Events

Enjoy the best of classic, independent, and foreign films curated by The Concord Film Project at The Umbrella Arts Center, with pre-show dinner options.

When ten-year-old Iris follows a streak of color falling from the sky, she doesn't find treasure at the end of the rainbow — she finds Arco, a boy from nine centuries in the future, stranded in a world he can barely recognize as his own. This critically acclaimed French animated film is dubbed with English-speaking voice talent such as Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Will Ferell, and America Ferrera. A thoughtful, adventurous, hand-drawn tale for the whole family.

Join local ornithologist, author, and naturalist Peter Alden for a guided bird walk at Walden Pond. Alden is the author of Audubon’s Field Guide to New England. Peter will be joined by friend and frequent collaborator Lillian Stokes. Stokes has coauthored over 35 field guides.

Stop in. Say hi. Talk guitars! Wilson Schünemann, Co-Founder and Curator of the Guitar Museum of New England, will be on hand to talk about the guitars featured in the pop-up 'sneak peek' from the Museum's core collection. While you're here, you can see a video with architectural plans of the future building, as well as highlights of previous exhibits we've done - so you have a good sense of the awesomeness coming when we finally open! This event is part of the Hidden Treasures Festival, sponsored by Freedom's Way National Heritage Area. It is FREE and open to the public.  4:00 - 8:00 pm

Join us in tracing parts of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride on a ride through the historic towns of Concord, Lexington, Lincoln, Bedford, and Carlisle. Starting at the Concord Museum near the historic town center, cyclists can choose to ride a 20- or 32-mile loop on paved roads, passing many Revolutionary landmarks like the North Bridge, the Lexington Green, the Paul Revere Capture Site, and much more!   All net proceeds from Paul Revere’s Bike Ride support educational programs at the Concord Museum that reach more than 15,000 students a year.

Stop in. Say hi. Talk guitars! Wilson Schünemann, Co-Founder and Curator of the Guitar Museum of New England, will be on hand to talk about the guitars featured in the pop-up 'sneak peek' from the Museum's core collection. While you're here, you can see a video with architectural plans of the future building, as well as highlights of previous exhibits we've done - so you have a good sense of the awesomeness coming when we finally open! This event is part of the Hidden Treasures Festival, sponsored by Freedom's Way National Heritage Area. It is FREE and open to the public. 12:00 - 5:00 pm

Historian Beverly Gage discusses This Land Is Your Land, a sweeping examination of American democracy, protest, and power. Drawing on vivid stories and deep research, Gage traces how struggles over rights, belonging, and national identity have shaped the nation and why those struggles continue to matter today. Supported in part by Mass Humanities.

Stop in. Say hi. Talk guitars! Wilson Schünemann, Co-Founder and Curator of the Guitar Museum of New England, will be on hand to talk about the guitars featured in the pop-up 'sneak peek' from the Museum's core collection. While you're here, you can see a video with architectural plans of the future building, as well as highlights of previous exhibits we've done - so you have a good sense of the awesomeness coming when we finally open! This event is part of the Hidden Treasures Festival, sponsored by Freedom's Way National Heritage Area

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight for a compelling forum on the evolving meaning of American independence. Drawing on his scholarship on Frederick Douglass, Blight will explore how the ideals of the Declaration of Independence have been interpreted and contested over time. Professor Blight will discuss Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?.” Through Douglass’s words, Blight invites us to reflect on the enduring tensions between liberty and inequality, and to consider whether the nation’s founding promises remain unfulfilled.

The Umbrella's beloved Open Studios is May 2 & 3, from 12 - 5 PM in Concord, MA. It's fun for all, FREE to attend, and priceless to get to know your local artists! The Umbrella Arts Center is home to more than 60 working artists skilled in a variety of fine and applied arts, including ceramics, glass, fiber arts, jewelry making, illustration, mixed-media, painting, photography, printmaking, illustration, sculpture, woodworking, writing, and more. Our annual Open Studios is an incredible opportunity to meet our artists, learn about their process, and share in celebrating their work.

Join the student artists featured in the new special exhibition Revolutionary Legacies, along with  Curator David Wood and Curator and Director of Exhibitions Christie Jackson, for a gallery talk.