Winter Solstice

Ipswich Evergreen

Celebrate the onset of Winter with Ipswich Massachusetts' community-centered events!

Ipswich Evergreen is a Holiday festival and civic celebration at the  Ipswich Visitor Center , and Ipswich's Old South Meetinghouse Green. Ipswich has great cause for merriment and jubilation! With the new year in sight, let us gather as a community to reflect on what makes living in Ipswich the year round most wonderful with a make and take wreath session. Celebrate the solstice, make and take an evergreen wreath, and join the community celebration!

When: 
Saturday, December 7, 2024 1-3pm

CraneOutdoors: Winter Solstice Hike and Fire Pit Adventure

Hike to Cedar Point at the Crane Wildlife Refuge with the Trustees of Reservations in Ipswivch Massachusetts.

Join us for a beautiful hike to Cedar Point to celebrate the Winter Solstice! Winter at the Crane Estate has much to offer, and while just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, Cedar Point is a much less-explored part of the property. Offering maritime scrub forest, woodland Trails, beaches, and beautiful views of Fox Creek. These trails take you through Pitch Pine forests, prestine beach, Castle Hill views and the varied landscape of the Crane Estate.

When: 
Saturday, December 21, 2024 2-4pm

A Winter Solstice Celebration at Harold Parker

Come celebrate the longest night - Winter Solstice - at Harold Parker State Forest

What causes the winter solstice, and what does it mean for us? Come to Harold Parker State Forest and discover this most important day of the year to ancient peoples and also to ourselves. Join us for a cup of hot chocolate! We will celebrate the solstice at sunset at exactly 4:14 pm and usher out the shortest day of the year. Dress warmly and wear hiking footwear, bring water with you. We will be taking a short hike prior to the solstice sunset ritual.

When: 
Saturday, December 21, 2024 3-5pm

Winter Solstice Walk

Come celebrate the Winter solstice at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary with a night time walk using lanterns!

Celebrate the shortest day of the year and welcome the lengthening days ahead with a candlelit evening walk on the trails of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary. The evening will begin by making your own lantern in our cozy, heated barn while sanctuary naturalists share the science of solstice. With lanterns in hand, we'll light up the night with a stroll through the forest and perhaps catch sights or sounds of animals active during the winter season.

When: 
Saturday, December 14, 2024 4-6pm

Appleton Farms' Winter Solstice Walk

Celebrate the solstice with the Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farm in Ipswich Massachusetts

This Event is Full! Join us for a wintery lantern-lit stroll through the property to one of the many beautiful secluded spots on the farm. Once there, our staff will lead you in a solstice ritual of reflection and meditation around the fire, looking back on the past year and welcoming the new year, celebrating the end of days getting darker and looking forward to the increasing of the light. We look forward to having you at Appleton to mark this moment in our journey together.

When: 
Thursday, December 21, 2023 4-6pm or 6:15-8:15pm
Location: 

CraneOutdoors: Winter Solstice Hike in the Dunes

Hiking the Dunes at the Crane Wildlife Refuge with the Trustees of Reservations.

Join us for a beautiful dune hike to celebrate the solstice! Winter at the Crane Estate has much to offer, and while just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less-explored world unto themselves. Offering one of the most accessible dune ecosystems north of Cape Cod, Castle Neck has over six miles of trails, traversing the dunes, maritime scrub forest, and beautiful beaches on both the Ipswich Bay and Essex/Castle Neck River estuary sides of the peninsula. These trails take you through Pitch Pine forests, up huge dunes offering stunning views of Choate Island, and by the varied landscapes of Castle Neck, including naturally occurring cranberry bogs.

When: 
Thursday, December 21, 2023 2-4pm
Shore School in Beverly Massachusetts offers a host of Summer programs for kids aged 5-12

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

Bruins Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
From February 1 through March 15, Cradles to Crayons®, the Boston Bruins, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and Wonderfund are coming together with organizations in your community to collect new pajamas for local children living in low-income and homeless situations. Together, we are...
7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Wenham Museum Spring/Summer Sports Sale

Spring & Summer Sports Sale at Wenham Musseum in Massachusetts
Back by popular demand! After a successful inaugural sale in 2024, Wenham Museum’s Spring & Summer Sports Sale returns for its second year. In keeping with the Museum’s former Attic Treasures Sale tradition, the Spring & Summer Sports Sale brings the community together for a fun and...
10:00 am to 6:00 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

Drop-In Family LEGO at HWPL

Family LEGO building at the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library in Massachusetts
Put your imagination and building skills to the test at this self-directed drop-in program. Best for children ages 3+ with a caregiver due to small pieces. No registration needed.
3:15 pm to 4:15 pm

Saturday, March 15

Bruins Pajama Drive

Drop off new pajama donations at libraries across the North Shore as part of the Boston Bruins PJ Drive.
From February 1 through March 15, Cradles to Crayons®, the Boston Bruins, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and Wonderfund are coming together with organizations in your community to collect new pajamas for local children living in low-income and homeless situations. Together, we are...
7:00 am to 9:00 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

Teen Naturalist Club at IRWS: Spring/Summer Series

Join Mass Audubon for their Teen Naturalist Club at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield Massachusetts!
Explore a variety of local ecosystems, learn more about a wide range of natural history topics, and do real wildlife data collection and conservation projects in this exciting club for teens!
8:00 am to 5:00 pm

Music Together - Saturday

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...
9:15 am to 11:15 am

Nice n' Easy Hike at Breakheart Reservation

Nice and Easy winter hike at Breakheart Reservation in Saugus Massachusetts
Join the Park Interpreter for this weekly guided hike! Each trip will highlight natural and historic features unique to Breakheart. Hikes are moderately paced and range from 2-3 miles over sometimes uneven and rocky terrain. Best for ages 8 years and up. Meet at the Visitor Center.
9:30 am to 11:30 am

Wenham Museum Spring/Summer Sports Sale

Spring & Summer Sports Sale at Wenham Musseum in Massachusetts
Back by popular demand! After a successful inaugural sale in 2024, Wenham Museum’s Spring & Summer Sports Sale returns for its second year. In keeping with the Museum’s former Attic Treasures Sale tradition, the Spring & Summer Sports Sale brings the community together for a fun and...
10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Maple Sugaring Saturday at IRWS

Sugaring Off tours are a fun and tasty way to learn about maple sugaring at IRWS
Experience the age-old tradition of maple sugaring at Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary! The warm days of late winter awaken the flow of sap in the maples resulting in sweet-smelling, billowing clouds of steam rising from the sugarhouse. On a naturalist-guided walk, learn how to identify a sugar...
10:30 am to 3:30 pm

Guided Tour | When Granite Was King!

Find out the story behind the history of granite quarrying at Halibut Point State Park in Rockport, Massachusetts!
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.
11:00 am to 12:30 pm

Sunday, March 16

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

Wenham Museum Spring/Summer Sports Sale

Spring & Summer Sports Sale at Wenham Musseum in Massachusetts
Back by popular demand! After a successful inaugural sale in 2024, Wenham Museum’s Spring & Summer Sports Sale returns for its second year. In keeping with the Museum’s former Attic Treasures Sale tradition, the Spring & Summer Sports Sale brings the community together for a fun and...
10:00 am to 6:00 pm
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