Many consider Boston a highly cultured city, perhaps as a result of its intellectual reputation. Mark Twain once wrote of it, "In New York, they ask, 'How much money does he have?' In Philadelphia, they ask, 'Who were his parents?' In Boston they ask, 'How much does he know?'"[3] Much of Boston's culture originates at its universities.[4][5]
There are also countless lesser known local musicians, thanks to a thriving underground music scene. In contrast to what might be considered the more "refined" aspects of Boston's culture, the city is also one of the birthplaces of hardcore punk. Boston had one of the leading local ska-punk scenes in the ska revival of the mid-1990s with bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Allstonians, and Skavoovie and the Epitones. The punk rock group Dropkick Murphys have had ties to both Boston professional sports teams, particularly the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins, and their music has appeared in some films early in the 21st century.
Actress and Latin pop singer Sasha Sokol relocated to Boston after leaving Timbiriche in the mid-1980s. Sokol recorded her solo debut album while still residing in Boston, only to return to Mexico City in order to do television work. Sasha remains the only Latin pop act to have been based in Boston.
Current music venues support a diverse array of live music throughout Boston. Venues support local bands, and showcase national touring acts. Clubs include The Middle East, T.T. the Bears, P.A.'s Lounge, Great Scott, and The Paradise (a larger venue). This scene is supported by local press including The Boston Phoenix and the Weekly Dig, musicians from local colleges including Berklee College of Music, and more recently Boston-based weblogs and podcasts such as Band in Boston Podcast.
Numerous art galleries are located on Newbury Street, in the South End and in the Fort Point Channel area. Some of the most influential and longest running galleries in these areas include the Bernard Toale Gallery, Barbara Krakow Gallery, Howard Yezerski Gallery. The Boston Sculptors Gallery is one of only a handful of cooperative sculpture galleries in the country. The Boston Art Dealers Association sponsors artist talks, panels and awards ceremonies on a seasonal basis.
The Boston Cyberarts Gallery (formerly Axiom Center for New and Experimental Media) is one of several venues showing cutting-edge "high tech" and experimental artworks. The Boston Cyberarts Festival, a biennial area-wide celebration of the intersection of art and technology, ran from 1999 to 2011. The periodic Festival has been replaced by year-round programs, as described on their website.[8]
In addition, the Boston Public Library (BPL) and the Boston Athenæum each have large collections of art, books, and research materials, and regularly host cultural events and exhibits. The BPL collects and exhibits drawings by living Boston artists, and the Athenæum hosts annual shows by member artists.
The Penny Arcade Expo, or PAX East convention is also held here every year in March. This event is known as one of the largest gatherings of gamers and exhibiting studios, next to other major events like the Game Developers Conference. Growing exponentially with each annual iteration, the expo is well known to many in the gaming industry, and continues to draw crowds every year to the Boston Convention Center.
Several major events occur annually in Boston. One of the best-known is the Boston Marathon, one of the oldest and most prestigious marathon races in the world. Taking place on the third Monday in April, the Marathon attracts professional runners from all over the world, and hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents gather to watch and cheer on the runners, who range from first-time participants to well-known athletes.
Boston was also the first major city to host the annual First Night festival, which occurs during New Year's Eve. It is a major arts and activity festival which attracts over 1.5 million people. Started in 1976, it has since been emulated in other cities worldwide. The Saint Patrick's Day Parade occurs in March and is popular with the city's large Irish population.
The Boston LBGT Pride parade and festival attracts approximately 400,000 participants each June. The Boston Globe Jazz and Blues Festival also takes place each June, and the Boston Early Music Festival takes place every odd-numbered year. During the summer, there are musical performances at the Leader Bank Pavilion on the South Boston waterfront. Also during the summer is Harborfest, a week-long festival celebrating American independence.[9]Independence Day itself (the Fourth of July) is celebrated on the Charles River Esplanade; sunbathers and a flotilla of boats move in during the day, followed by fireworks after dark accompanied by classical and patriotic music performed by the Boston Pops.[10]
The Boston Film Festival is held annually in early September. Also, on the weekend following Labor Day, the boutiques on Newbury Street close as over thirty art galleries spill out onto the street, providing access to their contents during Art Newbury Street.
Every year from June to September, celebrations honoring several Roman Catholic saints are held in the streets of Boston's North End.[11] These celebrations, or feasts, include Italian foods, religious services, parades, festivities, games, and live music and entertainment. The largest celebration of the year is the Feast of Saint Anthony[12] in August.
In October, the Boston Book Festival takes over Copley Square for a day attracting around 32,000 attendees. This free annual event promotes a culture of reading and ideas and enhances the vibrancy of our city with author keynotes, panels, live music, and activities for all ages. Coming Summer 2015, the Boston Book Festival will launch Hubbub, its first festival just for kids. Programming includes author appearances, music, storytelling, creative workshops, puppets, and yoga/dance classes.
Boston has many restaurants, including those serving various ethnic cuisines. Since the 1980s Boston has been undergoing an unexpected Renaissance in its culinary life, spearheaded by chefs of national stature such as Jasper White, Ming Tsai, and Todd English. Their respective restaurants, Summer Shack, Blue Ginger, and Olives have greatly enhanced foodie options in Boston. The influence of Julia Child, a long-time Cambridge resident and PBS TV star, lives on as well.
Boston's Chinatown has a variety of Asian restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, and medicinal herb and spice vendors. In addition to dim sum and other Chinese dining styles, there are Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Thai restaurants in the neighborhood.
Mikes Pastry, Boston, Mass
The North End has a variety of Italian restaurants, pizzerias, and bakeries and is well known as Boston's "Little Italy." A favorite spot bringing in tourists is Mike's Pastry, located on Hanover Street and is extremely popular for its cannolis. Newbury Street has many ethnic street cafes, while Copley Place houses a multitude of restaurants, also the home of Legal Sea Foods, a New England institution that offers gourmet seafood dishes.
For decades, Boston has a hosted a two-day-a-week open-air market known as Haymarket. Haymarket vendors sell fresh fruit, vegetables, and fish. Meat, cheese, and other food can be purchased in adjacent permanent stores. In addition to so-called "winter farmers markets", other more seasonal farmer's markets are held in locations around Boston and its suburbs.[15][16]
Boston has a strong local food scene, gathering from the bountiful resources and agriculture in New England. Boston has over 27 open air farmers markets and a handful of active winter markets, find them at BostonFarmersMarkets.org. The Boston Local Food Festival also attracts a scene and is a good resource to taste the local wares every September, attracting 25,000 attendees.
Black culture
Black culture in Boston is very colorful. Blue Hill Avenue runs through Mattapan, Dorchester, and Roxbury. The three neighborhoods have a large community of African American people. The Avenue is home to many hair and nail salons, as well as Chinese, Caribbean, and soul food restaurants. There are numerous community centers, like the Mattahunt, in Mattapan. The Mattahunt is an elementary school with after-school and summer camp programs. There are numerous Boys and Girls clubs and YMCAs. The Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts is located in Dorchester. This school has been open since the late 1960s. It teaches jazz, ballet, hip hop, tap, African, and modern dance. Franklin Park Zoo is located on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester.
New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampanoag, and other native peoples. It also includes influences from Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine, among others. It is characterized by extensive use of potatoes, beans, dairy products and seafood, resulting from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry. Corn, the major crop historically grown by Native American tribes in New England, continues to be grown in all New England states, primarily as sweet corn although flint corn is grown as well. It is traditionally used in hasty puddings, cornbreads and corn chowders.
Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mooring, winter storage, and maintenance of recreational boats, motor and sail, still contribute a large part of the city's income. A Coast Guard station oversees boating activity, especially in the sometimes dangerous tidal currents of the Merrimack River.
Copley Square is a public square in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, bounded by Boylston Street, Clarendon Street, St. James Avenue, and Dartmouth Street. The square is named for painter John Singleton Copley. Prior to 1883 it was known as Art Square due to its many cultural institutions, some of which remain today.
Clam chowder is any of several chowder soups in American cuisine containing clams. In addition to clams, common ingredients include diced potatoes, salt pork, and onions. Other vegetables are not typically used. It is believed that clams were used in chowder because of the relative ease of harvesting them. Clam chowder is usually served with saltine crackers or small, hexagonal oyster crackers.
Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entrance to the Massachusetts Turnpike westbound at Massachusetts Avenue. Newbury Street is known for its retail shops and restaurants.
The Boston Cyberarts Festival used to be the largest festival of digital art, performance and film created using new technology in the USA. Around 22,000 people attended the festival in 2007 where they witnessed the work of over 200 artists from all over the world.
Penn Quarter is a historic neighborhood of Downtown Washington, D.C., located north of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Northwest D.C. Penn Quarter is roughly equivalent to the city's early downtown core near Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street NW, Penn Quarter is an entertainment and commercial hub, home to many museums, theaters, cinemas, restaurants, bars, art galleries and retail shops. Landmarks include the Capital One Arena, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Harman Center for the Arts, among others. The area is also home to a popular farmers market and several food, wine, art, and culture focused festivals.
Toronto is the largest city in Canada and one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Many immigrant cultures have brought their traditions languages and music to Toronto. Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a major Canadian city along Lake Ontario's northwestern shore.
The culture of Detroit, Michigan, has influenced American and global culture through its commercial enterprises and various forms of popular music throughout the 20th and 21st century. Its automotive heritage plays an important role in the city's culture.
The Beirut Central District is the historical and geographical core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described as the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of the country.” It is thousands of years old, with a traditional focus of business, finance, culture, and leisure.
This is relating to the culture of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The culture of San Diego, California, is influenced heavily by American and Mexican cultures due to its position as a border town, its large Hispanic population, and its history as part of Spanish America and Mexico. San Diego's longtime association with the U.S. military also contributes to its culture. Present-day culture includes many historical and tourist attractions, a thriving musical and theatrical scene, numerous notable special events, a varied cuisine, and a reputation as one of America's premier centers of craft brewing.
The culture of San Antonio reflects the history and culture of one of the state's oldest and largest cities straddling the regional and cultural divide between South and Central Texas. Historically, San Antonio culture comes from a blend of Central Texas and South Texas (Southwestern) culture. Founded as a Spanish outpost and the first civil settlement in Texas, San Antonio is heavily influenced by Mexican American culture due to Texas formerly being part of Mexico and, previously, the Spanish Empire. The city also has significant German, Anglo, and African American cultural influences. San Antonio offers a host of cultural institutions, events, restaurants and nightlife in South Texas for both residents and visitors alike.
Boston, officially the City of Boston, is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of 48.4 sq mi (125 km2) and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Northeast after New York City and Philadelphia. The Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area, including and surrounding the city, is the largest in New England and eleventh-largest in the country.
This article is a timeline of the history of the city of Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
The Narrows Center for the Arts is a non-profit art and musical performance venue in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA. It was founded in 1995 for the promotion and enjoyment of the visual and performing arts. It comprises two visual art galleries, a performance theater, and visual artist studios.
↑ "Home page". Boston Farmers Markets. Boston Farmers Markets. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
↑ "Farmers' Markets". Mass.gov. Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
↑ Riess, Jana (2002). The Spiritual Traveler: Boston and New England: A Guide to Sacred Sites and Peaceful Places. Hidden Spring. pp.64–125. ISBN9781587680083.
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