Latest news with #Revere'sRide
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Massachusetts 250th celebration: Local events, road closures. Here's everything you need to know
Are you ready to celebrate, Massachusetts? The 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution is here. Several action-packed events are planned in the Bay State over the weekend leading up to Patriots Day and the Boston Marathon to commemorate this historic time in our nation's history. The kickoff event, Paul Revere's Ride, is planned for Friday to bring residents and visitors together across the North End and Charlestown, marking 250 years since the historic ride of Paul Revere. The event will feature historic reenactments, a performance by Boston Pops musicians, a lantern procession to Boston Harbor, a drone show over the harbor, and more. Other local events will include parades and reenactments of the bloody battles fought in the area back in 1775. 'April 19, 1775, stands as a pivotal moment in American history. On this day, the reverberations of gunfire pierced the Massachusetts countryside, irrevocably shaping the trajectory of the American Revolution,' organizers wrote on an official website for the town of Lexington, noting the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the opening battles of the American Revolutionary War. 'It was here that British Colonists bravely defended their ideals of liberty and self-determination. Join us for this momentous occasion, when many events are planned throughout the day at Minute Man National Historical Park and the surrounding towns of Lexington and Concord,' the National Park Service states on its website. Here's a list of local events: Friday, April 18: Boston: Paul Revere's Ride to Revolution: - This historic tour will follow Paul Revere's departure from Boston as he walks, rows, and begins the ride that spurred the American Revolution. 250th Anniversary Lantern Service at Old North Church - Service in honor of the famous 'two if by sea' signal from the church's steeple on the eve of the American Revolution. Lexington: Paul Revere's Ride Reenactment at Hancock-Clarke House - The live reenactment of the famous ride to warn others of the impending British raid is free and open to the public. Saturday, April 19: Lexington & Concord Reenactments: Dawn battles reenacted at Lexington Green and Concord's North Bridge - Daybreak reenactments of battles in Lexington and Concord. Lexington: USS Lexington Ceremony - This annual ceremony remembers the patriots who fell in 1775 and celebrates the five U.S. Navy vessels that bore the name 'USS Lexington' in later years. Lexington Bicentennial Band Concert - The concert will feature music from the American Revolution, including premieres by Daniel Lutz and Dr. Andrew Boysen. Free to the public. Lexington's 2025 Patriots' Day Parade - A family afternoon with nearly 2,700 marchers, reenactors, and performers, complete with marching bands, floats, fife & drums, clowns & jugglers, and dancers. 111th Patriots' Day 5-Mile Road Race - This isn't just a race, it's a journey through time. Concord: Bridge Ceremony, Block Party, Drone Show, Concord Museum free admission - Several events are planned, including the North Bridge ceremony and a Concord250 block party. Enjoy free admission to the Concord Museum all day. Minute Man National Historical Park offers all-day events. Concord250 presents a 'Patriot's Light Drone Show' at night. Sunday, April 20: Arlington: Battle of Menotomy reenactment - Commemorates the longest and bloodiest engagement of April 19th, 1775. Monday, April 21: Boston: Boston Marathon - The 129th race of the Boston Marathon, the world's oldest annual marathon. Red Sox home game - The first pitch of the season at Fenway Park will be thrown on Patriots' Day. Concord: Battle Road Anniversary Hike - National Park Rangers lead this immersive 4-mile guided Battle Road trail hike to Fiske Hill. Lexington: Scavenger Hunt - A Revolutionary-themed scavenger hunt for children around the Lexington Green. Travelers should expect increased travel times, along with lane and ramp closures due to Massachusetts 250th Anniversary celebrations throughout Patriots' Day Weekend, as well as the Boston Marathon on Monday, state transportation officials said in a statement. 'Whether you're experiencing the historic reenactments in Lexington and Concord or cheering on Marathon runners in Boston, MassDOT wishes you a safe and enjoyable Patriots' Day weekend,' Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement. 'If you're traveling, please plan ahead, be aware of scheduled closures and detours, and expect heavier traffic,' Tibbits-Nutt said. 'Most importantly, we urge everyone to travel responsibly and make smart, safe choices.' The HOV lane on Interstate 93 southbound between Boston and Quincy will extend its afternoon hours and be open for travel on Friday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Additionally, the HOV lane and the swing lane at the Sumner Tunnel will not be deployed on Monday. Deployment operations for the HOV lane and the swing lane will resume on Tuesday. To accommodate Massachusetts 250 celebrations and the Boston Marathon, the following closures will be in place: Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19: Route 2A will be closed from Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington, through Lincoln, and extending to Route 2 in Concord from 5 a.m. Saturday, April 19 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19. In Concord, the following closures will be in place: There will be no access from Route 2 to Cambridge Turnpike at exit 125 from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 to Walden Street northbound from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 westbound to Fairhaven Road from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 to Sudbury Road northbound from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 to Old Road to Nine Acre Corner (ORNAC) northbound from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 to Route 62 eastbound from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 to Elm Street eastbound from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. Route 2 medians will be closed, preventing crossing traffic and main line left turns at Walden Street, Sudbury Road, ORNAC, Route 62, and Elm Street from 6 p.m. Friday, April 18 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 19. Affected traffic will be diverted to exit 125 to the east and the Concord Rotary to the west to reverse direction as needed. Provisions will be made at the Route 2/ORNAC intersection to maintain emergency access to Emerson Hospital. There will be no access from Route 2 to Route 2A at exit 125 from 5 a.m. Saturday, April 19 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19. In Lexington, I‑95 northbound/southbound exits 46B (Route 2A west) will be closed from 5 a.m. Saturday, April 19 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19. In Lincoln, the following closures will be in place: Hanscom Drive will be closed between Route 2A and Old Bedford Road from 5 a.m. Saturday, April 19 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19. There will be no access from Route 2 to Bedford Road northbound from 5 a.m. Saturday, April 19 to 6 p.m. Saturday, April 19. Monday, April 21: In Newton, the following closures will be in place: The Beacon Street bridge over Route 16 and I-90 will be closed. The I-95 (Route 128) northbound and southbound exit 37 off-ramps will be closed. In Wellesley, the Route 9 westbound off-ramp to Route 16 will be closed. In Boston, the I-90 eastbound exit 133 to Copley will be closed, with a detour via I-90 eastbound exit 134A. In Hopkinton, the I-495 northbound/southbound exit 50 (Route 85) off ramps, the I-495 northbound/southbound exit 54A (West Main Street) off ramps will be closed, and the on-ramp from West Main Street in Hopkinton to I-495 southbound will be closed, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Celebrate the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride at these Maine events
Apr. 17—Friday marks the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride and the beginning of the American Revolution, at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Maine's Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made Revere and his mission to warn people of advancing British soldiers part of our national story with his 1860 poem "Paul Revere's Ride." Two Lights for Tomorrow is a nationwide observance to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the events of April 18-19, 1775, and their importance in the founding of the United States. Communities and organizations all over Maine will be placing two lights in homes or buildings — as mentioned in Longfellow's poem — in honor of the events. In Portland, two lanterns will be hung in windows at the Wadsworth-Longfellow House and the Maine Historical Society's Brown Research library all weekend long. Here's a list of some of the events in Maine on Friday commemorating the anniversary. AUGUSTA On Friday, excerpts of "Paul Revere's Ride" will be read at 11:30 a.m. in the Hall of Flags at the state capitol by Portland Youth Poet Laureate Yashaswini Derisala. Then at 7:30 p.m., there will be a lantern lighting ceremony in Capitol Park. PORTLAND Lexington to Longfellow: The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere — Tom Putnam of Kennebunkport, former director of the Concord Museum and the John F. Kennedy Library, will give a talk on Revere's ride, Longfellow's poem, and the events of April 18 and 19, 1775, Friday at 1 p.m. at the Maine Historical Society, 489 Congress St. The event is free but people are asked to register online at One If By Land, Two If By Sea: a Two Lights Commemoration — Spirits Alive and Maine Historical Society will co-host a reading of Longfellow's poem "Paul Revere's Ride" by community members at 7 p.m. at Eastern Cemetery, 224 Congress St. The event is free and no registration is required. ELSEWHERE Let Freedom Ring is a coordinated bell-ringing event at churches and other buildings around the country around 6 p.m. In South Portland, the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse bell will be rung at 5:30 p.m. At First Parish Church UCC in Gorham, a Paul Revere bell will be rung. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Boston to kick off 250th anniversary of American Revolution with Paul Revere's Ride
April 19 marks the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution, and Boston is hosting a yearlong commemoration honoring the city's foundational role, starting with Paul Revere's Ride. The kickoff event, Paul Revere's Ride, is planned for Friday, April 18, to bring residents and visitors together across the North End and Charlestown, marking 250 years since the historic ride of Paul Revere. The event will feature historic reenactments, a performance by musicians of the Boston Pops, a lantern procession to Boston Harbor, a drone show over the Harbor, and more. 'For 250 years, Boston has been at the heart of the American story—a place where bold ideas, civic action, and the fight for justice have shaped our nation's path,' said Mayor Michelle Wu. 'As we celebrate Boston's role in the 250th birthday of our country, we honor not only our past, but the everyday revolutionaries who continue to make a difference in the community and shape our city's future.' Paul Revere's Ride kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with a historic reenactment at Paul Revere House, followed by a table read of the original play 'Revolution's Edge' at Paul Revere Mall in the North End. At 7:30 p.m., Mayor Wu will officially launch Boston 250 and headline a short program at the Paul Revere Mall, alongside special guests and performers, including a brass quintet from the Boston Pops. The lanterns in the Old North Church will then be lit, and a lantern procession will follow Paul Revere to the Harborwalk at Langone Park. Starting at 8:30 a drone show over the Harbor illuminate the evening, and can be viewed and heard at both Langone Park in the North End and Pier 1 in Charlestown Navy Yard. After that, Paul Revere's Ride from the North End across the Harbor to Charlestown, where Paul will mount his horse and begin his famed midnight ride. 'Massachusetts is where the American Revolution began, with events like the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, and it is where the Revolution continues as we look to the future,' said Governor Maura Healey. 'This great event will capture the spirit of the Revolution by bringing together the state, municipalities, local businesses and organizations, and community groups to celebrate MA250, the contributions Massachusetts made to the founding of this country, and our shared history.' For more details on the events, visit the link here. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Boston Globe
11-04-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
William Dawes needs a poet
Meh. Doesn't have the same ring to it. It's tricky to rhyme anything with Dawes. Gauze. Claws. Straws. Flaws. But rhyming Revere is so clear, my dear. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the 'midnight ride' that kicked off the American Revolution, the legacy of Dawes, the on that fateful night of April 18, 1775, to warn Lexington that the Redcoats were coming, is receiving renewed focus. And with it, comes an old question: Is this all about a poem? If Advertisement There is no question that their legacies are unequal. Revere, a patriot leader and famous silversmith, has statues and a city named after him. Dawes is believed to be buried in an unmarked grave in Forest Hills Cemetery. Is this all simply because Dawes was trickier to rhyme? 'We all kind of kid about how nothing really rhymes with Dawes,' said Barb Moberg, president of Advertisement Catchy poem is perhaps an understatement. It's been theorized that 'Paul Revere's Ride,' with its unforgettable opening line of 'Listen my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,' is the most memorized poem in American history. The poem has been criticized for historical inaccuracies and poetic license (Revere did not actually wait for the ' And there is no question that the 1861 poem made Revere into a household name, 86 years after the midnight ride, and more than four decades after his death. And it happened at a time in American history when he risked sliding toward obscurity. Instead, 10 years after the poem came out, the town of North Chelsea was renamed in his honor. 'Scholars would have known about him, but not every kid would have heard of him, and the poem vaulted him from the corridors of history to the popular imagination,' said Kostya Kennedy, author of the new book ' Kennedy and others have shown that Revere was a much more important figure in the story of the revolution, already a known figure on the night of April 18, who was better able to rally support from the towns he galloped through. 'This is not to lessen Dawes, for what he did required just as much courage as what Revere did, but quite frankly his ride was not nearly as impactful,' Kennedy said. 'If there's only one person who is going to be remembered from that night, it should be Revere.' Advertisement Dawes, on the other hand, took what was arguably the more dangerous route, having to travel straight through a British checkpoint at Boston Neck, the narrow stretch of land that connected Boston to the mainland before the area was filled in. He was given the assignment precisely because he was basically an unknown tanner. The Redcoats knew to be on the lookout for Paul Revere. No one knew William Dawes. Other factors contributed to Revere's legacy flourishing while Dawes became the answer to a trivia question. Revere Charles Bahne, a historian, tour guide, and Dawes scholar, was part of a group of researchers who discovered that Dawes — and 27 other relatives— had been unceremoniously moved at some point in the 19th century from the overflowing King's Chapel Burying Ground, near Boston Common, to a plot at Forest Hills that belonged to the family of his first wife. While there is still a plaque honoring Dawes at King's Chapel, there is nothing to mark his actual grave in Jamaica Plain, a fact that the Dawes descendants group has tried and failed to rectify. 'This is just another one of these things that seemed to work against Dawes' legacy,' Bahne said. 'Revere had all these other things in the revolution that he would have been known for today even if [he] hadn't done the ride. Dawes, no. That was the biggest thing he ever did in his life.' Advertisement And Revere had the poem, and what a poem it was, written as a rallying cry just as the country was on the verge of civil war, composed by America's most-famous living poet. 'Longfellow isn't just talking about the revolution; he's talking about the union which we have to preserve,' said Nicholas Basbanes, the author of ' 'It was written with the meter of the clippity-clop of a horse, brilliantly crafted to stick with you,' Basbanes said. 'And at the time, Longfellow was probably the closest thing to a rock star, so it was circulated everywhere.' The Paul Revere poem, like his other popular works such as ' It's a pop song you can't get out of your head, easy to knock but impossible to replicate. And for Dawes, people have tried, most notably in 1896, when Helen F. Moore published the complaint ' I am a wandering, bitter shade, Never of me was a hero made; Poets have never sung my praise, Advertisement Nobody crowned my brow with bays; And if you ask me the fatal cause, I answer only, 'My name was Dawes' Billy Baker can be reached at
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gov. Kay Ivey signs ‘Two Lights for Tomorrow Day' proclamation
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Governor Kay Ivey signed a proclamation on Thursday endorsing a national initiative declaring Friday, April 18, as Two Lights for Tomorrow Day. According to the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission and the American Village in Montevallo, the day aims to signify the ride of Paul Revere in 1775 — specifically, the line 'One if by land, two if by sea' written in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, 'Paul Revere's Ride.' 'Today, 250 years later, we gather together to plan ways to ensure that not only are those events remembered, but more importantly to ensure that not just the 'what' of 'what happened' is remembered but the 'why,'' The Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission stated on their website. 'We are called not to remember history just for history's sake, but to make it relevant, meaningful, and engaging for the public today.' The Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Foundation and the American Village are encouraging people to participate in Two Lights for Tomorrow Day by displaying two lights in statehouses, offices, schools, churches and homes on April 18. More information can be found here. Gov. Ivey's full proclamation reads: PROCLAMATIONBy the Governor of AlabamaWHEREAS, the state of Alabama recognizes the importance of honoring and commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation; andWHEREAS, the events of 1775 that began the revolution the year before independence was declared are significant moments that signaled the creation of a national identity and unity of purpose that transcended national geographic, cultural and societal divides; andWHEREAS, on the evening of April 18, 1775, with impending hostile action from the British Army in Boston, Massachusetts, Paul Revere and William Dawes along with other alarm riders undertook a perilous ride to alert everyone in the countryside of the coming danger; andWHEREAS, preceding their departure from Boston, a prearranged signal was set in the Old North Church steeple to ensure that the message got out and did not solely rely on just one or two alarm riders; andWHEREAS, the two lanterns that were the signal were immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem Paul Revere's Ride as 'One if by land, and two if by sea' and have become an enduring symbol of American vigilance, perseverance and preparedness in the face of adversity; andWHEREAS, we are reminded, 250 years later, that the call for unity and the call to serve each other is no less relevant today than it was then; andWHEREAS, a national initiative has been proposed by the United States Semiquincentennial Commission that two lights be displayed in public spaces across the country for all to see marking that significant anniversary in April 2025 and the beginning of the 250th anniversary commemorations leading up to the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026; andWHEREAS, that state of Alabama supports and encourages community events that promote patriotism, unity and reflection on our shared history;NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama, do hereby endorse the nationalinitiative and proclaim Friday, April 18, 2025, as Two Lights for Tomorrow DayIn the state of Alabama and encourage reflection on the idea that all these historic events were endeavoring toward one common goal: the chance to embrace our God-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 6th day of March 2025. Kay Ivey, Governor Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
