FREE EVENTS ALL SUMMER LONG ON THE BOSTON HARBOR ISLANDS

Music, Art, Theatre, and Family Fun Day Activities
May through October, 2008

Every weekend there are FREE summer concerts, walking tours, programs and events at Boston Harbor Islands national park area. Every Friday the islands host Boston Children's Theatre for performance series, live theatre performed by children for children on Georges Island. On Sunday afternoons, swing to the sounds of Dixieland jazz on Spectacle Island. Weekends are Family Fun Days, with a wide variety of free interactive activities from exploring tide pools to kite flying. Also, try your hand at kayaking too, half-hour free trials on Spectacle Island. There are also cultural and historical events such as costumed civil war walking tours, and Native American performances. Summer programs and Family Fun Days are presented by The Boston Harbor Island Alliance, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the National Park Service. Boston Children's Theatre performances are additionally funded by the Dominion Foundation.

How to get there:

Boston Harbor Island Express Ferries operate seven days a week, and depart from Boston's Long Wharf (next to Christopher Columbus Park), Hingham Shipyard, and Hull's Pemberton Point. Long Wharf is easily accessible from the New England Aquarium MBTA Blue Line stop.

Ferry fares: Adult $14, Senior (age 65+) $10, Child (3-11) $8. Children under age 3 are FREE. Family Four-Packs are $42. Inter-Island shuttle available.

Harbor Islands Express is the ferry transportation provider for the Boston Harbor Islands national park area. Operating a fleet of brand new environmentally friendly high-speed catamarans, from Boston or Hingham, to the islands in 25 minutes. The vessels feature comfortable seating, restroom facilities, and full-service snack bars. For more information visit harborexpress.com or call 617-222-6999.

2008 Boston Harbor Islands Programs and Events

Music on the Boston Harbor Islands

Every Sunday, starting June 22 through September 21

12:00pm to 4:00pm

Dixie, Swing, & Jazz with David Ehle

Spectacle Island

Hear all the songs you know from the American songbook of the last century. Straight from the Visitor Center's porch, overlooking the life-guarded beach, tap your feet to the sounds of a live band.

Sunday, June 15 - Father's Day Extravaganza

The Pop Stars at Georges Island

Performances at 12:00pm & 2:00pm

Bring your family out to hear this seven-piece all DAD band! With relatable and timeless songs such as "Spilt Milk", "Baby on the Way" and "Pooped On" the POP Stars are sure to make your Father's Day fun.

Saturday, June 21 & Friday, July 4

Performances at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society

Georges Island

Hear a variety of sea shanties, nautical tunes and songs from the British Isles and New England, played on traditional instruments.

Saturday, July 5

Performances at 12:15pm & 2:00pm

Toe Jam Puppet Band - The Pirate Show

Georges Island

Dance pirate-y jigs with the Toe Jam crew such as, The Skull & Crossbones Square Dance and a line-dance called Pirates Arrr Funky, where the kids become dancing Lobsters & Seagulls & even dancing Sharks! Come and see cuddle fish cuddle, porpoises find their purposes and live mermaids dressed up before your eyes. All landlubbers are invited! So climb aboard, and if ya' feel so inclined, come dressed like a Pirate, or a Mermaid or as your favorite Sea Creature and we¹ll have a Piratey Celebration! Arrrgh!

Saturday, July 26

Performances at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Nature in Action, Story and Song with Jackson Gillman

Georges Island

Take a romp on the wild and crazy side of natural science with stand-up Chameleon Jackson Gillman.

Art on the Boston Harbor Islands

August 29 & 30, September 1

9:00am to 4:00pm

Bumpkin Island

Art EnCAMPment

Artists become temporary "homesteaders," in this exploration of transforming an empty plot of land (their campsite) into a resource sustaining themselves and their community. The public are welcome to view interactive installations, mainly using materials found on the island in addition to what the artists bring - which is limited by what they can carry onto the island.

Be Active on the Boston Harbor Islands

Sunday, June 15 - Father's Day Vintage Baseball Tournament

Games at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Essex Base Ball Club vs. Waterbury (CT) Connors

Georges Island

Celebrate your dad and take him out to the ball game, in 19th Century-style! See an authentically played and costumed 1860s base ball game in historic Fort Warren.

Saturday, July 19 - Vintage Base Ball

Games at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Georges Island

Lynn Live Oaks Base Ball Club vs. NJ's Flemington Neshanock

Take yourself out to a ballgame! Costumed in 1860s base ball uniforms, watch these two teams play America's favorite pastime by the original rules. Players welcome audience participation! This weekend only - special baseball table top exhibit and performance of the great Casey at the Bat!

Sunday, July 20 - Vintage Base Ball

Games at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Georges Island

Essex Base Ball Club vs. NJ's Flemington Neshanock

Take yourself out to a ballgame! Costumed in 1860s base ball uniforms, watch these two teams play America's favorite pastime by the original rules. Players welcome audience participation! This weekend only - special baseball table top exhibit and performance of the great Casey at the Bat!

Saturday, August 2 & Saturday, August 30

11:00am to 3:00pm

Georges Island

Learn to Fish!

Take a fishing lesson off the pier of Georges Island. John Hoffman of the Fishing Academy provides the poles, bait, and expertise; you bring your love of the great outdoors!

Saturday, August 23 - Vintage Base Ball

Games at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Georges Island

Melrose Pondfeilders vs. Fitchburg Rollstones

Sunday, August 24 Vintage Base Ball

SPECIAL VISIT FROM THE RED SOX 2007 WORLD SERIES TROPHY!

Games at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Georges Island

All-Star Game! Also an up-close visit from the Red Sox 2007 World Series Trophy, making its tour stop on the Boston Harbor Islands.

Cove Kayaking

10:00 am to 4:00pm

Offered Daily, starting Wednesday, July 2nd through Thursday, August 28 except Tuesdays & Fridays. First come, first serve - weather permitting, determined by island staff.

Spectacle Island

Paddle up! Try your hand at ocean-kayaking in Spectacle Island's life-guarded cove.

Go Fly a Kite Sundays

Sunday, June 22 through August 31

1:30pm to 3:30pm

Spectacle Island

Bring your own or make your own! Kids are invited to decorate their kite, and see it fly. Kite materials provided, one kite per child, while supplies last.

4th Annual Boston Harbor Islands Regatta

Saturday, September 27

10:00am to 4:00pm

Georges Island

Watch over 110 sail boats in a spectacular, figure-8 pursuit race, around the Boston Harbor Islands! Music, island tours and fishing lessons available all day long!

History & Nature on the Boston Harbor Islands

Sundays - July 13, July 27, August 10, August 24

11:00am & 1:00pm

A Maryland Rebel in a Yankee Bastille, Georges Island Join the spirit of Dr. Charles Macgill of Hagerstown, Maryland, in a stroll through Fort Warren as he reminisces about his confinement here as a political prisoner during the Civil War.

Sunday, July 20

Discover the Boston Harbor Islands Author Event

Spectacle Island

Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands - A Guide to the City's Shores Meet the Author Christopher Klein at 1:00pm & 3:00pm

Saturday, August 16 - Catch the Science Bug!

11:00am to 3:00pm

Spectacle Island

11:00am-12:00pm
Where do you get your Water?

Do you know how much water you use in a day? Where does all that water come from? See how water moves through the ground and flows into reservoirs and wells via an aquifer model!

12:15pm-12:45pm
Be a Smart Shopper - Interactive Table top

1:00pm-2:00pm
Talking Trash

Is all our garbage destined for a landfill? Is a landfill the best solution or can that trash be good for something? How much trash do you produce in a day? Kim Bent will get you thinking about your impact on the environment and how technology will start changing views on waste.

Sundays starting June 22 through August 31

Wild Edibles Walk

Grape & Bumpkin Islands

1:00pm Grape / at 1:00pm Bumpkin

Rangers will show you where the best eating is for both of these camping islands.

Sundays starting June 22 through August 31

Wake up and Bird-Watch

Grape & Bumpkin Islands

9:30am Grape / at 10:00am Bumpkin

Bring your Sibley's and binoculars for some spectacular up-close viewing of the islands' fine-feathered friends.

Sundays starting June 22 through August 31

MicroWilderness Explorers

Lovells & Georges Islands

Leave your ID with a Ranger to use buckets, pails, nets to explore life in tide pools and beyond.

Starting June 21 - Daily Ranger-led Tours for Georges & Spectacle Islands

Georges Island Orientation
Weekdays (Mon-Thurs) 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm
Weekends (Fri-Sun) 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm

Spectacle Island Orientation at the Visitor Center
Weekdays (Mon-Thurs) 10:30am, 12:30pm, 2:30pm, 4:30pm
Weekends (Fri-Sun) 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 4:00pm

Performance and Theatre on the Boston Harbor Islands

Every Friday from June 27 through August 29, Performances at 12:15pm & 1:30pm

Friday Matinees with the Boston Children's Theatre

Ft Warren, Georges Island

See what's playing on stage at Fort Warren. From variety shows, musicals, historical plays and more, these children help bring the island to life! Details below.

Fridays, June 27, Thursday, July 3rd, Friday, July 11 at 12:15pm & 1:30pm
The Stolen Prince (A Chinese Folktale)

In this emblematic Chinese folktale/fantasy, we meet a boy, a duck, a girl and loving adoptive grandparents. In this tale of mistaken identity, all turns out well in the end, thanks to a helpful friend.

Fridays, July 18, July 25 at 12:15pm & 1:30pm
You're A Good Man Charlie Brown

Sing along with all the Peanuts gang - Lucy, Linus, Sally, Charlie and, of course Snoopy - in this classic musical with everyone's favorite comic strip characters.

Friday, August 8 at 12:15pm & 1:30pm
Boston Children's Theatre Showcase!

The players strike out and present a mix of their favorite scenes from a variety of classic theatre and musical performances.

Fridays, August 1, 15, 22, 29
Rumplestiltskin

Hear the classic Brothers Grimm tale - the strange saga of a little man with the secret name who knows how to spin straw into gold.

Saturday, July 12 & Saturday, August 9

Whispers in the Wind: Native American Culture on the Boston Harbor Islands

Performances at 11:00am & 1:00pm

Spectacle Island

Saturday, July 12

Wampanoag Nation Singers & Dancers

Dressed in striking, traditional hand-made regalia, Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers from the Cape Cod Area perform fully narrated dances. Audience participation is encouraged. "We prefer to sing and dance with the people instead of for the people," say spokesperson Kitty Hendricks-Miller.

Saturday, August 9

Quabbin Lake Singers

Singing in traditional Nipmuc tongue, this accomplished family musical group brings its cultural drumming and singing to Spectacle Island. Led by Drum Keeper Larry Spotted Crow Mann, this group boasts the youngest Native American lead singer around. Singing since the age of 4, this 11-yr old's powerful voice has shocked and amazed Pow Wow goers throughout the United States and Canada.

Halloween on the Harbor

October 25 & October 26

11:00am to 4:00pm

Halloween on the Harbor

Georges Island

A beloved island tradition! Eerie delight will fill several rooms in Fort Warren, and keep you eyes peeled for an appearance by The Lady in Black.

The Boston Harbor Islands national park features 34 islands encompassing 1,600 acres and 35 miles of undeveloped ocean shoreline, all within 10 miles of downtown Boston. Featuring hiking trails, beaches, ranger-led tours, camping, kayaking, boat cruises, nature walks and historic sites, the number of islands, their proximity to a major metropolitan area and their significant natural and cultural features create a resource that has no parallel in the United States. For more information, call 617-223-8666 or visit Bostonharborislands.org.