Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series at the Cambridge Public Library (and streaming online).&nbsp; Retrace George Washington’s post-inaugural journeys and explore how he sought to unite a fragile new nation, featuring:&nbsp;<ul><li>Peter Drummey, Chief Historian of the Massachusetts Historical Society (Ret.)&nbsp;</li><li>Nathaniel Philbrick, author of&nbsp;Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, along with many other New York Times bestselling books</li></ul>

Cambridge Public Library

After Evacuation: What Came Next for General Washington and the American Colonies

On March 17, 1776, the British military pulled out of Boston, giving General George Washington his first victory of the Revolutionary War. Already, however, he was positioning the Continental Army for the redcoats to return. Meanwhile, the political atmosphere had changed, sending the thirteen colonies in a new direction. This year's annual Evacuation Day talk at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS explores how much changed during the siege and what lay ahead as the Washingtons left Cambridge. J.L. Bell&nbsp;is the author of&nbsp;The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War&nbsp;and proprietor of Boston1775.net. The annual Evacuation Day Lecture is made possible by the Friends of the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters, Inc.

Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site

Washington Remembered, Washington Forgotten: Washington and Slavery (talk and book signing)

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present&nbsp;Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series at the Cambridge Public Library (and streaming online).&nbsp; Explore how Americans have remembered and forgotten Washington’s involvement with slavery over the past 250 years, featuring:&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul><li>Kelli Racine Barnes, ACE Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow&nbsp;</li><li>John Garrison Marks, author of&nbsp;Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory&nbsp;(forthcoming) and Vice President of Research and Engagement&nbsp;at the American Association for State and Local History&nbsp;</li><li>Kyera Singleton, Executive Director of the Royall House &amp; Slave Quarters and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tufts University Center for the Humanities</li></ul>Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory will be available for purchase and signing.

Poetry Reading: Tribute to Rhina Espaillat

This event honors Rhina Espaillat, beloved Dominican diasporic poet and English crossover poet. Espaillat will read favorite selections from her work, alongside readings by the acclaimed Dominican diasporic poet and author, Leonardo Nin; and a reading by the award-winning Dominican poet, José Enrique Delmonte, with translations by Shira Zohara Dickey. Co-presented by the New England Poetry Club and Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site. Register: https://forms.office.com/g/wvzFv7J7mD Poets Dominican-born&nbsp;Rhina P. Espaillat&nbsp;has published twenty-four full-length books, four chapbooks, and two CDs comprising her own poetry collections, essays and short stories in both English and her native Spanish, as well as numerous translations, from and into both languages, of work by other authors. Her work appears in numerous anthologies, journals and websites, and has received many national and international awards Espaillat is a founding member of the Fresh Meadows Poets, the Powow River Poets, The Melopoeia musical Trio, and the musical quintet known as The Diminished Poets. She has earned many national and international awards, including the T. S. Eliot and Richard Wilbur Awards, several from the Poetry Society of America, the New England Poetry Club, The Robert Frost Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Salem State College. José Enrique Delmonte&nbsp;is a poet, essayist, historian, PhD in linguistics and literature, and architect. He has received several literary awards, including the 2014 Poetry Prize from the Universidad Iberoeramericana, the Ibero-American Poetry Prize at the 2014 Madrid Book Fair, the 2016 León Felipe International Poetry Prize (Zamora, Spain), and the 2024 Editorial Project Award from Sial Pigmalión Publishing House, Madrid, Spain. He has published the poetry collections&nbsp;Alquimias de la ciudad perdida&nbsp;(Alchemies of the Lost City),&nbsp;Once palabras que mueve tu mundo&nbsp;(Eleven Words That Move Your World), and several others. José Enrique is a member of the Organizing Committee of the Santo Domingo International Poetry Week. His poetry has been translated into English and French. Shira Zohara Dickey&nbsp;(translator)&nbsp;is a US-born architectural historian, author, lecturer, and former academic society director. She also translates and writes poetry and makes fine art. Fluent in multiple languages, she has translated two Spanish poetry books by the renowned Santo Domingo poet, essayist, and architect, José Enrique Delmonte into English. Shira's forthcoming projects include publications in architectural history, a translation of another poetry collection by Delmonte, and a chapbook with her illustrations dedicated to memories of her loving companion, deceased MIT atmospheric physicist, Ralph J. Markson. Leonardo Nin&nbsp;is a writer, novelist, poet, and independent researcher in the fields of cultural anthropology and sociolinguistics. One of the main voices of Dominican literature in the United States and Latin America, his published works include:&nbsp;Paid Space&nbsp;(poetry, El Salvador, 2019),&nbsp;That is why I will never go back&nbsp;(Short Stories 20202),&nbsp;I Only Know They Called her, Shadow;&nbsp;At the Blue Side of Nothingness, and many others. He is currently the director of the Taino Museum of Magua, Dominican Republic, and editor of Ivy Editorial of Randolph, Massachusetts.

How We Remember, What We Preserve: Washington's Legacy at Mount Vernon

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series at the Cambridge Public Library (and streaming online).&nbsp; Explore the 19th century origins of preservation at Mount Vernon, current conservation work, and the estate’s future, featuring:&nbsp;<ul><li>Doug Bradburn, President and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon and co-founder and editor of the book series,&nbsp;Early American Histories&nbsp;</li><li>Andrea Sahin, Vice Regent for Massachusetts to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association</li></ul>

Longfellow Holiday Open House

Join us for this free annual celebration of the season, featuring festive period decorations, music, treats, and more. Stroll the halls of the Longfellow House, decorated in period style and featuring special seasonal objects from the site's museum collection. Please visit <a href="https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/holidays.htm?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAYnJpZBExZ1BsRjdyMnFrbDVoMmJteHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR5VsUtgixVehhp073cCryAHwrcj4mkh1YExXsCAS51mZd99mJJppiOQ7Iying_aem_qYlN4ROljF1uv8pc77971g">https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/holidays.htm</a> for timing and event details. Special stories, including books and oral traditions, have long brought families together around the holidays. In 1864, Longfellow would add his own words to the catalog of treasured Christmas stories with his 1864 poem “Christmas Bells,” a call for “peace on Earth &amp; goodwill to men” during the American Civil War. Join us on December 12 to celebrate the power of stories to bring us together at the holidays.

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site

	 The First Commander Remembered: Washington’s Legacy in Cambridge

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of Cambridge non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series taking place in-person and online. Free,&nbsp;<a href="https://cambridgepl.libcal.com/event/15462126">register here.</a> Debunk myths and trace the evolution of the public memory of George Washington in Cambridge, Massachusetts, featuring:<ul><li>J.L. Bell, author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War and proprietor of Boston1775.net</li><li>Charles Sullivan, co-author of Building Old Cambridge: Architecture and Development and Executive Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission</li></ul>This speaker series is made possible through the generous support of America's National Parks, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. It is presented in partnership by the National Park Service/Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, History Cambridge, Cambridge Public Library, Cambridge Historical Commission, and Cambridge MA250.

Victorian Science and the Beyond: Ethereal Evening Tours

The spirit-world around this world of sense Floats like an atmosphere, and everywhere Wafts through these earthly mists and vapours dense A vital breath of more ethereal air. -From “Haunted Houses” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Scientific discovery – and the promise of glimpsing the world beyond our perception – captured the imaginations of 19th century Americans. Join Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters for a special evening of historic house tours exploring the intersections of Victorian scientific thought, the lure of the supernatural, and their echoes today. 50-minute tours will invite participants to examine the unknown as we consider the Longfellow family’s entanglements with forensics and phrenology, early views of outer space, the spiritualism movement, and their pioneering use of ether anesthesia. Tours at 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, and 6:30 Please note: This tour will include sensitive but frank discussions of 19th century violence, medical procedures, and drug use. Please use discretion when registering. <a href="https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=urWTBhhLe02TQfMvQApUlEDRu22MNudDkv_g-gZckuJUMlU2QzBZOFpFTDhHRzFPRklSN1c0VEQ4TS4u&amp;route=shorturl">Registration</a>

Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters

In Search of Darby Vassall: Tour of Cambridge & Beyond

Partner program led by Denise Washington and Joel Mackall - A Denise Plays Hard Event Travel by trolley in greater Cambridge between seven stops with Denise Washington (a descendant of Darby Vassall) and educator Joel Mackall. Each stop reflects a key location in the life of Darby Vassall (1769-1861), a lifelong community activist who endured slavery and seized freedom with his family in Revolutionary Cambridge. Early dinner provided after the tour. Meets at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters.

Virtual Presentation: Black History at the Vassall Estate

A new landmark study of Black History at the Vassall Estate&nbsp;documents and analyzes the Black experience at 105 Brattle Street (now Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site) and in the wider Cambridge community from the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s. Join the study’s authors Caitlin DeAngelis, Carla Martin, Rayshauna Gray, Aabid Allibhai, and Eshe Sherley for a virtual presentation on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 6:00-7:00 pm. They’ll introduce the study, share key findings, and take you behind the scenes of their research and writing process. This study is remarkable not only for the history it documents—much of it appearing in print for the first time—but also for the breadth of research behind it. In partnership with lineal descendants of the Black Vassalls, the authors consulted sources spanning New England, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean over the course of more than three years. Research of this scale is rare, and even more rarely presented in a format accessible to all readers. All registrants will receive a digital copy of the final study upon completion, and it will also be made available online. The virtual presentation on September 25 is free and open to all,&nbsp;<a href="https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/i_MCDJx9Rx2b4W2TzwestQ#/registration">but advance registration is required.</a>

Online

Concert: Juventas New Music Ensemble

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/summer-festival.htm">Longfellow Summer Arts Festival</a> brings music, poetry, and community to the East Lawn of the Longfellow House on Sunday afternoons through the summer. All events are free and open to the public. A free outdoor concert of contemporary music for clarinet, violin, &amp; piano. Celine Ferro, clarinet Ryan Shannon, violin Julia Scott Carey, piano   Miguel del Aguila (b 1957), Tango Trio (2015) Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947), Fantasy Etudes (1992) Rachel Panitch (b. 1984), Edge of the Marsh (2018) Brittney Benton (b. 1999), Memory (2019) Oliver Caplan (b. 1982), Prayer for Peace (2025) Valerie Coleman (b. 1970), Sonatine (2014) Quinn Mason (b. 1996), Two Fleeting Daydreams (2015) Juventas New Music Ensemble is a dynamic contemporary chamber group with a special focus on emerging voices. They reimagine classical music as a vibrant living art form, uplifting rising voices and bringing audiences music from a diverse array of composers that live in today’s world and respond to our time. Juventas has earned a reputation as a curator, with a keen eye for new talent. Since our founding in 2005, they have performed the music of over 300 living composers. Our musicians champion these artists with exceptional professional performances that open doors.

Family Saturday

On the East Lawn of the Longfellow House our Rangers will provide arts, crafts and lawn games for kids and families to enjoy! The lawn is fenced in and set away from the street. Tables and chairs are provided by staff and shade is provided by the large linden tree. The event is free; no reservations are required.

Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters

Concert: Luke Walker

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/summer-festival.htm">Longfellow Summer Arts Festival</a> brings music, poetry, and community to the East Lawn of the Longfellow House on Sunday afternoons through the summer. All events are free and open to the public. This concert is presented in partnership with the <a href="https://college.berklee.edu/events/summer">Berklee Summer in the City</a> concert series. Luke Walker is an award-winning cellist currently studying at Berklee College of Music, where he is pursuing a degree in performance and composition. A former student at Juilliard, Walker is a member of the Boston Civic Orchestra and has performed alongside renowned musicians such as Ray Chen and Cristian Măcelaru. His distinctive sound blends technical mastery with creative expression, earning him recognition as a rising talent in the classical music world.

Longfellow House Waashington's Headquarters

Golden Rose Poetry Award: Martha Collins

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/summer-festival.htm">Longfellow Summer Arts Festival</a>&nbsp;brings music, poetry, and community to the East Lawn of the Longfellow House on Sunday afternoons through the summer. All events are free and open to the public. This concert is presented in partnership with the&nbsp;<a href="https://nepoetryclub.org/">New England Poetry Club</a>. The Golden Rose, one of America’s oldest literary prizes, was inaugurated in 1919 by the Second Church of Boston as a way to celebrate May Day by holding a poetry tournament in the style of the French Provençal poets who vied in “Les Jeux Floraux” in the Middle Ages. The rose was styled after the Gold Rose for which the French poets vied and which is now kept in the Cluny Museum in Paris. The New England Poetry Club continues that tradition by awarding the Rose to the poet, who by their poetry and inspiration to and encouragement of other writers, has made a significant mark on American poetry. The Club has traditionally given the prize to a poet with some ties to New England so that a public reading may take place. The name of the poet is inscribed on the box alongside the names of all the previous recipients. The 2025 Golden Rose recipient,&nbsp;Martha Collins&nbsp;has published eleven books of poetry, most recently&nbsp;Casualty Reports&nbsp;(Pittsburgh, 2022) and&nbsp;Because What Else Could I Do&nbsp;(Pittsburgh, 2019); the latter won the Poetry Society of America’s William Carlos Williams Award. Other publications include three volumes of poetry that focus on race (Blue&nbsp;Front,&nbsp;White Papers, and&nbsp;Admit One: An American Scrapbook); five co-translated volumes of Vietnamese poetry, including&nbsp;Dreaming the Mountain&nbsp;by Tuệ Sỹ (with Nguyen Ba Chung; Milkweed, 2023), a PEN America award finalist; and several co-edited anthologies, including&nbsp;Into English: Poems,Translations, Commentaries&nbsp;(with Kevin Prufer; Graywolf, 2017). Collins founded the UMass Boston creative writing program and for ten years served as Pauline Delaney Professor of Creative Writing at Oberlin College, where she was an editor of FIELD magazine and the Oberlin College Press. Two books are forthcoming:&nbsp;Word Work: Essays, Poems, Reflections&nbsp;from Tiger Bark in 2025, and&nbsp;Like Her Body the World: Selected Early Poems&nbsp;from Unbound Edition in 2027. Her website is marthacollinspoet.com. &nbsp; With special musical guest&nbsp;Elizabeth Burke. Burke received her Music Degree in violin performance with an emphasis in string pedagogy from the Longy School of Music. She&nbsp;plays jazz, old-time, and bluegrass music and performs as an improvisational violinist.

Poetry Reading: Richard Blanco

The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/long/planyourvisit/summer-festival.htm">Longfellow Summer Arts Festival</a> brings music, poetry, and community to the East Lawn of the Longfellow House on Sunday afternoons through the summer. All events are free and open to the public. This concert is presented in partnership with the <a href="https://nepoetryclub.org/">New England Poetry Club</a>. Selected by President Obama as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet in U.S. history, Richard Blanco was the youngest, the first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. In 2023, Blanco was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami in a working-class family, Blanco’s personal negotiation of cultural identity and the universal themes of place and belonging characterize Blanco’s many collections of poetry, including his most recent, <a href="https://richard-blanco.com/books/homeland-of-my-body/">Homeland of My Body</a>, which reassess traditional notions of home as strictly a geographical, tangible place that merely exist outside us, but rather, within us. He has also authored the memoirs <a href="https://richard-blanco.com/books/for-all-of-us-one-today/">FOR ALL OF US, ONE TODAY: AN INAUGURAL POET’S JOURNEY</a> and <a href="https://richard-blanco.com/books/the-prince-of-los-cocuyos/">THE PRINCE OF LOS COCUYOS: A MIAMI CHILDHOOD.</a>  Blanco has received numerous awards, including the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize, the PEN American Beyond Margins Award, the Patterson Prize, and a Lambda Prize for memoir. He was Woodrow Wilson Fellow and has received numerous honorary degrees. Currently, he serves as Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets and is an Associate Professor at Florida International University. In April 2022, Blanco was appointed the first-ever Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County.

Longfellow House - Washington's Headquarters

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

longnps

Experiences