June is the month when spring finally gives way to summer, and the region is alive with activities celebrating the season. This month’s events are heavy on two of the most important mainstays of North Shore life: art and food.
1. Marblehead Ocean Week, various locations, Marblehead | June 2-6
This series of five events, organized by Sustainable Marblehead, is designed to educate people about our ocean ecosystems and inspire us to action. The lineup includes a lecture about sailing the oceans of the world, a documentary screening, a community beach clean-up, a sustainability fair, and tours and a cocktail party aboard American Promises, an oceanographic research vessel built in Marblehead.
2. Salem Arts Festival, various locations, Salem | June 3-5
Head to Salem for three days of multicultural arts and music immersion. The festival includes dozens of dance and musical performances, a street fair featuring a wide range of arts and crafts, art-making activities, and a sustainable art installation made by community members in the weeks leading up to the festival. Full details available at salemartsfestival.com.
3. Cape Ann Artisans Spring Tour, Gloucester and Rockport | June 4 and 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
One of the country’s oldest open studio events, the Cape Ann artisans tour invites you to wander Gloucester and Rockport to visit your choice of 15 artists in their studios, see their work, and perhaps take some home with you. the lineup includes painters, potters, fiber artists, jewelers, photographers, and mixed media artists. A map and brochure is available online.
4. Art in the Barn, Cox Reservation, Essex | June 10 and 11
Art in the Bran showcases the work of some of the region’s most talented artists while raising funds to support the mission of the Essex County Greenbelt Association. The juried exhibition will be open throughout each day, and live music, food trucks, and local brewers keep the atmosphere festive. Details available at ecga.org/artinthebarn.
5. Rockport Chamber Music Festival, Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport | June 11 – July 10
Enjoy the music of some of the world’s finest ensembles and soloists during 41st annual chamber music festival in Rockport. The schedule includes 20 performances that explore the range of the form, including dynamic solo performances, a cabaret-inspired trio, a duo that pairs violin with the traditional Chinese pipa, and much more. Check out the full lineup at rockportmusic.org/rcmf2022.
6. Arts Fest Beverly, Cabot St., Beverly | June 18, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Beverly’s 19th annual celebration of jewelry, painting, fashion, music, pottery, sculpture, and more will take over Cabot Street. Artists will sell their work, live performances will entertain shoppers, and food trucks will keep everyone well fed. In all, more than 120 vendors will be participating. More information available at bevmain.org/arts-fest-beverly.
7. Solstice Saturday Festival, various locations, Salem | June 18, 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Organized by the Peabody Essex Museums, the solstice festival lets you observe the official beginning of summer with this lineup of activities that celebrate our connections to the natural world. Practice yoga in the gardens of the historic Ropes Mansion, learn about pollinators and decorate a flower pot, join in the creation of a community mural using the power of the sun, and more. Details available at pem.org/events/solstice-saturday-family-festival.
8. Strawberry Festival, Cider Hill Farm, Amesbury | June 18 and 19, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
It’s a whole weekend devoted to summer’s most iconic fruit. Pick your own strawberries, enjoy live music and a beverage from the hard cider bar, take a hayride, and diner from food trucks (with some homemade strawberry treats for dessert). Check out the schedule at ciderhill.com/events.
9. St. Peter’s Fiesta, Gloucester | June 22-26
One of the major events of the Gloucester summer, St. Peter’s Fiesta – locally called simply “Fiesta” – returns this summer for the first time since 2019. The five-day lineup includes a carnival, boat races, a 5K, a blessing of the fleet, and the famed Greasy Pole, a competition in which intrepid locals attempt to walk to the end of a greased-up pole suspended over the harbor. Keep an eye out for the updated schedule at stpetersfiesta.org.
10. Talise Farm Dinner at Appleton Farms, Ipswich | June 23
The culinary talents behind Gloucester’s acclaimed Talise restaurant take to the fields, serving a seasonally inspired meal at picnic tables at historic Appleton Farms. Tickets and more details available at thetrustees.org/event/73984.
11. Notch Traveling Biergarten, Castle Hill, Ipswich | June 26, 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Salem’s Notch Brewing will be setting up shop at the top of Castle Hill’s sweeping Grand Allee, a wide green lawn that undulates down to the ocean. Explore the gardens and buildings of this historic estate, then sit and sip a local microbrew, snack on empanadas from food truck Empanada Dada, and enjoy the views. More information at thetrustees.org/event/72762.