Lexington and Concord's 250th: How to commemorate the battles
Expect heavy traffic in Boston and the surrounding suburbs between those in town for the Boston Marathon and the 250th anniversary attendees.
Look out for several road closures starting 8pm Friday in Lexington, as well as additional road closures starting 12pm Saturday until 6pm Saturday.
Thursday, April 17
Concord hosts a patriot vigil at the North Bridge Visitor Center, 7:30pm.
The vigil includes a lantern-light procession, poetry, music and a recitation of the names of soldiers who died on April 19, 1775.
Friday, April 18
Watch Boston's reenactment of Paul Revere's ride from North Square to Charlestown, 8-10pm.
If you're in Lexington, the city will host a separate reenactment from Buckman Tavern to the Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington, 10-11pm.
Saturday, April 19
The reenactment of the Battle of Lexington kicks off, 5:15am.
Concord hosts a dawn salute at Buttrick Hillside, 6am.
Concord's parade begins at 8:30am on Thoreau Street, runs until midday on Everett Street, followed by the Concord250 Block Party at the Concord Museum.
Concord's ceremony at North Bridge starts at 9:30am.
The USS Lexington Ceremony at 9am on the USS Lexington Memorial commemorates the fallen soldiers and five U.S. Navy vessels named the "USS Lexington."
Lexington's Patriots' Day Parade kicks off at 2pm.
Sunday, April 20
Arlington commemorates the Battle of Menotomy with a reenactment, 2pm.
The battle involved minutemen from 16 towns that beat back the British as they retreated from Concord and Lexington.
Monday, April 21
Boston's Patriots' Day Parade starts at City Hall Plaza and ends at the Paul Revere Mall, 9-10am.
The parade concludes with a reenactment by the National Lancers of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride on the Paul Revere Mall in front of Old North Church and Historic Site.
Somerville hosts its Patriots' Day Colonial Fair at Foss Park, 10am-12pm.
Lexington hosts a patriotic picnic in Hasting Park, 11am-2:30pm. (RSVPs end Thursday.)
As is tradition, the Red Sox will commemorate Patriots' Day with a home game, 11am.
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"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." 1930–1978 The USNS Harvey Milk tanker ship is on the verge of receiving a new name, sparking intense reactions from some political figures. According to a report, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the ship, which has honored the late gay rights activist and his military service since its launch in November 2021. A memorandum obtained by CBS showed that vessels named after other noteworthy figures—including Thurgood Marshall, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harriet Tubman, and Dolores Huerta—have also been requested for review. The act of renaming a Navy ship is very rare and considered partially taboo. The most recent occurrence was in 2023, when the USS Chancellorsville and research ship USNS Maury received new monikers. Both names were tied to the Confederacy. The timing of the proposed change is notable, as June is Pride Month in the United States. The honorary month dates back to 1970 when the initial LGBTQ Pride marches took place on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Democratic lawmakers criticized the decision to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calling it 'an utter abomination in terms of the extreme MAGA Republican effort to continue to erase American history, and we're not going to allow it to happen.' Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer reacted in a post to X, formerly Twitter, saying Hegseth should immediately reverse the decision. Gay rights activist and community leader Harvey Milk made history in January 1978 when he became one of the first openly gay public officials in the United States. He served on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. Prior to his political career, the native New Yorker had served in the U.S. Navy and worked in a variety of industries before settling in San Francisco and opening a camera shop. His life and his political career came to an untimely end when he was fatally shot in November 1978 at age 48. Numerous books and movies have been made about the politician, including the Oscar-winning 2008 biopic Milk starring Sean Penn.$10.30 at FULL NAME: Harvey Bernard MilkBORN: May 22, 1930DIED: November 27, 1978BIRTHPLACE: Woodmere, New YorkASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Gemini Harvey Bernard Milk was born on May 22, 1930, in Woodmere, New York. Reared in a small middle-class Jewish family, Milk was one of two boys born to William and Minerva Milk. A well-rounded, well-liked student, Harvey played football and sang in the opera at Bay Shore High School. Like his brother, Robert, he also worked at the family department store, Milk's. After graduating from the New York State College for Teachers in 1951, Milk joined the U.S. Navy, ultimately serving as a diving instructor at a base in San Diego during the Korean War. Following his discharge in 1955, Milk moved to New York City, where he worked a variety of jobs, including public school teacher, production associate for several high-profile Broadway musicals, stock analyst, and Wall Street investment banker. He soon tired of finance, though, and befriended gay radicals who frequented Greenwich Village. In late 1972, bored with his life in New York, Milk moved to San Francisco. In California, he opened a camera shop called Castro Camera on Castro Street, putting his life and work right in the heart of the city's gay community. For much of his life, Milk had stayed quiet about his personal life. He had known since high school that he was gay, and even in the wake of an emerging gay rights movement, the deliberate and careful Milk chose to remain on the sidelines. But things had started to turn for him toward the end of his time in New York, as he befriended a number of openly gay people who frequented Greenwich Village. In San Francisco, his life and outspoken politics evolved even further. As Castro Camera increasingly became a neighborhood center, Milk found his voice as a leader and activist. In 1973, he declared his candidacy for a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to help lead the city and the county. A novice politician with little money, Milk lost the election, but the experience didn't deter him from trying again. Two years later, he narrowly lost a second election for the same seat. By then, Milk had become a political force—an outspoken leader in the gay community with political connections that included San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, Assembly speaker and future city mayor Willie Brown, and future U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. In 1977, Milk, who was known affectionately as the 'Mayor of Castro Street,' finally won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. 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He avoided the metal detectors by entering through a basement window that had been negligently left open for ventilation. His first stop was at the mayor's office, where he and Moscone began arguing before eventually moving to a private room so that they couldn't be heard. Once there, Moscone again refused to reappoint White, and White shot the mayor twice in the chest and twice in the head. White then went down the corridor and shot Milk, twice in the chest, once in the back, and twice in the head. Soon after, he turned himself in at the police station where he used to work. Milk died at age 48. White's trial was marked by what came to be known as the 'Twinkie defense,' as his lawyers claimed that the normally stable White had grown slovenly prior to the shootings due to abandoning his usually healthy diet and instead indulging in sugary junk food such as Coke, doughnuts, and Twinkies. In a surprising move, a jury convicted White of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder. 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Nearly three decades after its release, the project was added to the U.S. Library of Congress for preservation in 2012. In 2008, actor Sean Penn starred as Milk in the acclaimed biopic Milk. The movie primarily focuses on Milk's life and political aspirations throughout the 1970s. Penn's performance drew widespread acclaim, and he won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the slain politician. The film was also awarded the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. In July 2016, the U.S. Navy announced it would name a yet-to-be constructed tanker after Milk, calling it the USNS Harvey Milk. Milk's nephew praised the decision, saying it would send 'a green light to all the brave men and women who serve our nation: that honesty and authenticity are held up among the highest ideals of of nation's military.' San Francisco politician Scott Wiener also celebrated the announcement. 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