Annual Bourne Scallop Festival
Friday, September 21 to Sunday, September 23
Buzzards Bay Park, Main St., Bourne
$5 admission, (12 and under free)
Organizers describe this as New England's largest scallop festival, although who knew that there were any other odes to the tasty sea morsel? Still, with 40,000 visitors anticipated, this will be a humongous event. The highlight will be the (fried) scallop dinners and other activities will include entertainment (featuring the great local band, Entrain), arts and crafts, a home expo show, rides and games, and other food for scallop snubbers.
Photo: Nashoba Valley Winery
July 5, 2007
A few days ago, I wrote about the exhibit that Toyota is bringing to the area to hype its hybrid cars. But what about ditching the car altogether and taking a unique form of public transportation? Boston Harbor Cruises has been offering ferry service between Provincetown and Boston for many years. More recently, passengers have also been able to travel between Boston and Quincy or Salem aboard high-speed ferries. The ferry lines have always touted the benefits of plying the high seas, such as bypassing clogged highways and enjoying the ocean breezes. Recently, they've added one more benefit: It's the green thing to do. Whether it's a day trip or part of an extended vacation, the ferries give locals and out-of-towners a way to explore Cape Cod, the North Shore, or historic Quincy without having to resort to an automobile. The Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau peddles the ferries as part of its new "Green Visitors Program" (sounds like the organization is throwing out the welcome mat for Martians and relatives of Kermit the Frog), which also includes information about walking tours, trolley services, the T, rail transportation, ecotourism initiatives, bike tours, and other earth-friendly ways to access the state's treasures.
Photo: ©Arthur Levine. Licensed to boston.com.
July 2, 2007
A few days ago, I posted a guide to holiday fireworks on Cape Cod. But, the rest of the Bay State will be getting into the patriotic spirit as well, and, based on the requests that have been coming into my mailbag, folks want to know where else they will be able to view fireworks this week. Here's a selected list of pyrotechnic displays throughout Massachusetts:
BOSTON
Of course the king of kabooms in the state (and one of the biggest 4th of July celebrations in the nation for that matter) will be the annual Boston Pops on the Esplanade extravaganza. The fun kicks off on Wednesday, July 4, at 8:00 p.m. at the Hatch Memorial Shell on the Charles River Esplanade with the Pops and special guest performer John Mellencamp (who will undoubtedly sing his little ditty, "R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A."). If you want a decent view of the show, plan to arrive very early and spend the day securing your precious piece of turf. Or, you could watch the festivities at home on WBZ TV-4 starting at 8 p.m., which will segue into the national broadcast on CBS at 9 p.m.
But, no matter how wide your screen may be or how surrounded you are by your fancy sound system, there's nothing like seeing and hearing fireworks live. Here are some of the other places in the state to view fireworks:
NORTH OF BOSTON
- Danvers
Tuesday, July 3, 9 p.m. at Plains Park
- Gloucester
Tuesday, July 3, at 10 p.m. over Gloucester Harbor
- Haverhill
Tuesday, July 3, 9 p.m. at Riverside Park
- Lynn and Nahant
Tuesday, July 3, at dusk over Lynn and Nahant Beaches
- Methuen
Tuesday, July 3, 9 p.m. at Nicholson Field
- North Reading
Tuesday, July 3, 8:30 p.m. at Ipswich River Park
- Amesbury
Wednesday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. at Woodsoms Farm
- Andover
Wednesday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. at the high school soccer field
- Ipswich
Wednesday, July 4 at 8:30 p.m. at The Crane Estate
- Marblehead
Wednesday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. over Marblehead Harbor
- Salem
Wednesday, July 4 at 9:15 p.m. launched from Derby Wharf
ELSEWHERE IN THE STATE
- Westfield
Tuesday, July 3, 9 p.m. at Stanley Park
- Worcester
Tuesday, July 3, 9 p.m. at Tornadoes Ball Park at Fitton Field
- Brockton
Wednesday, July 4 at 10:30 p.m. at Brockton Fairgrounds
- Newton
Wednesday, July 4 at 1:00 p.m. at Albermarle Field
- Plymouth
Wednesday, July 4 at 9:00 p.m. over Plymouth Cove
Photo: boston.com
April 11, 2007
Earth Day is fast approaching. What began as a crunchy granola mission to focus on the planet's health and humankind's role in shaping (or misshaping) the environment has taken on new meaning and significance in an era when even conservatives like Newt Gingrich acknowledge the inconvenient truth about global warming. Eco-activism, education, and fun will be on the agenda at a number of Earth Day events around the state, including exhibits, activities, a parade, and clean-up volunteer opportunities.
- Earth Day Celebration at Heritage Museum and Gardens
April 21 in Sandwich
Free with museum admission
508-888-3300
Crafts, trail explorations, and conservation-themed games.
- Party for the Planet
April 22 at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Stone Zoo in Stoneham, and Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford
The Boston-area zoos will celebrate Earth Day with animal encounters, environmental exhibits, craft making, and other activities. The New Bedford Zoo will offer music, puppets, recycling info, crafts, and activities.
- The Greater New Bedford Earth Day Parade
April 12 in downtown New Bedford
The parade kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at the Whaling Museum.
- Earth Day Charles River Cleanup
April 21, 9 a.m. to noon at sites along the Charles
781-788-0007 X 303.
We may sing about loving that dirty water, but if Boston is your home, you'd probably rather have a clean Charles River, wouldn't you?
Photo: Charles River Watershed Association
March 26, 2007
Here's an interesting email from Lydia:
Hello Arthur,
I am a Massachusetts native currently living in Colorado. I'll be returning home to visit my elderly mom for about six weeks in the summer. I am trying to find out how I could possibly housesit for someone on the South Shore or Cape and Islands, preferably near the ocean. Any ideas on how to do this? I am a mature teacher and will be in Massachusetts between June 19 and July 25.
Thanks, Lydia
So, Lydia, let me get this straight: You're looking for a rent-free house on Cape Cod for six weeks during the prime summer season? Oh, and preferably near the ocean. It sounds like a crazy concept. But, it may not be so crazy after all.
There is a growing trend for homeowners to temporarily exchange houses and fulfill each other's vacation accommodations needs. Web sites such as Home Base Holidays and Home Xchange Vacation act as brokers to help match up traveling homeowners. If you have a house to swap, that could be one option. If you don’t have a home to offer in return, there are Web sites that list homeowners seeking housesitters and housesitters seeking houses to sit. One such site is SabbaticalHomes.com. It specializes in helping academics exchange homes, find housesitters, and make other arrangements while they plan to be away from their homes. Since the Boston area is home to many colleges, there are listings from professors who will be traveling during the summer break. As a teacher, I believe the service would be free for you to post a house-wanted listing. (The site requests that users make contributions to SabbaticalHomes.com when they successfully arrange an exchange or transaction.) No matter what site or resource you use, however, it's unlikely that many Cape Cod homeowners (especially ones near the ocean) would plan summer vacations away from their house. They already live in one of the world's most desirable summer vacation destinations. But, I'd imagine the middle of the winter would be a great time to score a Cape housesitting gig. On SabbaticalHomes.com, I did notice a few homeowners in and around Boston seeking housesitters during the summer. If you're flexible with your location, perhaps you could explore those listings. Good luck!
Photo: ©Arthur Levine, 2007.
March 19, 2007
Last week, a guest on an NPR program discussed a potential upside to global warming: Places in the world that are currently inhospitable, if not downright uninhabitable, may become booming metropolises. Places like Siberia. Don't laugh. If events play out according to doomsday scenarios, people may move away from endangered coastlines to more temperate areas--such as the warmed-up interior of Russia. To get a sense of the changes that are already taking place in the remote region, visit Young Artists for Global Awareness: The Children of Zhigansk, Siberia, an exhibit at the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset.
The exhibit includes original paintings by fifth- through tenth-grade students from the small community of Zhigansk, located along the Lena River. There is a local connection. Dr. Max Holmes, an earth system scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, befriended and mentored a 13-year-old student from the Siberian village while the two were aboard a research expedition along the Lena River. The budding scientist got her friends and other students throughout the Arctic involved in the scientific sampling. The paintings, which were a gift from the students to Dr. Holmes, show their interpretation of global warming's impact in Siberia. The exhibit also includes photographs, maps, video excerpts, and textiles crafted by the people of Zhigansk.
There may be another prescient connection between the South Shore exhibit and its Russian origins. If we don't wean ourselves of humungous SUVs and make other environmental changes, Cohasset may one day be under water. And people on the South Shore may head for Siberia's higher ground.
Young Artists For Global Awareness: The Children of Zhigansk, Siberia
South Shore Art Center, Cohasset
Through April 8
781-383-2787
Photo: South Shore Art Center
November 20, 2006
Once the Thanksgiving leftovers have been stored in the refrigerator, it's time to get into the spirit of the next holiday. Grab the ladders, the hammers, and the extension cords: It's holiday lights season! Is it just me, or are lots of folks really going bonkers with their Christmas light displays? There's nothing wrong with some candles in the windows, a wreath on the door, and perhaps a few strings of white bulbs. But more and more homeowners seem to be vying for the tackiest holiday display award with enough lights to make both global warming prognosticator Al Gore and Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn cringe. Then they add sleighloads of animated reindeer, inflatable Santas, gargantuan candy canes, and other wacky doodads. Oy vey.
If it's over-the-top Christmas lights you're after, forget the homegrown variety and check out some of the state's best holiday displays. Perhaps the biggest and brightest is Springfield's Bright Nights at Forest Park...
Starting this Wednesday, November 22, the 11th annual drive-through light display will enchant visitors with a series of tableaus, including Seuss Land (the children's author is a Springfield native), Jurassic World, Victorian Village, and Letters to Santa. For more info, go to Bright Nights at Forest Park.
Near Cape Cod, Edaville U.S.A. will be presenting its long-running Christmas Festival of Lights. The park's steam train will take guests on a grand two-mile tour past more than seven million holiday lights. There's also an antique carousel and visits with a certain red-suited, jolly gentleman.
The big city of Boston has its bright lights as well. On Wednesday, November 29, Mayor Menino will flip the switch to light the Copley Square holiday tree. The following day, on Thursday, November 30, lights will adorn the city's official Christmas tree, a 42-foot white spruce from Nova Scotia, and eighty other trees throughout Boston Common. There will also be entertainment and fireworks.
Admit it, Sparky. No matter how many extension cords you rig together, you can't compete with 80 sparkling trees or 7 million lights. So put away the ladder, and take the family to one of these displays.
Photo: Bright Nights at Forest Park
October 30, 2006
Fifty years ago the epic film, Moby Dick, had its world premiere in New Bedford. To mark the golden anniversary, the city's Zeiterion Theatre will be showing the movie on Saturday, November 11. Originally opened in 1923 to present live vaudeville, the Zeiterion was known for a long stretch as the State, and was one of three New Bedford movie houses that participated in the 1956 world premiere. The film's star, Gregory Peck (as Captain Ahab) and director, John Huston, both attended the debut in the whaling city.
The theater says that it will be charging a "1956" price of $5.50 to see the film. Isn't that more like a 1986 price? I don't want to date myself (Explore New England doesn't refer to me as a "seasoned local" for nothing!), but I'm not quite old enough to have attended the Moby Dick debut. I do, however, remember paying fifty cents for a children's ticket to see matinee showings of movies.
The film presentation will be part of a citywide Whale of a Weekend event to commemorate the film's anniversary. The festivities kick off Friday, November 9 at 6 p.m. with a Whale of a Procession parade down William Street. Other activities will include the opening of the exhibit, "From New Bedford We Set Sail" at the New Bedford Whaling Museum, and a cake-decorating contest. For more info, visit the Zeiterion Theatre and the Whaling Museum sites.
Photo: Zeiterion Theatre
October 25, 2006
Will your plans for Thanksgiving include the usual this year: too much food, too much football, too much alcohol, and too much heated conversation with your family? Maybe it's time to try something different. How about heading to Plymouth (or "Plimoth" as historical nitpickers like to spell it) for a Thanksgiving celebration with the Colonists? Plimoth Plantation, a re-created pilgrim village, has a series of dinners and celebrations planned on and around Thanksgiving.
On Turkey Day, November 23, the Plantation will offer an all-you-can-eat buffet with the usual modern-day suspects such as turkey, cranberry sauce, and apple pie. Reservations are required, and some of the times are already sold out. There will also be a more modest "Thanksgiving in the Courtyard," which will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, as well as a la carte items sold fast-food style.
Starting November 4 and continuing on scheduled days throughout November, Plimoth Plantation will be offering a 1627 Harvest Dinner with the Pilgrims. This meal will forego the modern trappings and dispel some Thanksgiving myths. (Sorry, the pilgrims didn't eat cranberry sauce, much less string beans au jus du Campbell. Heck, they didn't even use forks.) Before or after the meal, you can check out the Mayflower replica and gaze at Plymouth Rock--which, regrettably, is puny and anticlimactic.
For another Colonial-era take on Thanksgiving, consider Old Sturbridge Village. The living history museum's Thanksgiving Day feast is already sold out, but you'll still be able to tour the grounds and observe early settlers preparing and partaking in a holiday meal. There will be after-dinner entertainment as well. Put on your buckled hats and party like it's 1799!
Plimoth Plantation
(508) 746-1622
137 Warren Avenue
Plymouth
Old Sturbridge Village
(508) 347-3362
Route 20
Sturbridge
Photo: Plimoth Plantation
April 10, 2006
There's something magical about carousels. Children are entranced by the riot of color, noise, and motion. First rides are a childhood rite of passage. The sound of the calliope music, the sight of the ornate, bejeweled horses, and the smell of the engine grease can transport adults back to their maiden voyages aboard the stately steeds. Ride manufacturers still crank out merry-go-rounds, but the classic machines are prized for their artistry and their genuine nostalgia. Fortunately, Massachusetts is home to a number of the Golden Age rides.
Among the state's surviving rides is the Fall River Carousel at Battleship Cove. It was built in 1920 and was one of the centerpieces of the defunct Lincoln Park in Dartmouth. The circa-1928 Paragon Carousel entertained generations at Nantasket Beach's now-shuttered Paragon Park. A local group banded together to save the ride, and band organ music once again fills the air at the Hull beach.
Perhaps the state's most beloved carousel, and certainly its oldest, is the Flying Horses at Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard. Built in 1876 (it was moved to the Vineyard in 1884), it is the nation's oldest operating platform carousel, and is among a few that still entice riders to catch the brass ring. The 20 hand-carved horses include real horsehair.
Carousels are a great way to celebrate the return of warm weather to New England. Why not make plans to saddle up and take a turn on a Massachusetts spinning wheel ride?
Fall River Carousel at Battleship Cove
Five Water Street, Fall River
(508) 678-1100
Opens for the season on May 28
Paragon Carousel
205 Nantasket Avenue, Hull
(781) 925-0472
Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Flying Horses Carousel
Circuit Ave., Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard
(508) 693-9481
Opens for the season on April 15
Photo: Courtesy of Fall River Carousel at Battleship Cove
Summer is unofficially over, so it's time to put away the flip flops, boogie boards, and sand pails and return to serious...eating. There are a number of festivals around the state geared to a variety of gustatory delights. Want to indulge in some sweet corn on the cob? (And hasn't the local corn been especially savory this season?) How about some finger-lickin' ribs? Or, perhaps your tastes run more to scallops? Hit one of these events and gorge yourself on a favorite food; or hit all of them and think of it as one huge, never-ending buffet.
