Special Events

Updated Aug 1, 2010

Boston Chocolate Tours –  Every Saturday July 3 - Aug 14

Boston Chocolate Tours  take place every Sat. morning leaving for a 2 1/2 walking tour of the Back Bay. Participants can learn and taste your way through Boston’s Historic Neighborhoods. For tourists and natives alike who want a unique perspective on the city, the new Boston Chocolate Tours provide a delicious and decadent way to see Boston’s walkable neighborhoods including Beacon Hill, the Back Bay and the South End.

In case you didn't know,Boston is a busy place this summer...among those happenings:

Swan Boats at Public Garden to Sept 19
The Swan Boats of Boston were established in 1877. They are a family owned and operated business with a unique tradition and special place in the history and beauty of the City of Boston.Located in the magnificent Public Garden, a ride on a Swan Boat lasts about 15 minutes and provides you with a peaceful and picturesque voyage on the waters of the lagoon.There are no other Swan Boats of this kind in anywhere in the world.The Swan Boats are open seven days per week, weather permitting. We cannot operate on rainy, windy, or extremely hot days.
Tickets are purchased at the Swan Boat dock. No advanced reservations are required.
The Swan Boats driver paddles passengers around the Public Garden Lagoon for a 15 minute peaceful cruise.
Animals (except Seeing eye dogs) are not permitted.
The Swan Boats are wheelchair (non-motorized) accessible.
Hours & Fares
Spring (April to June 20) 10 am to 4 pm
Summer (June 21 to Labor Day) 10 am to 5 pm
Fall (After Labor Day) 12 pm to 4 pm Weekdays
10 am to 4 pm Weekends
Adults $2.75
Children $1.50 (age 2 to 15 years)
Seniors $2.00

The Roxy is now the Royale
Having totally overhauled the old Roxy, RB’s a sleek new Roman-esque nightclub/event venue (with over 100 live concerts a year) regally outfitted w/ plush gold leather couches and lion statues, balcony lounges, a huge dance floor/stage flanked by two wooden thrones, random suits of armor, and a marble columned bar fronting a giant bust of Caesar.
 Royale 279 Tremont St, btw Stuart & Oak; Theater District; 617.338.7699

 "Boston By Foot" Walking Tours of Boston Neighborhoods Throughout Summer
Bostonians can already talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? Although Boston’s known as “America’s walking city,” how many of us have stopped to “smell the roses?” It’s time to slow down and look around!
Beginning in May, 2010 the Boston Center for Adult Education is offering a series of interactive walking
tours designed to educate and inspire. Explore the historical neighborhoods on foot, and discover fascinating facts about thecommunity around us! Whether you’ve just moved to the city and want to get to know your neighborhood, or lived in the city for years, there’s something foreveryone to discover.
For more info: Contact Boston Center For Adult Education 617 267 4430 or www.bcae.org

Charles River Museum of Industry Closed Due to Flooding
The Charles River Museum of Inudustry is closed due to flooding in March, 2010.

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.