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! 

QUICK TAKE: Charming seaside town with art and heritage museums, historic houses, and nature walks.SEE & DO: Admire the  Heritage Museums & Gardens' dazzling display of rhododendrons; check out the elegant antique autos (opens April 14). Watch molten glass being blown into shimmering objects at the Sandwich Glass Museum. Take a bike ride along the Cape Cod Canal. Sweet tooth? Pick up some beach plum jelly, made the old-fashioned way, at the Green Briar Jam Kitchen. EAT & SLEEP: Treat yourself to a lobster roll lunch at  Seafood Sam's; retire to the Dan'l Webster Inn for dinner and an overnight stay. Photo courtesy of Heritage Museums & Gardens       

Plan your next cultural getaway to Massachusetts!

The new Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum will open June 25th! The museum will feature extensive interactive exhibits, two reenactment rooms with actors dressed in period clothing, a Tea Party Ship shop and a Tea & Tavern Room. Other highlights include the Robinson Half Chest, one of only two known tea chests still in existence from the Boston Tea Party in 1773! There will be two ship-replicas, the Eleanor & the Beaver, with the Dartmouth to follow in 2013. Already, the Tea Party Ship Museum is staffing a new Visitor Information Center a few feet away on the Boston HarborWalk.  A wonderful waterfront park has opened there at Atlantic Wharf, and the opening of a Smith & Wollensky restaurant with an outdoor café will permit visitors to watch Tea Party reenactments whilst enjoying a pint!  

 

For more information on Greater Boston, click here.

Kids love April School Vacation Week on Cape Cod, with fun programs happening at such museums as Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster and Heritage Museums & Gardens in Sandwich! The annual Brewster in Bloom Festival, set for April 27-29, is a town-wide celebration featuring an antique fair, arts & crafts show, parade, band concert, historic inn tour and more. And save the date for the 19th Annual Cape Cod Maritime Days on May 13-June 10 - visit CapeCodMaritimeDays.com for a line-up of events and great accommodations packages!

For more information on Cape Cod, click here.

Japanese art is being celebrated in two of the Pioneer Valley's leading museums.  "Pursuing Beauty, The Art of Edo Japan" is on display at Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton through May 27.  The exhibit honors the flourishing artistic traditions and innovations of Edo Japan (1615-1868). The Springfield Museums feature more than 500 examples of Japanese arm and armor, an ornate Shinto wheel shrine and an assortment of decorative arts, including bronze and ceramic pieces.

 

The UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center Concert Hall presents "Ballet Hispanico" on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:30 p.m. Known for its magnetic energy and vivacious choreography, Ballet Hispanico's works fuse Latin dance with elements of classical and contemporary forms to create a new sphere of concert dance. "The Domestic Sphere Goes Pop," a new exhibition on display April 4-May 6 at the University Museum of Contemporary Art in Amherst, investigates what happens to unremarkable objects when they are elevated to the status of art.

     

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

Close your eyes, and you're transported back in time - listening to the works of Brahms, Debussy and Haydn, as the composers heard them. The spring Historical Piano concert season in Ashburnham  offers music-lovers a unique opportunity, as pianists from around the world perform on instruments from the Frederick Collection. While the pianos are beautiful in their own right, Patricia and Michael Frederick say their true beauty is evident when they are played.  The series runs on Sundays from April 22-June 3.
 

For more information on Johnny Appleseed Country, click here.

The Island Alpaca Fifth Annual Shearing Day will be held Saturday, April 21st from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Get up close to these gentle, curious creatures and learn more about the benefits of alpaca ownership, and the fleece-to-fiber transition! Browse through the farm store and find luxurious locally grown and knitted products. Refreshments will be served, including chili. Come for this fun event, rain or shine! $5 per person admission.

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

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

Art in the Garden at Weston Nurseries on April 29th is one of MetroWest's most popular harbingers of warm weather! Held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m, the event showcases 50 local artisans and craftspeople. And Weston Nurseries' Garden Center-named one of the top 100 in the country-will be in full bloom! If you finish shopping early, head to Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham to catch the last performance of  "An Evening With Dick Flavin," poet laureate of the Red Sox, at 2 p.m.

For more information on MetroWest, click here. 

Nantucket's annual Daffodil Festival will be celebrated April 27-29! April's gentle sea breezes and warming sunshine coax new growth from the island's sandy soil, adorning

roadsides and gardens with an astonishing array of daffodils.  Watch the antique car parade, participate in the Daffy hat pageant, enjoy the Garden Club's Annual Daffodil Show, have a tailgate picnic in the picturesque village of "Sconset" and welcome spring.  Contact the Nantucket Chamber of Commerce for more information. 

 

For more information on Nantucket Island, click here.

Newburyport will be hosting their annual Art Walk April 21-22! The Art Walk will offer artists and art lovers the opportunity to view special collections in some of Newburyport's local art studios. The Art Walk will feature activities at participating galleries and studios, including music, demonstrations, artist receptions, refreshments and more. Find out more, or visit escapesnorth.com for more cultural activities North of Boston!  

 

For more information on North of Boston, click here.

Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth has a great line-up for its Wednesday April Lecture Series! On April 4th, "New England's Memorial & Books in Plymouth Colony"; on the 11th, "The World Revealed through Maps: Making of the Leventhal Map Center"; on the 18th, "Plymouth Bay through Time"; and on the 25th, "Still Making History: American Antiquarian Society Treasures."  Lectures start at 10 a.m., with coffee at 9:30 a.m. Visit www.pilgrimhall.org or call 508-746-1620.  

 

For more information on Plymouth County, click here.

Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford will celebrate "Spring Fling Week" April 16-20, with a different entertainer each day, and craft time from noon to 2 p.m. daily. Also that week, Artworks in New Bedford will welcome students will become explorers of the world! Students will experience pottery, painting, weaving, printmaking, sculpture, maskmaking and mosaics, as they learn about the cultures of China, Native America, Mexico, India, Egypt, and the Caribbean.  Open to students ages 6-10.

 

For more information on Southeastern MA, click here.

Opening weekend celebrations at Bascom Lodge start on Saturday, June 2nd! Beginning at 11am a daylong series of Native American performances will include tee pee raising, drumming, a mountain blessing, storytelling and music. On Sunday, June 3rd, a Beekeeping demonstration at 6 p.m. kicks off the Lodge's annual Talk & Dine series.  The offerings this year include "Gardens of the Berkshires," "Historic Homes" and musical performances by groups such as the "Berkshire Highlanders."  Click here for a complete schedule.

 

For more information on the Berkshires, click here. 

A whole series of events are planned in Lexington and Concord April 14-16 to celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, including re-enactments of the Conflict at the Old North Bridge in Concord and the Battle of Lexington on April 16th. Both events will be complete with period costumes and weapons! Other events include a re-enactment of Paul Revere's arrival in Lexington. See www.battleroad.org for full schedule and details.

For more information on Greater Merrimack Valley, click here.

Venture to the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts on April 19th for a FREE event:  "Experience the New Worcester" (tickets must be reserved in advance).  Enjoy meeting Worcester area arts, culture and hospitality organizations while previewing the Hanover's upcoming subscription season!Joyce Kulhawik, the Arts and Entertainment critic for CBS Boston will host this "Woophoric" evening while vendors will be offering tastes and festive surprises.    

 

For more information on Central Massachusetts, click here.