March Happenings North of Boston

Despite the unpredictable weather March might bring (is it winter, is it spring?) there are still ample opportunities for adventure and discovery this month! We welcome another action-packed four weeks in our area. Here’s some more inspiration to keep you out and about North of Boston!

March 4th: Chili and Beer Festival, Sea Level Oyster Bar, Salem

Nothing warms the soul like a cup of chili and Sea Level Oyster Bar is bringing the heat with their Chili & Beer Festival. Local restaurants will be competing for the title of “BEST CHILI” in the area, including some of the best restaurants and breweries around to help gain your votes. Tickets are $45 and include beer, samples of chili, live music a raffle, giveaways, and more! Competing restaurants include Sea Level Oyster Bar Salem, Finz Seafood and Grille, Longboards, Mercy Tavern, Lobster Shanty, The Landing Marblehead, Village Tavern, and the Salem Fire Department! Featured breweries include Downeast, Lord Hobo, Old Planters, Great Marsh, True North, Night Shift, Anheuser- Busch, Rockport, Bentwater, Troegs, and Notch!

Throughout March: Maple Season Events at Appleton Farms

Maple season has arrived at Appleton Farms and that means a little bit of maple-flavored everything. Explore the sugar bush and sugar shack at Appleton Farms this Maple Season! During this special time of year while the trees are running, the farm comes alive with all things Maple. Join them for free maple syrup demonstrations, and maple-inspired menus! Plus on Saturdays in March you can join them for Maple Madness Pizza Pop-Ups when they will light up our wood-fired oven and serve Appleton’s famous pies, and will even add on a maple-inspired twist. Their proprietary dough is hand-made and we will have a limited quantity, so get here while they last!

March 4: Amesbury Carriage Museum Fundraiser: Wine in the Winter

Enjoy a taste of wine on a winter evening in the ambiance of the Industrial History Center in support of the Amesbury Carriage Museum’s mission. Taste red and white wine from around the world; enjoy cheese, fruit, chocolate treats, and more! Tickets begin at $35.

March 4: Sea Shanties: From Ship to Shore, Peabody Essex Museum

Sea shanties are lively, rhythmic work songs sung aboard sailing vessels during the 1800s. Connected to local places, labor, gender, the natural environment, and America’s maritime history, they form a musical tradition that underwent a wild resurgence on social media during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring live musical demonstrations, this discussion will unpack some myths and misconceptions!

March 9: Romeo & Juliet, Northshore Music Theatre

The North Shore Music Theatre is back for the season! In William Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet, a long feud between the Montague and Capulet families disrupts the city of Verona and causes tragic results for Romeo and Juliet. Revenge, love, and a secret marriage force the young star-crossed lovers to grow up quickly — and fate causes them to commit suicide in despair.

March 5: Red Hot Chili Pipers at Blue Ocean Music Hall

It’s The Red Hot Chilli PIPERS – (NOT the Peppers!) — a 9-piece ensemble consisting of pipers, guitarists, keyboards, and drummers. Bagpipes with attitude.  Drums with a Scottish accent. A blazing rock band and show so hot, it carries its own health warning! Bagpipes with attitude.  Drums with a Scottish accent. A blazing rock band and show so hot, it carries its own health warning! It’s Bagpipes. It’s Rock. It’s Bagrock. AC/DC meets the poet Robert Burns. Where rock anthems sit comfortably alongside the great tunes from the glens and the mountains of Scotland.

March 9: Argentinian Wine Dinner, 1606 Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Join the 1606 culinary team for an evening of exquisite cuisine and paired wines celebrating the region of Argentina. Each of the five courses will feature wines carefully thought out and chosen to pair with the dishes. Prepared by Chef Jon McKechnie.

March 10: Doubt, A Parable, Firehouse Center for the Arts
https://www.firehouse.org/event/doubt-a-parable/2023-03-10/

In this brilliant and powerful drama, Sister Aloysius, a Bronx school principal, takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of improper relations with one of the male students.

March 12-26: Greater Newburyport’s Restaurant Week

Discover the great restaurants of the Greater Newburyport Community with a multi-course menu offered at a deal of a limited time! Participating restaurants include Bar25, Brine Oyster, Joy Nest, Loretta Restaurant, Metzy’s Cantina, Michael’s Harborside, Mission Oak Grill, Nu Kitchen, Oregano Pizzeria & Ristorante, Paddle Inn, Sea Level Oyster Bar, Starboard Galley, The Grog Restaurant, Tuscan Sea Grill.

March 12, 7 pm: The Cabot’s Academy Awards Viewing Party

It’s Back & You’re Invited! Go to watch the awards on the big screen, play movie trivia games for fun prizes, and enjoy complimentary appetizers and a cash bar! RSVP by March 8th to ensure your spot. Dressing up is encouraged! The best outfit wins a prize! Light appetizers will be provided. A Cash bar will be available as well.

March 15: St Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn, Shalin Liu Performance Center
St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn returns to theatres this year throughout New England. Now we can again celebrate our humanity in the company of each other, to celebrate Celtic music, song, and dance in the casual, welcoming style they first created in 2005. The goal of A St. Patrick’s Day Celtic Sojourn each year is to explore the impact of Irish traditional music, song, and dance around the world.

March 17, Queen Flash, The ReaL Tribute to Queen, Blue Ocean Music Hall
Look-a-like, sound-a-like, Johnny Zatylny has been captivating audiences by carrying on the musical tradition of Freddie Mercury since 2000. His amazing likeness with the original, matches his perfect performance of “Queen” songs both through his voice and his unmistakable stage presence.

March 20: CraneOutdoors: Spring Equinox Sunset Hike

Join this guided hike at Castle Hill to celebrate the start of Spring! Explorers will get to visit the gardens and grounds of Castle Hill, and then hike through our coastal habitats, enjoying a beautiful sunset over the dunes and salt marsh at Cedar Point. Learn about the history, culture, and environment at the Crane Estate, how this land has been used for centuries by indigenous people, European settlers, plants, & animals, and more!

March 25: Winter Birding Boat Trip

Join the Greater Cape Ann Chamber aboard 7 Seas Whale Watch for the Annual Cape Anne Winter Birding Boat Trip! Cape Ann is known worldwide for its exciting concentrations of winter seabirds. Thousands of birders visit the rugged coast of Cape Ann and scan the adjacent waters hoping to spot some of the unusual and highly sought-after seabirds that spend the winter months just offshore. The best way to get to see these birds and experience them up close is to visit them in their natural habitat- on the ocean!

March 23-April 2: Salem Film Fest
Since 2007, Salem Film Fest (SFF) has brought the world’s best independent documentaries and their makers to Boston’s North Shore. Now the largest international documentary film festival in Massachusetts, the event annually presents features, shorts, and special events to a loyal audience of thousands. The 16th edition of the festival takes place in a hybrid format consisting both of in-person and virtual screenings, filmmaker q&as as well as parties and other special events.

March 31: Fish Tales, Gloucester Stage Company

Since its first iteration in 2013 to 2023, the Gloucester Writers Center’s “Moth”-like storytelling showcase has grown from a cozy evening among friends to one of the city’s most-loved events, featuring storytellers from Gloucester and beyond. Join us on April Fools’ Day Eve for stories about the fools we’ve known and the fools we’ve been, about fooling around and playing the fool. Yes—you’d be a fool to miss it.

Photo credits: Hero image – courtesy of Beauport Hospitality / 1606 Restaurant; chili courtesy of Sea Level Oyster Bar; pizza courtesy of Appleton Farms / The Trustees; courtesy of Amesbury Industrial History Center; graphic courtesy of Northshore Music Theatre; Red Hot Chili Pipers courtesy of Blue Ocean Music Hall; graphic courtesy of Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce; graphic courtesy of The Cabot; Queen Flash courtesy of Blue Ocean Music Hall; Sunset courtesy of CraneOutdoors / The Trustees; graphic courtesy of Greater Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce; graphic by Gloucester Stage Company.