Special Events

Updated  March 7, 2010

 
Welcome in the spring with music and song at the REVELS SPING SING. Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 3:00pm at St. John’s Church, Watertown, MA
 Revels (producer of the annual RiverSing and The Christmas Revels, celebrating its 40th anniversary this December) welcomes in the spring Saturday, March 20th at 3:00pm in Watertown, MA with communal singing of seasonal songs led by Revels music director George Emlen who will be joined by Christmas Revels song leader and master musician, David Coffin and other featured soloists from past Revels performances..  The afternoon also features music by a fabulous string band and a spring mummers’ play.For immediate release

Flamenco Dancers from Around the World to Perform at Regis College
On Saturday, March 20 at 7:30 pm, the Regis College Fine Arts Center will host dancers and musicians from the Flamenco Dance Project for the presentation of “Flamenqueando.” Artists from Spain, Argentina, and the U.S. will appear together for one night only. The amazing performance will be held in the Casey Theater. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for seniors and students.
 
Flamenco Dance Project is a company of artists dedicated to evolving the art of Flamenco dance and music by showcasing the talents of U.S.-based flamenco performers. “Flamenqueando” will feature guest dancer Antonio Arrebola from Spain, and guitarist Kai Narezo, a Los Angeles-based guitarist whose background includes study in both the caves of Sacromonte and at the Berklee College of Music. Accompanying Narezo will be singer/dancer La Conja, who recently completed a three-week run with Savion Glover at the Joyce Theater in New York City. Cajon player Gonzalo Grau was just nominated for a Grammy as leader of his “other” band, La Clave Secreta. They will be joined by dancers Jose Moreno, Maria Galán and Sabrina Avilés, each of whom has performed Flamenco for many years and in major dance companies. This talented group has delighted Flamenco fans for years with the passion and artistry of their dances.
Regis College is located at 235 Wellesley St. Weston, MA. For ticket information, call 781-768-7070 or visit flamencodanceproject.com.

Boston Wine Festival  January 8 - April 2, 2010
Join the toasting of fine wines and exceptional cuisine from around the world, during the 21st Annual Boston Wine Festival. This exceptional 3-month long celebration will be held once again at the Boston Harbor Hotel, one Boston historic waterfront. The Boston Wine Festival is considered one of Boston's premier "kick-off to the year" event. Festivities commence with a Grand Opening Reception on January 8th at 7:00 PM. The extensive list of exclusive dinners, wine and food pairing recommendations and seminars from the world's most renowned wine-makers, requires you to visit the festival's website or call for a catalogue. Reservations for all events are strongly recommended.

"Innovations of Yesteryear," New Waltham museum exhibit at Charles River Museum of Industry
Families may take a ride on a miniature train, see steam engines in action, hear one of the world's most unusual instruments (a sarrusophone), and type a letter to their Nanas on a 1920s typewriter.

Hosted in conjunction with the citywide Historic Waltham Days, Innovations of Yesteryear takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 154 Moody St.Refreshments will be available. Admission is $10.00 for adult and $5.00 for children, students and seniors, children under the age of five are admitted free. Festival admission includes all festival and museum exhibits. Open Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays
For more information or directions visit www.crmi.org or call (781) 893-5410.

Ongoing Events:

The Boston Audissey: Walking tour through Boston history
The tour, which is available on MP3 and CD, also comes with a map, sound effects, narration and music. As you listen to the dramatic stories, you can visit all or part of these 28 sites described dramatically (the entire tour takes app. 78 minutes). Boston natives serve as the various guides, and each brings his or her own personality to the tour as you visit such varied sites as the Underground Railway, the North End, (Boston's largely Italian neighborhood), and learn some very interesting facts as well as the legends that occurred at these Boston locations. It's a unique way to catch up with Hub history. Created by Rob Pyle, you can get more information at www.AudisseyGuides.com

Photowalks: A unique way to capture the city with your camera
Walk through the city of Boston with a professional These tours uncover photo ops and offer unique commentary about the best places to shoot on Beacon Hill, the Public Garden, The Freedom Trail and the Waterfront. Fascinating facts and history result in wonderful memories of your trip into the city.
For more information: www.photowalks.com.

Boston Movie Mile: Hollywood East
Boston has always been a draw for Hollywood because of its old and new ambience. Some of the more popular films set or shot in the city and environs were "Mystic River," and The Boston Strangler." TV shows include "Ally McBeal," "Cheers," and the current "Boston Legal."
This 90-minute walking tour includes Beacon Hill, the Public Garden and other locations where the movies were set.

For more information: www.bostonmovietours.net.

Prudential Skywalk opens new "Welcome to Boston" Theatre
New England's highest man-made observatory point has added a new feature -- a film celebrating the story of immigrants who came to Boston. Aside from the new film, the skywalk offers breathtaking 360° views of Boston, 700 feet in the air. The Skywalk Observatory & Exhibit is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Please note, the Skywalk does close for private functions, so it's a good idea to call ahead to confirm that they will be open on the day of your planned visit. (Phone: 617-859-0648.)
You can purchase tickets at the Skywalk Observatory kiosk located in Prudential Arcade. The kiosk is open from 10 a.m. -6 p.m. 7 days a week. If the kiosk is closed, you may also purchase tickets at the Skywalk entrance on the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower.
Ticket Prices: Adults: $9.50, Seniors: $7.00, Children under 12: $6.50.

Le Grand David spectacular magic show back in Beverly
It's worth the trip to the North Shore for this Sunday afternoon diversion that will astound you with its professionalism. It's one of the area's best family events, with illusion and hocus pocus that will keep your mesmerized. They take over the Cabot Street Cinema Theatre, 286 Cabot Street in Beverly, every Sunday for a 3 p.m. performance. For more information: (978) 927-3677.

Boston History Collaborative inaugurates new "Innovation Odyssey"
In its effort to bring the history of the area alive to visitors and residents alike, the enterprising Boston History Collaborative has come up with an innovative tour that dramatizes the various breakthroughs in medicine, technology, and finance that began in the Boston area. Some of the highlights of the 2-1/2 hour tour through Boston and Cambridge include a visit to the Ether Dome at Mass General Hospital where anesthesia was discovered (my favorite stop), at Harvard's Memorial Hall we learn of the little-known African slave who made the smallpox vaccination possible, and the final stop takes us to the Pioneer Telephone Museum near Government Center, an amazing display of telephones from the day they were invented to the present. All this is told in dramatic fashion by the tour guide, the chameleon-like actress Margaret Ann Brady who brings to life some of the wonderful stories and characters from a script by local playwright Jon Lipsky, who, through painstaking research keeps us enthralled in his dramatization of the many historic events that helped to advance civilization -- the birth of the Internet, mutual funds, many biotechnical discoveries. It makes one realize the ingenuity, the foresight, the talent that made Boston such a beehive of creativity. Unlike your usual historic tours, this one brings history alive. It's highly original and spellbinding.
The tour takes place on the third Saturday of the month at 10 a.m., leaving from 28 State St. (opposite the Old State House).
For tickets or more information: www.InnovationTrail.com.

Other tours to consider include:

• The Literary Trail takes a peek at the rich literary history of Boston from Beacon Hill to the Boston Public Library to Walden Pond. The trail, stretching approximately 20 miles from Omni Parker House to Harvard Square, has both trolley tours and short, self-guided walking tours. Reservations are required and the 5-hour trolley tour costs $35 for adults. There is a 10% admission discount for children under 18-years-old and students with I.D. Visit www.Lit-Trail.org or call (617) 574-5950 for more information.

• Boston By Sea - The Maritime Trail traverses both water and land on this musical tour that showcases Boston Light, Fort Warren on George's Island, the USS Constitution, the Inner Harbor HarborWalk, the New England Aquarium and the Boston Tea Party Ship. Live music, drama, and video are used to share the stories of discovery and adventure that tell the story of Boston Harbor. Part of the Maritime Trail is the "Long Wharf Walking Tour." Tours leave from the Marriott's Custom House lobby at McKinley Square off of State St. For more information: (617) 574-5950 or www.Bostonbysea.org.

• Finally, The Family History and Immigrant Trail currently comes in the form of a Web site that helps Americans in finding their family roots who immigrated through, or lived in, Boston. An estimated 25 percent of Americans have a Boston root. Within the Web site there are several virtual tours that include Irish, Italian, Chinese, Jewish and Puerto Rican heritages. The tours are tied to local ethnic associations, as well as neighborhood history societies. There are plans to fully flesh out an Immigrant Trail that will feature the Boston Immigrant Museum, a Holocaust Memorial and Irish Famine Memorial. Visit The Family History Trail online at www.BostonFamilyHistory.org

One more trail still in the design phase: The Abolitionism-to-Civil Rights Project
For more information about the Boston History Collaborative or any of their projects, call (617) 574-5950.

If you need any more information about any of the events listed on this page, please contact me and I will be more than happy to get back to you.