North of Boston

Children's Witch Hat Decorating at The Hawthorne Hotel
2025-04-12 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Hawthorne Hotel, 18 Washington Sq. West, Salem, 01970, United States
Children’s Witch Hat Decorating at The Hawthorne Hotel
Activity Length: 30 minutes
Location: The Hawthorne Hotel 18 Washington Square West, Salem MA 01970 Second Floor, Pickman Room
Hosted By: This is a self-guided activity overseen by Good Witch Apprentices
Decorate a magical witch hat in the color of your choice with craft gems, stickers, ribbon, tulle and a charm.
Under age 4 may participate with the help of a supervising adult.
Ticket purchase only admits one (1) participating child.
Please note: Event ticket purchases are non-refundable at this time.

NEC Honors Ensemble Showcase
2025-04-12 11:00 - 12:30 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
Come hear talented, developing artists from the New England Conservatory’s Honors program. This concert features a wide range of music, including a piano quartet, vocal jazz quintet and woodwind quintet!
Free, Reservations Encouraged
“NEC is more that just a school, it’s an epiphany.”- NEC student

Newburyport Art presents the April Exhibitions!
2025-04-12 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-13 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-15 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-16 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-17 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-18 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-19 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-20 11:00 - 17:00 and 2 more dates | Newburyport Art Association, 65 Water St, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Newburyport Art (NAA) presents new exhibitions opening on April 3rd! On view in the Sargent Gallery is the 2025 OpArt Exhibition, featuring artists from Opportunity works. On view in the Hills Gallery is the Newburyport Ten and Band of Brushes Show, featuring works painted en-plein-air by 13 artists. Lastly, in the upstairs Hartson Gallery is Youth Voice, an exhibit highlighting young artists in grades 1 through 12. Additionally, Artist Spotlight Kathleen Miller will be on view from April 11 to 24 in the Mural Gallery.
The 2025 OpArt Exhibition features over 30 works created by OpArt artists. OpArt is dedicated to empowering people with disabilities to enrich their lives through creative expression and artistic practice by providing art instruction in a variety of mediums and techniques. Artists are encouraged to work freely and experiment across different media (paint pastels, collage, drawing, sculpture, etc.) to create artwork centered on a theme or create independently. An opening reception will be held on April 3rd from 11:00-1:00 PM.
The Newburyport Ten and Band of Brushes Show features works created en plein-air by local artists. “Plein air” is a French expression meaning “in the open air.” Both groups travel to various landscape, seacoast, and garden venues together to paint. Artists featured include: Dorothy Aham, Michele Champion, Grace Daly, Karen Fitzgerald, Mary Francis, Margery Jennings, John Kessler, Christine Molitor Johnson, Kris Munroe, Mary Parks, Daniel J. Shaw, Susan Spellman, and Mary Webber. Join the artists for an opening reception on April 5th from 4:00-6:00 PM.
Youth Voice, formerly known as Young & Budding, features the work of over 60 student artists from grades 1 through 12. Artists are from local and regional schools, with artworks An awards presentation and reception will be held on May 3rd from 3:00-4:00 PM.
The galleries are free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00am–5:00pm and Sunday from 1:00pm–5:00pm. Newburyport Art is closed on Mondays. The ground-floor Hills Gallery has an accessible entrance. More information, as well as an online gallery is available at newburyportart.org.
Founded in 1948, Newburyport Art is dedicated to promoting and exhibiting members’ work and to providing art education and access to the visual arts for the entire community.

Music in the Atrium: Celebrate Mother Earth with Johnny Fireseed
2025-04-13 11:30 - 13:30, 2025-04-18 11:30 - 13:30, 2025-04-20 11:30 - 13:30 | Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA, 01970, United States
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Atrium
Included with admission
Salem residents and workers always get free admission.
This program will contribute to the sound in the Atrium. If you would like to borrow noise canceling headphones, please pick up a KultureCity bag at the coatroom.
ABOVE IMAGE: Illustrations by Chris Cyr.
This month, our Music in the Atrium series celebrates Planet Earth with live performances by Johnny Fireseed. A project of Framingham-based Fireseed Arts Studios, lead by artist and musician Patiño Vázquez in collaboration with local musicians and craftspeople, Johnny Fireseed uses instruments made entirely from upcycled trash and repurposed items to perform original music with an upbeat eco message. The band’s inspiring sound aims to spread a message of joy, fun and new ways of thinking about consumption and waste far and wide.
Vázquez will be showcasing instruments made from locally harvested trash and live looping to create ambient soundscapes. Come hear high-end electric guitars made from old kitchen countertops and drums fashioned from ventilation ducts and popcorn tins in an aesthetic that’s “part Victorian Steampunk with elements of mystic meditations in heart-opening layers of rhythms and harmonies.” Building loops and then improvising over the loops gives the listener a feel for the looks and sound characteristics of each instrument. Audience members are often invited to join in the fun!
Music in the Atrium is PEM’s live concert series that features local and visiting performers from a variety of musical traditions and styles. Concerts take place on select Sundays. Explore upcoming shows at pem.org/events.

Connie Converse at 100: America's Cassandra
2025-04-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA, 01970, United States
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Morse Auditorium
Included with admission
Advance registration recommended.
When the music of the previously unknown Connie Converse was released in 2009, decades after she deliberately disappeared in 1974 (never to be heard from again), it created a new reference point in American music, and a need to rewrite the music history books.
In early 1950s New York, more than ten years before Bob Dylan and his contemporaries popularized the “singer-songwriter” identity, Converse was writing and performing witty, introspective, literary songs for voice and guitar. She was also a brilliant scholar, visual artist, activist and public thinker far ahead of her time.
Join Howard Fishman, author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse, in conversation with Boston Globe contributor James Sullivan and Trevor Smith, PEM’s Associate Director–Multisensory Experience and Curator of the Present Tense.
Their conversation will cover the Converse family’s long history in America, dating back to their 1630 arrival in Salem, and Converse’s relationship to the American songbook. They will also play samples from Converse’s pioneering recordings and haunting melodies. A book signing will follow the talk.

Bonsai Workshop at Old Planters Brewery
2025-04-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Old Planters Brewery, Rantoul Street 232, Beverly, M, 01915, United States
Beginner workshops are perfect for you to grab your friends, grab a drink and come make tiny trees! We’re bringing the awesome art of bonsai out of the hedged in gardens and into the streets! Or at least into your favorite bars/breweries/pubs. Bonsai Bar is a night of fun you don’t want to miss. Learn the fundamental skills and techniques behind the art of bonsai while enjoying a night out with friends! Our teachers will introduce core concepts and guide your experience as you pot, prune, and design your very own bonsai tree! Our Guarantee: These tiny trees are so hardy we guarantee you can keep yours alive, or we’ll replace it.
This workshop will be hosted at Old Planters Brewery. Our goal has always been to be firmly rooted in our community with everything we do. Whether it’s collaborating with other local businesses in our area (FRANK / Crave / Wandering Soul/ Fat Tuna Charters/ Half Baked) or giving back to the place that has given us so much (Beverly Hospital/HarborLight community partners) .
This idea of community rings true in our taproom as well. Our space has become a meeting place to hear local musicians, enjoy local artists, and get a taste of various foods in the Beverly area . It’s also a space where we would like ALL members of our community to feel welcome and accepted. For many, craft breweries can sometimes feel exclusive and intimidating for those that don’t consider themselves “beer nerds” and this is a notion we will always work hard to dispel. We believe beer should be fun/accepting and our goal is to always have a variety of beers that speak to a wide audience.
Under 21 policy: Please contact Old Planters Brewery for details regarding underage entry
For more about Bonsai Bar and what to expect at our classes, visit our website at: https://bonsaibar.com/products/old-planters-brewery
Happens on the following Dates:
Apr 15, 2025, 7:00pm to 9:00pm Timezone: EDT
May 20, 2025, 7:00pm to 9:00pm Timezone: EDT

Story-Time & Craft Wednesday
2025-04-16 10:00 - 12:00, 2025-04-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Firehouse Center for the Arts, 1 Market Square, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
NEW PROGRAM ALERT!! Summer is the PERFECT time for outdoor story time and craft making! This BRAND NEW family event is an extension of our Newburyport Arts and Culture Shanties Program and will take place each Wednesday in the Pop Up Park on Merrimac Street – where the Shanties are currently located. Come join the fun this Wednesday and see what it’s all about!
Running each Wednesday until August 21st from 10 AM-12 PM
Free of charge, but donations are welcome

Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe presents One Act Wonders
2025-04-17 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-04-18 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-04-19 15:00 - 17:00, 2025-04-19 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-04-20 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-04-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-04-22 19:30 - 21:30 | Gloucester Stage, 267 East Main St., Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe presents “One-Act Wonders”, a program of four modern one-act plays exploring boundaries, loyalties, and the absurdities of life. The program will run for four performances only, at Gloucester Stage Theater, April 17th (7:30pm) 18th (7:30pm), and 19th (3pm + 7:30pm). Tickets are $28.

April School Vacation Week: Becoming an Eco Hero!
2025-04-21 10:30 - 15:00 | Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA, 01970, United States
Know before you go
In person event
Location: Around the museum
Included with admission
Children and youth under age 16 always receive free admission!
Some events require same-day tickets, available at the Information desk.
Timed entry to the Whalemobile is every 30 minutes. The last session starts at 2:30 pm.
All events are suitable for ages 5 and up.
Join us in celebration of Earth Week as we invite the young and the young at heart to explore what it means to be an Eco Hero! Learn about our incredible ocean ecosystem by stepping inside a life-size inflatable humpback whale, and add your art to the canvas walls of a geodesic dome with artist and international eco-educator Pamela Peeters.

Stories & Songs with Alice in Wonderland
2025-04-22 10:30 - 11:30 | Wenham Museum, 132 Main St., Route 1A, Wenham, MA, 01984, United States
Every adventure requires a first step, so join us as we follow Alice down the rabbit hole for a festive and fanciful event! Together with our special visitor from Wonderland, we’ll enjoy whimsical stories and songs and play a game of Wonderland freeze dance. Plus, you’ll have a chance to snap a photo and get an autograph from Alice herself.
Advanced Reservations Required. Tickets to this special program also include admission to the Wenham Museum’s galleries and exhibitions.
TICKETS:
$8 Member Child
$8 Members Adult/Senior
$12 Nonmember Child
$17 Nonmembers Adult/Senior
Free for Under 2 years of age
Recommended for ages 3+.
Alice in Wonderland is presented by Regal Princess Parties.

Family Program: April Vacation at CAM Green!
2025-04-23 10:30 - 12:30 | Cape Ann Museum Green, 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
CAM Green
13 Poplar Street, Gloucester MA.
Recommended ages 4 and up. Adult supervision required.
Free and Open to the Public.
Parking is first come, first served.
This April Vacation, young visitors are invited to discover the art and history of Cape Ann at the CAM Green! Explore the newest exhibition, Breath of Life – C.B. Fisk, Designers & Builders of Pipe Organs to learn about these incredible instruments. View intricate models of the architectural spaces and pipe organs they design, see tools used in the construction process, take an audio scavenger hunt, and enjoy one of the daily drop-in art making activities.
Drop-in Art Making:
Make a simple instrument. Ages 4+
Carlson Education Center
Pipe Up!
Drop-In musical activities for kids of all ages.
Two 15-minute sessions:
11:00 – 11:15 a.m.
11:30 – 11:45 a.m.
For more information about education programs at CAM visit www.capeannmuseum.org/learn.

Music in the Gallery
2025-04-23 13:00 - 13:30 | Cape Ann Museum Green, 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Wednesdays, April 16 – June 25, 2025
1:00 p.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Janet & William Ellery James Center, CAM Green
13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA 01930
Free and open to the public.
Parking is first come, first served.
Join us Wednesdays, April – June in the James Center Gallery to enjoy music during your visit played by C.B. Fisk musicians on a continuo organ. For more information about C.B. Fisk please visit: www.cbfisk.com.
C.B. Fisk organists: Carl Klein, Tim McEwen, Ted Stoddard, Michael Kraft, Barbara Bruns, Mark Nelson, David Pike, along with Kathleen Adams. For biographies please visit: cbfisk.com
Image Credit: Opus 150, designed by C.B. Fisk in 2018 for Christ Church Episcopal, Philadelphia, PA. Photo courtesy of C.B. Fisk.
