Free Fun Fridays 2018 Schedule
The Highland Street Foundation's popular summertime series is offering free admission to 100 museums and cultural institutions across the state.
From left: Photos by Peter Vanderwarker (ICA); Siena Scarff (Gardner Museum); courtesy of the Mary Baker Eddy Library (Mapparium); Anton Grassi (Athenaeum); Olga Khvan (MFA)
You probably don’t need an excuse to duck out of the office early on summer Fridays, but the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Friday program is a pretty darn good one. Every summer since 2009, the foundation has offered free admission to scores of museums and arts institutions across Massachusetts on select Fridays.This year, the list of participating cultural institutions has expanded from 85 in 2017 to a whopping 100 museums. That’s 100 things to do this summer without spending a dime.
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum? Free on July 27. MASS MoCA? Free on August 24. The Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History? (Free Fun Fridays are a great way to explore the state’s off-the-beaten-path destinations!) Free on July 20.
May you never pay full-price admission to a museum this summer—and good luck choosing which places to visit.
Here’s the schedule:
June 29
Lyric Stage Company of Boston
MIT Museum
Berkshire Theatre Group
Nantucket Whaling Museum
The Mount: Edith Wharton’s Home
Concord Museum
Worcester Art Museum
Clark Art Institute
Children’s Museum in Easton
Edward Gorey House
July 6
Boston Children’s Museum
Peabody Essex Museum
Cape Cod Maritime Museum
Battleship Cove
Amelia Park Children’s Museum
Gore Place
Falmouth Museums on the Green
Hancock Shaker Village
Pilgrim Hall Museum
New England Quilt Museum
July 13
Edward M. Kennedy Institute
Charles River Watershed
Larz Anderson Auto Museum
Chesterwood
The Telephone Museum
Ventfort Hall Mansion Gilded Age
The Sports Museum
Children’s Museum at Holyoke
International Volleyball Hall of Fame
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
July 20
Museum of Fine Arts
Gloucester Stage Company
The Gardens at Elm Bank
Chatham Shark Center
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association
Spellman Museum of Stamps & Postal History
Springfield Museums
Discovery Museum
The Hall at Patriot Place
July 27
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Boston Symphony Orchestra Tanglewood
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
JFK Hyannis Museum
Fitchburg Art Museum
Old Colony History Museum
Boston Athenӕum
Sandwich Glass Museum
Arnold Arboretum
Museum of Russian Icons
August 3
Franklin Park Zoo
Cape Cod Museum of Art
The Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River
Davis Museum
Naumkeag
Worcester Historical Museum
Osterville Historical Museum
Historic Deerfield
The Eric Carle Museum
Paragon Carousel
August 10
Boston Harbor Islands
Institute of Contemporary Art
Jacob’s Pillow
Cahoon Museum of American Art
Nichols House Museum
Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists
Wenham Museum
Fuller Craft Museum
The Greenway Carousel
Freedom Trail Foundation
August 17
JFK Presidential Library & Museum
Plimoth Plantation
Commonwealth Museum
Lynn Museum
New England Historic Genealogical Society
Fort Devens Museum
Fruitlands Museum
Old State House
Berkshire Museum
Museum of the First Corps of Cadets
August 24
Harvard Museums
Buttonwood Park Zoo
MASS MoCA
Heritage Museums & Gardens
Cape Cod Children’s Museum
Smith College Museum of Art
The Old Manse
Emily Dickinson Museum
Hull Lifesaving Museum
Museum of African American History
August 31
Old Sturbridge Village
EcoTarium
Norman Rockwell Museum
Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
Chatham Marconi Maritime Center
USS Constitution Museum
Cape Ann Museum
Griffin Museum of Photography
Provincetown Art Museum
The Mary Baker Eddy Library
For more about Highland Street Foundation, visit highlandstreet.org.
Plus, check out more summer event lineups.
