WESTFIELD – As part of the Highland Street Foundation’s “Free Fun Fridays” initiative, Amelia Park Children’s Museum will offer free admission.
“Free Fun Fridays” program offers visitors no cost admission to many of the most treasured cultural venues in Massachusetts. This summer, 70 cultural institutions throughout the Commonwealth will welcome visitors, free-of-charge, for 10 consecutive Fridays, beginning on June 26.
Seventy institutions, from art museums to zoos, will join the program, an increase from the 67 venues that took part in 2014. This summer, for 10 consecutive Fridays — beginning June 26 and continuing through August 28 – seven different venues will welcome visitors, free-of-charge.
“The Highland Street Foundation’s ‘Free Fun Fridays’ provides access to the best exhibits, programs and experiences that the city and the Commonwealth have to offer,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “I join the Highland Street Foundation in inviting residents from across Boston and around the state to take advantage of our rich cultural community by participating in ‘Free Fun Fridays.’”
Since its inception in 2009, “Free Fun Fridays” has drawn more than 800,000 visitors to venues throughout the Commonwealth. Last year alone, the program reached 150,000 people and according to Executive Director, Blake Jordan, the Highland Street Foundation expects that those numbers will increase again this year with the expansion of the program.
“2015 marks the most extensive ‘Free Fun Fridays’ yet and we are pleased to welcome new venues to this summer’s program,” said Jordan. “This signature program reflects the Highland Street Foundation’s longtime commitment to enriching the lives of kids and families by providing easy access to the very best cultural offerings in Massachusetts.”
Each year, Highland Street Foundation grants help participating venues in every corner of the state open their doors for free. In the past seven years, the “Free Fun Fridays” program has represented an investment of nearly $4 million in the Commonwealth’s vibrant cultural community. ‘Free Fun Fridays’ is one of many programs created and supported by the Highland Street Foundation to increase access and opportunities for children and families throughout Massachusetts.
“Peabody Essex Museum is proud to partner with the Highland Street Foundation in its efforts to showcase the Bay State’s diverse cultural venues and promote our wide-ranging missions,” said Dan Monroe, Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum. “Through this essential program, visitors have access to the fine and performing arts, historic homes, lush gardens, environmental centers and top museums. Equally important, ‘Free Fun Fridays’ helps introduce the cultural community to a set of new and diverse audiences.”
This year, some of the program’s favorite sites, including the Boston Children’s Museum, Tanglewood, and the ICA, are joined by new venues like the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, Old Sturbridge Village and the recently opened Edward M. Kennedy Institute. A complete list of all participating venues and dates is below.
To learn more about the “Free Fun Fridays,” and the Highland Street Foundation, visit
www.highlandstreet.org and connect with us on facebook.com/HighlandStreet and Twitter @HighlandStreet.
The following institutions are participating in “Free Fun Fridays” 2015:
June 26
BSO/Tanglewood (Lenox)
Worcester Art Museum (Worcester)
Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge)
MIT Museum (Cambridge)
Peabody Essex Museum (Salem)
Edith Wharton’s Home (Lenox)
House of Seven Gables (Salem)
July 3
Boston Children’s Museum (Boston)
Heritage Museums & Gardens (Sandwich)
Amelia Park Children’s Museum (Westfield)
Naumkeag Reservation (Stockbridge)
Old Manse (Concord)
Falmouth Museums on the Green (Falmouth)
Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield)
July 10
Edward M. Kennedy Institute (Boston)
Cape Cod Maritime Museum (Hyannis Port)
Children’s Museum of Holyoke (Holyoke)
Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke)
Danforth Art (Framingham)
New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford)
New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston)
July 17
Museum of Fine Arts (Boston)
Sports Museum (Boston)
Cape Ann Museum (Gloucester)
Children’s Museum in Easton (Easton)
Fitchburg Art Museum (Fitchburg)
Larz Anderson Auto Museum (Brookline)
Tower Hill Botanic Garden (Boylston)
July 24
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (Boston)
Edward Gorey House (Yarmouth Port)
Battleship Cove (Fall River)
Fruitlands Museum (Harvard)
Garden in the Woods (Framingham)
Pilgrim Hall Museum (Plymouth)
Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (Boston)
July 31
Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (Boston)
Cape Cod Museum of Art (Dennis)
American Textile History Museum (Lowell)
Eric Carle Museum (Amherst)
Museum of Russian Icons (Clinton)
Sandwich Glass Museum (Sandwich)
Wenham Museum (Wenham)
August 7
Boston Harbor Island Alliance (Boston)
Worcester Historical Museum (Worcester)
Concord Museum (Concord)
Hancock Shaker Village (Pittsfield)
Rose Kennedy Greenway Carousel (Boston)
Springfield Museums (Springfield)
Old State House (Boston)
August 14
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (Boston)
Cape Cod Children’s Museum (Mashpee)
Historic Deerfield (Deerfield)
Children’s Museum of Fall River (Fall River)
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (Great Barrington)
Clark Art Institute (Williamstown)
USS Constitution Museum (Charlestown)
August 21
Franklin Park Zoo (Dorchester)
Freedom Trail Foundation (Boston)
Emily Dickinson Museum (Amherst)
Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford)
Discovery Museums (Acton)
Museum of African American History (Boston)
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Beckett)
August 28
Old Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge)
Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth)
Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (Brewster)
EcoTarium (Worcester)
Fuller Craft Museum (Brockton)
Griffin Photography Museum (Winchester)
MASS MoCA (North Adams)
