Tag: Marine

Friday Fun: Maritime Festivals and Movies

As the summer begins to wind down, it is usually a lot harder to find interesting things to do with your family. In fact, if you’ve been looking for something to do this weekend, you may have already realized that unless you consider barhopping to be a family activity, finding something that kids and parents alike will enjoy is quite a challenge. Fortunately, there are a couple of events going on in the Boston area and north of Boston this weekend that almost everyone will enjoy.

First, if you’re a big fan of antique boats or you simply like the sea, there is a festival in Salem, MA that you won’t want to miss. This festival, which is known as the Antique & Classic Boat Festival, features artists, a boat parade, a craft fair, music, photographers, over 40 vintage boats, and more maritime stuff than you can shake a stick at (or perhaps an oar.) Best of all, the Festival is a great way to entertain the family without breaking the bank as it is only $5 for adults and children under 12 are free. For more information, please visit the By The Sea website.

Secondly, if your family is more interested in movies than they are in maritime history, the HatchShell in Boston may have the solution. Tonight, August 23, 2013, the HatchShell will be showing Oz The Great and Powerful as part of their “Free Flicks” summer series. The movie, which is absolutely free, will begin at sunset and will end approximately 2 hours later (the total run time is 130 minutes.) For more information on the event itself, please visit the HatchShell website. For more information on the film, which tells the origin story of the wizard from the Wizard Of Oz, please visit the Oz the Great and Powerful website.

Friday Fun: President’s Day Weekend

The sun is shining in the Northeast, the weather’s getting warmer, and a good chunk of the 2+ feet of snow that was dumped on the Northeastern United States last weekend by a historic storm has already begun to melt. The only question now is what are you going to do with your newly found ability to go outside without becoming an ice sculpture or a snowman (or a snowwoman as the case may be.) Well, if you’re trying to find something to do this weekend but coming up blank, here are a couple of ways that you can enjoy the weather while it lasts.

First, if you’ve always wanted your own boat or just enjoy all things maritime, you may want to make your way to Boston this weekend. The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is hosting the 2013 Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, February 16, 2013.) This show is the largest boating event in the Northeastern United States, and it features over 750 boats, including powerboats, sailboats, and skiffs. In fact, the Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show not only offers an impressive number of boats but also offers boating seminars, a couple of boating sweepstakes, displays, and almost every boating accessory that you can imagine. For more information on the Progressive Insurance New England Boat Show, visit the show’s website.

Secondly, if you’re really not into boats or you just really hate the water in general , you may want to investigate some of the President’s Day events that are going on throughout the weekend. Most areas have a number of events celebrating our founding fathers, famous presidents, and/or the history of the United States in general. This is especially true if you are in the area of Massachusetts, Washington DC or Virginia as Old Sturbridge Village, Mount Vernon, and a number of other similar landmarks in these areas will be holding special events and/or offering discounted or free admission.