2016-05-26

From www.bostonmagazine.com; for the full article and photos, click here.

Highland Street Foundation’s annual series is back! Eight different museums and arts institutions will offer free admission every Friday this summer for 10 weeks.

By Yiqing Shao    | Arts & Entertainment    | May 23, 2016, 9:00 a.m.

The 2016 Free Fun Fridays lineup, via Highland Street Foundation. / Click to view larger or print a PDF.

To all of Boston’s other free summer series out there, allow me to Kanye you aside for a second (I’m gonna let you finish!) to say that Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays is the best summer series of all time.

The foundation has hosted the popular family-friendly series since 2009, growing in size every year. The free programming provides Massachusetts locals and visitors alike with frugal ways to celebrate summer in the Bay State. There are no strings attached—every Friday for ten weeks, eight institutions in Boston and beyond will offer free admission.

“The events are great for children during the summer since they’re not in school,” said executive director Blake Jordan in 2014. “It’s a great opportunity for them to continue their education. We’ve seen a lot of youth groups, senior citizen groups, and veteran groups come out. And we’ve heard from families where a parent lost his job, and Free Fun Fridays was their family vacation. The feedback has been unbelievable—I could count on one hand the number of problems we’ve had as far as people complaining about things like long lines, but generally no one complains because it’s all free.”

Last year, there were 70 Free Fun Fridays. This year, there are 80. Check out the full schedule above and below. Where will you be headed summer?
Friday, June 24, 2016

Tanglewood

Lyric Stage Company of Boston

Clark Art Institute

MASS MoCA

Worcester Art Museum

Children’s Museum at Holyoke

International Volleyball Hall of Fame

The Mount: Edith Wharton’s Home

Friday, July 1, 2016

Boston Children’s Museum

The Sports Museum

Heritage Museums & Gardens

Falmouth Museums on the Green

Cape Cod Maritime Museum

Amelia Park Children’s Museum

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Wenham Museum

Friday, July 8, 2016

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Plimoth Plantation

Peabody Essex Museum

Cape Ann Museum

Buttonwood Park Zoo

Children’s Museum in Easton

The Hall at Patriot Place

Provincetown Art Association and Museum

Friday, July 15, 2016

Edward M. Kennedy Institute

Boston Athenӕum

Larz Anderson Museum

Cape Cod Children’s Museum

Edward Gorey House

Danforth Art Museum/School

Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History

Fitchburg Art Museum

Friday, July 22, 2016

Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

New Bedford Whaling Museum

Cape Cod Museum of Art

Pilgrim Hall Museum

The Eric Carle Museum

Fruitlands Museum

Museum of Russian Icons

Friday, July 29, 2016

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

Commonwealth Museum

Battleship Cove

Marine Museum at Fall River

Sandwich Glass Museum

Nantucket Whaling Museum

Tower Hill Botanic Garden

Commonwealth Shakespeare Company

Friday, August 5, 2016

Harvard Museum of Natural History

The Old State House

The Greenway Carousel

Springfield Museums

Historic Deerfield

Hancock Shaker Village

The Old Manse, The Trustees

Worcester Historical Museum

Friday, August 12, 2016

MIT Museum

The Museum of the NCAAA

Concord Museum

Garden in the Woods

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center

Naumkeag, The Trustees

Emily Dickinson Museum

The Metropolitan Waterworks Museum

Friday, August 19, 2016

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston

USS Constitution Museum

The Discovery Museums

EcoTarium

The Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River

New England Historic Genealogical Society

Fuller Craft Museum

Griffin Photography Museum

Friday, August 26, 2016

Franklin Park Zoo

Old Sturbridge Village

Freedom Trail Foundation

Museum of African American History

Norman Rockwell Museum

Berkshire Museum

Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum

Cape Cod Museum of Natural History

Learn more about Highland Street Foundation at highlandstreet.org.

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