Edition No. 29 · Live Now

Things to Do
on the North Shore

The hand-picked weekend list — events, hidden gems, and where the locals actually go. Updated every Friday morning.

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Edition No. 29 · July 24, 2026 The Homecoming Edition

New Video • My Pick • The 5 • Hidden Gem • Looking Ahead • Archive • Subscribe

☀️ The Weekend Forecast

Three for three. Zero excuses.

Wall-to-wall sunshine — not a drop of rain on the board.

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Friday, July 24 77^°F Sunny · 0% rain

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Saturday, July 25 76^°F Sunny · 0% rain

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Sunday, July 26 73^°F Sunny · 0% rain

Marc's call: Saturday is the workhorse — 76°, sunny, and everything happens at once: beach talk in Marblehead at 4, kickoff party in Newburyport at 5, block party in Beverly at 5:30. Pick a lane. Sunday cools to a perfect 73° — made for the farmers market in the morning and the Crane Estate lawns in the afternoon. This is the weekend the whole summer was practicing for.

A note from Marc

Two homecomings and one street party.

Homecoming season is here. Newburyport's Yankee Homecoming — the longest continuously running homecoming festival in the country, now in year 69 — kicks off Saturday and rolls for nine straight days. And Wednesday, Beverly Homecoming starts its own run for the town's 400th anniversary. Between them: art fairs, waterfront concerts, lobster boat races, a Grand Parade, and two fireworks shows. The next two weeks are stacked.

But you don't have to drive to Newburyport to have a good Saturday. Beverly closes down Cabot Street for its annual Block Party, Red Rock Park hosts a beach party at noon, and there's a free history talk on an actual beach in Marblehead that I'd genuinely put up against anything else on this list. Three sunny days, zero rain. Go.

One more thing before you scroll: a new episode of The Townie Show just dropped, and this one's the story every Lynn driver — and every Lynn cyclist — has an opinion on: the bike lane debate. I went down to take a look for myself and break down what's actually planned, why the meetings got loud, and what it means for the neighborhoods around it. It's right below this note.

See you out there,

Marc

On location in Lynn

🎬 New Episode · Just Dropped

The Lynn Bike Lane Debate.

The Townie Show · Lynn, MA · Watch it right here ←

If you've driven through Lynn lately, you've seen it — and you probably have a take. The state is extending the Northern Strand Trail with a separated bike path running toward Nahant Beach, and the reaction has split the city right down the middle. Supporters say it finally gives people a safe way to bike and walk to the water. Critics say one of the busiest corridors in the city can't afford to give up road space. The public meetings have gotten loud on both sides. In the new episode, I went down to see it for myself and break down what's actually planned, how we got here, and what it could mean for the neighborhoods around it.

Watch On YouTube → More Local Videos

★ My Pick · For This Weekend

Yankee Homecoming Kicks Off

Sat, Jul 25 – Sun, Aug 2 · Newburyport · Nine Days

The 69th annual Yankee Homecoming is the longest continuously running homecoming festival in America, and this year's theme — "Home Sweet Home" — says it all. Nine days of waterfront concerts, art shows, heritage tours, road races, the Grand Parade, and fireworks over the Merrimack to close it out. It all starts this Saturday: art on Bartlet Mall and sidewalk sales downtown by day, then the Kick Off Party & Brewfest at Cashman Park — now family-friendly, with live music, food booths, kid games, and 20+ sample booths for the over-21 crowd. Sunday night, the waterfront concert series opens at Market Landing. Go for an hour, stay for the week.

The Opening Weekend

Saturday10 AMArt on Bartlet Mall & sidewalk sales downtown

Saturday5 PMKick Off Party & Brewfest at Cashman Park — till 9 PM

Sunday6 PMFirst waterfront concert of the week at Market Landing

Full Festival Schedule →

The Weekend List

5 more things worth leaving the house for.

Curated for the way you actually spend a weekend — not a tourist guide, just the real list.

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Sat, Jul 25 · 5:30 PM Beverly

The Beverly Block Party

Once a summer, Beverly shuts down a block of Cabot Street and throws the best street party on the North Shore. Two stages of live music, food from your favorite downtown spots, and a beer-and-wine lineup pulled straight from Beverly's own breweries. Entry is a suggested $10 donation, and it runs 5:30 to 9:30. The street closes at 3:30 and parking gets tight fast — walk, bike, or grab the train to Beverly Depot and stroll over. Bring your Mass ID if you're drinking.

Event Info → Directions

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Sat, Jul 25 · 8 PM Beverly

Railroad Earth at The Cabot

Here's a Beverly double-header for you: start at the Block Party, then walk up Cabot Street and into the 1920 theater for Railroad Earth — the New Jersey jamgrass veterans whose live shows have earned a devoted following for two decades. Fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and long improvisational runs inside one of the most beautiful rooms on the North Shore. They're in town Friday and Saturday nights, so if Saturday sells out, Friday's your backup plan.

Tickets & Times → Directions

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Sat, Jul 25 · 12 PM Lynn

Beach Party at Red Rock Park

Red Rock Park keeps earning its title as the hardest-working park on the North Shore. Saturday from noon, DAV Chapter 64 — Lynn's Disabled American Veterans chapter — hosts a community beach party on the grass overlooking Lynn Beach, with the Atlantic on three sides of you. Come hang out, support local veterans, and stick around: this is the same stretch of coastline at the center of this week's Townie Show episode, so you can see the bike lane debate in person while you're there.

Directions → Red Rock Events

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Sun, Jul 26 Ipswich

Sunday at the Crane Estate

Sunday at 73° and sunny is exactly what Castle Hill was built for. The Trustees are running a full slate at the Crane Estate: an architecture tour of the Great House they bill as their most Instagram-worthy, a behind-the-scenes look at the basement and kitchens, and — the one your kids will remember — a scavenger hunt through the property to find Mrs. Crane's beloved cat, Ptolemy. Even if you skip the tours, the Grand Allée rolling a half mile down to the ocean is worth the drive on its own.

Tours & Tickets → Directions

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Sun, Jul 26 · 10 AM Swampscott

The Swampscott Farmers Market

The Sunday ritual, perfected. Every week from 10 to 1, the lawn at Swampscott Town Hall fills up with local farms, bakers, dumplings, cider, flowers, and enough dog-watching to count as entertainment. It's the kind of market where you go for tomatoes and leave an hour later having caught up with half the town. With Sunday sitting at a sunny 73°, grab a coffee, do a lap, and stock the fridge for the week.

Market Info → Directions

⚑ Insider Tip · The Hidden Gem

Glovers at Goldthwait, Marblehead.

Here's my sleeper pick of the weekend: Saturday at 4 PM, historian Robert Booth kicks off a free talk series right on Goldthwait Beach — and the first one is a good story. The four Glover brothers were rebel Patriot entrepreneurs in colonial Marblehead in the years before the Revolution, including John Glover, whose regiment of Marblehead fishermen would later row Washington across the Delaware. Free, open to everyone, presented by the Goldthwait Reservation — just bring your own chair and let the ocean handle the ambiance. Revolutionary history, told on the sand where it happened, in the town's 250th-anniversary summer. Find It →

History class, but the classroom is a beach.

Looking Ahead

Mark your calendar.

Homecoming season rolls on — and Marblehead keeps the calendar full.

Jul 295 Days Out

Beverly Homecoming Begins

The 61st Homecoming goes big for Beverly's 400th anniversary — an extended celebration starting Wednesday with Lobsterfest, lobster boat races, live music, and waterfront fireworks over Lynch Park to close it out.
Jul 295 Days Out

Full Moon Yoga at the Lee Gardens, Marblehead

Wednesday at 7:15 PM, practice yoga under the full moon in the Jeremiah Lee Mansion gardens with instructor Gurdeep Bhogal. $25 — sign up through The Yoga Loft, and it tends to fill.
Aug 18 Days Out

Accidentally on Purpose at Marblehead Little Theatre

The North Shore's own improv troupe brings "Whose Line"-style comedy to the old firehouse on School Street — Saturday, August 1 at 7:30 PM, with audience suggestions driving the scenes. Tickets from $30.

From The Archive

Previous Editions

Caught up on this weekend — here's what we covered before.

Edition No. 28 July 17 · The Grand Finale Edition

★ My Pick: The International Sand Sculpting Festival at Revere Beach — twelve tons of sand and Saturday night fireworks

The World Cup Final: Spain vs Argentina · Bent Water at the Beach (Swampscott) · Free Tai Chi at Red Rock Park (Lynn) · Medea at Marblehead Little Theatre · Shipwrecks of Salem Sound Cruise

⚑ Hidden gem: The Swampscott Fish House — the oldest working fish house in America, hiding in plain sight.

Edition No. 27 July 10 · The Field Day Edition

★ My Pick: Salem 400+ Family Field Day at Forest River Park — free, and they went all out

World Cup Quarterfinal Doubleheader · Marblehead Farmers' Market · Rothko at the Cape Ann Museum (Gloucester) · Hands-on History at The Gables · Dogtown Walking Tour (Gloucester)

⚑ Hidden gem: Misery Island, Salem Sound — worst name, best afternoon.

Edition No. 26 June 19 · The World Cup Edition

★ My Pick: USA vs Australia Watch Party on the Swampscott Town Hall Lawn

Scotland vs Morocco at Gillette Stadium · Beverly Arts Fest · Salisbury Beach Concert Series · Appleton Farms Father's Day BBQ · Schooner Thomas E. Lannon Sunset Sail

⚑ Hidden gem: Hammond Castle Museum, Gloucester — strange, beautiful, worth the drive.

Edition No. 25 June 5 · The Art & Open House Edition

★ My Pick: Salem Arts Festival 2026 (18th annual, Salem 400+ kickoff)

Marblehead Farmers Market · Halibut Point State Park (Rockport) · Newburyport Farmers Market · Cape Ann Artisan Tour · PEM Free Admission Day

⚑ Hidden gem: The Light in the Piazza at the Huntington Theatre — sweeping, romantic, worth the drive.

Edition No. 24 May 29 · The Porchfest & Farmers Market Edition

★ My Pick: Beverly Porchfest 2026 (Beverly 400+)

Marblehead Farmers Market Opening Day · Vivaldi with Symphony by the Sea (PEM, Salem) · Castle Hill Cupola Tour (Ipswich) · Newburyport Farmers Market · Long Hill & Sedgwick Gardens (Beverly)

⚑ Hidden gem: The Notch Biergartens at Trustees properties — family-friendly outdoor beer gardens all summer.

Edition No. 23 May 8 · The Mother's Day Weekend Edition

★ My Pick: Mother's Day Coffee with the Cows at Appleton Farms, Ipswich

Smolak Farms (North Andover) · Mom's Morning Off at MarketStreet (Lynnfield) · Mills 58 (Peabody) · Free Tai Chi at Red Rock Park (Lynn) · Brews & Blooms Plant Sale (Topsfield)

⚑ Hidden gem: Jolie Tea Company, Salem — free tea & cake tasting every Friday afternoon.

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Marc Fiore

Realtor® · Marc Fiore Real Estate at Cameron Real Estate Group

Serving the North Shore and Greater Boston for over 10 years.

Thinking of buying or selling? Just reach out — I'd love to help.

Things to Doon the North Shore