Boston Flora

Category: Exhibit

  • Thursdays through Sundays, November 21 – December 27, 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Sparkling Lights at The Breakers

    This holiday season, the landscape of The Breakers will dazzle visitors like never before.
    Sparkling Lights at The Breakers, which delighted thousands of visitors when it debuted, will be twice as large when it opens Saturday, November 21. The colorful spectacle and holiday music will be expanded to the southern portion of the historic Serpentine Path. Photo opportunities will abound, from the expanded, 50-foot-long Tunnel of Light to the Van”deer”bilt Selfie Station. The back terrace will be part of “Sparkling Lights” for the first time, with warming stations, adult beverages and s’mores kits available. In all, Sparkling Lights will cover more than half of the 13-acre property, with nearly 100,000 lights and plenty of surprises along the way. Sparkling Lights at The Breakers will be displayed primarily Thursday through Sunday evenings, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., from November 21 through December 27.

    Tickets are now on sale through NewportMansions.org. Click on the green “Tickets” button on the upper right, then choose “Event Tickets” if you are not a Preservation Society member, or “Member Tickets” if you are. You will be asked to choose a date and time; admission for “Sparkling Lights” will be timed at intervals between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The “Sparkling Lights” ticket includes the interior house tour. For more information, go to https://www.newportmansions.org/events/sparkling-lights-at-the-breakers-2026/

  • Saturday, December 5 – Monday, December 21 – Mount Auburn Cemetery Solstice: Reflections on Winter Light

    SOLSTICE: Reflections on Winter Light is an annual event at Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge, that includes an outdoor journey with large-scale light and sound artworks created by MASARY, and an indoor experience with live music and candle lighting. Guests are invited to walk through the light-filled landscape, explore the Winter Solstice atmosphere, and to reflect on moments of change as the year ends and a new cycle begins. Connect to a landscape of exceptional beauty, consider an intention for the new year, or commemorate the memory of a loved one. Let SOLSTICE light your way as you encounter the unique spirit of Mount Auburn. Tickets are $25 – $45, depending on time slot and availability. Tickets at https://www.mountauburnsolstice.org/

  • Saturday, November 14 – Saturday, January 2 – Gardens Aglow

    Gather your family and friends and experience the magic of a Maine winter at Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. This year’s theme, Gathered in Maine, celebrates the traditions, landscapes, and natural connections that bring us together, all brought to life in a dazzling display of light.

    Join us from November 14 through January 2, on Thursdays through Sundays and on select additional dates. Weekends and holidays do sell out, so you’ll want to purchase your tickets early to get your ideal day and time!

    Looking for an extra-special evening? Add the Gardens Aglow VIP Upgrade for flexible arrival times, unlimited ticket exchanges, a cozy fire pit experience with s’mores, and exclusive Gardens Aglow swag. The VIP upgrade is a separate, additional per-ticket item that you can add at the time of purchase. Add it to your cart with your tickets to unlock exclusive extras this Gardens Aglow season. Passes are limited and will sell out. Visit https://www.mainegardens.org/

  • Friday, October 23, 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Living Connections: The Arnold Arboretum and Korea

    On Friday, October 23, members of the Arnold Arboretum get a special sneak preview of the new exhibit in the Hunnewell Building, titled Living Connections: The Arnold Arboretum and Korea. For more than a century, the Arnold Arboretum has been connected to Korea through plants, exploration, and scientific exchange. The exhibit brings together rare archival images, living collections, plant records, and contemporary partnerships to explore Korea’s botanical heritage and the evolving relationship between the Arboretum and Korean institutions.

    Join us for this special member preview event to view the exhibit, enjoy refreshments, and mingle with staff experts. No need to register, just stop by! Not sure of your member status? Visit https://arboretum.harvard.edu/support/

    Accessibility: The Hunnewell Building is wheelchair accessible.

    This members-only program is geared towards adults. Inclement weather policy: This is a rain or shine event. This exhibition is sponsored in part by Leslie and Peter Ciampi.

  • Saturday, November 7, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Fairies in the Foliage

    Children and their families are invited to search for fairy houses, make fairy-themed crafts, help create a fairy village, and sip sparkly fairy lemonade on the beautiful Eustis Estate grounds. All activities will take place outdoors so please dress for the weather. The event takes place Saturday, November 7 from 10 – noon,

    Member Adult Free; Member Child $5; Nonmember Adult $15; Nonmember Child $10. Log in or Join now to have your discount applied at checkout. Visit Historic New England HERE.

    Please call (617) 994-6600 for more information.

    Tickets include admission to the house museum. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

  • Now Through February 21 – Sensing Oceans at the MIT Museum

    How do we sense and make sense of the ocean? How do we go beyond the limits of our perception to understand the ocean more completely? Come see at the MIT Museum, 314 Main Street, Gambrill Center Building E-28 in Cambridge, now through February 21.

    Combining science, history, and contemporary art, Sensing Oceans offers a multifaceted look at the marine environment that covers three quarters of our planet, and yet, without technology, is largely beyond our reach. From autonomous vehicles and sonar images to immersive artistic installations and robots that mimic fish, this exhibition explores how we might sense the ocean more completely, and by extension, become better stewards of this crucial ecosystem.

    Among the centerpieces of this exhibition are the US premiere of two installations by experiential artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast: Seeing Echoes in the Mind of the Whale, and Plankton Temple. The former, a sensory experience that immerses audiences in the worlds of whales and dolphins on their underwater journeys, and the latter an homage to plankton in the form of a kinetic sculpture of light, glass, and sound that echoes their intricate structures and movements. Additionally, audiences are invited to discover underwater landscape artwork by contemporary artist Julius von Bismarck, alongside the historic glass marine invertebrate models of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, and deep sea photography of life on the ocean floor by Harold Edgerton.

    ‘Sensing Oceans’ asks what it means to know something we can never fully grasp. From the earliest sounding rods to today’s underwater autonomous vehicles and bio-acoustic recordings, humans have built an extraordinary lineage of technologies to reach beyond our own senses and into the medium of the ocean. This exhibition brings that lineage into full view, showing how each instrument and artwork can measure the sea and transform our relationship to this magnificent realm.

  • Sunday, October 25, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm – Celebrating Chrysanthemums

    In celebration of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s annual John Lowell Gardner Chrysanthemum Installation in the Courtyard, we present this exploration of the chrysanthemum as a muse for musicians and writers. An all-star cast is joined by the Gardner’s Stanley P. Kozak Director of Horticulture Erika Rumbley and Abrams Curator of Music George Steel. The event, in Calderwood Hall, is on October 25 from 1:30 – 3:30, and the program may be found at https://www.gardnermuseum.org/calendar/celebrating-chrysanthemums-20261025. Tickets are available online at the link above or by calling the Box Office at 617-278-5156. If sold out, place your name on the wait list, or just go to the Museum and enjoy the Chrysanthemum installation while it is in peak bloom. Photo: Jenny Pore

  • Friday, November 6, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – 7th Annual Wild & Seedling Pomological Exhibition

    The folks at Gnarly Pippins in Williamsburg, Massachusetts are gearing up for the 7th Annual Wild and Seedling Pomological Exhibition, and it is going to be a real rager, because they have quite an impressive crop of wild apples across the majority of North America. The Pomological Exhibition is truly a grassroots tradition where scores of likeminded folks who explore for wild apples come together around this glorious mast crop, sharing samples of the most intriguing specimens that they’ve found. Each year since the founding in 2019, they have had an increasingly diverse and interesting cohort of submissions from geographies and bioregions scattered across the continent. The recent volumes of the print publication related to the Exhibition, POMOLOGICAL SERIES, reflects that trend. For complete information on how to submit fruit, email Matt@gnarlypippins.com The event takes place at the Williamsburg Grange Hall, 10 Main Street in Williamsburg.

  • Saturday, October 17, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, & Sunday, October 18, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm – Boston Veg Food Fest

    The 31st annual Boston Veg Food Fest Weekend will take place October 17 & 18 at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, 1350 Tremont Street in Boston. Free Admission. Boston Veg Food Fest brings together an amazing array of providers of 100% plant-based food and lifestyle products, notable speakers and chefs, and educational exhibitors in a fun and welcoming environment.

    It is a chance to talk directly to food producers, learn about new items in the marketplace, taste samples, and shop at show-special discounts. Learn from experts in the fields of plant-based nutrition, culinary arts, athletics, climate, and sustainable, animal-friendly living. For more information visit https://bostonveg.org/foodfest/

  • Saturday, October 17, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm – Rockport Harvest Fest 2026

    While summer in New England is technically over, it’s still too soon to take out the air conditioner because you know “there’s gonna be another wicked hot day.” It’s shorts and hoody weather, and even though your tan is fading, you’re really not ready to get into your annual lumberjack costume quite yet. Harvest Fest is a celebration of all things fall and the coastal village Rockport provides the perfect scenic backdrop for this event. Spend a weekend by the ocean in a quintessential New England setting enjoying incredible seafood, pastries, deserts, baking competitions and stores that are all open and embracing the season. Full information and schedule may be found at https://addisonchoate.com/blog/2026-rockport-ma-harvest-fest-full-schedule-details/