle event to benefit local land conservation. Whether a seasoned road cyclist or a beginner, you can enjoy at your own pace one of three routes offered by Tour de Greenbelt: a 50 mile ride, a shorter route (25 miles), and Gravel Grinder Routes (40 mile and 28 mile), with off-road excursions into protected forests and reservations.
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 throughout the year. The 5K route meanders through the beautiful back roads of Essex. The Kids' Fun Dashes are always a hit, with even the littlest ones smiling from start to finish. Come out, lace up, and pound the pavement for the students of EES. It's sure to be another fun race this year!
Cogswell’s Grant is a coastal farm of 165 acres located along the banks of the Essex River, just two miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean. On this walking tour, explore Cogswell’s Grant’s landscape history, from the presence of indigenous people through the colonial period to the present. Walk through hayfields down to the salt marsh and the Essex River, discover the rich history of the people and families who lived and farmed here, and learn how coastal farming has evolved over the centuries. This is a rain-or-shine walk; please wear weather-appropriate clothing and footwear. Limited capacity, registration is required.
Essex Shipbuilding Museum invites families to enjoy complimentary admission to the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum and explore the Shipyard!
