1 Enjoy the beauty of nature at Walden Pond, Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, and so many other wonderful parks and trails around Concord. Visit concordma.gov for maps and more information.
2 Every Path Laid Open: Women of Concord and the Quest for Equality includes rare artifacts from the Concord Museum collection that tell the story of Concord women of the past – some famous and some almost invisible. Each portrait, needlework, or piece of furniture reveals insights into the lives of ordinary citizens as well as prominent residents. There is also a special media component in the exhibition celebrating today’s women of Concord – from educators to entrepreneurs, firefighters to farmers, and artists to activists. May 7 – September 12. concordmuseum.org
3 The Visitor Centers are reopening! The Concord Visitor Center opens seven days a week from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm starting April 19. Stop by or visit online at visitconcord.org for more information.The Visitor Centers at Minute Man National Historical Park and at The North Bridge reopen April 1. Visit their website at nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/hours.htm for information on hours, COVID-19 restrictions, and more.
4 Enjoy al fresco dining! Our restaurants are eager to welcome you this spring. Many restaurants are offering outdoor dining this spring. Some of our favorites are Concord’s Colonial Inn’s front porch (resplendent in spring flowers) or the romantic, tucked away patio at Fiorella’s Cucina. See our “Where to Eat” list on p. 43 for more al fresco options.
5 Explore the unique shops, boutiques, and restaurants of Concord Center, West Concord, and Thoreau Depot. See our list of shops and restaurants – along with walking maps – in this issue.
Mimsey West, And earth and sky were as one airy hill, 2021
Earth Day 2018
| ©Nicholas Warchol7 Celebrate Earth Day
Do you wonder about the environmental impact of technology, food, fashion, and fuel? Concord Museum and Concord Bookshop are hosting a virtual forum with Tatiana Schlossberg, former New York Times journalist, as she discusses her book, Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have, about the unseen environmental and climate impacts of the Internet, technology, food, fashion, and fuel. April 22. concordmuseum.org
The Umbrella Arts Center theme for Earth Day this year is air. Whether you want to learn to make a windsock, float a boat down the Concord River, or join a virtual workshop on birds of prey, you’ll find everything you need to celebrate Mother Earth at theumbrellaarts.org/earthday. Through May 1.
Join a free music appreciation workshop celebrating Earth Day. Sacred Green: The 11th Century Environmental Movement of Hildegard of Bingen, explores the sacred chants that honor ‘noble greenness’ in the context of modern environmental activism. Via Zoom on April 23 at 7:00 pm. concordconservatory.org/lecture_series
8 The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle’s third annual Shop & Support weekend is April 30 – May 1. Shop local and support our local shopkeepers and The Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle, which is the largest provider of needs-based scholarships to students educated in Concord and Carlisle. Look for the ribbons designating participating businesses. Thescholarshipfundofcc.org
9 Do you love The Bard? Then join Concord Players’ Shakespeare Book Club and immerse yourself in Shakespeare’s epic collection of eight plays documenting eighty-five years of English history. Zoom meetings will be held every other Sunday evening during which a member of the troupe will lead a discussion of each play covering the plot and themes, drawing connections to our current world, and speculating on potential stagings and adaptations. The meetings will include video presentation and live readings of select monologues and scenes. May 14 – May 23. Visit concordplayers.org for more information.
Courtesy of Concord Museum10 Celebrate Patriots Day
Concord Museum reopens April 1! This is your chance to visit the April 19, 1775 Galleries in person. Visit concordmuseum.org for details.
Join the Provincials as they muster to face the British Regulars in a fight that began an eight-year war for independence. Concord Museum presents a virtual evening with Curator, David Wood, Peggy N. Gerry Curatorial Associate, Erica Lome, and historian and author of The Minutemen and Their World, Robert Gross, for an inside look at the roles Provincials from communities across Massachusetts played in the events now celebrated on Patriots’ Day. Plus, get an inside look at the Museum’s new April 19, 1775 exhibition, including animations and signature artifacts like the signal lantern hung in the North Church that heralded the events of that fateful day. April 6 at 7:00 pm. concordmuseum.org/events/virtual-community-night
The events of April 19, 1775 touched the lives not just of Concordians, but those of neighboring towns between Concord and Boston. The Concord Museum has recently completed a $1.2 million permanent exhibition that brings to life this conflict in engaging, emotional ways through powerful animation, artifacts, recordings, and story-telling. These stories are not just about Concord but are equally about the surrounding towns from which the militia men converged to the battle sites.
In-person events April 7 and 14. Visit concordmuseum.org/events/april-19-1775-community-night/2021-04-07 for more information on the towns that will be featured.
Join in the events honoring the men and women who fought for a new nation on April 19, 1775. See our article on page 20 for more information.
Join Concord Together and the Town of Concord’s Celebrations Committee in a festive show of the indomitable Spirit of Concord! Grab the kids and walk through town - or go for a drive - and see the Revolutionary era decorations on storefronts and porches around Concord.