There’s nothing quite like summer in New England. Whether you are a resident or just visiting this summer, be sure to check out one of these local events!
CONNECTICUT
June 4 – Summer French Country Market
Come for the cheese tasting, antiques, artisans crafts and sumptuous food. Find 25 vendors with treasures that are chippy, tattered, cottage colorful and farm style. The French Country Market is putting the Farm back in Farmers Markets. Well-behaved leashed dogs are welcome, but be aware of safety of the free range turkeys, ducks and chickens about the farm.
Location: Beltane Farm
Time: 9am – 2pm
June 11 - Textile Treasures Tour
Among the brilliantly colored and richly detailed clothing, shoes, and linens from the 1690s to mid-1800s in the Webb-Deane-Stevens collection are several Sarah Noyes Chester crewelwork pieces. The public can get a behind-the-scenes view of this historic and remarkably well-preserved collection during the Textile Treasures Digging Deeper Tour. The tour repeats on August 13 and October 8. Space is limited and advance-ticket purchase is recommended.
Location: Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
Time: Tours are at 10:30 and 1:30pm
June 11 – South Windsor Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair
Come for food, fun, music, entertainment, and craft vendors.
Location: 72 Chief Ryan Way, South Windsor
Time: 9am – 5:30pm
June 11 – 12 – Art at Ives Juried Fine Art and Crafts Show
This event presents 76 artists working in ceramics, fiber, drawing, painting, digital art, photography, glass, metal work, mixed media, sculpture, wearable art, jewelry and wood. Discover how to create origami or draw portraiture with live art demonstrations. Great food and live music, children's events featuring the art of puppetry. The event will be held rain or shine.
Location: Ives Concert Park at WCSU
Time: 10am – 5pm
June 14 -16 – Abraham.In.Motion
Choreographer Kyle Abraham and his company Abraham.In.Motion present work combining provocative, refined movement with compelling themes of identity and racial tensions. Live Music Program features The Gettin’ with live music composed by jazz artist Robert Glasper who reimagines Max Roach’s We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, Absent Matter, and The Quiet Dance. Part of the Festival of Arts and Ideas.
Location: University Theater, New Haven
Time: 8pm
MASSACHUSETTS
June 1 – Revels Spring Pub Sing
Join Revels at the spring pub sing at Doyle's Cafe. Music director George Emlen will lead everyone in song from the Revels Pub Sing Songbook after food and beverages.
Location: Doyle’s Café, Jamaica Plain
Time: 6pm
June 16 – Marini Farm Strawberry Festival
Start with a visit to our acres of strawberry picking, visit the inflatable park with the kids which includes large inflatables with slides, games, and inside exploration, and top it all off with a juicy piled high strawberry shortcake.
Location: Marini Farm, Ipswich
Time: 10am – 5pm
June 17 - 19 – Nantucket Book Festival
The Nantucket Book Festival features an impressive literary roster including Billy Collins, Diane Rehm, Sebastian Junger, Emma Sky, J. Kael Weston, Diane Ackerman, Nathaniel Philbrick, Alice Hoffman, Geraldine Brooks and Jack Gantos. Readings and discussions will be held throughout the island's downtown cultural district.
Location: Nantucket
For more information: http://nantucketbookfestival.org/
June 18 – Great Barrington Heritage Day
Events include a guided canoe paddle, bike ride, outdoor walks, downtown tours, and screenings of classic movies and backstage tours at the Mahaiwe. Explore Our Watershed is a 3-mile guided hike to Lake Mansfield. Guests also may join a tour of the Housatonic River Walk, a canoe paddle down the Housatonic River, a bike ride in Great Barrington and Housatonic Village, farmstead tours, a photo walk, a walking tour of the W.E.B. Du Bois home site, a two-hour hike to "Find Iron Industry History in the Woods.”
Location: Various Locations, Great Barrington
Time: 9am – 9pm
June 18 – Key West Party and Auction with Pilgrim Hall Museum
At this breezy party and fundraiser, enjoy silent and live auctions, live music by Pan Loco Steel Band, and food by Mama Mia’s. RSVP by June 10. Tickets may be purchased online.
Location: Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth
Time: 5-9pm
June 20 – Summer Solstice Celebration
Enjoy a fun evening with circus performers, music, dance, food trucks, and hands-on activities, for all ages, with free admission to the Harvard Semitic Museum, Peabody Museum, and Harvard Museum of Natural History. Create a summer crown with flowers; make and wear an Egyptian ornament, or craft your own sun streamer with powerful Aztec sun symbols. email: hmsc@hmsc.harvard.edu
Location: Harvard Museums of Science and Culture, Cambridge
Time: 5 – 9pm
June 23 – The Moth
This popular program on National Public Radio spotlights ordinary people telling true stories. Each show starts with a theme, and the storytellers explore it, often in unexpected ways.
Location: Wilbur Theater, Boston
Time: 7:30pm
June 25 – Garden Artistry Orleans Garden Tour
Six lovely Orleans gardens will be on display. Gardens from the Master Gardener Association of Cape Cod will be on site to answer questions. Plein air painters and local musicians will be present at selected gardens. After tour receptions will be held at local galleries from 4 6 p.m.; you can sip wine and meet the artists. Tickets will be available early May. Email: OIAGardenTour@gmail.com
Location: Nauset Regional Middle School
Time: 10am – 4pm
June 25 – 26 – The Vintage Bazaar
Over 175 outdoor boutiques feature antiques, vintage finds , architectural salvage, rusty junk, repurposed goodness, indie crafts and one-of-a-kind artisans. This weekend festival also offers unique fare & food trucks, live music, family activities, book signings and demonstrations!
Location: Pettengill Farm, Salisbury
Time: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m - 5 p.m. (Early Bird Hours - Saturday only, 8:30 - 10 a.m.)
June 29 – July 27– Wacky Wednesday’s Family Concerts
June 29 -- Karen K and the Jitterbugs, featuring toe-tapping original music for tots and grownups alike.; July 6 -- Keith Munslow combines rock solid funky piano tunes, hilarious stories and lightning fast cartooning on July 6. July 13 -- Little Groove, playing fun, catchy, educational, and danceable music for children and adults; July 20 -- Vanessa Trien and the Jumping Monkeys perform their original music in an encore Wacky Wednesdays performance. ; July 27 -- Zak Morgan performs his unique brand of children's music and poems that tickle the funny bone on
Location: Jane Carr Amphitheater, Hingham
Time: 10am
July 22 – Glass Flowers Soiree
For guests over age 21, this evening will celebrate the Harvard Museum of Natural History's Glass Flowers exhibition. Come with a date, with friends, or make new friends as you enjoy cocktails and music while strolling through the museum's 15 exhibitions.
Location: Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge
Time: 7pm – 10pm
MAINE
June 3 – ART Walk
ART Walk showcases a wide variety of fine art and craft, with special performance events including theatre or music at locations throughout the town. See traditional and contemporary art, much of the work by local artists, including wall art, sculpture, glass, pottery, jewelry and fiber arts. Pick up your walking map at the Chamber of Commerce, most lodging establishments, at the galleries and other participating venues.
Location: Chamber of Commerce, Bar Habor
Time: 6-9pm
June 9 – 12 – Back to the Beach Corvette Weekend
Corvettes fill up Old Orchard Beach. Email RalphSandie@back2thebeach.net
Location: Old Orchard Beach
Time: All Day
June 18 – Rock The Boat After Party
This VIP after-party will feature live music, a champagne toast, creative cocktails and small bites of delicious food on board a Kennebunk-area vessel, Spirit of Massachusetts. Get your front-row seat for the boat parade. This is an event of LAUNCH! A Maritime Festival in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Arundel.
Location: The Spirit of Massachusetts Schooner, Kennebunkport
Time: 8 – 11pm
June 18 – River Lights Boat Parade
This boat parade features sparkling lights and fun decorations! This is an event of LAUNCH! A Maritime Festival in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Arundel.
Location: Kennebunk Lower Village
Time: Dusk
June 18 – 19 - Art in the Park
Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park have been captured on canvas since the mid-1800s by noted American painters. Painters -- known as "rusticators" -- flocked to the area in the 1800s, to see the magnificent landscapes with their own eyes. Art in the Park will showcase original works of more than 30 painters and photographers.
Location: Village Green Bar Habor
Time: 10am – 5pm
June 19 – Fathers Day Concert
Dance the day away with your dad and the rest of your family in Agamont Park! Happening on Sunday, June 19, 2016, in Agamont Park in downtown Bar Harbor, the free outdoor concert will begin at 5:30 p.m. and the music will stop at 7 p.m.
Location: Agamont Park, Bar Harbor
Time: 5:30 – 7pm
NEW HAMPSHIRE
June 11 – 19 – Laconia Motorcycle Week
Laconia Bike Week celebrates the 93rd Anniversary of the World's Oldest Motorcycle Rally. This weeklong event will feature racing, hill climbs, music, wild contests, bike shows, and top of the line vendors.
Location: Various Locations, Laconia
Time: All Day
June 15 – Sand Sculpture Competition
The fun starts June 15, when 250 tons of imported sand is dropped on Hampton Beach and expert sand sculptors go to work. The work and competition take place all weekend, but the entire area is illuminated for night viewing through July 4.
Location: Hampton Beach
Time: All Day
July 9 – Antique & Classic Automobile Show
A gathering of automobiles from the past at this classic country estate. View stunning examples of auto dating from the turn of the century through 1979. Food and beverages will be available for purchase in the Meadows by Shannon Pond, where the show will take place. All production automobiles built before 1980 are welcome! Registration to show a vehicle is $20 to $25.
Location: Castle in the Clouds, Moultonborough
Time: 10am – 3pm
August 6 – 14 – League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair
The Craftsmen's Fair showcases the work of 300 of the finest craftspeople in the country. See and shop for one-of-a-kind fine craft that is both beautiful and functional. The fair offers shopping for handmade crafts, daily craft demonstrations, workshops for all ages, including all-day pottery classes and Tools for Kids, fashions and accessories at the CraftWear Exhibition, a Sculpture Garden, strolling performers like puppets, magicians, mind readers, and musicians. No pets are allowed on the fairgrounds or left in vehicles.
Location: Mount Sunapee Resort, Newbury
Time: 10am – 5pm
RHODE ISLAND
June 11-12 – Rhode Island National Guard House and Air Show
The airshow offers the finest aerial and static displays along with activities for people of all ages. The events features flyovers by the USAF Thunderbirds.
Location: Air National Guard Base, Quonset
Time: 10am – 4pm
June 18, July 9, July 23, August 6, August 20, September 24 – Waterfire
All full WaterFire installations light up over eighty braziers from Waterplace Park to Memorial/South Main Street Park. Partial lightings usually include all of the braziers from Providence Place Mall to Steeple Street. Lighting occurs shortly after sunset and the event continues until half past midnight. Food vendors will be located on Washington, College and Steeple Streets.
Location: Waterplace Park, Providence
Time: Time Dependent Upon Date
June 24 – 26 – Newport Flower Show
Colorful floral designs, horticulture exhibits, garden displays, unique shopping, champagne & jazz brunch, afternoon tea, lectures and demonstrations, children's activities. Presentations by guests Bruno Duarte and Bonny Williams.
Location: Rosecliff, 548 Bellevue Avenue, Newport
Time: Friday, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
July 22 – 24 – 2016 Newport Antiques Show
The Newport Antiques Show is one of the nation’s premier antiques venues presenting a wide selection of important Americana antiques: paintings, furniture, folk art, jewelry, and fine and decorative arts. General admission tickets can be purchased at the door or online. The Gala Preview Party will take place Thursday July 21, 2016.
Location: St. George’s School, Middletown
Time: Friday & Saturday - 10am - 6pm
Sunday - 10am - 4pm
VERMONT
June 11 – 12 – Manchester Antique & Classic Car Show
Thousands of spectators and hundreds of car collectors turn out each year to enjoy an exciting array of vintage vehicles along with food, silent auctions, 50/50 raffles, tractor rides and strolls on the show field, and a flea market. The annual car parade is Saturday at 4 p.m. The Tailgate Competition will take place and be judged on Sunday as well as the judging for Best of the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s
Location: Dorr Farm, Manchester
Time: Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
August 6 – 7 – Art in the Park – Fine Art & Craft Festival
Art in the Park has been named one of the “Sunshine Artist 200 Best,” and voted Rutland Herald’s Best of the Best in the category of Best Arts Festival. Added value like food, music, craft demonstrations, and kids activities are also offered.
Location: Main Street Park, Rutland
Time: 10am – 5pm
