Hidden Treasures to showcase the fantastic amid the familiar
Acton is an active community in the monthlong festival, with over a dozen events from the historical to the artistic.
The Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area is asking residents to go outside and “look again” at their communities.
“There’s lots of nature, culture, and history to explore, just within Acton,” said Freedom’s Way Deputy Director Desiree Demski-Hamelin.
One opportunity to do that, she said, is the Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture, & History, which returns for its 10th year and runs until the end of May.
“What began as just a weekend in the month of May has now expanded to a monthlong festival,” said Demski-Hamelin, who has been involved with the program since its launch in 2015. “It’s a collaborative celebration featuring all sorts of different events and activities hosted by partners throughout the 45 communities of the National Heritage Area.”
Acton is a particularly active community in the month’s festivities with more than a dozen events planned. Local partners include The Umbrella Arts Center, the Trustees of the Old Manse, the Ralph Waldo Emerson House, and the Guitar Museum of New England.
Finding treasure
Spanning Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the festival brings together a wide range of activities from the historical to the artistic.
Demski-Hamelin says each partner will highlight a “hidden treasure” in their community, and all events must be free and open to the public.
The result is a calendar of opportunities, accessible through the heritage area’s website and mobile app, encouraging residents to explore familiar places and new destinations.
“It allows folks the opportunity to access something that maybe they weren’t familiar with previously and learn a little bit more about their own community,” Demski-Hamelin said, “but also explore neighboring towns and perhaps even take a day trip across the region.”
Programming across the festival ranges from outdoor activities like birding and river exploration to poetry readings, public art walks, and scavenger hunts.
One example is Art for All’s Garden deLights Treasure Hunt in West Acton. The self-guided activity will have participants search for illuminated lanterns in village storefront windows and run until the Spring into West Acton festival on May 16. Those who find all the lanterns are entered to win raffle prizes from local businesses.
After a long winter, Demski-Hamelin said she hopes the event will give people a feeling of rediscovery.
“It’s a chance to get outside and really connect with the places right in your own backyard,” she said. “You just have to explore it.”
Find a map and full list of events at freedomsway.org.
