Mid-February

Chinese New Year festivities (Location: Chinatown)

Mid-March

St. Patrick’s Day Parade and annual celebrations throughout the city.

3rd Monday of April

Boston Marathon As many as 1 million spectators may look on as the course roughly follows the T Green Line into town on Patriots' Day, a Boston public holiday. It is a free citywide celebration that dates back to 1897. Phone 617-236-1652.

Mid-May

Kite Festival (Location: Franklin Park)

Early June

Early Music Festival in alternate years.

1st 3 weeks of August

North End Italian Feast Days and Processions. Boston's oldest neighborhood, the North End, celebrates feast days of the Italian saints with weekend street fairs, processions, parades and Italian cuisine.

Throughout August

Roxbury Film Festival. This annual festival features works by minority and native New England filmmakers. For information: 617-541-3900.

Mid-August

Fisherman's Feast of the Madonna Del Soccorso di Sciacca. The feast dates to the 16th century in Sciacca, Sicily. For information: 617-248-0343

2nd week in September

Boston Arts Festival. Theater, dance and music performances from Boston's finest music ensembles and dance troupes, and a juried art show. (Location: Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, North End). For information: 617-635-4447.

Early-Mid-October

Oktoberfest. Free music, dance performances, street artists and children's entertainment on three stages, along with international cuisine. More than 200 regional artisans display crafts, jewelry, clothing and other gift items. (Location: Harvard Square, JFK Street, Brattle Street and Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge). For information: 617-491-3434

3rd weekend in October

Head of the Charles Regatta (the “mini-Olympics of rowing”) on the Charles River. More than 5,000 participants representing rowing-club teams or colleges from across the U.S. and Europe take part in the event. For information: 617-864-8415.

Throughout November

Thanksgiving at Plimoth Plantation. Plimoth Plantation re-creates Thanksgiving with 1627 theme -dining and other activities. New England Thanksgiving and Victorian Thanksgiving dinners feature period food and song. Workshops and lectures on customs of the time. 137 Warren Ave., Plymouth (Location: 40 miles south of Boston). For information: 508-746-1622.

Early December

Holiday Tree Lighting on Boston Common. The public garden is also illuminated, and the night is celebrated with family-oriented festivities. (Location: Tremont Street). For information: City of Boston Department of Parks and Recreation:617-635-4505.
New Year's Eve - concerts and festivities, with fireworks over Boston Harbor to bring in the New Year.

Arts and Entertainment

Boston Symphony Orchestra/Boston Pops
301 Massachusetts Ave.
(Symphony stop on the Green E Line), Boston.
617-266-1200.
One of the best and most-recorded orchestras in the world, performing in a pitch-perfect concert hall. The orchestra is thriving under the direction of new musical director James Levine. Symphony performances run October-April at Symphony Hall. (In summer, the orchestra plays at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, three hours' drive west of Boston.) The Pops, made up of BSO musicians and led by popular conductor Keith Lockhart, play at Symphony Hall May-July and give free outdoor concerts at the Hatch Shell on the Charles River in July.

Berklee College of Music
136 Massachusetts Ave. (Hynes/ICA T stop on the Green Line), Fenway
617-266-1400.
The world's largest independent music college. Famous alumni include producer Quincy Jones, rock singer Melissa Etheridge and saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Its performance center hosts many big-name jazz and pop artists. Student and faculty performances in recital halls (at 921 and 1140 Boylston St.) are free.. For information about student and faculty concerts, phone 617-266-1400, ext. 8820.

New England Conservatory of Music
30 Gainsborough St.
(Symphony stop on the Green E Line), Boston
617-585-1122.
During the academic year, the NEC's symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, solo recitalists and opera groups perform frequently in another of Boston's acoustical gems: Jordan Hall. Frequent free performances.

Boston Lyric Opera
Performances at the Shubert Theater, 265 Tremont St.
(Boylston T stop on the Green Line), downtown, Boston.
617-542-4912 for information
Varied repertoire with world-class singers, designers and directors. Season runs October-May.

Boston Ballet
19 Clarendon St., Boston
617-695-6950
The city's preeminent dance group. Its annual production of The Nutcracker is among the city's top attractions. Performances are primarily at the Wang Center. Season runs mid September-mid May.

Wang Center for the Performing Arts
270 Tremont Street (Boylston T stop).
617-482-9393
The Wang Center frequently hosts plays, musicals, ballet, concerts and individual performances.

Sports

Baseball

Boston Red Sox
617-267-1700
Fenway Park has been the home of the Boston Red Sox since 1912 and a must-see for baseball fans. With or without a championship, enthusiasm runs high and most games sell out.

Basketball

Boston Celtics
1 FleetCenter (North Station T stop on the Orange and Green lines), Boston.
617-523-3030
The NBA's Celtics play at the new Fleet Center. Good seats are usually available. The Celtics' season runs October-April.

Football

New England Patriots
CMGI Field
Route 1, Foxboro, MA
Toll-free: 800-543-1776
Special commuter trains and buses operate on game days.
Call MBTA for details at 617-222-3200
The New England Patriots, two-time Super Bowl champions, play home games in Foxboro (about an hour south of downtown Boston). Dress warmly: this is not a domed stadium. The season runs September-December. Individual tickets are usually very hard to come by.

Hockey

Boston Bruins
1 FleetCenter
617-624-1500
(North Station T stop on the Orange and Green lines), Boston.
The Bruins play at the FleetCenter October-April.

Soccer

New England Revolution
CMGI Field
Foxboro, MA
The region's professional soccer squad plays at Foxboro's April-September