North of Boston

Walking Tour: Public Sculpture of Gloucester
2025-08-22 10:30 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, 01930, United States
Friday, August 22, 2025
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Meet outside the CAM Downtown Campus
27 Pleasant St, Gloucester, MA, 01930
$10 for Members, $20 for Non-Members
Registration Required
Gloucester has been home to a number of prominent American sculptors. Take a tour of public works by these important artists found around the city’s downtown area. The tour is approximately 1 hour in length and is weather permitting.
Image Credit: CAM docent leading a walking tour, CAM Staff photo.

Museum of Old Newbury Guided Tours - August, September, October, 2025
2025-08-22 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-23 11:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-24 11:00 - 17:00 | Museum of Old Newbury, 98 High Street, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Our friendly, knowledgeable tour guides share fascinating stories in each of the museum’s period rooms and galleries.
You will walk through this Federal-period house, from its 1808 beginning as a ship captain’s home to its ownership by multiple generations of the Cushing family. See parts of the home as it was lived in, as well as galleries featuring maritime trade, the churches of Old Newbury, and art works by Newburyport native Laura Coombs Hills.
Tours are on the hour, 11-4pm, Thursday – Sunday. Pre-order of tickets is encouraged as space cannot be guaranteed without tickets. Please arrive 10 minutes before your tour starts.
Tours are $10, $8 for seniors, $5 for those under 18. Free for members and residents of “Old Newbury ” but tickets should still be reserved here. See membership levels at : https://www.newburyhistory.org/membership.
We look forward to seeing you!

Cape Ann Shakespeare Troupe presents One Act Wonders
2025-08-22 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-08-23 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-08-24 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-08-25 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-08-26 19:30 - 21:30, 2025-08-27 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.

Step Aboard History: FREE Deck Tours of the Schooner Adventure
2025-08-23 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-25 10:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-26 10:00 - 16:00 | The Schooner Adventure, 23 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, M, 01930, United States
Climb aboard the Schooner Adventure and step back in time! Our guided deck tours offer a unique opportunity to explore one of Gloucester’s most treasured maritime landmarks. Originally launched in 1926 as a working fishing schooner, Adventure has been lovingly restored and is now a floating museum dedicated to preserving the rich legacy of New England’s fishing heritage.
On your tour, you’ll walk the very decks where dorymen once hauled in their catch, learn about life at sea in the 1920s, and hear the incredible story of how this National Historic Landmark was saved from decay. Knowledgeable and passionate docents—many of whom have sailed Adventure themselves—will bring her stories to life, from the golden age of sail to her current role as an ambassador for maritime history and education.
Whether you’re a maritime buff, a curious traveler, or a family looking for a fun and educational outing, a deck tour of the Schooner Adventure is a hands-on experience you won’t forget. Come feel the salt air, ring the ship’s bell, take a picture at the helm, and discover how this proud vessel continues to inspire new generations.
Tours start at the end of the Harriet Webster Pier.

Boundless: The Art of the Book
2025-08-23 10:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-24 10:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-25 10:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-26 10:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-27 10:00 - 17:00 | The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, 6 Wonson Street, Gloucester, M, 01930, United States
Exhibit Dates: July 17-August 24
Opening Reception: Sunday, July 20, 5pm-7pm
This dynamic exhibition explores the rich and ever-evolving world of the book as an art form. Featuring artist books, altered books, and book illustration, “Boundless” showcases imaginative approaches to storytelling, visual poetry, personal narratives, and inventive book structures. Visitors will encounter works that range from the traditional to the avant-garde—books that hang, twist, stand, open like advent calendars, or defy conventional forms altogether.
The exhibition presents a wide array of techniques, including letterpress, etching, monoprint, painting, photography, and mixed media. Through these varied practices, artists explore themes of memory, imagination, identity, and the contemporary moment.
“Boundless” features contributions from a distinguished group of 29 artists, including local creatives, university faculty, and artists affiliated with book arts communities throughout New England and beyond—Boston, Philadelphia, New York, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Exhibiting Artists:
Ren Barnes, Stevens Brosnihan, Rachel Church, Pamela Courtleigh, Haig Demarjian, Mary Dewey, Madge Evers, Lynda Fatalo, Cristina Hajosy, Hannah Jacoby-Brooks, Linda Kauss, Giles Laroche, Kelle Louaillier, Leslie Lyman, Fred Lynch, Claire B. Marcus, Cynthia Marsh, R. Ellis Orrall, Sarah Parella, Rhoda Rosenberg, Lynne Sausele, Mary Beth Smith, Lorna Stevens, Juni Van Dyke, Anna Vojtech, Larry Volk, Karen Watson, Antoinette Winters, Kyung Eun You
An Opening Reception will be held on Sunday, July 20, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. The public is warmly invited to view the work, meet the artists, and enjoy refreshments and lively conversation.
Featured image: Sarah Parella, News Cycle

Plein Air Watercolor Landscape Sketching
2025-08-23 10:30 - 15:30 | Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA, 01970, United States
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Meet inside the museum’s Main Atrium
The group will walk together to Derby Wharf (0.5 miles).
Members $39; nonmembers $49; plus $30 for materials
Ages 18+
There will be a break for participants to buy lunch at the Atrium Café or nearby in Salem.
Celebrate Making History: 200 Years of American Art from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with an al fresco introduction to watercolor sketching!
The session begins with a guided tour led by Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, PEM’s George Putnam Curator of American Art, who will offer an exclusive look at the iconic works in the exhibition. Afterward, participants will engage in a creative workshop led by artist Jessica Yurwitz of Slow River Studio.
This class is perfect for beginners with no painting experience, or those returning to art after a break. All supplies are provided, and participants will take home essential materials so they can continue painting at home.
In the event of rain, this class will take place in PEM’s Create Space Studios.

Outdoor Hard Cider Bar & Free Live Music Series at Cider Hill Farm
2025-08-23 11:00 - 16:00, 2025-08-24 11:00 - 16:00 | Cider Hill Farm, 45 Fern Avenue, Amesbury, M, 01913, United States
Every weekend at Cider Hill Farm farm brings FREE family-friendly live music on the main lawn from 12-3 pm and extended music on festival dates 11 am – 4 pm. Grab a drink from the Outdoor Hard Cider Bar 11 am – 4 pm on Saturdays and 12-4 pm on Sundays.
Food – Grab lunch at the food truck 11 am – 4 pm and snacks in the farm store 8 am – 6 pm. Guest food trucks and vendors pop-ups regularly.
Play – Parking, play areas and barnyard are always free and open 8 am – 6 pm daily. Bee observatory, chickens and goats arrive mid-May.
Weather – Music, food truck and hard cider bar are weather dependent. We make decisions 8 am on the day of in case weather shifts overnight. Check website at 8:30 am.

The Resurrection of Judy Rhines: An Installation by Gabrielle Barzaghi & Peter Littlefield
2025-08-23 11:00 - 17:00 | Cape Ann Museum Green, 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Saturday, August 23, 2025
11:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.
White-Ellery House, CAM Green
13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA
Free and open to the public.
Parking is first come first served.
Visit the White-Ellery House to experience The Resurrection of Judy Rhines, a site-specific drawing installation by Gabrielle Barzaghi (drawings) and Peter Littlefield (dramaturgy). It is comprised of a series of cardboard dioramas and texts that recount a fictional story about Judy Rhines who, in 1796, suddenly disappears after being accused of witchcraft. Some say she died by throwing herself off a Rowan tree. But there have been rumors of sightings of her in the Dogtown Woods.
A radio play, The Beginning of the End (of Judy Rhines) by Peter Littlefield, accompanies the installation. The play is a mystery set in the 1940s. Judy Rhines is a secretary, until one day, losing her job and just about everything else, she learns the ways of a witch. Cast includes Phoebe Potts, Sarah Hickler, Michael McNamara, and Evan Lurie. Recorded and edited by Michael LaMarche. Music by Evan Lurie.
Kathleen Adams will perform her original song, “Judy’s Lament,” with words by Peter Littlefield, at 2pm on Saturdays, August 23 and 30.
Artist Bios:
Gabrielle Barzaghi is a visual artist whose work explores the absurdity, tragedy, and beauty of the world. Her imagery is evocative of places just beyond the edge of normal experience and has an often otherworldly sensibility about the nature of time and being. Her work is in public and private collections, including the Cape Ann Museum. She graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and taught drawing at Suffolk University for over 30 years. Barzaghi is represented by Matthew Swift Gallery. Recently her work was shown in the exhibition Lines of Thought / Contemporary Women Artists Draw at Jane Deering Gallery. Curator Judith Tolnick Champa included Barzaghi’s work in the exhibition Reseeding the City / Ethnobotany in the Urban at the Rhode Island State House. Barzaghi’s recent solo show Fear Game was exhibited at the Matthew Swift Gallery. She also made a gigantic drawn backdrop for Peter Littlefield’s staging of the play Dogtown Common.
Peter Littlefield is a stage director, playwright, and dramaturg. He recently staged Percy MacKaye’s Dogtown Common at Windhover, co-produced by the Gloucester 400+. The backdrop was created by Gabrielle Barzaghi. He adapted and co-staged James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan for the Fisher Center at Bard with director Christopher Alden and stage designer Marsha Ginsberg. He co-directed Handel’s Partenope with Mr. Alden at the English National Opera, winning the Laurence Olivier Award. His work has appeared at the New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Spoleto Festival, San Francisco Opera, Theater Basil, Prague National Theater, and other companies in the United States and Europe. He began his career in New York’s downtown. He helped start The Pyramid Club where he staged many original shows. His trilogy of short films, What She Learned from Plants, made with Roy Rallo, screened at the Gloucester Writers Center. He leads a playwrighting workshop there each summer. He studied with Maria Irene Fornes.
Image Credit: Excerpt from The Resurrection of Judy Rhines, 2025. Gabrielle Barzaghi, ink on cardboard. Image courtesy of the artist.

The Resurrection of Judy Rhines: An Installation by Gabrielle Barzaghi & Peter Littlefield
2025-08-24 11:00 - 17:00 | Cape Ann Museum Green, 13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Sunday, August 24, 2025
11:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.
White-Ellery House, CAM Green
13 Poplar Street, Gloucester, MA
Free and open to the public.
Parking is first come first served.
Visit the White-Ellery House to experience The Resurrection of Judy Rhines, a site-specific drawing installation by Gabrielle Barzaghi (drawings) and Peter Littlefield (dramaturgy). It is comprised of a series of cardboard dioramas and texts that recount a fictional story about Judy Rhines who, in 1796, suddenly disappears after being accused of witchcraft. Some say she died by throwing herself off a Rowan tree. But there have been rumors of sightings of her in the Dogtown Woods.
A radio play, The Beginning of the End (of Judy Rhines) by Peter Littlefield, accompanies the installation. The play is a mystery set in the 1940s. Judy Rhines is a secretary, until one day, losing her job and just about everything else, she learns the ways of a witch. Cast includes Phoebe Potts, Sarah Hickler, Michael McNamara, and Evan Lurie. Recorded and edited by Michael LaMarche. Music by Evan Lurie.
Kathleen Adams will perform her original song, “Judy’s Lament,” with words by Peter Littlefield, at 2pm on Saturdays, August 23 and 30.
Artist Bios:
Gabrielle Barzaghi is a visual artist whose work explores the absurdity, tragedy, and beauty of the world. Her imagery is evocative of places just beyond the edge of normal experience and has an often otherworldly sensibility about the nature of time and being. Her work is in public and private collections, including the Cape Ann Museum. She graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and taught drawing at Suffolk University for over 30 years. Barzaghi is represented by Matthew Swift Gallery. Recently her work was shown in the exhibition Lines of Thought / Contemporary Women Artists Draw at Jane Deering Gallery. Curator Judith Tolnick Champa included Barzaghi’s work in the exhibition Reseeding the City / Ethnobotany in the Urban at the Rhode Island State House. Barzaghi’s recent solo show Fear Game was exhibited at the Matthew Swift Gallery. She also made a gigantic drawn backdrop for Peter Littlefield’s staging of the play Dogtown Common.
Peter Littlefield is a stage director, playwright, and dramaturg. He recently staged Percy MacKaye’s Dogtown Common at Windhover, co-produced by the Gloucester 400+. The backdrop was created by Gabrielle Barzaghi. He adapted and co-staged James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan for the Fisher Center at Bard with director Christopher Alden and stage designer Marsha Ginsberg. He co-directed Handel’s Partenope with Mr. Alden at the English National Opera, winning the Laurence Olivier Award. His work has appeared at the New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Spoleto Festival, San Francisco Opera, Theater Basil, Prague National Theater, and other companies in the United States and Europe. He began his career in New York’s downtown. He helped start The Pyramid Club where he staged many original shows. His trilogy of short films, What She Learned from Plants, made with Roy Rallo, screened at the Gloucester Writers Center. He leads a playwrighting workshop there each summer. He studied with Maria Irene Fornes.
Image Credit: Excerpt from The Resurrection of Judy Rhines, 2025. Gabrielle Barzaghi, ink on cardboard. Image courtesy of the artist.

Modern Calligraphy for Beginners at Far From The Tree Cider
2025-08-24 13:00 - 14:30 | far from the tree, 108 Jackson St, Salem, M, 01970, United States
Modern Calligraphy at Far From The Tree Cider
Join us on August 24 at 1:00 PM in Salem, MA for a relaxing and creative afternoon of beginner calligraphy at Far From The Tree Cider! You’ll learn the basics of modern pointed pen calligraphy and leave with a full set of tools to keep practicing at home.
Perfect for crafty beginners, brides-to-be, or anyone looking to try something new—plus, cider is available for purchase during class!
🎟️ Tickets: $65 | All supplies included
👉https://sipandscript.com/event/modern-calligraphy-for-beginners-at-far-from-the-tree-cider-2/
Come early to grab your seat and a cider—class starts promptly at 1:00 PM!

PEM PRESENTS: Artists For Humanity
2025-08-24 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 and Morse Alcove
Included with admission
Join us for a presentation and reception celebrating the 2025 Artists for Humanity Fellows. These multidisciplinary artists will share new works made over the course of their fellowship in response to their own sustainability research and their preview of Andrew Gn: Fashioning the World, on view at PEM beginning September 13.

Party for Perkins! Grand (re)Opening, Ribbon-Cutting and Ice Cream Social!
2025-08-24 16:00 - 18:00 | Museum of Old Newbury, 98 High Street, Newburyport, MA, 01950, United States
Grand (Re)Opening, Ribbon-Cutting, and Ice Cream Social
📅 Sunday, August 24, 2025
🕓 4:00 PM
📍 Perkins Art & Research Center, 98 High Street, Newburyport (enter through Fruit Street gate)
The historic 1808 Perkins building has lived many lives—and now it begins an exciting new chapter! You’re invited to join us as we celebrate its grand (re)opening as the Perkins Art & Research Center.
Come explore three floors of treasures, including our brand-new archive, library, and compact art storage spaces. Raise a glass at the official ribbon-cutting, enjoy ice cream and sweet treats, and tour the beautifully preserved and repurposed interior. This is your chance to see how history, art, and community come together under one roof.
Whether you’re a longtime supporter or a curious newcomer, come learn how you can be part of the future of Perkins. Bring a friend, make a memory, and celebrate a local landmark reborn!
🎟️ Free (donations are welcome), and open to the public – registration encouraged

The Rasa String Quartet: Pop Icons Reimagined
2025-08-24 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-08-24 20:00 - 21:00 | Hammond Castle Museum, 80 Hesperus Avenue, Gloucester, MA, 01930, United States
Two Music Legends. One String Quartet. A One-of-a-Kind Setting.
Sunday, August 24
Two separately ticketed performances:
TAYLOR SWIFT at 6:00 PM
QUEEN at 8:00 PM
https://bit.ly/RasaHCM
Within the near-perfect acoustics of the Great Hall at Hammond Castle Museum, two musical icons are reborn through the artistry of the award-winning Rasa String Quartet. Join us for one of two extraordinary performances by the Quartet reimagining the music of pop icon Taylor Swift or one of the most influential rock bands of all time, Queen. The Great Hall boasts soaring ceilings, stone walls, and carefully calculated acoustics that make it a near-perfect space for live performance—an ideal setting to hear the classics transformed.
Ever imagined hearing the music of global pop legends performed by an award-winning string quartet–inside a medieval castle with soaring ceilings, stone walls, and immersively epic acoustics?
Each performance is ticketed separately
TAYLOR SWIFT at 6:00 PM – Swifties: Get swept away by virtuosic, genre-defying string renditions of her biggest hits—from nostalgic anthems like Love Story and You Belong With Me to chart-toppers like Cruel Summer and I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.
QUEEN at 8:00 PM – Queen Diehards: Feel the thrill of lush, heart-pounding arrangements of Queen’s greatest hits, including Bohemian Rhapsody, Don’t Stop Me Now, and more!
About the Experience!
Each 60-minute concert takes place in the legendary Great Hall of Hammond Castle Museum, a stone-walled masterpiece perched on the Gloucester coast. With its Gothic arches, flickering candlelight, and world-class acoustics, it’s the perfect setting for an unforgettable musical experience.
Please note: There are no assigned seats.
Light refreshments will be available for purchase. Cash Bar.
*At the time of this event, the Museum will be closed to tours. If concert ticket holders wish to tour Hammond Castle Museum prior to 2:30 pm on the day of the performance, Self-Guided Tour tickets may be purchased in the Museum Shop at a 20% discount. Proof of purchase of the Rasa String Quartet performance will be required. The Museum and Museum Shop close promptly at 3:30 pm.
Museum member savings apply. All proceeds from this program support additional programs and ongoing Museum restorations.

Rigoletto
2025-08-26 19:00 - 21:30 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
In this electric performance from 2013, baritone Željko Lučić sings the title role in Michael Mayer’s 1960s-era production of Verdi’s great drama, sharing the stage with soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Piotr Beczała. Michele Mariotti conducts.
By Verdi
Expected runtime: 2 hours, 30 mins (150 minutes)

THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams
2025-08-27 19:30 - 21:30 | Gloucester Stage Company, East Main Street 267, Gloucester, M, 01930, United States
Through Tom’s cinematic eyes, his family’s life isn’t the dream he imagined. In a rundown St. Louis apartment the matriarch, Amanda Wingfield, is desperately clinging to a past of parties and endless callers. Her adult children, Tom and Laura, become victims of her delusions as she pushes for Tom to provide for the struggling family and Laura to find a husband. The two seek solace in ways of escaping their mother and their own misery until a visit from a gentleman caller presents the possibility of new opportunities.
Renowned playwright Tennessee Williams opens the 2025 Season with this classic drama, directed by Doug Lockwood. Running from June 5 to 28, all performances are at Gloucester Stage’s Theater 267 East Main Street, Gloucester. Showtimes are Wednesdays & Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00pm, and matinees Saturdays & Sunday at 3:00pm.
