Lex250

5th Annual Quock Walker Day Community Celebration: Quock Walker and the Black Patriots
2025-07-05 11:00 (America/New_York) | Lexington Visitor’s Center, 1875 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
Celebrate Quock Walker Day aka Massachusetts Emancipation Day with ABCL!

Join us for the fifth annual Quock Walker Day celebrations in Lexington on Saturday, July 5, 2025.

Celebrate the 242nd Anniversary of Massachusetts Emancipation Day and hear how the Revolutionary War and the Black Patriots of Lexington and Massachusetts set the stage for Quock Walker’s judicial victories. His 1781 civil lawsuit for battery led to the 1783 criminal case that ended slavery in Massachusetts.

Join us for the 5th Annual Quock Walker Day Community Celebration at the Lexington Visitors Center Lawn, 1875 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02420 – FREE. The festivities start at 11 am with music and recitation of the Governor’s Quock Walker Day proclamation.

FIND YOUR JOY at any age with storytellers, Farm to Plate Caribbean American Food Truck, a dance workshop, Black heritage scavenger hunts, hands-on flax processing demonstration, military reenactors, and musical performance by Rhythms of Ghana. Festivities close with a poetry recital at 2 pm.

Honor the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington which kickstarted the Revolutionary War and paved the way for Massachusetts to adopt a state constitution in 1780. In 1783, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court confirmed that the idea of slavery is inconsistent with the 1780 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Rain Location for the 5th Annual Quock Walker Day Community Celebration is First Parish of Lexington, 7 Harrington Rd, Lexington, MA 02421

Thank you to our partners and vendors: Church of Our Redeemer, Clarke’s Cakes & Cookies, Fresh Food Generation, First Parish of Lexington, Follen Church, Hancock UCC, LexFarm, Lexington Visitors Center, Rhythms of Ghana, 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Company A, and the William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corps.

Come early for colonial history and music and stay for the concert by Rhythms of Ghana.

This event is free.

BONUS – Quock Walker Day Storytelling at Lexington Visitors Center – 9:45 am to 2:15 pm

During Quock Walker Day at Lexington Visitors Center featured storytellers will celebrate the 242nd Anniversary of Massachusetts Emancipation Day and the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington. They will communicate memories of colonial Massachusetts, along with tales of resilience, ingenuity, emancipation and patriotism from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Black Patriots Of Lexington Video Unveiling
2025-09-22 09:30 | Lexington Visitor’s Center, 1875 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
Through a grant with the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, come celebrate and learn about Prince Estabrook, Eli Burdoo, and Pompey Fiske through newly released animated videos playing at the Lexington Visitors Center! On Monday, September 22 at 9:30 a.m. join Town of Lexington staff and historian Sean D. Osborne for an unveiling to celebrate the untold stories of important patriots.

Between the Mountain and the Sky, Film Screening w/Q&A
2025-10-02 19:00 | Lexington Venue, 1794 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02140, United States
Between the Mountain and the Sky is a story of love and resilience after tragedy strikes humanitarian Maggie Doyne. Filmed over 20 years, this inspiring true story follows one woman and 50 children who built a family — and found their way back to love after unimaginable loss.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Suzy Becker, a former teacher at The Peck School in New Jersey. Suzy first traveled to Nepal in 2010 to meet Maggie and document the life-changing work of the Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School. She later returned to support teacher training and student assessment at the newly established school and has since hosted Kopila Valley teachers and students in her home. A passionate supporter of the BlinkNow Foundation, Suzy remains dedicated to sharing its mission and celebrating Maggie’s inspiring vision for a better world.

Get your tickets here: https://lexingtonvenue.com/shows/documentary/between-the-mountain-and-the-sky/202508231412236444

'Within the Compass of Good Citizens:' Paul Revere’s Masonic Journey
2025-10-16 18:00 | Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA, 02421, United States
Please join us on October 16, 2025, at 6 PM, for ” ‘Within the compass of good citizens:’ Paul Revere’s Masonic Journey” with Steven C. Bullock, Professor of History at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

From the son of an immigrant to speaking beside the governor on Beacon Hill, Paul Revere traveled far in his extraordinary life. His membership in the Freemasons played an important role in that journey. This talk will consider how the fraternal order fit into Revere’s life—and into the development of Boston and the new nation.

This lecture, part of our 50th anniversary programming, is produced in partnership with the Paul Revere House. It will take place in person at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and will be live streamed by local community access partner LexMedia. More info: https://bit.ly/3VUwz4K

Lyceum Conversation: Our Bodies, Whose Rules?
2025-10-21 19:00 - 20:45 | Lexington Community Center, 39 Marrett Rd., Lexington, MA, 02421, United States
Hear from experts and join the conversation exploring the changing roles of government and individuals in healthcare: Who decides on who needs vaccinations and when? When should the government respond to a public health situation by imposing lockdowns or masking? Who should pay for healthcare?

David Fairman, Senior Mediator at the Consensus Building Institute, will serve as moderator for the evening. Panelists include Dr. Jillian Tung, Lexington Board of Health, Dr. Barbara Spivak, internist and past president of Massachusetts Medical Society, Monica Galizzi, Ph.D. Professor of Economics at UMass Lowell.

Event is $5 donation. Please register at lexlyceum.org/events/.

“Dreadful were the Vestages of war:” Three Human Stories of April 19, 1775
2025-11-20 18:00 | Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA, 02421, United States
Joel Bohy, military historian and Antiques Roadshow presenter, will give a lecture on Lexington’s Revolutionary War veterans at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library on November 20, 2025, followed by a signing of his 2025 book, Bullet Strikes From the First Day of the American Revolution.

The lecture will take a closer look at three individuals involved in the beginning of the war: John Robbins of Lexington who was badly wounded on April 19, James Hayward of Acton who was mortally wounded at Fiske Hill in Lexington, and a British soldier who was wounded in Lexington on April 19 and went on to join the Lexington militia and the Continental Army.

This lecture is co-sponsored by Lexington History Museums and the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, as part of SRMML’s 50th anniversary programming. It will take place in person at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and will be live streamed by local community access partner LexMedia. Livestream link will be posted prior to the event.

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Schedule:6:00: Doors open for viewing of special exhibition Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington7:00: Lecture8:00 Book Signing

Gallery tour of "Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington"
2025-11-22 11:00 | Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA, 02421, United States
In 2025, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library is celebrating its 50th anniversary with special gallery talks, engaging lectures, and exhibitions drawn from our rich collections. Our gallery exhibition “Protest & Promise: The American Revolution in Lexington” examines how an entire community—women, men, black, white, young, old, enslaved, and free—helped spark a revolution. Join museum staff this Saturday November 22 at 11 AM for a free gallery tour of this exhibition.
