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Spring in Boston is back and that means block parties, blooming flowers and the return of ferry service to the Boston Harbor Islands. Boston Harbor Now is planning a robust schedule of spring and summer events on the islands, everything from history tours and art making to after-hours concerts and clambakes, all just a quick boat ride from the city shoreline.
The Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park contains 34 islands and peninsulas. Spectacle Island, Georges Island and Thompson Island are the most accessible through routine ferry service and are the locations of most of the on-island programming throughout the spring, summer and fall.
“Summer is so short, we really summer hard here in Boston,” said Rebecca Smerling, Boston Harbor Now’s director of programming. “The Harbor Islands are a totally unique destination. You can be in an urban city, but then also get to be on this remote, natural, beautiful wonder of an island as well.”
A summer evening picnic on Spectacle Island. PHOTO: BOSTON HARBOR NOW
Smerling says there are programs scheduled on the islands almost every single day of the spring and summer. Visitors can watch a live Civil War-era baseball game on Georges Island and learn to fish on Spectacle Island.
This year Boston Harbor Now is debuting a number of brand new programs including Art in the Park, a family-friendly art making program that fosters creativity through watercolor, nature poetry, sun printing and more and iSpy, a nature-based scavenger hunt.
For adults, Prosecco Picnics is a new ticketed, evening event on Spectacle Island featuring a golden-hour picnic with views of Boston from the water, glasses of bubbly and a cash raw bar. Round trip ferry service is included in the ticket price. Spectacle Summer Nights, hosted regularly throughout July and August, highlight live music and dancing on the island after-hours, plus beachside s’mores and a pop-up with 67 Brewing.
Soulful Bliss Art and Music Fest comes to the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center in Seaport in August and to Spectacle Island in September. PHOTO: BOSTON HARBOR NOW
“It’s a great thing to put on people’s bucket lists, especially families,” said Smerling. “You can do a lot of things in one day there, ride a boat, put your feet in the water, even swim in the ocean, collect seashell, go for a little hike, have a picnic, listen to some music.”
Most of the daily programming on the islands is free; visitors only have to pay the cost of the ferry. Starting this year, Massachusetts residents can get $10 off ferry tickets every weekday. The Boston Public Library offers 50% off through its museum pass program. EBT and WIC participants can also get discounted tickets through the Card to Culture program.
Not all programs require a boat ride. The Soulful Bliss Art and Music Fest, a live soul and R&B music festival, will pop up at the South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center in Seaport in August as well as on Spectacle Island in September, according to the festival Instagram.
“People don’t realize you can do a five-mile walk on Spectacle Island. And you can get this pretty incredible 360 view of the outer harbor,” said Smerling. “The islands are very much a hidden gem.”
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