Dance

Lunar New Year Festival at PEM

Families can celebrate the Lunar New Year at Peabody Essex Museum in Salem Massachusetts!

Join PEM as they celebrate the Lunar New Year | The Year of the Snake! Come welcome the Year of the Snake with a vibrant festival heralding new beginnings and the coming of spring! Enjoy a scavenger hunt, art making and guided tours of Yin Yu Tang. Lunar New Year is celebrated in many Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia. While some traditions are shared across countries, others are unique to one region, community or national cultural identity. Our programming this year focuses on Chinese cultural traditions.

When:

Saturday, February 15, 2025 10am-5pm

Location:

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Eagle Festival: Everything Eagles

Kids will learn about eagles, their migrations and varied habitat at Joppa Flats. Image ©David Morris

During Eagle Festival Week, join North Shore Field Teachers at a popular viewing area to spot Bald Eagles along the Merrimack River and learn about behaviors such as soaring, fishing, and showing courtship displays. Using sound effects, props, and group role play, you'll stay active and warm outdoors as you and your family learn together. Three date and time choices!

When:

Friday, February 14, 2025 1-3pm

Saturday, February 15, 2025 10am-Noon

Location:

Joppa Flats Education Center

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Gloucester's So Salty 2024

Celebrate Gloucester Massachusetts recognizably salty character with local cultural institutions in the heart of downtown.

Celebrate the fish city’s recognizably salty character with local cultural institutions and businesses during the 4th Annual Gloucester’s So Salty festival on January 25 and 26, 2025 from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm! Over 1,800 people came out last year to share their salty pride while enjoying free ice sculptures and cultural activities around Downtown Gloucester.

When:

Saturday, January 25, 2025 10am-5pm

Sunday, January 26, 2025 10am-5pm

Location:

Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church

Maritime Gloucester

Sawyer Free Library Temporary Space

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Rockport New Year's Eve 2024

Family Friendly New Year's Eve celebration for kids and families in Rockport Massachusetts.

Rockport New Year’s Eve (RNYE) is a family-friendly year-end celebration of the arts held in downtown Rockport, Massachusetts annually since 1996. Halls, churches, town offices, and some streets are taken over by happy revelers celebrating the New Year.

When:

Tuesday, December 31, 2024 4pm-Midnight

Location:

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Ipswich Town Hall Winter Ball

Come join the community celebration of Winter at Ipswich Town Hall in Massachusetts!

Dance is a New England tradition, and Ipswich Recreation invites you the Ipswich Town Hall Winter Ball. Swing in the New Year with the Marsh Hoppers Big Band, neighbors and family! Free and public dance, music, merriment and more!

When:

Friday, December 27, 2024 7:30pm

Location:

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A Colorful Christmas at Castle Hill

A Colorful Christmas by the Sea is a weekend of festivities hosted by the Trustees of Reservations at Castle Hill in Ipswich Massachusetts

Visiting Castle Hill at Christmas is a time-honored tradition. Don’t miss this year’s Travels with the Cranes. Each room in our 1920s mansion is decorated for the holidays drawing inspiration from Crane travels around the world, including Paris, Japan, Egypt, and New York.

When:

Fridays through December 20, 2024 2024 4-8pm

Saturdays through December 21, 2024 10am-4pm

Sundays through December 22, 2024 10am-4pm

Tuesday-Saturday, December 26-30, 2024 10am-4pm

Sensory-friendly Hours: 10AM-11:30AM on Dec 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, & 22

Location:

Castle Hill on the Crane Estate

Trustees of Reservations

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Middle Street Walk 2024

The lighting of the Lobster Trap Tree is part of Middle Street Walk's finale in Gloucester Massachusetts.

The Annual Middle Street Walk is a great way to experience Gloucester's Historic District and waterfront while having Holiday fun with the family. An updated schedule of this years walk will be available for download on December 1, 2024 at this link.

When:

Saturday, December 14, 2024 9am - 5pm

Location:

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The Nutcracker by Greater Salem Ballet

The Greater Salem Ballet performs the Nutcracker at Lynn Auditorium featuring more than 100 children and adults from the North Shore!

Join Greater Salem Ballet Company for their annual performance of 'The Nutcracker' at the at Lynn Memorial Auditorium at Lynn City Hall! Follow Clara on her magical journey.

When:

Saturday December 14, 2024 12pm

Location:

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Middleton Pumpkin Festival

Come to the Middleton Pumpkin Festival for fun for the whole family! There will be live entertainment including a magic show and dance performances, a costume parade, hayrides, martial arts, a bake sale, a book sale, demonstrations by local organizations and great food!

When:

Friday, October 25, 2024 5:30pm-7:30pm

Saturday, October 26, 2024 11am-9pm

Location:

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Cape Ann Center for Dance | Haunted Forest

Cape Ann Center for Dance has a haunted performance promenade planned at the Glen Urquhart School in Beverly Massachusetts

Join the Cape Ann Center for Dance if you dare for an evening of fright and delight. Walk amidst a haunted and enchanted wood forest filled with imaginative and spooky characters. Fun for all ages with arts and crafts, fun, refreshments and more.

When:

Friday, October 4, 2024 6-8pm

Location:

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Music Together - Tuesday in Marblehead

Music Together® is a research-based music & movement program for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and the grown-ups who love them. Music Together® of Salem classes make it easy for parents/primary caregivers to play a crucial role in activating their child's music development. Classes are 45...

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead

10:00 am to 10:45 am

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Guided Tour | When Granite Was King!

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.

Where: Halibut Point State Park

11:00 am to 12:30 pm

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Wednesday, January 22

Music Together - Wednesday

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...

Where: St. John's Episcopal Church in Beverly Farms

9:30 am to 11:15 am

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Dungeons & Dragons Club at Essex Library

Enjoy a the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons on Mondays, 5:30-7pm with Student Dungeon Master, Gus Hall. Spaces are limited, register early!

Where: Hamilton-Wenham Public Library

5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

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Thursday, January 23

LEGO Club at Danvers Library

Peabody Institute Library - Danvers invites kids to an afternoon of building and fun! Activities will include free build, themes and instructional design. All structures will remain on display in the Children’s Room till the following weeks's session

Where: Peabody Institute Library - Danvers

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm

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Friday, January 24

Music Together - Friday

Where: Community House Of Hamilton & Wenham

10:30 am to 11:15 am

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Kidleidoscope at Breakheart Reservation

Come join our park interpreter for a story time and nature walk! Complete a small craft and explore the woods! Walks are gently paced and approximately 1 mile, though not accessible for strollers. Appropriate for families with children 3-5 years old. Meet at the Visitor Center.

Where: Breakheart Reservation

10:30 am to 11:30 am

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Animal Adventures Series: Inside & Out

Joppa Flats Education Center invites families for family fun about your favorite animals with hands-on science, songs, a take-home craft and outdoor time, weather permitting. This is a three-week series for young "naturalists" and their adventure-loving adult to learn about animals together. Please...

Where: Joppa Flats Education Center

1:30 pm to 3:00 pm

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Drop-In Family LEGO at HWPL

Put your imagination and building skills to the test at this self-directed drop-in program. All ages are welcome with a caregiver.

Where: Hamilton-Wenham Public Library

3:15 pm to 4:15 pm

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Saturday, January 25

Superbowl of Birding 2025

The Superbowl of Birding 2025 is a unique competition conducted in Rockingham County, NH, and Essex County, MA. During a 12-hour period, teams of birders of all ages and abilities seek out the greatest number of avian species and amass the most points based on the rarity of the birds recorded....

Where: Joppa Flats Education Center

5:00 am to 5:00 pm

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