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Third Thursdays continue through the fall. Every Thursday evening, more than 30 businesses stay open late to welcome visitors and community members. Look for live music, family-friendly activities, specials in shops, and great food and beverage options throughout Concord Center. Get a stamp from four different businesses on your special passport and be entered to win great prizes! DiscoverConcordMA.com/events
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Concord’s Youth Theatre Presents Family Fun Day! Food, games, raffle, prizes, fun & friends. What could be more fun? Proceeds support the work of the CYT. September 6. ConcordYouthTheatre.org
© istock.com/JasonOndreicka3
Listen to the bats! There’s so much more to bats than their spooky reputation! There are nine species of bats in Massachusetts, five of which are endangered. Learn about why these special creatures matter and how to support them in your neighborhood. Using a special piece of technology created by Wildlife Acoustics, you will be able to pick up their ultrasonic calls and accurately identify the species around us. Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary. September 6.
MassAudubon.org/programs
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Celebrate Ag Day 2025. Concord’s history has always been tied to the land. Celebrate this year’s bountiful harvest with a street festival dedicated to Concord’s farms and farmers. From show stopping fruits and veggies to the famous Scimone Farm Speedway (build your own Veggie Racer!), there is something for the whole family! September 6. ConcordAgDay.com
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Thirsty on Ag Day? Come on over to the Wright Tavern and enjoy the beer garden! Music, food, family-friendly outdoor games, and a nice cold beverage set the stage for a relaxing and fun gathering place. You can even tour the Wright Tavern and experience one of America’s most important witness buildings to American Revolutionary history. September 6. WrightTavern.org
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Join the Thoreau Farm Reading Group this fall and delve into four of Henry David Thoreau’s inspiring essays. This informal, community-focused series welcomes readers of all backgrounds—no prior experience with Thoreau necessary. Come each month or drop in as you’re able. September 18 – December 11. ThoreauFarm.org/reading-group
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Spend a fall evening on the farm at the 14th Annual Stone Soup Dinner. This annual event supports Concord’s agricultural community. Featuring the finest produce from our area farms prepared by leading Concord chefs, this event is a highlight of the fall season. Hosted at Verrill Farm, the evening will feature a guest speaker, live music, and delicious food. September 21. StoneSoupConcordMA.com
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Explore the fascinating lives of Emerson’s daughters, Ellen and Edith, through a special exhibition of memorabilia and clothing celebrating the publication of the book Emerson’s Daughters. Now through September 28 at the Ralph Waldo Emerson House. Rwema.org
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Join Linda Coombs (Aquinnah Wampanoag) as she discusses her ground-breaking Young Adult book, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story. The book presents a compelling story of a young girl’s life in a Wampanoag family and community long before any contact with Europeans. This is juxtaposed with documented accounts of European exploration, settlement, and the institution
of colonization. September 28. ThoreauFarm.org/telling-the-wampanoag-story and ConcordLibrary.org
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Join historian Zara Anishanslin for a conversation about her new book, The Painter’s Fire, which tells the gripping story of three revolutionary artists – Robert Edge Pine, Prince Demah, and Patience Wright – who used their creative talents to challenge the British monarchy and advance the cause of liberty. Spanning continents and social boundaries, their lives offer a bold new lens on the American Revolution and the power of art to shape political change in an era of radical transformation. October 6. ConcordMuseum.org
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Writers on the Spectrum: An Evening with Julie Brown. Through analysis of biographies, autobiographies, letters, and diaries, Professor Julie Brown identifies literary talents who display characteristics of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and uncovers the similarities in their writing that suggest atypical, autistic brains. This groundbreaking study of autism in literature will be of interest to anyone with a professional or personal interest in literature or the autistic mind. October 9. ThoreauFarm.org/spectrum
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Celebrate the 251st anniversary of the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress. The meeting where the decision to rebel against the crown was officially taken at Concord’s own Wright Tavern. Lectures, discussion, and of course great food and drink at the beer garden following the day’s events. October 11. WrightTavern.org
Wapanoag Nation Singers and Dancers
| Courtesy of Concord Museum
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The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers return to recognize and celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Join them for a moving performance of eastern social songs and dances. October 13. ConcordMuseum.org
Birding at Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary
| ©MassAudubon14
Go bird watching! Enjoy a leisurely guided walk around Brewster’s Woods Wildlife Sanctuary to look for woodpeckers, creepers, raptors, migrating warblers, and various species of waterfowl.
October 14 and November 18. MassAudubon.org/programs
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Discover West Concord Day is a family-friendly, fun-filled, foodie extravaganza! The cornerstone event is Debra’s Natural Gourmet’s 36th birthday bash, and the whole neighborhood joins in the fun. Enjoy live music, decorate your own pumpkin, join in art projects for the whole family, and lots of fantastic food samples and great retail specials await. October 18. DiscoverConcordMA/events
© istock.com/brebca16
Book lovers – the Annual Concord Festival of Authors will
include dozens of events to inspire your winter reading
plans. Check their website for details on featured authors, speakers, events, and
more. October 18 – November 1. ConcordFestivalofAuthors.org and ConcordLibrary.org
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Bring your appetite to the annual Taste of Concord. Enjoy samples and great wines from dozens of Concord area farms, restaurants, and specialty food producers. Nashawtuc Country Club. October 21. ConcordChamberOfCommerce.org
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Join Salem’s master storyteller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, for Haunted Fables from the Gables - a frightful evening of thrills and chills in the gloomy shadow of his Concord haunts! The famous author performs his most frightening tales, as well as the terrifying works of fellow writer, Edgar Allan Poe. Experience the greatest Gothic horror stories ever written, brought to life by one of the authors himself! Appropriate for families with brave children 10 and up. October 21. ConcordMuseum.org
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It’s time for the Sleepy Hollow-een Tour! Walk through historic Sleepy Hollow Cemetery with a Concord Museum guide as you learn about the lives and deaths of past Concordians through stories passed down through the generations. October 26. ConcordMuseum.org
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Little ones will love Trunk or Treat at the Beede Center. Don your favorite costumes and join the fun!
October 26. ConcordRec.com
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Join artist Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley (Nipmuc) for a forum exploring her installation, Chemacheg Menuhki: Paddle Strong, at the Concord Museum. Walley will discuss her basket – woven with traditional techniques and layered with Indigenous history – and share the story of the Nipmuc people held in Concord in 1675 before their forced removal. November 5. ConcordMuseum.org
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Finding Your Walden: A Conversation with Jen Tota McGivney. Finding Your Walden isn’t about shunning money or success. It’s about grappling with the purpose of the first and the meaning of the second. Whether you love Walden or haven’t read it, you can join Thoreau on a path to discover an intentional life during a volatile time. November 9. ThoreauFarm.org/finding-your-walden