boston common

Welcome Liza Meyer, Incoming President of Friends of the Public Garden

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Leslie Singleton Adam, Board Chair of The Friends of the Public Garden, has announced that after a competitive executive search, The Friends are excited to announce the appointment of Liza Meyer as President of Friends of the Public Garden. Liza joins us as the third leader of the organization, following in the footsteps of founder Henry Lee and former President Liz Vizza. She will officially assume her role as President on May 1.

Liza’s deep connection to the Boston Common, Public Garden, and Commonwealth Avenue Mall comes from 16 years of experience working with the Boston Parks & Recreation Department, serving as Chief Landscape Architect beginning in 2011, and, most recently, Interim Parks Commissioner. Her expertise in prioritizing and driving meaningful progress through thoughtful stewardship and civic leadership, and her methodical approach, will be critical to making our parks healthier and more inviting to all. 

In her new role, Liza will continue to advance the mission to renew, care, and advocate for the Common, the Garden, and the Mall. She will also play a key role in strengthening a longstanding partnership with the City of Boston, spearheading initiatives like the implementation of the Boston Common Master Plan, advancing the Friends’ advocacy agenda as the City’s built and natural environments grow together, supporting park capital improvements, leading strategic initiatives like the Henry Lee Fund for Boston Parks, and enhancing community programming.

“We are thrilled to welcome Liza as we begin this exciting new chapter for our organization and our downtown parks. Liza will join us at The Green & White on April 11 and the Annual Meeting on April 17, where we look forward to introducing her to you, our community.”

Thursday, December 5, 6:00 pm – Boston Common Holiday Tree Lighting, followed at 8:15 pm by Lighting of Commonwealth Avenue Mall

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Thursday, December 5, 6:00 pm is the date and time of the lighting of the Boston Common. This exciting event takes place near the Visitors Information Center on Tremont St and stars the special tree sent as a gift from Nova Scotia. Mayor Michelle Wu will be joined by Santa and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Refreshments, music, and entertainment will be provided by local groups. Lights on the tree – almost 7,000 of them – go on at about 7:55 pm, followed by lights on 80+ other trees throughout the Common and the Public Garden. This is the 53rd year of the event.

At 8:15, on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, thousands of twinkling white lights transform this tree-filled parkway into a sparkling forest.

Thursday, June 23, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm – Frog Pond Spray Pool Opening

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For 2 glorious months after school ends, Frog Pond on the Boston Common turns into a spray pond and becomes the best place to cool off in the city … if you’re 12 or under.  The Grand Opening Celebration features family-friendly entertainment, music, art, a gala ceremony, and of course, the chance to play in the 30-foot spray at the center of the pond.  Lifeguards will be on duty this summer during all open hours.

When:  June 23, 11am (to be confirmed); remains open from 11am to 6pm every day through Labor Day, unless there’s a thunderstorm.

Wednesday, June 1, 11:00 am – National Rededication Ceremony of the Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial, Live and Online

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The Partnership to Renew the Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial invites you to celebrate the successful completion of the restoration of the Memorial on June 1. The Partnership to Renew the Memorial has created a model for the nation for the use of a preservation and restoration project to be a catalyst for a broad conversation on race, equity, and social justice. The heroes of the glorious 54th inspired us to move forward, just as they proclaimed as they headed into battle: Forward 54th Forward.

This free event is open to all. View the live event via Jumbotron on Boston Common. Enter lawn seating area via Tremont Street entrance (by Park Street T station). Feel free to bring your chairs & blankets. Masks and social distancing encouraged. The event will be available for viewing via livestream on Facebook and YouTube.

Please sign the digital Witness to History book to commemorate the unveiling of the completed Robert Gould Shaw and
Massachusetts 54th Regiment restoration project. The National Park Service has compiled an online database of the 54th Regiment soldiers and officers as part of their “Faces of the 54th” project. View the database here. If you are a descendant of the Shaw Mass. 54th Regiment, fill out the form here. Read the Bay State Banner article about the project.

The work began in the summer of 2020, and was initially planned to take 5-6 months. Due to a combination of factors, including the COVID pandemic, the restoration project ended up taking over a year and a half to complete. All of the bronze and stone was removed from the plaza level up, taken offsite to two different conservation studios, with the bronze bas-relief meticulously restored locally. New waterproofing was installed under the plaza’s brick, and a new concrete foundation has been built under the bronze, and everything replaced, pinning the bronze to the marble structure that surrounds it. Also,the team installed a new stainless-steel frame between the bronze and the marble, designed to stabilize the entire monument.

The plaza substructure has been protected by installing a system called “cathodic protection” into the concrete under the plaza. This protects the steel support beams from corrosion by introducing another metal known as sacrificial. Through the use of an electrical current, the corrosion is drawn to the sacrificial metal instead of the steel beams. Read all about it at https://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/shaw54th/

Sunday, May 8, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Duckling Day

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Celebrate Mother’s Day in Boston’s most beautiful parks at the Duckling Day celebration and parade on Sunday, May 8th.

A beloved tradition for over 30 years, the event celebrates the children’s classic book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. Every year, hundreds of children parade through Boston’s most picturesque parks, dressed like characters from the story. Led by the Harvard University Marching Band, the parade will begin in the Boston Common at the Parkman Bandstand and end in the Public Garden near the famous Make Way for Ducklings sculptures. Bring your cameras – this is the most adorable event in all of Boston!

Prior to the parade will be Playtime on the Common, a vibrant array of family entertainment from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. All activities are included with event admission:

· Interactive Circus Games with Esh Circus Arts
· Jenny the Juggler
· Peter O’Malley, magician
· Jump, climb, and play with Knucklebones
· Meet our giant Duck!
· Visit with the Harvard University Band
· Make Way for Ducklings reading station
· A goody bag for every kid – full of Duckling Day-themed items!

The registration fee is $35 per family group in advance (before May 6) and $40 per family the day of the event. Guests are required to follow City of Boston public health advisories and mandates in place at the time of the event. Each child who registers will receive a special goody bag. Register through the Friends of the Public Garden HERE.

Thursday, December 2, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Official Lighting Ceremonies on Commonwealth Avenue Mall and Boston Common

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Join in the festivities at the official lighting ceremonies on Commonwealth Avenue Mall and Boston Common. The 80th Annual Tree Lighting on Boston Common takes place December 2 from 6-8:00 p.m.

The celebration is presented by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, title sponsor The Province of Nova Scotia, and additional sponsors. The holiday lights throughout both parks will light up in sequence shortly before 8 p.m. when the Mayor is joined onstage by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Santa Claus, Rudolph, and Frosty. The show will close with a pyrotechnic display by Atlas PyroVision.

WCVB Channel 5’s CHRONICLE Co-Anchors Anthony Everett and Shayna Seymour will once again host Channel 5’s live broadcast of the event beginning at 7 p.m. featuring various artists (to be announced).

The lighting of the trees on the Common is made possible through the generosity of sponsors and contributions from other individuals and institutions. The annual holiday display includes the official Christmas tree from Nova Scotia and trees throughout Boston Common. Refreshments and additional support will be provided by promotional sponsors TBD.

For further information, please call the Boston Parks and Recreation Department at 617-635-4505, or visit https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation

Tuesday, November 27, 5:00 pm – Massachusetts State House Tree Lighting

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A giant Christmas tree in the Rotunda lights up in the annual tree lighting event ceremony at 5pm on Tuesday, November 27, followed by an open house and visit from Santa in Doric Hall. This marks the official kick-off of the holiday season in Massachusetts. More to do: Before the ceremony, explore the special treasures in the State House. After the tree is lit, walk across Beacon Street to Boston Common, rent skates, and take a twirl around the Frog Pond ice rink.

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Through September 30 – Breathing Room: Mapping Boston’s Green Spaces

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Boston boasts some of the nation’s most recognizable and cherished green spaces, from Boston Common, to the Emerald Necklace, to hundreds of neighborhood parks, playgrounds, tot lots, community gardens, playing fields, cemeteries, and urban wilds. In this Boston Public Library exhibition, you will learn how the country’s oldest public park grew from a grazing pasture to an iconic recreational and social center, how 19th-century reformers came to view parks as environmental remedies for ill health, how innovative landscape architects fashioned green oases in the midst of a booming metropolis, and what the future holds for Boston’s open spaces. As you explore three centuries of open space in Boston, perhaps you will feel inspired to go outside and discover the green spaces in your own backyard. See the exhibit at the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square through September 30. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 – 7, Friday & Saturday, 10 – 5, and Sunday, 1 – 5. For more information visit www.bpl.org.

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Monday, February 6, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm – A Night of Skating on the Frog Pond

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The Young Friends of the Public Garden will host a private skating night for all ages at the Frog Pond on the Boston Common. Tickets to the event, on Monday, February 6 from 7:30 – 9, will include skate rental and hot cocoa, plus you will contribute to the Friends and be eligible for raffle prizes.  $35 per person, or four for $105. Sign up on line at https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=ftpg&id=35

Tuesday, November 29, 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm – Museums Without Walls: The Sculpture Collection of the Boston Common, The Public Garden, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall

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Greater Boston boasts a number of art museums, each of which, naturally, has galleries for the display of art. These galleries are constructed of walls and floors and ceilings. Even more naturally, however, the city has another art museum, whose floor is the earth, whose ceiling is the sky, and whose walls are the trees. This special museum has three major galleries: the Boston Common, the Boston Public Garden, and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall. These galleries display an impressive collection of public sculpture that is free and accessible 24/7, 365 days a year. In this free public illustrated lecture, David Dearinger, PhD will give a brief overview of Boston’s “museum without walls” and the role that sculpture plays in its history and aesthetics. The talk will take place at the Boston Athenaeum, 10 1/2 Beacon Street,  on Tuesday, November 29, and registration is not required. For complete details visit http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/events/4142/museums-without-walls-sculpture-collection-boston-common-public-garden-and-commonwealth

David B. Dearinger is Director of Exhibitions and Susan Morse Hilles Senior Curator of Paintings & Sculpture at the Boston Athenæum. He holds a PhD in art history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York with a specialization in nineteenth century American art. He became a member of the curatorial staff at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1985, where he served as Chief Curator from 1995 until 2004, when he joined the Boston Athenæum. He has taught art history at a number of institutions, including the State University of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, where he taught for over twenty years. He has lectured and published widely in the field of American art and has curated and organized a number of exhibitions in New York and Boston.