Special Events 2023

 

Julie Pollock

Check back soon for upcoming special events as we enter the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution!

 

 

December 2023

 

Tea Party in Real Time

November 25 through December 17
Digital Content

Follow along on Minute Man social media pages between November 25 and December 17 as we explore the events of the Boston Tea Party in real time. Follow along by clicking the links below:

Facebook
Instagram

 

Meeting of the body of the people (Boston Tea Party 250)

Partner Event by Revolutionary Spaces
December 15 & 16, 2023
Old South Meeting House
Doors open 5:00 pm. Event 6:15 pm.

Join Revolutionary Spaces in the room where it happened as they commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party with the Meeting of the Body of the People. This event is ticketed by Revolutionary Spaces. For more information about the event click here!

 

January 2024

 

“Enemies to their country:” Concord Town Meeting January 10, 1774

Wednesday, January 10, 2024 
6:00 PM- 7:30 PM
Concord Free Public Main Library
Free & Open (Registration is not required but recommended)

250 years ago, in the wake of the now famous “Boston Tea Party,” the people of Concord took steps that would lead them down a dangerous path toward rebellion. On January 10, 1774, Concord took up an article in town meeting to write a response to a letter from the Boston Committee of Correspondence that warned about the evils of the new Tea Act and the need to resist “in a most zealous and determined manner...” In the same meeting, Concord also considered an article “not to consume any tea in our respective families – and if agreed to – then to see if the town will adjudge those who will afterwards sell or use any tea in their families as enemies to their country...”

• What did they mean by using the word “enemies”? 
• What would such a measure do to their community? 

Join Minute Man NHP Rangers as they unpack this significant event and lead a discussion about responses to dissent and disagreement at times of political crisis.

Registration is not required but is recommended. Register at 01/10/2024 | “Enemies to their country?” Concord Town Meeting January 10, 1774 | Concord Free Public Library (assabetinteractive.com) The program will take place in the Concord Free Public Main Library at 129 Main Street, Concord, MA. Please visit the library webpage for parking and accessibility information. 

 

February 2024

 

"Huzzah! Drinking with John Hancock during the American Revolution" with Dr. Brooke Barbier

Sunday, February 25, 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concord Free Public Main Library
Free and open to the public

Join the Friends of Minute Man National Park for their free annual winter lecture series! Learn more about the important role of alcohol in the culture and politics of Colonial America in this free lecture with Brook Barbier, author of "King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father (2023)." When John Hancock needed to win people over, he didn’t talk about resisting taxes or policy improvements; instead, he served alcohol. He offered rum punch and wine at his home and paid for lavish meals in taverns to bring people together. Guests included lower-class men, French officers, and Black women and men. By throwing parties, Hancock gained social and political power among myriad groups, repeatedly paying dividends. He was consistently elected to political office and when he smuggled Madeira into Boston, one of the most memorable and violent mobs during colonial resistance defended him.

Brooke Barbier is a public historian who received her Ph.D. in American history from Boston College, researching Boston’s social and cultural life during and after the American Revolution. Barbier owns a popular tour company in Boston, Ye Olde Tavern Tours, that takes guests to revolutionary sites and inside historic taverns to drink beer. 

For more information, please visit the Friends of Minute Man website at https://friendsofminuteman.org/events. 

The Winter Lecture Series is co-sponsored by Friends of Minute Man, Minute Man National Historical Park, and the Concord Free Public Library.

 

March 2024

 

“Radical Spirits: The Material Culture of Drinking at Minute Man National Historical Park” with Nikki Walsh

Sunday, March 24, 2024
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Concord Free Public Main Library
Free and open to the public

Join the Friends of Minute Man National Park for their free annual winter lecture series! Punch bowls, and tankards, and bottles, oh my! Join Minute Man National Historical Park’s museum curator Nikki Walsh for a lecture about the material culture related to drinking in the park’s collections. This lecture will focus on 18th-century drinking culture and include aspects of drink in earlier and later periods of history.

Nikki Walsh is the curator of Minute Man National Historical Park. Nikki has worked for the National Park Service since 2009 and has worked with over 45 parks as a Museum Specialist in the Northeast Region. Her area of expertise is material culture and decorative arts of 18th-century New England. She received a B.S. in Public History and Geology from Salem State University and an M.A. in Historical Archaeology from Boston University. She has been at Minute Man since 2018 and first fell in love with the park on a school field trip in 5th grade.

For more information, please visit the Friends of Minute Man website at https://friendsofminuteman.org/events. 

The Winter Lecture Series is co-sponsored by Friends of Minute Man, Minute Man National Historical Park, and the Concord Free Public Library.

 

April 2024

 

The Search of Barrett Farm

2024 Date To Be Determined
Colonel James Barrett House

Visit the home of Colonel James Barrett and talk with costumed park rangers and volunteers about colonial military preparations.

 

Battle Road

April 13, 2024

This is the signature living history event at Minute Man National Historical Park, featuring hundreds of volunteer reenactors. Learn about the events of April 19, 1775 from many points of view through a full schedule of living history programs and demonstrations, including a fast-paced tactical demonstration along a restored stretch of the original Battle Road! Talk with volunteers portraying colonial civilians forced to leave their homes, minute men who answered the sudden call to arms, British soldiers fighting for king and country and Loyalists who saw the struggle differently from their neighbors.

 

The North Bridge Fight

April 15, 2024
North Bridge, Concord

Commemorate Patriot's Day with a dramatic tactical demonstration involving Colonial minute men, British regulars, and musket fire, marking the "shot heard round the world."

 

Patriot Vigil

Thursday, April 18, 2024
North Bridge, Concord
7:45 pm

As darkness descends upon the North Bridge battlefield we invite you to come and reflect on the events of April 19, 1775 and the meaning of liberty. The evening ceremony will feature a lantern-light procession, poetry, music, and a recitation of the names of the soldiers who gave their lives on that “ever-memorable” 19^th of April.

*To participate in the lantern-light procession, please provide your own REAL candle lantern. The procession will begin at North Bridge Visitor Center, 174 Liberty Street, Concord MA. From there we will march down the quarter-mile path to the North Bridge where the ceremony will take place. Participants are welcome to wear 18th century clothing if they choose, but please do not bring muskets.

Parking:
North Bridge Visitor Center: 174 Liberty Street, Concord, Ma
North Bridge Parking Lot: 280 Monument Street, Concord, Ma

 

Learn More!

• 

  Welcome to your National Park

  Welcome to your National Park

  Plan your visit with park information and hours

• 

  Experience the park with a ranger!

  Guided Programs

  Ranger Programs Return! If you visit between Memorial Day weekend and the end of October, you may catch one of our daily Ranger programs.

• 

  Follow the story!

  April 19, 1775: The First Battle

  Learn about the people and events of April 19, 1775!