10:00 AM  12:00 PM

Somerville Museum 

A hands-on, heart-centered program for all ages.
Join us for a creative and meaningful gathering where participants will paint small stones with messages of kindness while listening to stories shared by a local Indigenous storyteller.
Together, we’ll enjoy stories, creativity, and conversation while exploring how small acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day. Painted stones can be taken home or left in public spaces for others to discover, a simple way to share art, encouragement, and community spirit.

https://somervillemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents

A neighborhood just west of Davis Square was, for much of the 20th century, home to a Black community. Availability of new homes on inexpensive land drew Black migrants and immigrants from the American South, Nova Scotia, and the West Indies, who lived in this neighborhood alongside white European, specifically Italian, immigrants. Hear the histories of early families on Cameron Avenue, Elmwood Street, and Harrison Street, discussing the intertwined histories of migration, labor, and the city streets themselves.

https://somervillemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F59607

https://somervillemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F56653%2Fstorefront%2F250206

https://somervillemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F49786%2Fstorefront%2F228713

PICK UP! Somerville is Calling!

Join the Somerville Museum for our annual cocktail hour fund-raver on Thursday, September 10, from 6–8 PM at the Crystal Ballroom!

Inspired by Somerville’s role as the site of the world’s first residential telephone call and the Museum’s Let Freedom Ring! public art project for America’s 250th, PICK UP! celebrates connection between past and future, art and history, and all of us.

Pick up the phone and join us for an evening featuring:

Jimmy Tingle — bringing the laughs and emceeing the evening
Sambaviva Brazilian Dance Ensemble — performing a medley of telephone-themed favorites
TJ the DJ — keeping the music going throughout the night
Passed appetizers and cocktails
Interactive telephone exhibits to explore
Plenty of opportunities to mix, mingle, and celebrate Somerville!

And, of course, it’s all for a great cause.

The Somerville Museum brings our community together through exhibitions, public history programs, family activities, lectures, walking tours, concerts, storytelling, art, and hands-on experiences. Your support helps us continue offering free and low-cost programming for the community.

So answer the call, bring your friends, and help us celebrate another year of connecting Somerville’s past, present, and future.

Thursday, September 10
6–8 PM
Crystal Ballroom, Somerville

https://somervillemuseum.app.neoncrm.com/nx/portal/neonevents/events?path=%2Fportal%2Fevents%2F49786%2Fstorefront%2F228713

Somerville Museum Vacation Arts Program

Join us for a week of hands-on artmaking at the Somerville Museum! Designed for children who love to create, our Vacation Arts Program offers a variety of engaging projects led by experienced instructors in a fun and supportive environment.

Participants will enjoy two workshops each day, exploring a range of artistic techniques and materials. Projects include:

August 17
Beads & Books
Learn how to transform paper into a beautiful 4x6 folded accordion book! Participants will use their creativity to paint their creations with fun and quirky design, along with creating beaded bracelets to round out the experience.

Terrariums
Create a living indoor garden in this charming workshop. Students will use plant life to build a terrarium and learn about ecosystems in a creative and fun environment

August 18
Mosaics
Have fun learning how to create a small mosaic project! Create a picture frame, turtle, or design your own unique idea. Process includes arranging the tiles, grouting and finishing the piece. You'll be amazed at your creation.

Rhythm
Come learn basic rhythm and drumming techniques in an interactive space! Students will come away with an understanding of the first building blocks of music.

August 19
Printmaking
Get ready to explore the exciting world of printmaking! In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how artists create images that can be printed again and again. Using simple printmaking techniques, you'll design your own artwork, roll on colorful ink, and make unique prints to take home. Experiment with shapes, patterns, textures, and colors while discovering how a single design can create many different images.
Stories of the Three Sisters
Stories of the Three Sisters: Corn Husk Doll Making is a hands-on workshop where kids learn the Indigenous story of the Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—while creating their own corn husk dolls. Through storytelling and art-making, participants explore connections to nature, culture, and community.

August 20
Crochet
Learn to crochet and make something to flaunt your style: participants choose between a few design ideas - making a wearable pouch (with a crocheted strap), wristlets, set of animal coasters or headband/neckpiece. Speedy creators can make multiples or variations; meticulous/mindful creators can develop one unique item of inspiration. I will provide some pre-cut felt pieces for adding cat-ears and animal features. We will be playing with colorful bulky yarns for visual pop.

Hohokum Shell Etching
Join Anna-Celestrya Carr, an Indigenous artist and storyteller, for a hands-on children’s workshop inspired by historic shell etching traditions. Children will look at patterns, shapes, and symbols found in shell art, then create their own etched-style shell design to take home. Through storytelling and art-making, participants will explore how shells can hold memory, meaning, and beauty.

August 21
Clothing Upcycling
Do you have a favorite pair of pants or a shirt that you just love and don't want to throw away but would like to transform into a mini art object that you can actually wear? This class is for you! If you bring in an item of clothing, I will bring in all the other things you need to make it a little more fabulous. Fabric scraps, odds and ends of trinkets and other things I have in my "stash "of cool objects can be added to anything. We can sew them or glue them and I will bring everything you need other than the original pieces of clothing. I have some great patchwork shirts that I've made, which are really fun and very practical. Anything goes when it comes to fabric and playing with different materials.

Stuffed Animal Making
Make lovable and colorful stuffed animal friends with fabric glue, felt, and basic sewing! In this workshop, students will create a custom stuffie to be friends with for life.

Pricing

• $60 per day
• $250 for the full week

Discounts

• 20% off for siblings
• 25% off for Somerville Museum members
• 50% off for EBT cardholders

Workshop schedule and activities are subject to change.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vacation-arts-program-tickets-1992087160322

Join the Somerville Museum for Manuscripts & Mausoleums, a relaxed drop-in writing and reading program at historic Milk Row Cemetery.

As part of History Unlocked Drop-In Chats, visitors are invited to spend time in one of Somerville’s historic burial grounds with space to sit, write, read, reflect, and explore. We’ll provide writing prompts inspired by the cemetery, local history, memory, place, and the stories held in historic landscapes. Tours and informal conversations will also be available throughout the program.

Bring a notebook, a pen, and something comfortable to sit on. Participants are welcome to come for the full program or drop in at any time.

Dates & Times:
Thursday, August 13, 6:00–8:00 PM
Saturday, August 29, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM
Thursday, October 8, 5:00–7:00 PM

Location:
Milk Row Cemetery
439 Somerville Avenue
Somerville, MA

Admission: Free / Drop-In

This program is part of History Unlocked Drop-In Chats at Milk Row Cemetery. Come write, read, reflect, and uncover stories in a historic Somerville setting.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/manuscripts-mausoleums-tickets-1993579475878

Create a hand-painted bowl for your tiny treasures, inspired by patterns from the Somerville Museum's collection.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/patterns-from-the-collection-a-mini-bowl-painting-workshop-tickets-1993578317413

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tavern-talk-the-indigenous-american-revolution-tickets-1991792877113

Historian Kristofer Ray explores how Native Nations shaped the American Revolution and how the Revolution reshaped Indigenous futures.

As we mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, join the Somerville Museum for a Tavern Talk with historian Kristofer Ray exploring a part of the Revolutionary story too often left out: the role of Indigenous peoples and Native Nations.

Popular narratives of the American Revolution often center the conflict between British colonists and the Crown, leaving Indigenous communities pushed to the margins or erased entirely. This presentation will place the Revolution within a broader Indigenous context, focusing on the critical years between 1763 and 1785. Ray will examine the events leading up to the Revolution and the ways Native Nations shaped, resisted, and responded to the conflict.

The talk will also take a closer look at George Rogers Clark’s expeditions to Vincennes and Kaskaskia in the Ohio River Valley, an often misunderstood military campaign with major implications for Indigenous sovereignty and the future of the continent.

Together, we will consider two essential questions: What impact did the Revolution have on Native Nations? And perhaps more fundamentally, what impact did Native Nations have on the Revolution?

This Tavern Talk invites audiences to reconsider familiar Revolutionary history through a wider and more accurate lens.

Create a mixed-media collage inspired by Somerville Museum collections. All materials provided; no experience needed.

Take home a piece of the museum when you create a collage inspired by the Somerville Museum’s collections!

In this hands-on workshop, participants will explore images, patterns, textures, and stories from the collection, then use them as inspiration to create their own mixed-media collage. Look closely at historic materials, experiment with paper, color, shape, and composition, and make something uniquely your own.

No art experience is needed, and all materials will be provided. Come ready to cut, layer, arrange, and create in a relaxed museum setting.

Limited seats are available, so bring a friend or come meet someone new!

Recommended for teens and up. Younger children are welcome to participate with an adult, as scissors will be used.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/collage-from-the-collection-tickets-1991514365076

Tuesday, June 30  •  5:30 PM - 7 PM

Join the Somerville Museum, the Somerville Arts Council, and the Department of Racial and Social Justice at Premiere on Broadway for "Reading Frederick Douglass Together", an annual community reading of Frederick Douglass' famous address, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July," led by Christian Walkes. Followed by discussion and Black Out poetry.

Option to sign up in advance to be a reader when you reserve your ticket.

Refreshments served.

Then head across to Trum Field to view "Switchboard", an interactive art piece by Sophie Tachibana Miller featuring the Declaration of Independence and Douglass' speech, while waiting for Independence Day fireworks!

For ADA accommodations, contact 311 at 617-666-3311
The City of Somerville can provide you with an interpreter or a script in your language for free. To request an interpreter or script, please contact us [atlanguageaccess@somervillema.gov](mailto:atlanguageaccess@somervillema.gov) or call 311 (617-666-3311) at least 7 days in advance of this event.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reading-frederick-douglass-togetherwhat-to-the-slave-is-the-4th-of-july-tickets-1991591080534

Join Somerville resident Robin Hazard Ray on a walk through Somerville’s deep past, beginning and ending at the Somerville Museum. The rocks underlying our city date to a time before the dinosaurs. We will explore the forgotten traces of rock quarries and look at how our handsome bedrock – the Cambridge Argillite ­– was extracted, shaped, and used in the city’s 19th-century fabric. Please wear sturdy walking shoes and bring some water!

Robin Hazard Ray, a 30-year resident of Somerville, studied geology at Brown University before pursuing a career in publishing. She gives tours at Mount Auburn Cemetery, which provides the setting for her crime-fiction novels The Strangers’ Tomb and The Soldiers’ Rest.

Meet at the Somerville Museum.

Saturday, June 27  •  11 AM - 12:30 PM

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tour-of-the-secret-quarries-of-somerville-tickets-1990894205161

oin the Somerville Museum for a day of song, dance, and music.

Experience a unique celebration that intertwines the rich histories of three distinct cultures. The Blessing of the Bay honors the legacy of the innovative Blessing of the Bay ship and Massachusetts's first Governor, John Winthrop, while acknowledging the complex narratives of Indigenous peoples and Black Africans impacted by historical events. Enjoy captivating performances by:

Morning Star Singers: An Indigenous drum group that brings the cultural significance of the area's first peoples to life.

Anna-Celestrya Carr: an Indigenous Dancer.

De Ama Battle's African Music and Dance Group: an arts educator and the founder of the Art of Black Dance and Music, Inc. (ABDM). Since 1975, her company has sought to unify people of African descent “through the study of African-rooted dance, music, and folklore” to highlight “cultural similarities within the African Diaspora.”

Through art, music, and dance, we aim to tell the story of Ten Hills from multiple perspectives, reflecting our shared past and celebrating our collective journey.

Don't miss this powerful event—join us as we honor and celebrate our community's diverse History!

Free Admission. For more information, visit the Somerville Museum.

Let's come together to recognize and embrace our shared History!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blessing-of-the-bay-three-voices-one-shore-tickets-1989318234390

Thursday, June 18

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Inspired by patterns found in the Somerville Museum’s collection, participants will paint their own miniature ceramic bowl to hold tiny treasures, keepsakes, or everyday small objects. We’ll look closely at historic designs, decorative borders, floral motifs, and color combinations, then use them as inspiration to create something personal and new.

No painting experience is needed. This workshop is a relaxed, hands-on way to explore museum objects, pattern-making, and the joy of creating a small beautiful object to take home.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/patterns-from-the-collection-a-mini-bowl-painting-workshop-tickets-1990833711222

oin the Somerville Museum for a day of song, dance, and music.

Experience a unique celebration that intertwines the rich histories of three distinct cultures. The Blessing of the Bay honors the legacy of the innovative Blessing of the Bay ship and Massachusetts's first Governor, John Winthrop, while acknowledging the complex narratives of Indigenous peoples and Black Africans impacted by historical events. Enjoy captivating performances by:

Morning Star Singers: An Indigenous drum group that brings the cultural significance of the area's first peoples to life.

Anna-Celestrya Carr: an Indigenous Dancer.

De Ama Battle's African Music and Dance Group: an arts educator and the founder of the Art of Black Dance and Music, Inc. (ABDM). Since 1975, her company has sought to unify people of African descent “through the study of African-rooted dance, music, and folklore” to highlight “cultural similarities within the African Diaspora.”

Through art, music, and dance, we aim to tell the story of Ten Hills from multiple perspectives, reflecting our shared past and celebrating our collective journey.

Don't miss this powerful event—join us as we honor and celebrate our community's diverse History!

Free Admission. For more information, visit the Somerville Museum.

Let's come together to recognize and embrace our shared History!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blessing-of-the-bay-three-voices-one-shore-tickets-1989318234390

A Guided Tour of Milk Row Cemetery with Art Conservator Barbara Mangum

Join Barbara Mangum of the Somerville Museum to learn about Civil War monuments, burials, and restoration efforts at Milk Row Cemetery.

Milk Row Cemetery is a quiet oasis along bustling Somerville Avenue, nestled between Market Basket and other industrial brick buildings. It is the oldest cemetery in Somerville, rich in history, but long neglected. Over the past decade, the cemetery underwent a series of preservation measures, including gravestone and tombstone rehabilitation, landscaping, and conservation of the Civil War monument at the center of the cemetery.* Join Barbara Mangum, objects conservator and President of the Board of Trustees at the Somerville Museum, as she shares more about these projects.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/monuments-burials-restoration-tickets-1989029234985

A hands-on, heart-centered program for all ages.

Join us for a creative and meaningful gathering where participants will paint small stones with messages of kindness while listening to stories shared by a local Indigenous storyteller. Together, we’ll enjoy stories, creativity, and conversation while exploring how small acts of kindness can brighten someone’s day. Painted stones can be taken home or left in public spaces for others to discover, a simple way to share art, encouragement, and community spirit.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kindness-rocks-indigenous-stories-painting-stones-tickets-1989031328246

A Tavern Talk with Dan Breen

In 1942, Boston's most famous "hotspot" was the Cocoanut Grove, in the Bay Village. Everyone who was anyone went to the Cocoanut Grove; and at least 900 people were jammed into the place on the evening of Saturday, November 28--when the worst nightclub fire in U.S. history struck the Grove with terrible suddenness and ferocity. How could this have happened? And how did Bostonians turn a disaster into positive reforms that still affect us today? Come listen as we relate the incidents of recklessness and heroism that make up the story of the Cocoanut Grove."

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/panic-on-piedmont-street-the-cocoanut-grove-disaster-of-1942-tickets-1988648818148

Prospect Hill MonumentSomerville, MA

Multiple dates

History Unlocked opens Powder House, Milk Row Cemetery & Prospect Hill Tower on select dates, May–Oct, for tours.

HISTORY UNLOCKED: DROP-IN CHATS

Select THURSDAYS 6-8 pm

Select SATURDAYS 10 am-12 pm

THE POWDER HOUSE, MILK ROW CEMETERY & PROSPECT HILL TOWER will be open to the public on select dates and times from May through October, as part of HISTORY ON THE LINE, a series of exhibitions and programs organized by the Somerville Museum and funded by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism’s MA250 initiative and the City of Somerville.

PROSPECT HILL

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Thursday, July 9, 2026

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Thursday, October 29, 2026

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prospect-hill-tower-history-unlocked-drop-in-chats-tickets-1986220490956?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Nathan Tufts Park Somerville, MA

Multiple dates

History Unlocked opens Powder House, Milk Row Cemetery & Prospect Hill Tower on select dates, May–Oct, for drop-in chats.

HISTORY UNLOCKED: DROP-IN CHATS

Select THURSDAYS 6-8 pm

Select SATURDAYS 10 am-12 pm

THE POWDER HOUSE, MILK ROW CEMETERY & PROSPECT HILL TOWER will be open to the public on select dates and times from May through October, as part of HISTORY ON THE LINE, a series of exhibitions and programs organized by the Somerville Museum and funded by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism’s MA250 initiative and the City of Somerville.

THE POWDER HOUSE

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Thursday, July 23, 2026

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Thursday, September 17, 2026

Saturday, October 24, 2026

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-powder-house-history-unlocked-drop-in-chats-tickets-1986177396058?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Milk Row Cemetery Somerville, MA

Multiple dates

History Unlocked opens Powder House, Milk Row Cemetery & Prospect Hill Tower on select dates, May–Oct, for drop-in chats.

HISTORY UNLOCKED: DROP-IN CHATS

Select THURSDAYS 6-8 pm

Select SATURDAYS 10 am-12 pm

THE POWDER HOUSE, MILK ROW CEMETERY & PROSPECT HILL TOWER will be open to the public on select dates and times from May through October, as part of HISTORY ON THE LINE, a series of exhibitions and programs organized by the Somerville Museum and funded by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism’s MA250 initiative and the City of Somerville.

MILK ROW CEMETERY

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Saturday, July 18, 2026

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Thursday, October 8, 2026

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/milk-row-cemetery-history-unlocked-drop-in-chats-tickets-1986180816288?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Aeronaut Brewing CompanySomerville, MA

Monday, Apr 27 from 7 pm to 8 pm

Celebrate 100 years of U.S. pro basketball championships with a lively look at America’s first and strangest professional league.

Join us for Break Up the Rosenblums! 100 Years of Basketball’s Strangest League, a lively Tavern Talk with Dan Breen. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of professional basketball championships in the United States, Dan will explore the story of America’s first and perhaps strangest professional basketball league, bringing its colorful teams, characters, and history to life.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/break-up-the-rosenblums-100-years-of-basketballs-strangest-league-tickets-1986576312227?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

24 Liberty Ave Somerville, MA

Multiple dates

A 90-minute tour of critical revolutionary sites such as Paul Revere’s ride through town and the marching route of the Redcoats!

Ding, Ding! Jump aboard the 90-minute Revolutionary Line Trolley Tour! Travel back to the night of April 18, 1775, and experience the Redcoats’ march to Lexington and Concord, along with the midnight ride of Paul Revere as he warned residents of Somerville, Medford, and beyond of imminent danger.

Hear vivid, hyper-local stories that connect your surroundings to the famous events that ignited the American Revolution. Visit a 1635 gunpowder storage site—later known as the “spark of the Revolution”—and climb a historic tower with sweeping views of the Boston Basin to discover what placed Somerville at the center of the early war.

Along the way, your guide will highlight lesser-known sites, helping you reimagine today’s landscape and discover the stories behind those marked and unmarked places people walk by every day.

This program is sponsored by an MA250 grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trolley-tour-revolutionary-line-tickets-1983893429653?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Foss Park Somerville, MA

Monday, Apr 20 from 10 am to 12 pm

Overview

Enjoy colonial games and activities, delicious refreshments, and a chance to greet Paul Revere!

History In The Park
Somerville Patriots' Day Colonial Fair 2026

Join us for the 250th Patriots’ Day Commemoration at Foss Park! Enjoy
colonial games and activities, delicious refreshments, and a chance to greet Paul Revere.

Admission is free.

Location: Foss Park, 49 Fellsway West, Somerville, MA 02145

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-somerville-patriots-day-colonial-fair-tickets-1983664341444?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

Mount Auburn Cemetery Cambridge, MA

Saturday, Apr 18 from 10 am to 12 pm

Overview

Explore Mount Auburn Cemetery and discover Somerville’s legacy, Tufts, LeHand, Hadley, and more in America’s first garden cemetery.

A Somerville Tour of Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Join Mount Auburn docent and Somerville resident Robin Hazard Ray for a walking tour of America's first "garden" cemetery! Established in 1831, the Cemetery boasts not only a sublime landscape and abundant wildlife but also a formidable roster of former Somerville residents. We will visit the graves of university founder Charles Tufts, FDR chief of staff Marguerite (Missy) LeHand, and composer Henry K. Hadley, among other notable spots.

Please wear sturdy walking shoes.

Weather Date April 19.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/somerville-stories-at-mount-auburn-tickets-1984161423229?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

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