April 2021 Vacation Your family’s guide to April Vacation activities in the MetroWest Area Welcome to MetroWest! Contents 3 For centuries, MetroWest has been a diverse and thriving Hopkinton Center for the Arts 4 region offering tremendous Great Framingham Cleanup 5 opportunities for personal Arts and Sciences at the Danforth 6 exploration and professional growth. That innovative Amazing Things Arts Center: Tanglewood Marionettes 7 spirit has kept our region at Natick Center Cultural District 8 the forefront of burgeoning new industries—from craft Sidewalk Sale 8 beverages to biotech—even as we preserve our historic New Natick’s Art in Bloom 8 England traditions and landscape. Elijah T. Grasshopper 9 Set between the two largest cities in New England, our region offers the best of two worlds: the vibrant excitement of a city THE BLACK BOX: Spring Arts Awakening 10 with thriving cultural amenities and corporate leaders, and rural Disney Stars of Broadway 10 natural beauty that is perfect for recreation and relaxation. Our unique mix of urban, suburban, and rural communities makes The Peacheaters with the DayBreakers 10 it easy for visitors to experience luxury shopping and country James Montgomery 12 boutiques, haute cuisine and farm-to-table, conference centers and restful inns. T.3 13 With major arteries crisscrossing the region, you are never far Hampton Inn by Hilton Boston Natick 14 from intriguing opportunities in MetroWest! SKYBOKX 109 15 Sports Bar & Grill 15 SAVE THE DATE: MetroFest returns in online format June 12, 2021 The VERVE Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton 16 This pamphlet is published by the MetroWest Visitors Bureau, Follow us on social media facebook.com/VisitMetroWest 10 Mechanic St. for updates on the entertainment, vendors, exhibitors, Bellingham, MA 02019. 508-361-9881 sponsors! Funded by the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism Great Framingham Cleanup 5 Saturday, April 17th Members of the April 17th feel free to pick up Framingham Earth Day litter on Sunday, April 18th Festival & Keep Framingham (or any other day) and post Beautiful invite everyone to our Facebook group. A to the “Great Framingham rain date of Saturday, April Cleanup”. This distributed 24th is planned in the event event will replace this that weather prevents us year's Framingham Earth from picking up litter on Day Festival as something April 17th. Hopkinton Center for the Arts that we can all safely do This event is co-sponsored as a community during by Keep Framingham April Vacation Week Programs continued times of social Beautiful, Framingham distancing. Earth Day Festival, Saturday, April 17th - Sunday, April 25th OUR GOAL: 100+ folks Framingham Centre Nursery picking up litter on School, FramBark and the Check out HCA’s awesome a safety precaution the April 17th and posting Framingham DPW. April Vacation programs. HCA continues to limit pictures of their progress If you have any questions, to our Facebook group: For younger kids, ages 5 class sizes and follow all feel free to send us an email: facebook.com/groups/ to 8, we have 1-day theater safety recommendations as KeepFraminghamBeautiful@ keepframinghambeautiful workshops: Moana, Aladdin, provided by the CDC and gmail.com and Jungle Book. local Board of Health. If you cannot participate on Other programs for kids, ages 9 to 13, include Comedy Improv, Calligraphy and Handwriting, Cartooning, and an Intro to Hyper Real Painting. Special this week is a 4-day Magic Boot Camp with magician Chris Herrick Registration is open at: for ages 8 to 13. hopartscenter.org Hopkinton Center for the If you have any questions, Arts is located at 98 Hayden please call: Rowe St., Hopkinton. As (508) 435-9222 Amazing Things Arts Center 7 Tanglewood Marionettes: Hansel and Gretel Friday Apr 23, 2021 7:30 PM Join ātac for a virtual the challenges they encounter performance of Hansel and while lost in the wood. Gretel with Tanglewood While admission is free, Marionettes! donations are encouraged The production is based on the during the show as all classic fairytale by the Brothers proceeds are split between the Grimm, and features melodies artist and ātac. from the Humperdinck opera. Donation Link: Arts and Sciences at the The colorful set is in the shape of a giant story book; as the atac160.org/donate Danforth pages turn, each new and The production is exciting scene is revealed. Tuesday April 20th – Sunday April 25th approximately 45 minutes All the staging, scenery, and 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM in length, and includes a marionettes are handcrafted Puppetry Demonstration prior Visit the Danforth Art Museum available at the Museum upon by Tanglewood Marionettes, to the show, and a Question during April Vacation Week! arrival, or you can download and together represent over a and Answer Session following this PDF (coming soon!), print year of construction time. the performance. Why is dirt important for out at home, and bring the sculptures? How can biology As the tale unfolds, Hansel For more information, visit: packet with you! inspire a painting? Learn and Gretel must call upon atac160.org about how art and science Family guides are free with their inner reserves and learn connect as you explore admission (all children under new methods to overcome the Danforth Art Museum 13 are free!). Due to safety permanent and temporary protocols, timed ticket exhibitions! purchases are required to enable physical distancing. All visitors are encouraged Learn more about visiting to celebrate Earth Day and during Covid-19 here. To vacation week with a special purchase tickets through family packet. These packets Eventbrite, please click here. will guide and expand in- gallery learning opportunities Do you have any questions? with exhibition highlights, Email our Museum Education family friendly questions, Coordinator Eileen at gallery activities, and [email protected]. recommendations for more to do at home! Packets will be and some sidewalk sale items, including wildflower seed 9 packets, DIY sunflower seed pots, and notecards. For more information, please visit the Garden Club at natickgardenclub.org or on Facebook and the NCCD at natickcenter.org Elijah T. Grasshopper Wednesday April 21st 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM Introducing Elijah T. Grasshopper & Friends, children’s enrichment performers. Elijah and his friends were created to add a sense of real-time wonderment to children’s lives through music and interactive storytelling. Channeling his favorite childhood characters, Doctor Dolittle and Willy Wonka, Rob Zammarchi personifies Elijah with the sole purpose of keeping innocence alive and letting wonder abound in all the kids he Natick Center Cultural District plays for. Sidewalk Sale Interactive story songs are Elijah’s specialty with a gentle Saturday April 17th humorous appeal. Elijah T. Grasshopper is a master at making 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM kids hop, wiggle, and giggle while promoting a message of Come downtown to support your local business community social harmony. and shop small every 3rd Saturday of the month! Shop safely in This event is funded by the Natick Cultural Council, a local Natick Center from 10 am – 4:00 pm. agency administered by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a Remember that there is only metered parking till 1:00 pm but state agency. after that time there is NO charge and the municipal lots are Register baconfreelibrary.org/event/grasshopper always FREE on the weekend! #walktoshop. Use our newly implemented Passport app when you park downtown! For more information about all NCCD events, visit: Natick’s Art in Bloom natickcenter.org/events Sunday April 18th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM Natick Garden Club members will design floral arrangements inspired by the public art in Natick. There are many fantastic public art pieces to choose from like The Unconventional Garden, Wings of the Butterfly, various electrical boxes, the bus stop mural, and mosaics. The event will take place on Adams and Court Street and will allow visitors to walk through and view these works of art with the corresponding floral arrangements. Other works of art that are not in the immediate area will be set on tables with a photo of the art next to the arrangement. The Natick Garden Club will also have an information table musical surprises! 11 Joined by special guests the DayBreakers ! Steadily climbing the ranks of New England's roots rock and roll scene, the DayBreakers hit new peaks in 2019 and 2020. In August of 2019, the band released their second full length album, Worn Out Dream, a concept album that charted in the top 200 on the Americana Music Association (AMA) charts and garnered airplay on radio stations around the country. Chart success led to a nomination for Rock Act of the Year from the New England Music Awards, the second straight nomination for the band (2018 and 2019). Touring locally to support the record's release, the band played some of their most high-profile shows, including a January THE BLACK BOX: 2020 set opening for Boston blues legend James Montgomery Band, and an appearance at Boggestock Music Festival in Millis, Spring Arts Awakening Mass. In addition, the band opened shows for nationally touring 15 West Central Street acts The High Divers, Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, and Christian Lopez. Franklin MA 02038 Disney Stars of Broadway Saturday April 17th 7:30 PM Spring Arts Awakening at THE BLACK BOX kicks off on April 17th with a concert by three Disney Stars of Broadway: Broadway’s original “Mary Poppins” Ashley Brown, current “Genie” Michael For more information about THE BLACK BOX events, visit: James Scott, and original “Tarzan” Josh Strickland. The trio will theblackboxonline.com/events perform an evening of Disney favorites. There will be limited seating for this special evening out in Franklin. The Peacheaters with the DayBreakers Thursday April 22nd 6:30 PM The Peacheaters respectfully pay homage to the music of the Allman Brothers Band.