Boston Dance Theater (BDT) returns to the Garden this September for Plants: Solos for Native Species. On September 26, visitors are invited to experience immersive dance performances throughout the Garden, featuring 20-minute solo works inspired by native plant species. Four solo performances will loop throughout the day in different locations, allowing guests to discover each piece at their own pace and to come and go freely during regular Garden hours. Free with Garden Admission. For more information visit https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/events/plants-solos-for-native-species/
Over 5,000 glowing jack-o’-lanterns transform the Roger Williams Park Zoo into New England’s premier fall experience. Tickets sold online only. https://www.rwpzoo.org/jols/.
Roger Williams Park Zoo’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular: The Great Pun-Kin Trail, presented by Citizens, returns October 1 through November 1 with an all-new trail of clever carvings guaranteed to make you smile, groan, and laugh out loud.
This year’s theme celebrates the art of the pun, with thousands of hand-carved pumpkins bringing witty wordplay to life through pop culture references, playful characters and pun-believable scenes. From clever one-liners to delightfully cheesy dad jokes, there’s something to make every guest grin as they stroll The Great Pun-Kin Trail, where over 5,000 glowing jack-o’-lanterns transform the Zoo into New England’s premier fall experience.
Enjoy the magic of autumn at Roger Williams Park Zoo. All tickets are timed, available online only, and must be purchased in advance. Don’t miss New England’s “must-see” family-friendly event of the Halloween season!
Free nightly parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis, with optional premium parking available. Please remember to bring along your patience – the magical experience inside is worth every moment!
Pumpkin trail is open nightly from 6:00 – 10:30 pm, last entry at 10:00 pm. The Spectacular is open rain or shine, all tickets are non-refundable and cannot be exchanged for a different date.
Experience the bold, expressive watercolor paintings of acclaimed artist John Barnard (1924–2018) in Fearless With Color, a special exhibition celebrating light, landscape, and the beauty of the natural world. The opening of the exhibit will take place September 11 from 5 – 8 at the Prescott Community Center in Groton, Massachusetts, sponsored by the Nashua River Watershed Association.
Known for his fearless use of color and expressive brushwork, Barnard’s paintings capture the energy, beauty, and emotion of the natural landscape. His work invites viewers to experience a deeper connection to a place and serves as a powerful reminder of the landscapes and waterways that enrich our communities.
We are especially grateful that a portion of proceeds from artwork sales will be donated to NRWA. These contributions help advance our work to protect water quality, restore habitat, educate future environmental stewards, and promote the long-term health of the Nashua River watershed.
We encourage community members, art enthusiasts, and conservation supporters alike to visit the exhibition and celebrate the connection between art, nature, and environmental stewardship.
Please contact John Barnard, 978-382-3032, for more information.
Join Heritage Museums & Gardens on Augusty 22 for the sixth annual Wampanoag Heritage Day, a fun-filled celebration of Wampanoag culture at Heritage featuring a variety of activities from 10 am-2 pm, including:
11:30 am-12:15 pm: Watch a performance by the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers of eastern social songs and dances (with audience participation encouraged!)
Craft a corn husk doll to take home
Explore the wetu, a reproduction of a historic dwelling, the mush8n, a reproduction dug-out canoe, and the Three Sisters demonstration garden, all created in collaboration with local Wampanoag partners
View and learn about historic Wampanoag artifacts found on the land that is now Heritage Museums & Gardens
Visit a native artisan to shop for handcrafted contemporary wampum jewelry
All activities are free with museum admission or membership.
The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers are a group of musicians, educators, and artisan from the tribal communities of Mashpee on Cape Cod, Aquinnah on Martha’s Vineyard, and Herring Pond in Bourne. Their performances of eastern social songs and dances have both educated and entertained audiences of all ages in museums, schools, and various multicultural events. They dress in traditional clothing and their songs are accompanied by a water drum and handcrafted rattles. They encourage audience participation and prefer to dance with the people instead of for the people.
In addition to their performances at Heritage, they have appeared at Jacob’s Pillow, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, The Peabody Essex Museum, Cambridge Arts Council, The Mary Baker Library, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Mashpee Powwow, Aptucxet Trading Post Museum, Stonehill College, Brown University, and more. They have toured throughout New England and as far away as Bermuda, Hawaii and the United Kingdom. For three years they have participated in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, heading up the First Light Float and delivering the televised land acknowledgement.
Looking for evening of hands-on science, entertainment and discovery? Find it at After Dark, our monthly adults-only, after-hours event at the MIT Museum.
On August 13, from 6-9 pm, join us for After Dark: Gardens, celebrating gardens, green spaces, and all things locally grown. Learn about local ecosystems, growing challenges, how to fuel your garden, and more through conversations, demonstrations, and interactive workshops.
With pop-up shops, music, drinks, and bites, you won’t want to miss it! For more information visit mitmuseum.mit.edu
The Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) is excited to announce the 2026 Annual Conference & Eco-Marketplace to be held in Providence, Rhode Island. The Annual Conference brings together leaders in ecological landscape practices with a diverse range of professionals involved in landcare, including landscape architects, designers, growers, horticulturists, land stewards, arborists, and installation/maintenance technicians. We also welcome students, educators, native plant enthusiasts, community activists, and home gardeners. The event will feature a two-day, multi-track program with opportunities to network, learn, and share new insights and strategies that contribute to sustainable and regenerative landscape management.
Explore innovative ways to use native plants, mitigate climate change, and design spaces that encourage biodiversity, including habitats for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Join us for some interactive workshops and discussions that will equip participants with practical tools and ideas for integrating ecological principles into landscape design.
One keynote presentation will be led by Dr. Evelyn Beaury of the New York Botanical Garden on Seeding Ecosystems of the Future. The decisions we make in our gardens will have a large effect on what species will persist under climate change, which is already impacting the distribution of biodiversity across time and space. In this talk, Dr. Beaury will discuss the latest research on these impacts and give you some ideas for how your garden can help ecosystems for the future, such as reducing the spread of invasive species and supporting climate-resilient native plants.
Another talk will be by Christopher Roddick , head arborist of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Working with trees is hard. The work can be demanding and sometimes dangerous: long hours in all kinds of weather, cutting wood with a chainsaw while hanging from a rope, or chipping brush into a man-eating machine.
As hard as all of that is, it was actually far more difficult and stressful for me to acquire the level of knowledge I needed to do the job well. Thousands of plant names to memorize, insects and diseases to identify, soil science, biology, ecology, and the list goes on. It’s daunting, especially for people like myself who aren’t traditional learners. But not knowing a plant, a pollinator partner, or a mushroom growing on a tree seemed far more unsettling.
This is the story of one tree guy’s 40-year journey, seeking knowledge from plants, trees, eccentric plant people, while fighting distraction, trying not to get killed or joining too many plant societies.
The Ogunquit Museum of American Art joyfully invites you to this year’s Art by the Sea Auction & Gala. This year we are excited to celebrate our most anticipated event of the season again at Cliff House Maine! We hope you will join us for an evening filled with excitement, our signature live auction, vibrant drinks and delicious passed hors d’oeuvre, and of course, the very finest company. $250. Register HERE.
Join the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture on August 20 for the 41st Annual Tomato Contest, sponsored by the New England Vegetable and Berry Growers Association with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) and the Boston Public Market Association. This friendly contest is open to commercial tomato growers and is designed to increase consumer’s awareness of local agriculture. Tomato drop-off and registration begins at 8:45 – 10:45, followed by 11:00 am judging by a panel of experts, and the award presentation at 12:30 pm. All criteria and registration information may be found at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/annual-massachusetts-tomato-contest
Home to 3.7 million people, 85 species of animals, 32,000 species of insects and 2 billion migratory birds, the boreal forest spans nearly the entire Northern Hemisphere, just below the Arctic Circle, and makes up one of the world’s last remaining stretches of true wilderness.
Discover the biodiversity and global importance of our northernmost forests through first-person stories, commissioned objects, interactive experiences and exquisite photography and videography.
The boreal forest is critical to the health of our entire planet. It helps regulate Earth’s climate, is the world’s largest land biome, is a critical water reservoir and holds two to three times as much carbon as tropical forests.
This timely Peabody Essex Museum bilingual exhibition (in English and Spanish) weaves together themes of climate change, Indigenous perspectives and the relationship between people and nature while taking audiences on a learning journey that starts with curiosity, builds empathy and leads to action. This family-friendly exhibition is located in The Dotty Brown Art & Nature Center and is part of PEM’s Climate + Environment Initiative.
Meet Kara Patrowicz, local artist and winner of the Sally Bishop Prize, the top honor at the 2025 ArtsWorcester Biennial. Her Worcester Art Museum solo exhibition, Kara Patrowicz: Sally Bishop Prize, features nearly 40 works that explore rhythms of caregiving within the early years of parenting. Her unique, painterly approach to felting repurposes her own “domestic detritus,” such as crib sheets, dryer lint, and locks of hair, into figurative artworks that “honor the states of exhaustion, vulnerability, and yearning that can accompany mothering.” In this artist talk on the opening day of the exhibition, Patrowicz will dive deeper into these themes, the experiences behind them, and her creative approach to fiber arts. The exhibition is on view through August 1–November 1, 2026. The August 1 talk from 2 – 3 is in the Conference Room of the Higgins Education Wing, free for Worcester Art Museum members, $5 for general public. For more information visit https://www.worcesterart.org/events/artist-talk-kara-patrowicz/
