The Return of Public Patriots’ Day Events

We’ve entered into the Patriots’ Day season, commemorating the Battle of Lexington and Concord and subsequent transition of the American Revolution into outright war on 19 Apr 1775.

For the past two years, the pandemic canceled all or most public ceremonies. We produced videos instead of talks, parades, and battle reenactments.

Now, between vaccinations and complacency [an average of 500 people died of Covid-19 in the U.S. of A. each day of the past week], we’re going back to public events. With intelligent precautions, I hope.

Massachusetts municipalities and organizations celebrate Patriots’ Day in many different ways, and it’s proven impossible to aggregate them all. The Boston Discovery Guide counted more than sixty separate events, and it doesn’t include most smaller community celebrations. Battleroad.org offers a long list of happenings and links to major organizations. Here’s my less systematic round-up.

The Concord Museum will host “Patriots’ Day Town Night” on Tuesday, 12 April, starting with gallery talks and including a presentation and a conversation with Prof. Jane Kamensky, author of A Revolution in Color: The World of John Singleton Copley. On Monday, 18 April, the museum will have an encampment outside and free admission inside.

Old North Church holds its Lantern2022 fundraiser on Wednesday, 13 April, this year honoring area native Michael Bloomberg. At 8:00 P.M. on Sunday, 17 April, the church will light two lanterns in its steeple.

At Minute Man National Historical Park there are reenactments and other mostly outdoor programs each day from Saturday to Tuesday, recreating particular skirmishes, highlighting the civilian experiences of war, and hiking the length of the park. To support such events, folks can join Friends of Minute Man Park.

In Lexington, the town’s website lists local events from Saturday to Monday, including reenactments, film screenings, and community celebrations. The historic taverns and parsonage of the Lexington Historical Society will offer special programs all weekend.

Patriots Day is also the start of a school vacation week in Massachusetts, and the Paul Revere House invites families to meet Paul Revere, his wife Rachel, and their daughter Harriet, and to hear period music, on various days from Saturday, 16 April, to Thursday, 21 April.

I can’t confirm whether some other usually annual events will take place this year, so I’m not listing them. But as long as the weather holds out, there will be plenty to keep us busy while we keep ourselves healthy.

(The photo above shows drummers of the William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corps this past New Year’s Eve.)