Events

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight for a compelling forum on the evolving meaning of American independence. Drawing on his scholarship on Frederick Douglass, Blight will explore how the ideals of the Declaration of Independence have been interpreted and contested over time. Professor Blight will discuss Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?.” Through Douglass’s words, Blight invites us to reflect on the enduring tensions between liberty and inequality, and to consider whether the nation’s founding promises remain unfulfilled.

The Umbrella's beloved Open Studios is May 2 & 3, from 12 - 5 PM in Concord, MA. It's fun for all, FREE to attend, and priceless to get to know your local artists! The Umbrella Arts Center is home to more than 60 working artists skilled in a variety of fine and applied arts, including ceramics, glass, fiber arts, jewelry making, illustration, mixed-media, painting, photography, printmaking, illustration, sculpture, woodworking, writing, and more. Our annual Open Studios is an incredible opportunity to meet our artists, learn about their process, and share in celebrating their work.

Join the student artists featured in the new special exhibition Revolutionary Legacies, along with  Curator David Wood and Curator and Director of Exhibitions Christie Jackson, for a gallery talk.

Legal scholar Gerard Magliocca explores Justice Robert H. Jackson’s landmark concurring opinion in the Steel Seizure Case, illuminating its enduring framework for presidential power. This forum connects constitutional history to current debates, examining how Jackson’s analysis continues to shape limits on executive authority in times of crisis.

Join 2026 CFPL Writer-In-Residence Danielle Bradley in conversation with celebrated local author Alan Lightman. Danielle Bradley is the winner of the 2025 Elizabeth Alexander Creative Writing Award and a 2025–2026 Tin House Reading Fellow. Her debut novel, Crying in Baseball, is forthcoming from Avid Reader Press.

Don't miss a very special benefit concert, The Anna And Mickey Show. Starring Anna Huckabee Tull and Mickey Zibello, with Special Friends, Kristin Moore on Fiddle, Dave Carter on Guitar and Accordion, Noah Mendelsohn on Bass, Eli Zibello on Percussion, and Sage Miller, a First Parish Rising Vocalist! Come for an evening of joyful camaraderie that lifts our spirits while supporting important social justice work underway this year! 

Join Alexander Cain, noted historian and author, for an immersive day-long tour tracing the pivotal sites of the 1775-1776 Siege of Boston! Trace the Continental Army's strategic movements and defensive positions around British-occupied Boston. You'll gain a deeper understanding of how the ragtag American forces effectively locked down the city and ultimately forced the British evacuation. Visit Prospect Hill, Bunker Hill, Washington's Headquarters and Cambridge Common, Fort Washington, Dillaway-Thomas House, and Dorchester Heights.

Poet Bonney Hartley (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians) presents an original poetry reading created for Revolutionary Legacies. Hartley will share the commissioned poem inspired by Museum objects and discuss her broader work, offering Indigenous perspectives on memory, belonging, and the Revolution’s unfinished promises. Supported in part by Mass Humanities.

To celebrate Earth Day and OARS’ 40th anniversary, we are bringing the Wild & Scenic Film Festival to Concord, where three remarkable rivers meet, and America’s roots run deep. In partnerships with friends and local organizations, we are hosting five days of community-focused events in and around Concord Center, including film screenings, art installations, guest speakers, outdoor walks, and a 3-day cross-town scavenger hunt. Join us for an inspirational, educational, always wild, and sure to be scenic five days in Concord!

Visit the Concord Museum on the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Museum admission will be free, and the grounds of the Museum will be buzzing with a minutemen encampment with the Billerica Colonial Minutemen and Acton Minutemen, and family activities.   Free Museum admission is supported by Highland Street Foundation, and family activities are supported by the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.