Greetings! Massachusetts is rich in arts and culture, so it's no surprise that exciting events, exhibits and festivals are held in the state's 16 regions all year long. Find out more below! 

The Boston Flower and Garden Show, March 14-18 at the Seaport World Trade Center, will inspire your spring gardening. This year's theme: "First Impressions." See hundreds of rare orchids at the  Lyman Estate Greenhouses in Waltham, and, through early March, its century-old collection of camellias in bloom. Thousands of crimson, yellow, pink, and lavender blossoms will fill Smith College's Lyman Plant House at the annual Spring Bulb Show, March 3-18. Always in bloom: the stunning collection of Blashka glass flowers at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge. Photo courtesy of The Botanic Garden of Smith College

Plan your next cultural getaway to Massachusetts!

The perfect combination of gourmet food and the arts awaits the visitor to Boston on March 18-13 & 25-30 at Restaurant Week Boston! More than 200 restaurants will offer three-course prix-fixe gourmet lunches for $20.12 and three-course prix-fixe dinners for $33.12. During Restaurant Week Boston, visitors can sample foods from all over the world, stay at hotels with special Restaurant Week Boston rates, and between feasts enjoy performances at theaters, concert halls and museums around the city.

For more information on Greater Boston, click here.

Don your green for the seventh annual Cape Cod St. Patrick's Day Parade in Yarmouth on Saturday, March 10th! The festive parade starts at 11 a.m., and it's fun for the whole family. That same weekend marks the kick off of the year-long Chatham 300 celebration - commemorating the town's 300th anniversary. First up is a community-wide weekend festival, with highlights to include concerts, museum open houses, historic tours and a Tercentennial Period Ball at Chatham Bars Inn on Saturday, March 10th. 

For more information on Cape Cod, click here.

Massachusetts' largest St. Patrick's Parade (and second only to New York City's on a national level) takes place on Sunday, March 18th in Holyoke beginning at 11:30 a.m.  This exciting event has been held annually since 1952 and includes an array of marching bands, dancers, a court of lovely colleens and a Grand Marshal, among other features! The parade makes its way through the streets of downtown Holyoke, drawing thousands of spectators ready to embrace the Irish spirit.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst presents the exhibit "We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball" through June 10th! Exhibit includes 33 paintings, 13 sketches and educational materials from the book "We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball," by award-winning artist and author Kadir Nelson. The book is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Negro Leagues. Click here for this and other upcoming exhibitions at the museum!     

 

Click for more information on Hampshire County-Amherst and Hampshire County-Northampton.  

Everything's coming up ...Camellias....at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston! The Massachusetts Camellia Society presents its 183rd Annual Camellia Show March 3-4! See hundreds of gorgeous flowers at the peak of their display, on Tower Hill's own trees in the Limonaia and bowls of floating blossoms from private collections. Want to get your toes tapping? CenterStage at Fitchburg State University presents "Fiddler of the Year" Natalie MacMaster on March 21st and the exuberant Sagapool on March 31st!

 

For more information on Johnny Appleseed Country, click here.

The 12th Annual Martha's Vineyard Independent Film Festival will be held March 16-18 at the Chilmark Community Center. Featuring brilliant independent films from around the world! Enjoy cutting edge cinema in a cocoon-like space, complete with cozy couches, fabulous locovore food, live music and discussion. Tickets will be sold both online and at the door.  Visit www.tmvff.org for more information!

For more information on Martha's Vineyard, click here.

Asco: Elite of the Obscure, the first retrospective of the Chicano conceptual art group Asco, is on view at the Williams College Museum of Art through July 29, 2012. Asco began as a tight-knit group of artists from East Los Angeles. Creating art by any means necessary-often using their bodies and guerilla tactics-Asco merged activism and performance. The opening celebration is March 2nd, and a symposium will be held March 3rd.

For more information on the Mohawk Trail Region, click here.

Metro Boston's most acclaimed show and sale of fine craft and functional art, Paradise City Arts Festival, offers fine furniture, wearable art, one-of-a-kind floor coverings, blown glass, sculpture, wall tapestries, ceramic dinnerware, jewelry, and remarkable paintings & photography. Check it out March 16-18 at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough. Bringing the full spectrum of arts to the Hudson and Marlborough areas, the Arts Alliance presents "Natural Wonders," an exhibit showcasing local artists, at Citizens Bank in Hudson March 8-April 13.  

 

For more information on MetroWest, click here. 

The Linda Loring Nature Foundation  is a model of resource protection and preserves 86 acres of open space along Eel Point Road for you to explore throughout the year! The property is protected from development by a conservation restriction held by the Nantucket Land Council and will remain in its natural condition in perpetuity.  A visit to the LLNF will be an inspiration to explore the natural world, deepen your connection to nature and strengthen your understanding of the environment.

For more information on Nantucket Island, click here.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 16th with a night of Irish folk music from The Clancy Legacy, performing at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport! The Clancy Legacy is the next generation of the illustrious Irish folk music group, The Clancy Brothers. Top the evening off with traditional Irish spirits, beers and snacks!  Presented by Rockport Music.   

For more information on North of Boston, click here.

The Massasoit Theater presents "Children of Eden" on March 16-18 and March 23-25 in the Buckley Performing Arts Center on the Brockton Campus of
Massasoit Community College! Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday & Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. This two-act musical play is based on the Book of Genesis. While using the Bible as a plot source, it freely deviates in many details, and is a story of parents, their children and the general conflicts that lie between without a specific religious point-of-view.

For more information on Plymouth County, click here.

The Narrows Center for the Arts at 16 Anawan Street in Fall River has an exciting line-up for the month of March, with performances by vocalist/guitarist Jeffrey Gaines (March 3rd), Grammy-award winners Carolina Chocolate Drops (March 4th) blues guitarist/vocalist Coco Montoya (March 9th), solo pianist George Winston (March 14th) and Jon Anderson, former lead singer of rock icons Yes (March 17th), among others!  For more information, call 508-324-1926 or visit www.ncfta.org.

For more information on Southeastern MA, click here.

Celebrate March with Music! The Greater Merrimack Valley is one of Massachusetts' top live music destinations. In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, see The Lindsays, husband and wife Celtic duo, on March 8th at UMass Lowell's Durgin Hall. Boston's Irish punk sensations, the Dropkick Murphys, will play two shows at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell on March 17th, and New England blues band, The Delta Generators, will be at the Back Page in Lowell on March 9th.

For more information on Greater Merrimack Valley, click here.

Spring is almost here-time for Maple Sugaring events throughout Central Massachusetts! Relive a 19th century experience as Old Sturbridge Village highlights the history and practice of maple sugaring every weekend in March with its annual Maple Days. For other happenings in the area, travel to Uxbridge for a Maple Sugarmakers Open House or the Warren Farm in N. Brookfield to take a maple sugaring tour. 

 

For more information on Central Massachusetts, click here.