Thursday, June 7, 2018

Summer Series at Fruitlands Museum

Sunset view at Fruitlands Museum Summer Concert Series

Gather on the lawn for Fruitlands Museum Summer Concert Series and listen to beautiful music performed on Fruitlands’ outdoor stage!

For six Thursdays, from June 21 through July 26, Fruitlands Museum welcomes The Concord Band, a group of 65 musicians from 40 area towns, as their forthcoming 60th Anniversary Season celebration begins this fall. The Concord Band will treat concert-goers to a fun roster of timeless music, including pieces commemorating historic events, show tunes, patriotic favorites and more.

Music begins at 7:15 pm. Bring your blanket, lawn chairs and picnic basket, or purchase food from vendors.

Special Evenings:
  • July 12th. Stop by our Picnic Pop-Up Tent, sponsored by Picnic Perfect, and learn some fun picnicking tips and tricks to amp up your picnicking style.
  • July 19th. Take part in our Picnic Contest. Katie Schur of Picnic Perfect will be our expert contest judge and prize sponsor.
  • All evenings between 5 and 7 pm, stop by the Art Gallery to see some examples of picnicking through the ages in our current exhibition, Leisure Pursuits: The Fashion and Culture of Recreation.
Admission:
  • Member: $15 per vehicle, $5 for cycles.
  • Non-member: $20 per vehicle, $10 for cycles.
Admission includes entry to the Art Gallery between 5 and 7 pm.

For more information: Trustees of the Reservations

Monday, June 4, 2018

Picnic in the Park

Join us for The Town of Concord's annual Fourth of July Picnic in the Park.

The day kicks off with the Minuteman Classic Road Race. The Youth Fun Run starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 5-Mile Road Race at 9 a.m. [Click here] for more information about the race.

The Children's Bicycle and Tricycle Parade starts the day's assembles at 11:15 a.m. After the parade, there will be music, games and entertainment until 4:30 p.m. Here's a look at what's in store.

Schedule of Events


10:00 a.m.‒12:00 p.m.
RE/MAX Balloon Rides (weather permitting)
11:45 a.m.1:00 p.m.
David Polansky
12:301:30 p.m.
Field Games
1‒3 p.m.
Lizzie the Clown
1‒4 p.m.
Henna Tattoos
1‒4 p.m.
Roaming Railroad Rides
1:30‒3:00 p.m.
Southern Rail Band
2‒3 p.m.
Hampstead Players: Treasure Island--Hunt Gym
3:15‒4:30 p.m.
The 60-piece Concord Band play a variety of patriotic tunes to end Picnic-in-the-Park on a high note!

Friday, June 1, 2018

Summer Series Showcases Musical Variety

Concord Band at Fruitlands Museum
Concord Band at Fruitlands Museum's outdoor amphitheater.
The Concord Band is preparing for its 33rd season at Fruitlands Museum, in Harvard, Mass. The summer concert series begins on Thursday June 21conducted by Jim O’Dell, who next fall, along with the Concord Band's 60th Anniversary Season celebrationwill be celebrating his own 10th season as Music Director.

The first program, titled Main Street USA, will feature some Dixieland, some blues, some marches, and selections from Broadway.  The program includes a reprise by Concord Band trumpeter Rich Givens of Leroy Anderson’s Trumpeters Lullaby. The following week, June 28th, it’s Strike Up the Bands with popular music from Chicago, Santana, the Beatles, ABBA, and big bands of the swing era.

The Independence Day program of patriotic American music will be performed at the Picnic in the Park concert in Concord on July 4 and repeated at Fruitlands the following evening on Thursday July 5. The program includes the march, America Forever written by Malinda Zenor, which is a delightful medley of Battle Cry of Freedom and America the Beautiful.

The program on July 12, themed For Kids of All Ages, includes catchy children’s tunes and familiar movie music. The Band will be lead by dynamic Assistant Conductor Steve Barbas, who has chosen A Rhapsody of Reruns, an amusing melange of  favorite TV show themes from the 1950s and 1960s, as well as World of Warcraft, a piece with symphonic themes from the hit video game.

July 19 will have a program honoring American Masters Leonard Bernstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Frank Sinatra, and George Gershwin. Bernstein, who was born in Lawrence and educated at Harvard, became the leading figure in 20th-century American classical music. The Concord Band continues our tribute to his 100th birthday by performing A Simple Song from Mass and Selections from West Side Story.  The final concert on July 26 is a Summer Retrospective, comprising encores of audience favorites across the entire concert series.

Fruitlands concerts are Thursdays starting at 7:15 pm. The grounds open at 5:00 pm and the Art Gallery is open to concert goers.  Admission is $20 per carload, or $15 for members of Trustees of the Reservations; $10 for cyclists and motorcycles, or $5 for members.

The Picnic in the Park concert at Emerson Field in Concord begins at 3:15 pm.  Come early for lots of fun family activities!  Admission is free.  In the event of rain, the concert will be played in the Performance Arts Center at 51 Walden Street.

Fruitlands concerts may be canceled if weather is threatening; the Band’s phone line (978-897-9969) will have cancellation information. More information about the Concord Band can be found on Facebook or at www.concordband.org.

The Concord Band’s Fruitlands summer series is supported in part by the Bolton and Harvard Cultural Councils. The Concord Cultural Council also supports the Band’s Winter concert at 51 Walden.

Boston Festival of Bands

Although the Concord Band is not scheduled to perform this year, we're passing along this announcement from our friends and colleagues at Metropolitan Wind Symphony, who host the Boston Festival of Bands annually.

Spend June's second Saturday, June 9, 2018, in Boston shopping, eating, enjoying the city, and listening to some of New England's finest wind ensembles! MetWinds hosts its 30th annual Boston Festival of Bands. Enjoy the many talented bands performing throughout the day in the heart of Faneuil Hall near Boston Harbor.

Please note that you may enter the hall at any time throughout the day. There will be a 20 minute break between each performance to reset the stage and allow time for the next band to warm up in the hall.

For more information: Metropolitan Wind Symphony