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Now in its 16th year, the annual August Adventures program, run by Highland Street Foundation, is ready to “provide enriching opportunities for individuals, children and families across the Commonwealth.”
Each day during August there will be one museum, nature sanctuary, zoo, carousel or historical site open for free to community members — from Greater Boston to Cape Cod and out to central and western Massachusetts.
The August Adventures program was modeled after the Newton-based foundation’s long-standing initiative, Free Fun Fridays.
The foundation’s senior director of programs, Noreen McMahon, said the initiative was created after conversations the trustees and staff would have with some of their non-profit partners about the barriers youth face when it comes to visiting cultural institutions.
“We talked to some of our museum partners and came up with this idea of hosting a series of free days. It was created in 2009, and we partnered with 10 different museums and opened them up for free on one Friday in the summertime — they were just flooded with visitors, many of them who were new to these places and had never been before. It was that moment when we realized that this was something that’s important to the community, and so we continued doing it,” she said.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE HIGHLAND FOUNDATION
However, the foundation has adjusted the program over the past five years, because they heard that August is the month when community members are most looking for fun opportunities — changing the name to August Adventures.
“Now we have one site open for free every day during the month of August, and it’s a statewide program, so there’s one thing, one site, open for free every day, but it’s in different places throughout the state,” she said.
Blake Jordan, Highland Street’s executive director, said in a statement that he is thrilled to partner with these organizations, all of which add to the incredibly rich cultural fabric of the commonwealth.
“Increasing access to wide and diverse audiences are shared goals of all of us and we hope to engage many visitors during August Adventures,” he said.
One of the foundation’s site partners is The Zoo in Forest Park & Education Center. Gabry Tyson, assistant executive director of The Zoo, said in a statement that they are grateful to be included on the August Adventures calendar with so many other cultural organizations in the area.
“As a 130-year-old institution in the heart of Springfield, we have played a role in the memories of countless families, and we are excited that this program extends this opportunity to even more families to create their own memorable moments while learning about the wildlife that surrounds them,” she said.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE HIGHLAND FOUNDATION
McMahon also said they have three new site partnerships this year: the West End Museum in Boston, Fairbanks House in Dedham and American Ancestors on Newbury Street also in Boston.
“The West End Museum, which gives the history of that neighborhood of Boston…has quite a rich history throughout the decades. It was a big immigrant spot and welcomed a lot of newcomers and it highlights the whole history of that neighborhood and the iterations of the neighborhood, so that’s exciting,” she said.
American Ancestors, formerly the New England Historic Geneological Society, recently opened a new visitor center and exhibition called the Family Heritage Experience, where visitors can learn about finding their ancestral roots.
Some of the site venues may require advance registration, which will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Community members are asked to visit Highland Street Foundation’s website for links to individual opportunities.
McMahon said the foundation loves partnering with these institutions because they share the desire to create access and increase opportunities for the community.
“It’s a pleasure partnering with them, because they all have strong community outreach programs,” she said. “So, it’s really been a great fit for us and just…a nice way to welcome people that have been before and who have never been before into these wonderful sites.”
