Free Fun Fridays 2016 Schedule – 80 Sites in Boston and Massachusetts Offering Free Admission This Summer
This is the 2016 schedule. Check out the 2017 Free Fun Fridays lineup.
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.”
Indeed, no complaints here.
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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