Festivals

Featured Events

2025 Festivals Listing

Aug

17

Discover Quincy Presents: August Moon Festival

11:00 am

The City of Quincy hosts the annual August Moon Festival as one of the city’s signature event for the month of August. A community tradition since 1987, this event was voted ‘Best Street Festival’ by Boston Magazine in 2018. This momentous holiday celebrates the harvest and the full moon, which is a symbol of prosperity, happiness, and unity. The festival features traditional and modern performances, food trucks, carnival amusements, games, cultural booths, and a street market.

QARI’s August Moon Festival is one of the most popular cultural events in the South Shore area and the largest of its kind in the Northeast, uniting over 15,000 diverse guests each year.

Visit Events Archives – Discover Quincy for more events in Quincy

quincy, august moon festival

Aug

23

Plymouth Waterfront Festival

10:00 am

Each August, the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce hosts this free family event along the city’s beautiful waterfront. Activities include a beloved duck race, live entertainment, the popular classic car show and more than 200 arts & crafts vendors and local non-profits. It is a perfect way to enjoy one of American’s most historic cities.

Plymouth Waterfront
Plymouth, MA

plymouthwaterfrontfestival.com

Festivals, Plymouth

Sep

06

Seisiún: 2 Days (Sept. 6-7) of Irish Music, Arts & Cultural Festival at The Stage at Suffolk Downs

2:00 pm

Seisiún, a two-day Irish Music, Arts and Cultural Festival, is coming to The Stage at Suffolk Downs on Saturday, September 6 and Sunday, September 7, 2025.

This distinctive outdoor gathering of iconic and emerging Irish and American performers features beloved headliners The Pogues and Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys, along with amazing artists including Glen Hansard, The Hold Steady, The Waterboys, Cardinals, The Rumjacks and Lisa O’Neill.

We have five pairs of tickets to give away thanks to our friends at the festival. Enter here for a chance to win a free pair of tix to this incredible festival or purchase your tickets now for what will surely be the Boston Irish event of the season! You can also purchase a two-day pass.

Presented in partnership with The Bowery Presents, Liam Lynch and Joe Killian, Seisiún promises a unique festival experience centered around revelry, craic, kindred spirits and community.

The Stage at Suffolk Downs is an exciting new seasonal outdoor concert venue located at Suffolk Downs in East Boston. The Stage is easily accessible via the MBTA’s Blue line to Suffolk Downs station, with parking also available.
Visit StageAtSuffolkDowns.com for more information.

Entertainment – Saturday, September 6 – From 2 pm – 10:30 pm:
Dropkick Murphys
The Hold Steady
Stiff Little Fingers
The Scratch
The Rumjacks
Holy Locust

Entertainment – Sunday, September 7 – From 2 pm – 10:30 pm:

The Pogues
Glen Hansard
The Waterboys
Cardinals
Just Mustard
Lisa O’Neill
Mairéad
John Francis Flynn
Seisiun, Suffolk downs

Sep

11

Rockport Music Presents: Rockport Celtic Festival

7:30 pm

Exploring Celtic Roots & Branches

Immerse yourself in a captivating weekend of music, storytelling and cultural exchange at the Rockport Celtic Festival, where tradition meets innovation in a stunning seaside setting. Led by artistic director Maeve Gilchrist, this year’s festival welcomes acclaimed artists from across the Celtic world and beyond, weaving together Irish, Scottish, Breton, and Quebecois traditions with fresh collaborations and bold new works.

 

Thursday, September 11 :: 7:30 PM
FESTIVAL CLUB: 
OPEN THE DOOR FOR THREE

An incredibly dynamic trio based between Chicago and Maine and representing the very finest of Irish Music in America. Fiddler Liz Knowles and piper Kieran O’Hare are two of the most sought-after traditional musicians on both sides of the Atlantic and, for a long time now, have paired their formidable instrumental skills with the timeless voice and guitar playing of Dublin-born Pat Broaders. The result is a dynamic, momentous sound paired with laugh-out-loud repartee between three old friends.

Friday, September 12 :: 7:30 PM
OPENING NIGHT: 
QUEBEC TO BRITTANY!

Don’t miss the spectacular power of Québec supergroup Le Vent Du Nord. Ferocious and fun in equal measure, this band will kick off our Friday night mainstage concert with unparalleled energy. The evening also features the innovative, Breton-inspired sounds of the trio Triton featuring accordionist Jeremiah McLane, the small-pipes of Tim Cummings and Alex Kehler on nyckelharpa. A completely unique, reed-y sound with repertoire from the Celtic region of Brittany.  Artistic Director Maeve Gilchrist will also bring in regular collaborator Kyle Sanna to premier some new music for harp and electric guitar inspired by a Seamus Heaney translation of a middle English Poem on the mysticism of Hares! The evening will also include bassist Logan Coale and harpist Maeve Gilchrist.

Saturday, September 13 :: 11 AM
SALON: 
THE CREATIVE PROCESS

In this hour-long presentation, we chat with artist in residence Liz Knowles and award-winning author Ben Shattuck about how Shattuck’s writing, the New England seascape and existence on the fringes of genre and sound have influenced Knowles’ music-making. Liz’s band, Open the Door for Three, will also discuss the presence of Irish Music in America and how it impacts the evolution of the music as a whole.

Saturday, September 13 :: 1 PM
CHANTEY SING WITH DAVID COFFIN

Bring your voices to a boisterous Chantey Sing with David Coffin. Sing along on the chorus of a hauling, stamping, heaving, capstan, what-have-you chantey. No experience required and lyrics will be provided. Let’s rattle the rafters!! Location: First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall, Rockport, MA

Saturday, September 13 :: 7 PM
CELTIC BAROQUE

Tonight, we hear music from Ireland, Quebec, Germany and New England with an interweaving thread of Baroque Music and techniques. At a time when Telemann and Bach were composing fugues in continental Europe, the Bardic harping tradition was alive and vibrant in Ireland resulting in a whole repertoire of Irish harp tunes that are now carried via pipes, fiddles and a host of different instruments. We have the stunning sounds of Montreal-based violist Alexis Chartrand, bringing his unique Gut-bow approach to traditional Quebec repertoire.  In contrast, the GRAMMY-nominated violinist Christina Day, along with theorbist Michael Leopold, performs one of Heinrich Biber’s Mystery Sonatas. Artistic Director Maeve Gilchrist will also bring in longtime collaborator Kyle Sanna and bassist Logan Coale to premier some new music for harp and electric guitar inspired by a Seamus Heaney translation of a middle English Poem on the mysticism of Hares! Don’t miss this richly imaginative evening of 17th century inspired exploration in a completely contemporary fashion!

Saturday, September 13 :: 9:45 PM
FESTIVAL CLUB: CEILIDH!

Grab a drink at the bar, bring your dancing shoes and join host Maeve Gilchrist for an exhilarating evening of fiddle music and dance! Enjoy the traditional session hosted by Abbie MacQuarrie along with some surprise special guests. And be prepared to grab a partner and dance as Abbie teaches some easy-to-learn traditional Ceili-dances. Pure-drop fun!

Sunday, September 14 :: 12 PM
WORDS & MUSIC: THE CELTIC SPIRIT

A meditative Sunday hour with poetry, prose and music.

Sunday, September 14 :: 5 PM
WHERE THE SEA MEETS THE LAND

It has become a tradition that on the final day of the festival we acknowledge our home in Cape Ann and the rich nautical history of this stunning part of New England. We will welcome back the inimitable David Coffin along with the small pipes and accordion of Jeremiah McLane and Tim Cummings. In addition, this year, we are thrilled to be presenting a brand new collaboration between our artist in residence, Liz Knowles and critically acclaimed author Ben Shattuck’s newest collection of stories ‘The History of Sound’. This new piece of music, commissioned in the name of Brian O’Donovan, blends the spectacular depths of Liz’s fiddle with Kyle Sanna’s electronics, Maeve Gilchrist on harp and cellist Mike Block.

Festivals, Rockport, Music

Sep

13

Spectacle Live Presents: Lowell Irish Festival

All Day

FREE ADMISSION!

Located at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, the Lowell Irish Festival features a family- friendly and fun-filled day of live Irish music from national, regional, and local acts, Irish-inspired culinary and beverage offerings, artisan vendors, family activities, Irish step dancing, and more!

The day-long event, taking place September 13, 2025, is spread out across the Auditorium grounds – inside and outdoors – and is open to families and groups of all ages free of charge, taking its place as one of the Mill City’s great annual cultural events.

Lowell Irish Festival, Festivals, Music, Dance, Food

Sep

20

Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race Festival

9:00 am

ALL TERRAIN HUMAN POWERED SCULPTURES.

From the crossroads of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics comes a spectacular racing spectacle!

Kinetic Sculptures are all-terrain, human-powered, art sculptures, engineered to race over road, water, mud and sand. Kinetic sculptures are amazing works of art; many are animated with moving parts like blinking eyes, opening mouths, heads that move side to side and up and down. These machines of art are usually made from what some people consider “junk” or better put, recycled materials. Each kinetic team has a theme and consist of pilots, pit crew and support crew. Spectators are encouraged to either watch from the sidelines or follow the race on their bikes (obeying all traffic laws that apply).

The Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race (LKSR) is an annual STEAM event held on the third Saturday of every September in Lowell, Massachusetts. Kinetic sculptures are human-powered, all-terrain sculptures made from new and repurposed materials and engineered to race over streets, water, mud, and sand. LKSR strives to inspire artists, engineers, performers, and visionaries of the future by promoting the synthesis of the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) fields, disruptive innovation, and physical activity.

The race is open to all ages and works with students from local schools and after-school programs, artists, engineers, bike enthusiasts, and anyone with a spark of creativity and a sense of adventure. The LKSR is the only race of this kind in New England with its roots stemming from the Kinetic Grand Championship in California and the Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race.

lowell kinetic festival

Oct

09

Lowell Celebrates Jack Kerouac

All Day

Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! Inc. (LCK!) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote a better understanding and appreciation of Jack Kerouac’s life and literature. Founded in 1985, LCK! sponsors literary programs year round, including a festival in the first weekend of October. We also produce a spring program tied to Kerouac’s March 12th birthday, as well as other educational and cultural activities. LCK! volunteers help maintain Kerouac Park and Jack Kerouac Commemorative in Downtown Lowell.

About the Festival
The October Festival features tours of Kerouac’s Lowell places – including many sites describes in his Lowell-based novels-panel discussions, reading, jazz and folk music, films, open mike events, as high poetry competition, book signings, and more. Kerouac fans and scholars from across the United States and around the world travel to Lowell for the festival.

Participants
Writers, musicians, and scholars who have participated over the years include Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Robert Creeley, David Amram, Gregory Corso, Anne Waldman, Patti Smith, Michael McClure, Ray Mazarek, Herbert Huncke, Ann Charters, Douglas Brinkley, Willie Alexander, Diane DiPrima, Regina Weinreich, Ed Sanders, Joyce Johnson, Ann Douglas, Sterling Lord, and John Sinclair.

LCK! has formed partnerships with many educational, cultural, social, and civic organizations in Lowell. Our activities are coordinated by volunteers and paid for by individual donations, corporate gifts, grants, and sale of books and T-shirts.

lowell kerouac festival

Oct

17

Poe in Lowell Festival

All Day

Boston-born short story master Edgar Allan Poe visited Lowell three times in the 1840s and apparently loved the city. Lowell is returning the love with the 2nd Annual Poe in Lowell Festival on October 17-19, 2025.

Activities include book readings and lectures, live music, art exhibits, film screenings, a walking tour of Lowell and a pop-up Poe shop.

This year’s festival is in partnership with Lowell Celebrates Kerouac!

Various location in Lowell. Check the website for updates.

Edgar Allan Poe, Festivals, Music, Dance, Foody

Oct

18

ICC Presents: Boston Irish Beer Festival – 6th Annual

All Day

Featuring Ireland’s leading beers, stouts, & ciders! Favorite Irish foods – Irish whiskey & liqueurs samplings! Two Live Irish music stations & local bands all day long!

Enjoy: Guinness, Magners & craft breweries, Irish Food, vendors including Mulligan Gear, JTC Jewelry, Kendra Scott & more, New England Revolution Mascot & The Battalion, The Vikings – Two Shows – Tug-O-War, archery, Family friendly with kids activities including face painting, petting zoo, kids sing-along and arts & crafts.

Check back for more details. Coming soon!

Festivals, ICC, Boston Irish Beef Festival

Oct

18

34th Annual Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival

11:00 am

FREE ADMISSION!

Historic Bowen’s Wharf in downtown Newport, RI, will host the 34th annual Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival, on October 18th and 19th, 2025. Named one of the “10 Fabulous Fall Festivals on the Coast,” by Coastal Living Magazine, this event is an open invitation for all to come back to the waterfront after the rush of the summer season!

Honoring the “Harvest of the Sea,” the Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival offers fresh, local seafood. Fish tacos, lobster rolls, stuffies, chowder, fried calamari, clams, oysters, signature cocktails and cold beer accompany continuous live music, and family fun, all beneath the Wharf’s colorful tents. Other neighboring restaurants and fisherman’s associations serve up their most celebrated seafood dishes as well as a few dishes for landlubbers and kids. Frozen lemonade, donuts, and kettle corn for your sweet tooth. Cafe-style seating is set up throughout the Wharf and proceeds from festival bars benefit Oliver Hazard Perry, RI’s 200-foot official sailing education vessel.

As you savor some delectable dishes, relax and enjoy the beats from area musicians. Live folk, surf rock, Caribbean and blues music are just a taste of what you’ll hear. Bring your dancing shoes because these bands promise to get your feet moving!

Bring the whole family and join the many locals and devoted visitors over the course of this two-day event.

Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival In Newport, RI | Free Events

Festivals, Newport, foodies, seafood

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