Cost-free entertainment heats up the season in the Hub
Summer in the City: Boston Harbor Hotel’s annual series of free offerings has been re-tooled for 2025, featuring a fabulous line-up of music on the Rowes Wharf outdoor stage Tuesday through Friday evenings. A wide array of pop-up experiences is also in the works to keep visitors to this gorgeous setting entertained through August.
Boston Landing Outdoor Movie Nights: This monthly gathering at the Brighton hot spot continues June 26 with Happy Gilmore. Come back on July 24 for Christmas in July when Elf is screened, while August 14 features Gone with the Wind and September 6 ends the season with a flourish when Wicked dazzles the masses.
Coolidge Corner Theatre Summer Outdoor Screenings: The iconic independent cinema in Brookline takes its show on the road, offering free films at beautiful al fresco venues throughout the Boston area. It begins June 18 at the Charles River Speedway with a sunset showing of Good Burger, and continues on select Wednesday every month through the fall. On the Rose Kennedy Greenway, enjoy an outdoor version of Science on Screen with Blade Runner: The Final Cut on June 25 accompanied by a talk from an expert on artificial intelligence. Other films in the series include Point Break (July 16) and The Blob (August 13). Historic Mount Auburn Cemetery even gets in on the action with a double feature of Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter and Errol Morris’ Gates of Heaven on August 26.
Boston Art & Music Soul Festival: Commonly known as BAMS Festival, this celebration of Black arts and culture takes place at Franklin Park Playstead Field on June 28 beginning at noon. With more than a dozen performers, a kid’s stage and a wide range of vendors selling food, arts and crafts, and more, BAMS Festival is a fun day out for the entire family.
Boston Harborfest (pictured): From July 2–4, the city’s annual party in honor of American freedom returns with its usual array of parades, historic tours, live music, a grand fireworks display over Boston Harbor on July 2 at 9:15 p.m., and the reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Old State House balcony on July 4 followed by the USS Constitution’s yearly turnaround cruise. Event locations include Christopher Columbus Park, Downtown Crossing, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, the Rose Kennedy Greenway, City Hall Plaza and many of the sites along the famed Freedom Trail.
