Highland Street Foundation Announces 6th Annual "Free Fun Fridays"

This summer marks the sixth annual “Free Fun Fridays” program presented by the Highland Street Foundation in Massachusetts. 

The program opens doors at no cost to visitors to many of the most treasured cultural venues in Massachusetts. This year, 66 museums and cultural institutions will participate in the program, an increase from the 60 venues that participated in 2013. Beginning June 27th through August 29th, between five and seven venues will be open free-of-charge every Friday for 10 weeks this summer. 

Established in 2009, “Free Fun Fridays” has drawn more than half a million visitors to its participating venues. Last year alone, the program saw 165,000 people and the Foundation hopes to reach more than 200,000 this year. 

The Highland Street Foundation provides grants to participating venues to cover the cost of opening their doors for free.  It has invested more than $650,000 to support the 2014 “Free Fun Fridays” program. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Highland Street Foundation has proudly donated more than $150 million to 950 groups since its inception in 1989. 

This year, the program welcomes back favorite sites like the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Peabody Essex Museum, along with new venues, including the MIT Museum and the Sandwich Glass Museum. A complete list of all participating venues and dates is below. 

To learn more about the Free Fun Fridays, and the Highland Street Foundation, visit highlandstreet.org or join us at facebook.com/HighlandStreet and on Twitter @HighlandStreet. 

The following institutions are participating in Free Fun Fridays 2014: 

Friday, June 27, 2014 

• Franklin Park Zoo (Dorchester)
• Cape Cod Maritime Museum (Hyannis Port)
• Worcester Art Museum (Worcester)
• Tanglewood (Lenox)
• The Sports Museum (Boston)
• Mass MoCA (North Adams) 
• MIT Museum (Cambridge)

• Heritage Museums & Gardens (Sandwich)
• Edward Gorey House (Yarmouth Port)
• Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (Becket)
• Amelia Park Children’s Museum (Westfield)
• Falmouth Museums on the Green (Falmouth)

• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (Boston)
• Peabody Essex Museum (Salem)
• Worcester Historical Museum (Worcester)
• Fruitlands Museum (Harvard)
• Cape Cod Children’s Museum (Mashpee)
• New England Historic Genealogical Society (Boston)
• Pilgrim Hall Museum (Plymouth)

• The Freedom Trail Foundation (Boston)
• Battleship Cove (Fall River)
• Children’s Museum in Easton (Easton)
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden (Boylston)
• Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University (Boston) 
• Cape Cod Museum of Art (Dennis)
• Danforth Art (Framingham)

• Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston)
• Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (Boston)
• American Textile History Museum (Lowell)
• The Discovery Museums (Acton)
• Hancock Shaker Village (Pittsfield)
• Concord Museum (Concord)
• Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center (Great Barrington)

• Boston Harbor Islands National Park (Boston)
• Clark Art Institute (Williamstown)
• Wenham Museum (Wenham)
• USS Constitution Museum (Charlestown)
• Children’s Museum at Holyoke (Holyoke)
• Volleyball Hall of Fame (Holyoke)
• Fuller Craft Museum (Brockton)

• The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (Boston)
• Plimoth Plantation (Plymouth)
• Garden in the Woods (Framingham)
• Museum of Russian Icons (Clinton)
• Fitchburg Art Museum (Fitchburg) 
• Historic Deerfield (Deerfield)
• Reagle Museum Theatre (Waltham)

• Boston Children’s Museum (Boston)
• Museum of African American History (Boston)
• New Bedford Whaling Museum (New Bedford)
• Old Manse, Trustees of Reservations (Concord)
• Berkshire Museum (Pittsfield)
• Emily Dickinson Museum (Amherst)

• Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford)
• EcoTarium (Worcester)
• Cape Cod Museum of Natural History (Brewster)
• Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge)
• The Mount: Edith Warton’s Home (Lenox)
• Griffin Photography Museum (Winchester)