Columbus Day in Massachusetts means many people will have the day off from work, for which they’ll either celebrate the 15th century explorer’s achievements or enjoy a day of leisure in their own preferable way. For those still looking for something to do, with a hearty dose of arts and culture, make your way down to the Christian Science Plaza for the annual Opening Our Doors festival.
The Fenway Alliance, stewards of the Fenway Cultural District, is hosting the annual celebration near the intersection Huntington and Massachusetts avenues. The lineup of programming runs the cultural gamut, featuring the likes of “storytelling and poetry, music and theatre, public art installations and historic tours, to even the unthinkable — like indoor kite flying,” according to the alliance.
To help promote the festival, and inject an air of modernity to it, the Fenway Alliance also launched a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices which allows the user to navigate the plaza, digest the full day’s schedule of events, and learn other various details about the performances and people involved.
To get a better idea about what the festival is all about, here’s just a taste of what you can expect, as per the Fenway Alliance:
- Free admission to several of Boston’s finest museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and MassArt and local art galleries
- Art-making activities with sparc! the Artmobile an initiative of the Center for Art and Community Partnerships of MassArt
- Glass blowing demonstrations with the Diablo Glass School
- Captain Marden’s, The Taco Truck, The Bacon Truck, and the Green Bean Mobile Cafe
- Colonial Fife Music by Christopher Nawoichik
- Indoor kite flying with Kite Education and a Sociedad Latina Latin Dance Class at the YMCA
- Marshall’s Farm Stand Pumpkin Patch
- Open House with galleries of Fenway Studios and the Mary Baker Eddy Library Mapparium
- Musical performances by Zili Misik, Afro Brazil and ZUMIX, Sociedad Latina’s Music Club House
- Walking tours of the Back Bay Fens with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy
Sounds like you’re out of excuses for having nothing to do on Columbus Day.
