Overture to Spring: A Black History Month Family Concert

“Overture to Spring: A Black History Month Family Concert” combines two community-rooted Boston music ensembles for a free, joyful and kid-friendly celebration of Black artistry and collaboration on Feb. 15 @ 3 pm at The Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Rd. in Dorchester. Presented by Jamaica Plain-based Sheffield Chamber Players in collaboration with Roxbury-based City Strings United, the show opens with performances by CSU’s young musicians and expands into an accessible, family-focused program by Sheffield of works by Black composers, including: 18th century polymath Joseph de Bologne; 20th century pianist and arranger Margaret Bonds; contemporary musician/vocalist Hawa Diabaté (whose piece is inspired by rhythmic handclapping songs from her native Mali); violinist and educator Jessie Montgomery (recently named 2025 Classical Woman of the Year by NPR’s “Performance Today” show); and prolific Haitian American performer Daniel Bernard Roumain. The performance culminates in a special joint performance of rising Texas-born composer Kevin Day’s “Overture to Springtime,” a Sheffield commission created expressly for their City Strings United partnership that incorporates short musical ideas drafted by City Strings students. “Overture to Spring” performance is free. Reservations requested at sheffieldchamberplayers.org

Strand Theatre

Project Save Presents Astrig Agopian Exhibition

Watertown's Project Save Photographic Archive, which protects and preserves the global Armenian experience through photos, opens its first exhibition in its new gallery space on&nbsp;Thursday, November 13th at 6pm&nbsp;with French-Armenian photojournalist&nbsp;<a href="https://jmkpr-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/2u_7ilZdAF18M_CnlZTQ3h7BC8dvbBOO_Svprz6L8couAxCV4mgHr-0RSUyRPhX_mNY-34axBCnDei_L6eddOEP-KfAgkJhKyC1B04PpN4PDa7F0NDWomxMiJW1g2IrC_sne5NHu83oL7SrvSHG1d6QNRv-wOUhY34lBf5J3KebA">Astrig Agopian</a>.&nbsp; Agopian’s multimedia exhibition Like There’s No Tomorrow will open at Project Save on Nov. 13, 2025 and run through Jan. 17, 2026. The exhibit focuses on the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region Armenians have inhabited for millennia and whose cultural heritage has endured centuries of upheaval. Agopian’s exhibition digs deeply into questions of cultural heritage, identity in diaspora, and wartime displacement. The exhibit is in partnership with ART WORKS Projects, a Chicago- and Hague-based visual arts non-profit. November 13th Doors open at 6pm 7pm Artist Talk Project Save, 600 Pleasant Street, Watertown RSVP and more information&nbsp;<a href="https://jmkpr-dot-yamm-track.appspot.com/2l3L91CmqWdHWEiDELJNFOPer9sYPNUdA_tyr98w961GBxCV4mgHEGfa4j0ZWjyICH4ESyUCt1btvgGWUC_0RPOohZrElNtCpHEFKH6_6RnJ8TBrrQ145xmqdLrxn7MSYNEeEujGRUGbEBuYAeXN1toMvRuIluMR1pTGksWp6ewT31ovF">here</a>

Project Save Photograph Archive

Project Save's Holiday Open House

Join Project Save for their year-end&nbsp;Holiday Open House as they open the gallery for connection, reflection, and community. Project Save Photographic Archive is a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving the global Armenian experience through photography. Currently on display in Project Save’s gallery is French-Armenian photojournalist and documentary filmmaker Astrig Agopian’s multimedia exhibit&nbsp;Like There’s No Tomorrow, which shines a light on the human side of the ongoing conflict affecting the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Agopian invites viewers to consider their own answer to the question, “If you had to flee your home, what would you take with you?” Wine and light refreshments will be served. RSVP requested.&nbsp;

Cubamor: A Staged Reading 

Front Porch Arts Collective and Teatro Chelsea present a traveling staged reading of the new musical CUBAMOR, a Cuban-American reimagining of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from composer/lyricist Charles Vincent Burwell (Boston Conservatory @ Berklee Professor of Theater) and actor/writer/lyricist James Sasser (Jonathan Larson Award finalist).&nbsp; Inspired by the Sundance Award-winning film by Joshua Bee Alafia, CUBAMOR weaves Afro-Cuban cultural traditions, contemporary dance and hip-hop into a dynamic theatrical experience. The story follows two Americans in love with two Cubans who navigate historical divides of both cultures. The couples are guided and challenged by the island’s spiritual forces and diverse musical heritage, and ultimately the power of their own love. This reading is directed by Boston’s Arthur Gomez. Casting includes Davron Monroe (as “Tata”), Amber-Nicole Rodriguez (“Elena”), David J. Castillo (“Renato”), Joselyn Gil (“Maria”) and Isabella Garcia (“Zoe”).&nbsp;CUBAMOR performances span two Boston-area locations: Wed / Thu, Nov 12 &amp; 13 @ 7PM at Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea and Fri, Nov 14 @ 7PM at Hibernian Hall, 185 Dudley St., Roxbury.

Chelsea Theatre Works

Conversations on Photography with Claire Beckett

Boston-based photographer Claire Beckett, in conversation with&nbsp;Boston Public Library Lead Curator &amp; Manager of the Arts Kristin Parker, will show and discuss photographs from her body of work that offer a critical lens on American identity and the impact of global conflict. Beckett will discuss her new photobook, Defense Language,&nbsp;which explores costumed role-players, elaborate Hollywood-inspired sets and staged tableaus on military bases across the United States. Beckett embedded herself on these bases between 2006 and 2023 to explore the depiction of Arabs and Muslims during counterinsurgency training for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thursday, November 6th at 7pm, Project Save, 600 Pleasant Street in Watertown. FREE with RSVP.

Conversations on Photography with Toni Pepe

Project Save Photographic Archive, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit dedicated to preserving the global Armenian experience through photography, hosts a series of artist talks,“Conversations On Photography,” to spotlight acclaimed local photographers.&nbsp; BU Chair of Photography Toni Pepe, in conversation with Project Save Executive Director Dr. Arto Vaun, will discuss her project, Can I Hold You?, which explores press photographs and newspaper clippings found in the Boston Public Library’s Women and Gender Issues Collection. These photographs were hidden within a larger archive, and the collection’s origins remain unknown. The handwritten notes, paint overlays, date stamps, and creases that layer the surfaces of these prints offer a glimpse into the editorial process, revealing how editors shaped the stories before publication. FREE with RSVP, Thursday October 30th at 7pm.&nbsp;

Churchill 

British statesman and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was awarded an honorary U.S. citizenship by President John F. Kennedy in April 1963. In recognition of that unprecedented occasion, The American-Oxford Society has invited Mr. Churchill to address them and discuss what the honor means to him. So starts the funny, engaging and surprisingly relevant solo performance CHURCHILL – created by and starring acclaimed British actor David Payne – which comes to Boston this October. CHURCHILL plays Oct 7-12, 2025 at the Wimberly Theatre at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion, located at 539 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End. Performances are Tue-Thu @ 7pm, Fri and Sat @ 7:30pm, matinees on Wed, Sat and Sun at 2 pm. Tickets are $30-$120 plus fees and available now at <a href="http://bostontheatrescene.com">bostontheatrescene.com</a>.&nbsp;

Calderwood Pavilion

The Mountaintop

Front Porch Arts Collective opens its 2025/26 season with a new production of Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning play, THE MOUNTAINTOP. The gripping two-character drama reimagines events on the night before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. While a fictional take on events, Hall creates a profound and humanizing glimpse into the civil rights leader’s final hours, his life away from the crowds, and his thoughts. THE MOUNTAINTOP is directed by the Porch's co-founder and Producing Artistic Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent. It runs Sep 19 to Oct 12, 2025, at The Modern Theatre at Suffolk University, 525 Washington Street in Boston.&nbsp;Performance times are Thursdays and Fridays @ 7:30pm, Saturdays @ 2pm and 7:30pm, and Sundays @ 2pm. $17.45 to $58.78 (fees included). Student, Card to Culture and Opening Weekend discounts are available.

Modern Theatre

Twist & Shout, An Evening of Dance, Music and Spoken Word

OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center hosts its annual performance fundraiser Twist &amp; Shout on Sat, October 4 that brings together performances by the Center’s Professional Dance Division, and celebrates community leaders who uplift the arts and young people. The evening begins with a VIP Reception at 6:00 PM featuring refreshments, music, a silent auction, and opportunities to meet OrigiNation artists as well as this year’s honorees. The performance follows at 8 PM, spotlighting OrigiNation’s professional-track performers. Funds raised from “Twist &amp; Shout” ticket sales and the pre-event silent auction support OrigiNation’s mission to nurture young artists through its rigorous youth dance training programs, performance opportunities and community engagement initiatives. Tickets for the “Twist &amp; Shout” performance ($75), and combination show and pre-show reception tickets ($100) are available now. Details and ticket purchase at <a href="http://originationinc.org/">originationinc.org</a>.

The Strand Theatre

Conscious Cafe - Family Karaoke Night

<a href="https://www.originationinc.org/copy-of-events">OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center</a>, which produces&nbsp;innovative and dynamic performing arts programs&nbsp;to motivate, challenge, and inspire young people, will lead a powerful international youth development experience this November, as seven student dancers from several Boston neighborhoods travel to the African island nation of Cape Verde for a weeklong cultural exchange. Students take part in hands-on service projects—learning how to cook traditional meals, organizing soup kitchens for entire villages, digging drainage ditches to combat flooding, painting, cleaning and improving community centers. Join OrigiNation leaders and students at a “Conscious Cafe” at Black Market in Nubian Square on August 15th at 7pm, with an evening of family-friendly performances in spoken word and karaoke. Adults $15; Children $10. Doors open at 6:30pm. Ticket sales go directly toward supporting the Youth Empowerment Tour.&nbsp;

Black Market

A Conversation with Filmmaker Nigol Bezjian

Watertown's&nbsp;Project Save–the world’s largest photo archive dedicated to preserving the regional, national and global Armenian experience–continues its 50th anniversary celebrations with a special edition of its&nbsp;Conversations on Photography&nbsp;series, featuring&nbsp;acclaimed filmmaker and artist Nigol Bezjian. Recently, Bezjian donated his extensive photographic archive to Project Save, ensuring that his creative and cultural legacy will be preserved and shared for generations to come. Known for his poetic and experimental documentaries, Bezjian is a leading figure in Armenian diasporan cinema and a passionate advocate for preserving cultural memory through the visual arts.&nbsp;He joins&nbsp;Project Save Executive Director Dr. Arto Vaun&nbsp;for an intimate evening of conversation and storytelling, and the power of images to connect communities.&nbsp;A wine reception will follow the discussion. Free with suggested donation.

"Common Ground" A Contemporary Classical Concert

Sheffield Chamber Players and Pao Arts Center presents “Common Ground,” an evening of music from contemporary Asian-American composers to mark AAPI Heritage Month. Compositions includes recent chamber quartets by Reena Esmail, Lei Lang, Kian Ravaei, Kareem Roustom, and Paul Wiancko, performed by Sasha Callahan, Leo Eguchi, Megumi Stohs Lewis, and Alexander Vavilov. May 3rd at 7pm at Boston's Pao Arts Center, with a reception and light refreshments to follow. The event is free with RSVP and a suggested donation.

Pao Arts Center

Conference of the Birds

This mesmerizing, theatrical dance performance from ANIKAYA Dance Theater is inspired by a 12th-century Persian epic poem that tells the story of a hundred birds who embark on a quest to find their king—a mythical Phoenix-like creature. The birds journey through seven symbolic valleys only to discover their leader is a reflection of their collective, resilient selves. Underscoring themes of migration, and our need for each other, “Conference of the Birds” resonates with contemporary concerns about nature, intolerance and unity in struggle. Directed and choreographed by Somerville's Wendy Jehlen, with dancers from around the world. Through March 9th, with two shows on Saturday March 8th (4pm and 8pm).

Arrow Street Arts

Holiday Feast 

Holiday episodes from four classic Black TV sitcoms of the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s – performed live – comprise a hilarious night of seasonal delights as Front Porch Arts Collective serves up its “Holiday Feast” program, which played to capacity crowds in its 2023 premiere. A starry roster of Boston actors do staged readings (and some killer impersonations) of Christmastime scripts from the sitcoms A Different World, Amen, Family Matters and The Jeffersons. Director, actor and choreographer Jackie Davis helms the fun.Performances take place Dec. 12 @ 7:30 pm, and Dec. 13 &amp; 14 @ 8 pm at Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. Tickets $25 at <a href="http://frontporcharts.org">frontporcharts.org</a> SPECIAL EVENT: “Black Santa Magic!” A pre-performance fundraising reception on Fri., Dec. 13 at 6:30 pm features a visit and talk with GBH reporter and anchor Callie Crossley about her collection of Black Santa paraphernalia, which is one of the largest known sets. Includes festive light bites and cocktail cheer and a special visit from The Porch’s own Black Santa, Maurice Parent. Tickets are $75, and include admission to that evening’s performance. <a href="http://frontporcharts.org/">FrontPorchArts.org</a> for details.

Central Square Theater

ArtsBiz: A Symposium on the Business of Music and Theater

Renowned pianist and Rhode Island College Artist in Residence Dr. Judith Lynn Stillman will present the inaugural “ArtsBiz” event, a free public showcase on November 21 that explores the business side of the performing arts. In partnership with RIC and its School of Business, Stillman leads this star-studded event featuring keynote addresses by The Public Theater’s Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Emmy/Tony-nominated actor Kate Burton. Highlights include a performance of Stillman’s acclaimed “Dvořák: A Bohemian Rhapsody” with Rhode Island Philharmonic musicians, as well as a panel on arts entrepreneurship with top regional arts leaders. “ArtsBiz” takes place November 21 at 12 noon, at the Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Sapinsley Hall at Rhode Island College, 600 Mount Pleasant Road in Providence, RI. Tickets are free but registration is required at artsbiz.org.

Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Rhode Island College

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Roundups ⭐️

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added

Just added to Joyraft

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S17: interest based

Your guide to everything free in and around Boston. From events, to fairs, to festivals, to outdoors. Joyraft has all the free events happening near you.

100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

Free things to do in Boston

Free things to do

S19: interest based

Kid-friendly events in Boston

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.

Where

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Experiences