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For what is on in Boston this week, check a live calendar: the BostonVacay events calendar, the City of Boston's event listings and Meet Boston's official calendar all post dated events. For planning a trip months ahead, use the annual calendar below: Boston's big recurring events fall on predictable dates, from the Head of the Charles Regatta in October and First Night on New Year's Eve to the Boston Marathon on Patriots' Day in April and the North End's Saint Anthony's Feast in late August.
Dates below are the next confirmed ones as of October 1, 2026. Where an organizer had not yet set the next date, we give the usual timing.
Boston's annual events calendar, month by month
| Month | Event | Next date | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | Head of the Charles Regatta | Oct 16 to 18, 2026 | Charles River |
| October | Open Newbury Street (last summer Sunday) | Oct 11, 2026 | Newbury Street, Back Bay |
| November | Boston Veterans Day Parade | Sat, Nov 7, 2026, noon | From the Boston Public Library to City Hall Plaza |
| November | Franklin Park Turkey Trot 5K | Thu, Nov 26, 2026, 9 a.m. | Franklin Park |
| November to December | SoWa Christmas Market | Nov 20 to Dec 27, 2026 | SoWa Power Station, South End |
| December | Boston Common Tree Lighting | Thu, Dec 3, 2026, 6 p.m. | Boston Common |
| December | Holiday Pops | From Dec 3, 2026 | Symphony Hall |
| December | Boston Tea Party reenactment | Dec 16 each year | Old South Meeting House |
| January to March | Boston Wine & Food Festival | Jan 22 to Mar 6, 2027 | Boston waterfront |
| February to March | Dine Out Boston | Feb 20 to Mar 7, 2027 | Restaurants citywide |
| March | St. Patrick's Day / Evacuation Day Parade | Sun, Mar 14, 2027, 11:30 a.m. | South Boston |
| April | Boston Marathon | Mon, Apr 19, 2027 | Finish on Boylston Street |
| May | Duckling Day | Sun, May 9, 2027 (Mother's Day) | Boston Common and the Public Garden |
| May to November | SoWa Open Market | Sundays, from May | South End |
| June | Boston Calling Music Festival | Jun 4 to 6, 2027 | Boston |
| June | Boston Pride for the People | Early June (Jun 6 in 2026) | Copley Square to Boston Common |
| July | Boston Harborfest | Around July 4 (Jul 2 to 4 in 2026) | Downtown and the waterfront |
| August | Saint Anthony's Feast | Aug 26 to 29, 2027 | North End |
| September | Boston Arts Festival | September (Sep 12 and 13 in 2026) | Christopher Columbus Park |
Fall: rowing, Open Newbury and the start of the holidays
The Head of the Charles Regatta, the city's big October weekend, runs October 16 to 18, 2026, on the Charles River. Before that, Newbury Street goes car-free for the last Open Newbury Sunday of the summer series on October 11, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Boston Veterans Day Parade steps off at noon on Saturday, November 7, from the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street to City Hall Plaza. Thanksgiving week brings the Franklin Park Turkey Trot and Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker, which opens November 27; see Thanksgiving weekend in Boston.
Winter: tree lightings, the Tea Party and food festivals
The city's 85th tree lighting on Boston Common is on Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m., the same night the Boston Pops' Holiday Pops season opens at Symphony Hall. On December 16, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Revolutionary Spaces restages the debate that preceded it at Old South Meeting House, where the 1773 meeting took place. First Night has marked New Year's Eve in Boston since 1976. After the holidays, the Boston Wine & Food Festival runs from January 22 to March 6, 2027, and Dine Out Boston, with set-price lunches and dinners at participating restaurants, runs February 20 to March 7, 2027.
Spring: the parade, the Marathon and the ducklings
The South Boston St. Patrick's Day/Evacuation Day Parade is on Sunday, March 14, 2027, at 11:30 a.m. The 131st Boston Marathon is on Patriots' Day, Monday, April 19, 2027. If your dates overlap, book your hotel early. Duckling Day, the parade for Make Way for Ducklings, is on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 9, 2027. May also starts the outdoor season: the SoWa Open Market reopens on Sundays, ferries to the Boston Harbor Islands resume in mid-May, and the New England Aquarium's whale watch begins its season.
Summer: music, Pride, the Fourth and the feasts
Boston Calling returns June 4 to 6, 2027, after taking 2026 off. Boston Pride for the People held its parade and festival on June 6 in 2026; watch for the 2027 date. Boston Harborfest, the city's official Fourth of July celebration, ran July 2 to 4 in 2026 with reenactments, music and fireworks. In late August the North End's Saint Anthony's Feast, which calls itself the largest in New England, fills the streets for four days; the 2027 dates are August 26 to 29.
September: the arts festival and early fall
The free Boston Arts Festival fills Christopher Columbus Park on the waterfront each September; the 2026 edition was September 12 and 13.
For a month at a time, see September, November, December, January, March, May and June, or things to do in Boston this weekend.
Sources: Head of the Charles Regatta; Open Newbury; Boston Veterans Day Parade; Boston Common Tree Lighting; Holiday Pops; Revolutionary Spaces; First Night Boston; Boston Wine & Food Festival; Dine Out Boston; Meet Boston, St. Patrick's Day; Boston Athletic Association; Friends of the Public Garden; Boston Calling; Boston Pride for the People; Boston Harborfest; Saint Anthony's Feast; Boston Arts Festival. Checked October 1, 2026.