1 Celebrate Juneteenth at Concord Museum with dance company Illstyle & Peace Productions. The group creates work rooted in West African dance, contemporary and old school hip hop blended with an eclectic mix of dance and performance disciplines including tap, ballet, DJing, and beatboxing. Illstyle & Peace Productions is dedicated to delivering a positive message that showcases the many creative ways that hip hop can be explored, deconstructed, and built back up again. Co-sponsored by The Robbins House. The event is free, but registration is required. June 19 concordmuseum.org
2 Also on June 19, Concord Museum will present an Antislavery Walking Tour highlighting the Concord women and men who played a crucial role in the abolitionist movement in the years leading up to the Civil War. In partnership with The Robbins House. concordmuseum.org
Outdoor storytime for kids
3 Each Saturday through August 26, join The Old Manse for The Nature of Stories: Outdoor Storytimes for Kids. You and your kids will love these free outdoor storytimes that celebrate the environmental spirit and literary tradition of The Old Manse! Each Storytime focuses on a different aspect of the natural world and is followed by an art activity that explores that idea. This is the perfect program to inspire in children a love and curiosity for the natural world. thetrustees.org/place/the-old-manse
4 Join the Concord Free Public Library in Celebrating Ralph Waldo Emerson with filmmaker Michael Maglaras and author James Marcus. Maglaras’ new film, Ralph Waldo Emerson: Give All to Love, was shot in and around Concord and provides a new and deeply personal perspective on Emerson, his writing, his life, and his importance to contemporary life. James Marcus will release his new book, Glad to the Brink of Fear: A Portrait of Ralph Waldo Emerson, next March. In this new evaluation of the importance of Emerson, we will get a modern writer’s perspective and a deeply personal reflection on how Emerson’s writing has mattered to a great contemporary writer speaking with the voice of our time. These two leading thinkers and artistic visionaries will engage in a lively conversation about Emerson’s continuing impact on contemporary life. June 22 concordlibrary.org
5 The Buttrick Gardens at Minute Man National Historical Park are truly extraordinary. This year, Friends of Minute Man Park invite you to join them for a free 30-minute tour in which you’ll learn about the history and preservation of these beautiful gardens, from 1911 until today. The eclectic gardens feature viewing terraces, steps leading down to the Concord River, elegant wrought ironwork, and brick, bluestone, and cobblestone walkways. Framed by ornamental trees and shrubs, the garden beds contain the Buttrick family’s award-winning iris and daylilies, colorful spring bulbs, and perennials that bloom from spring to fall. Find out why Buttrick Gardens recently received a Concord Historical Commission Landscape Preservation Award! Tours will be offered June 27 and July 25. friendsofminuteman.org
Watercolor Workshop
| Courtesy of Concord Museum6 Unleash your inner artist in a watercolor paint night at Concord Museum! This special evening begins with a visit to the exhibition, “A Perpetual Invitation,” where the instructor will introduce a selection of paintings that exemplify artistic inspiration from the New England landscape. In the second part of the workshop, you can watch a watercolor demonstration and experiment with brushes, washes, and mark-making as you create a landscape of your own. In partnership with The Umbrella Arts Center. August (specific date to be announced). concordmuseum.org
7 Celebrate Independence Day at the annual Picnic in the Park celebration! Bring your own picnic lunch or grab a bite at one of the food vendors. Or just relax on the grass, listen to great music, let the kids play games, and enjoy the day. July 4 at Emerson Playground. visitconcord.org
8 Drop by Concord Conservatory’s Discovery Day Open House on Saturday, September 9 and let your kids explore the world of music through singing, dancing, and games. Free Music and Movement and Group Keyboard demo classes will be held. You can also learn about the Music Achievement Program; a free, private lesson enrichment program included with your tuition. Learn about adult group classes too! concordconservatory.org
9 Summer evenings call for music and the West Concord Concert Series is the perfect answer. Head over to Rideout Park for free concerts featuring Bean Town Swing Orchestra on July 20, The Reminisants on July 27, Ben Rudnick and Friends on August 3, and The Band Brandy on August 10. visitconcord.org
10 Celebrate summer at Concord Ag Day! This annual farmers’ market showcases Concord farms and local produce. Head over to Main Street in Concord Center for food and fun. September 9 concordagday.com
11 Plan your trip to the “Birthplace of Ideas” this summer! Thoreau Farm, the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau, is open for guided tours from May through October. Stop by any Saturday or Sunday for a free tour at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., or 3 p.m. Learn about the birthplace of Henry David Thoreau and consider lessons about living deliberately that we can learn from his legacy. While you’re there, take an inside look at the restored 1730s house listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Wheeler-Minot Farmhouse/Henry David Thoreau Birth House. The tour includes the lovingly restored second-floor room where Henry David Thoreau was born in 1817. thoreaufarm.org/visit
12 Explore what Thoreau can teach us about working—why we do it, what it does to us, and how we can make it more meaningful. Professor John Kaag, author of Henry at Work: Thoreau on Making a Living, will be in conversation with Robert A. Gross, author of The Transcendentalists and Their World, at the Concord Museum on June 20. concordmuseum.org
13 This summer, Concord will welcome the 82nd Annual Gathering of the Thoreau Society. Since 1941, Thoreau Society members and enthusiasts from around the world have gathered in Concord each year around the time of Thoreau’s birthday, July 12. This year’s topic is “Thoreau and The Politics of Extinction.” Virtual events begin June 14 with live events July 12 – 16. thoreausociety.org
Courtesy of Thoreau Farm14 While Thoreau is best known for the two years he spent living at Walden Pond, he lived in other homes in Concord throughout his life. Take a tour of the domestic side of Thoreau’s wholly human life visiting the homes where he lived and hearing the stories told of him by family and friends. July 15 concordmuseum.org
15 In 1854 Henry David Thoreau wrote “Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things.” Thoreau’s warning about technology and distraction still resonates today. Join Caleb Smith, author of Thoreau’s Axe: Distraction and Discipline in American Culture, on September 7 at Thoreau Farm. In conversation with Daegan Miller, Smith will discuss how nineteenth century Americans understood the problem of distraction, along with the ways they tried to rehabilitate their powers of attention. The event is free, but registration is required. thoreaufarm.org/thoreaus-a