This week, Boston embraces its rich, local history with spirited events that raise a glass to the revolution, celebrate the cultures and creatives of today, and honor the legacies of Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Celebrate Sarah Bradlee Fulton, Medford’s “Mother of the Boston Tea Party,” with historical games and a ghostly play, or head to the Old State House for a late-night, red-brick reverie. Or, on Monday, partake in special programming, activities, and entertainment across Fenway, and explore the city’s many museums with free admission in recognition of the commemorative holiday. Here are several no-cost activities and events for the week of Oct. 13-19.
CREATIVE DAY OUT The Fenway Cultural Alliance’s Opening Our Doors Day offers free programs throughout the Fenway neighborhood, starting at 10 a.m. with a ceremony at the BYSO Youth Center for Music featuring Boston’s poet laureate Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah. Also on the itinerary: hands-on activities like an aluminum pour at MassArt, where you can try casting metal into designs to take home; and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s instrument playground, where attendees can play around with string, percussion, and brass instruments. Plus, catch the Huntington Theatre’s ongoing show, “Sardines (a comedy about death),” or the Wheelock Family Theatre’s “Leonardo!” for free, both at 2 p.m. See the full list of events and schedule on the Alliance’s website. Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Various locations. fenwayculture.org
NEW FUN IN OLD PLACES Revolutionary Spaces will transform the Old State House into a party venue for The Let Out, an after-hours celebration featuring free snacks and live performances to the historic building. Chef Dave’s will serve a tasting menu inspired by Revolutionary-era cooking, J.P. Licks hosts a sundae bar, and Colonial-themed cocktails will be served to time-travelers 21+. The building’s two floors will host live music acts throughout the night, and at 9 p.m., head outside for a spoken word and poetry performance on the balcony. Oct. 16, 9-11 p.m. Old State House, 206 Washington St. RSVP required. revolutionaryspaces.org
Performers in “Ghostly Appearances,” the play featured at Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day.John Harrison
REVOLUTIONARY FUN Looking Back at Medford History celebrates Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day, honoring the city’s most famous Daughter of Liberty. At 11 a.m., catch “Ghostly Appearances,” an outdoor play starring local George Washington impersonator John Koopman III on horseback, a Naval fife and drum marching band, and ghosts of American Revolution past. Then, stop by Ye Olde Arcade, a pop-up tent with authentic Colonial-era games, including wooden bowling, marbles, and Jacob’s ladder. Here’s a fun fact: during the Boston Tea Party, patriots would sometimes drink hot chocolate as a replacement for British tea and attendees honor the historical boycott with free Dunkin’ hot chocolate available at the event. Oct. 18, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Salem St. Burying Ground, Medford. freedomsway.org
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TAKE A BREAK AccessCulture’s RESET event aims to provide a “reset” from the stressors of life, and brings together various cultural performing groups. From Native American performance group Red Hawk Singers & Dancers, to local Irish step dance to West African drumming from Joh Camara, City Hall will play host to an afternoon of diverse, live acts. Sage burning, an Indigenous tradition, will occur around the plaza, and earplugs will be provided on request. Oct. 19, 1-4 p.m. City Hall Plaza, 1 City Hall Square. accessculture.org
PUMPKINS AND PARADES SomerStreets: Monster Mash will bring early Halloween festivities to Somerville Ave. Through the afternoon, expect live music and performances, including local spooky dance group BosWitches, and activities like pumpkin carving, face painting, ring-making, lawn games, and a haunted house for children. At 3:15, the Community Parade begins from Union Square, and attendees are encouraged to bring their costumes and join a parade alongside the puppets from Big Nazo. Public transport is suggested — Somerville Avenue will be closed from School Street to Warren Avenue for the duration of the event. Oct. 19, 2-6 p.m. Somerville. somervilleartscouncil.org
Costumed guests and performers take part in the Somerville Arts Council’s Monster Mash parade.Megan Senturk/Somerville Arts Council
Deals and Steals
Multiple museums in the Boston area offer free admission on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. See locations and times below:
Harvard Museum of Natural History 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 26 Oxford St., Cambridge. hmsc.harvard.edu
Institute of Contemporary Art 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 25 Harbor Shore Drive. icaboston.org
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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 25 Evans Way. gardnermuseum.org
MassArt Art Museum 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 621 Huntington Ave. maam.massart.edu
Museum of Fine Arts 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 465 Huntington Ave. mfa.org
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 11 Divinity Ave., Cambridge. hmsc.harvard.edu
Check individual event websites for the most up-to-date information.
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Send info on free events and special offers at least 10 days in advance to ryan.yau@globe.com.
BOSTON (WHDH) – Police are investigating a shooting in Dorchester on Saturday afternoon that left a person hospitalized, officials said.
Officers responding to a reported shooting in the area of 480 Quincy St. around 3 p.m. found a person suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, according to Boston police. The person was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for their injuries.
Ballistic evidence was recovered nearby in the area of Coleman Street.
No arrests have been made.
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No additional information was immediately available.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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St. Patrick’s Day explained — history, myths and why we celebrate it
Uncover the truth behind Ireland’s patron saint, the myths and modern traditions of St. Patrick’s Day. Video created using the Wochit AI tool.
Wochit
With St. Patrick’s Day only two weeks away, the city of Boston is preparing to host the biggest celebration of the holiday in all of Massachusetts – the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade.
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However, the Southie parade is not only one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the country, but also one of the oldest. In fact, Boston first hosted a parade for St. Patrick’s Day in 1737, 39 years before the country itself was even formed. While the celebration has not happened every year since then, according to the date of establishment, Boston’s parade is the second-oldest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world.
Here’s a brief history of South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
History of Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade
According to the parade website, the city of Boston first hosted a St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 17, 1737. The celebration was “a gesture of solidarity among the city’s new Irish immigrants,” as “Boston’s Irish community joined together in festivities of their homeland to honor the memory of the Patron Saint of Ireland.”
In 1901, the parade moved to South Boston, a neighborhood with a large Irish population. Southie is also home to Dorchester Heights, where British troops evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776. Given the significance of both occasions to the city, Boston’s annual parade came to celebrate both St. Patrick’s Day and Irish heritage, as well as Evacuation Day and military service.
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The parade happens each year on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick’s Day, taking a break in 1994 and again in 2020-21.
St. Patrick’s Day in MA: 5 St. Patrick’s Day parades in Massachusetts to check out this March
What is the oldest St. Patrick’s Day celebration?
The oldest recorded celebration of St. Patrick’s Day took place in St. Augustine, Florida in 1600, with the city’s first parade following in 1601.
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According to University of South Florida history professor J. Michael Francis, “The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States did not occur in Boston or New York. Rather, those who first gathered to venerate St. Patrick and process through city streets included a blend of Spaniards, Africans, Native Americans, Portuguese, a French surgeon, a German fifer, and at least two Irishmen, who marched together in honor of the Irish saint.”
While St. Augustine still hosts a parade for the Irish holiday today, the oldest continuous St. Patrick’s Day Parade is in New York City, where there has been a parade every year since 1762.
Boston will have the third vacancy among major U.S. orchestras.
Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra during a rehearsal for the traditional New Year’s concert at the golden hall of Vienna’s Musikverein, in Vienna, Austria, Monday, Dec. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File) AP
By RONALD BLUM, Associated Press
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2 minutes to read
Andris Nelsons is being forced out as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2027 after 13 seasons.
The orchestra made an unusually blunt announcement Friday.
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“The decision to not renew his contract was made by the BSO’s board of trustees because, beyond our shared desire to ensure our orchestra continues to perform at the highest levels, the BSO and Andris Nelsons were not aligned on future vision,” the BSO said in a statement from its trustees and CEO Chad Smith.
A five-time Grammy award winner, the 47-year-old Nelsons is currently leading the Vienna Philharmonic on a U.S. tour and was to conduct the orchestra in Naples, Florida, on Friday night.
“While this is not the decision I anticipated or wanted, I am unwaveringly committed to you and to our work together,” Nelson wrote in a letter to BSO musicians and staff that was released by his management agency. “I understand the decision was not related to artistic standards, performances, or achievements during my tenure, and, therefore, my focus is straightforward: to protect the music, support the orchestra’s stability, and continue to perform with the musicians of the BSO at the highest artistic level.”
Nelsons made his BSO debut in March 2011 at New York’s Carnegie Hall as a replacement for James Levine, who announced 10 days earlier he was stepping down as BSO music director at the end of the 2010-11 season because of poor health.
Nelson was announced as music director in May 2013 and given a five-year contract starting with the 2014-15 season. The orchestra announced contract extensions in 2015 and 2020, then in January 2024 said he was given an evergreen rolling contract. He was bestowed an added title of head of conducting at Tanglewood, the music and educational center that is the orchestra’s summer home.
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The last extension was announced a few months after Smith, who had been with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, started as the BSO’s chief executive.
Nelsons was music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Britain from 2008-09 and has been chief conductor of Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in Germany since the 2017-18 season. He married soprano Kristine Opolais in 2011, and in 2018 they announced their divorce.
Boston will have the third vacancy among major U.S. orchestras. Gustavo Dudamel is leaving the Los Angeles Philharmonic this summer after 17 seasons to become music director of the New York Philharmonic and Franz Welser-Möst will depart the Cleveland Orchestra at the end of 2026-27 after 25 seasons.
In addition, Klaus Mäkelä takes over the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2027-28, when he also starts as chief conductor the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in the Netherlands.
