FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
1.Fourth of July
Given Boston’s crucial role in securing independence for the original 13 colonies, Independence Day adopts a certain important here. With parties, barbecues and a fireworks display on the Charles River banks, Boston throws the nation a spectular birthday party.
Boston Pops’ Fourth of July concert at Hatch Shell on the Esplanade
2.Chinese New Year
Chinatown buzzes with the pageantry of the Chinese New Year (held in either January or February). Streets are transformed into patchworks of color, while sidewalk vendors peddle steamed buns, soups, and other Chinese delights. Don’t miss the annual parade, held the Saturday following the Lunar New Year.
3.Boston Flower and Garden Show
For a week in March, over 150,000 visitors descend on this indoor exhibition, hosted at various venues, to forget their winter blues and enjoy the spectacular display of bright blooms and fragrant aromas.
4.First Night
Despite the possibility of staggeringly cold weather, the New Year’s Eve festivities remain among the most highly anticipated events of Boston’s year. A pass grants access to concerts, performances, and museum exhibits throughout the city at a reasonable price, not to mention a dazzling midnight fireworks display over Boston Harbor.
5.Cambridge River Festival
For one day in mid-June the banks of the Charles River in Cambridge host a celebration of the city’s lively and diverse population. Musicians and dancers perform and artists sell their wares. Food vendors offer a taste of home.
6.Feast of St. Anthony
The Feast of St. Anthony caps an entire summer of feast holidays in the North End. On the last weekend in August, from morning well into the night, Hanover Street bulges with revelers, parades, and food vendors giving a vibrant display of the area’s old-world Italian spirit.
Feast of St. Anthony
7.Boston Calling
National headliners and new, up-and-coming acts perform live, with non-stop music for three days in May and September at City Hall Plaza, to sell-out crowds. It’s a family-friendly festival, with two stages and a good variety of high-energy performers and musical styles. In recent years, Boston Calling has featured the likes of Beck, the Pixies, Kendrick Lamar, Lorde, and the Alabama Shakes.
8.St. Patrick’s Day
Boston’s immense Irish-American population explains why few, if any, American cities can match Boston’s Irish pride. Come Paddy’s Day, pubs host live Irish bands and increasingly raucous crowds as the Guinness and the Shamrock-green ale flow freely. The South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, with its famous drum corps, starts off from Broadway “T” station.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade
9.Dine Out Boston
For one to two weeks in March and August, more than 100 restaurants in Boston, Cambridge, and neighboring suburbs offer bargain, fixed-price lunch and dinner menus. Locals look forward to, and make the most of, the opportunity to sample new restaurants, so it is wise to make reservations.
10.Lilac Sunday
While the Arnold Arboretum includes 4,463 species of flora, one plant deserves particular celebration. When its 500 lilac plants are at their fragrant, color-washed peak, garden enthusiasts arrive in droves for a May Sunday of picnics, folk dancing, and walking tours of the lilac collections.
TOP 10 SPORTING TRADITIONS
1.Boston Marathon
3rd Mon Apr • 617 236 1652The country’s oldest marathon.
2.Head of the Charles Regatta
3rd Sat & Sun Oct • 617 868 6200Rowing crews race down the Charles while the banks teem with onlookers.
3.Red Sox vs Yankees
617 267 1700The most heated rivalry in US sports flares up every time the Yanks visit Fenway Park.
4.Boston Celtics
617 624 1000The Celts keep basketball playoff dreams alive at the TD Garden.
Boston Celtics in action
5.Boston Bruins
617 624 1000Crowds cheer this ice hockey team at the TD Garden.
6.New England Patriots
800 543 1776Gillette Stadium is the home of the Patriots, three-time Super Bowl champs.
7.Harvard vs Yale
617 495 3454These Ivy League football teams butt helmets every other fall.
8.Beanpot Hockey Tournament
617 624 1000Every February Boston’s top collegiate hockey teams play each other.
9.New England Revolution
800 543 1776The local entry in Major League Soccer is an annual playoff threat at Gillette Stadium.
10.New Year’s Day Swim
The “L Street Brownies” swimming club take a dip in Boston Harbor every Jan 1.
