Calendar of Events
(Click a date for details)
Saturday, June 8 2013, 6:00- 8:00pm
Spring Benefit
Please save the date for our upcoming spring cocktail party to benefit the Forbes House Museum! Enjoy cocktails, food from local restaurants, a silent auction and great company!
This year, we are holding the event at 88 Milton Street, a beautiful 23 room home built in 1913. This architecturally unique home incorporates Chinese decor, Versailles opulence, and elements of the Guilded Age from the Vanderbilt 5th Avenue Mansion.
Tickets are $75, and proceeds benefit the Forbes House Museum. Tickets can be purchased by mailing a check to the Forbes House Museum at 215 Adams Street, Milton MA 02186, or by using the Paypal button below. Please contact Rebecca Wright at the Forbes House Museum at (617)696-1815 with inquiries.
Saturday, 15 June 2013, 9am-5pm
Paint Out & Wet Paint Sale
Calling All Artists and Collectors of Art!
Artists will paint on historic Milton Hill, overlooking Governor Hutchinson’s Field, the Neponset River Marshes and Boston Harbor! Inspired by the beautiful early summer landscape, they can paint a landscape (or two or three) during the day, then exhibit and sell their painting(s) on the porch at Forbes House later that afternoon!
Forbes House Museum will partner with the New Hampshire Plein Air Artists group to offer this event, which is open to all artists. Any/All painting mediums are acceptable. For more information, or to receive a registration form, contact Rebecca Wright, Assistant to the Director, at (617) 696- 1815 or by e-mail at info@forbeshousemuseum.org. Artists may also contact Sharon Allen, Director/Founder of NH Plein Air Artists at hookedonpleinair@yahoo.com.
Registration fee is $10 for non-members; $5 for members of NH Plein Air Artists and Forbes House Museum. To become a member of NH Plein Air Artists, an applicant must first join the organization's e-mail Yahoo Group. Visit the website www.nhpleinair.com for more information. Call the Forbes House Museum for more information on it's membership program or see the Friends of FHM page on this website.
For details about the guidelines for the Paint Out and Wet Paint Sale, please download the following PDF: Plein Air Guidelines
To participate, please fill out and mail the Paint Out and Wet Paint Sale Registration Form PDF to:
Forbes House Museum
215 Adams Street
Milton, MA 02186
Your registration fee and a 20% commission on all sales of artwork will benefit the Forbes House Museum.
Tuesday, 25 June 2013, 7:00- 8:30pm
Civil War Circle Meeting
Join the FHM Civil War Circle (CWC) for intensive round table discussions a Tuesday of each month at 7pm. The group meets at the Forbes House Museum and chooses monthly topics for discussion.
The CWC is a member benefit at Forbes House Museum; sign up for a Family level membership and receive free admission to CWC sessions.
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 3-6pm
Civil War Concert
Civil War era activities will take place at Forbes House Museum on Sunday, 12 August 2012, beginning at 3pm.
From 3-4pm, special tours of the Museum and the Lincoln Cabin will be offered, with its restoration almost complete. See the cabin’s brand new roof and freshly applied red mortar chinking. Visitors can also view a refurbished silent film from 1924 of Mary Bowditch Forbes hosting a G. A. R. ceremony at the Lincoln Cabin in Milton, featuring Civil War and WWI veterans. A number of Ms. Forbes's scrapbooks, dating as far back as 1906, will be on view, along with a special exhibit which chronicles the 1924 G. A. R. Convention in Boston and Milton.
A concert of Civil War era music will begin at 4pm featuring the band, Dixon’s Gold, comprised of lead musician, Donn Scott Shetler, along with Jill Gross, Bruce Millard, Mitch Nelin and John Moriconi, will cover songs sung by Civil War troops, both north and south. The origins of this music genre can be traced back to Irish and English ballads, since conscripts during the war were direct descendants of those countries. Dixon’s Gold will perform with mandolin, mandocello, string bass, trumpet, penny whistle, clarinet, banjo, and guitar along with vocals. They will play favorites such as The Valiant Conscript, The Battle Cry of Freedom and Lakes Of The Pontchatrain. The audience will be encouraged to sing along. Listen to "The Rebel Soldier" performed by Dixon's Gold by clicking the play button on the media player below.
“So far, we have put together a list of 17 songs," says Shetler, "and we are researching more songs to add to the set. This genre of music is dear to my heart, and the band is really looking forward to its gig at the Forbes House.â€
“It’s so special that my father, a musician and a retired music educator, will visit from North Carolina to attend the concert,†says Shetler.
Tickets are available in advance; $10 per person for adults; $8 per person for members; $25 for a family of four; $20 for a member family. Children under 5 are free. Admission to the museum (including special tours, exhibits and silent film) is included in the ticket price. Concert goers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Food items will be on sale in limited quantities; guests are welcome to bring their own food and beverages.
For more information, call the FHM at 617-696-1815. For more information on Scott Shetler and Dixon's Gold, visit the website http://www.cmonman.com/.
Sunday, 4 August 2013, 2pm
Ladies' Tea
Join us on the south porch at Forbes House Museum for the Ladies' Tea. Treat yourself to mini tea sandwiches, cheese and crackers, dessert breads, cookies of all kinds, fruit and whipped cream desserts, and of course, tea and sparkling cider. A prize will be awarded in the best hat contest!
Tickets are $25 per person, $20.00 for members, $15 for children under age 12. Reservations are required. Call the Museum at 617-696-1815 to purchase your tickets use the Paypal option below.
Tuesday, 17 September 2013, 7:00- 8:30pm
Civil War Circle Meeting
Join the FHM Civil War Circle (CWC) for intensive round table discussions held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm unless otherwise noted. The group meets at the Forbes House Museum and chooses monthly topics for discussion. Recent topics have included exploration of Lincoln assassin, Mary Surrat, and General Philip Sheridan. Admission is $5 per person. The CWC is a member benefit at Forbes House Museum; sign up for a Family level membership and receive free admission to CWC sessions.
Thursday, 26 September 2013, 6:30 pm
Forbes House Museum Annual Meeting
Join Us in Celebration of a Successful Year at the Forbes House Museum!
To RSVP to the FHM office at 617.696.1815 or e-mail at info@forbeshousemuseum.org info@forbeshousemuseum.org
Saturday, 28 September 2013, 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Smithsonian Museum Day
The Forbes House Museum will open it's doors for tours again for the annual Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day. Free tickets to this event can be acquired through Smithsonian Magazine at smithsonianmag.com/museumday
Thursday, 21 November 2013, 5:00- 8:00pm
Lower Mills Merchants Association Holiday Stroll
The Forbes House Museum will open its doors again for the annual Lower Mills Holiday Stroll. Get into the holiday spirit with refreshments and musical performances from Milton High School students. For more details about this event visit the Merchant's Association website at http://www.lowermillsmerchants.com/
Tuesday, 2 November 2013, 7:00- 8:30pm
Civil War Circle Meeting
Join the FHM Civil War Circle (CWC) for intensive round table discussions held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm unless otherwise noted. The group meets at the Forbes House Museum and chooses monthly topics for discussion. Recent topics have included exploration of Lincoln assassin, Mary Surrat, and General Philip Sheridan. Admission is $5 per person. The CWC is a member benefit at Forbes House Museum; sign up for a Family level membership and receive free admission to CWC sessions.
Sunday, 2 March 2014, 1-4pm
Lincoln Day
Forbes House Museum will hold its annual Lincoln Day celebration on Sunday, 2 March 2014, from 1-4pm at 215 Adams Street, Milton.
Festivities will include drills and demonstrations by the B Company 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry and the United States Sanitary Commission Boston Branch (the 22nd Massachusetts ladies civilian group).
A rededication ceremony will take place for the newly restored Lincoln Cabin lead by First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. A commemorative, limited edition postcard, featuring historic photos of the cabin, will be distributed to visitors. First Lady Lincoln will also mingle with guests and inspect and address the troops.
Hot chocolate will be served in the tradition begun by Mary Bowditch Forbes in 1924. Suggested donation for Lincoln Day is $5 per family.
For more information contact the Forbes House Museum at (617) 696-1815 or by e-mail at info@forbeshousemuseum.org.
For more information on Infantry and civilian groups participating in Lincoln Day activities, visit their websites:
http://www.22ndmass.org/
http://www.54thmass.org/home.html
"conversatION with Rod Morrison"
Host Rod Morrison talks with Robin Tagliaferri, Executive Director of the Forbes House in Milton about their annual "Lincoln Day" and the "Forbes House" in general. "conversatION with Rod Morrison" can be seen every 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at 6:30 am on WBPX-TV, ION Television for Boston.
Saturday, 12 April 2014, 1-3pm
Victorian Egg Hunt
Update: The Victorian Egg Hunt is still on for March 23rd at 1:00 p.m. The grounds will be snowy, so have the kiddos wear their boots!
The 4th Annual Victorian Egg Hunt will take place on the grounds of the Forbes House Museum. Children ages 3-8 are welcome! Pre-registration is required for this special event, where hundreds of eggs will be hidden on the east and west lawns of the Museum. Each child will receive a handle basket in which she/he can gather eggs, each containing a toy surprise. The Hunt will have one start time beginning promptly at 1pm. Prizes will be given to the best egg hunters. The day will conclude with a story hour courtesy of the Lower Mills Public Library and snacks.
The FHM wishes to accommodate children with challenges. If your child has a disability, and she/he plans to participate in the Victorian Egg Hunt, please call the Museum before 21 March to inform our staff.
Pre-registration is required. Admission is $6 per child, 2 for $10, which includes a handle basket. This event is FREE for members of the Friends of the Forbes House Museum. Rain date is Sunday, 24 March 2013 from 1-3pm.
Thank you so much to our event sponsors: Pike Insurance, Petrik and Associates, ProForma Printing, The Ice Creamsmith, and Boston Public Library Lower Mills Branch !
For more information, contact the Museum at 617-696-1815 or e-mail us at info@forbeshousemuseum.org.
TBA April 2014, 6:30pm
Keechong Dinner
The annual Keechong Dinner tradition began in 1879, established by the China trade partners of the Russell & Company, to celebrate a successful year of trade. The elegant dinner was attended by noteworthy shareholders including Messrs. Robert Bennet and John Murray Forbes, Henry Sturgis Grew and Frederick Delano Hitch. Distinguished guests were often invited, such as Stanley Paterson and Carl Seaburg, descendants of Thomas Handasyd Perkins and authors of the book, The Merchant Prince of Boston. At the 1882 dinner, the committee requested a paper touching on the political, commercial and social changes in China, to be written by the last partner to return home. For several decades, the Keechong Dinner tradition was lost, until 1969, when Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes reinstituted the celebration as curator the Museum of the American China Trade. Today, the Keechong Dinner serves as the Forbes House Museum’s signature annual fundraising event, honoring the entrepreneurial leadership of the Forbes family.
This year, the Keechong Dinner will be held at the Union Club of Boston. The guest speaker is nationally acclaimed author, Eric Jay Dolin, who will give a presentation on his newly published book, When America First Met China, (W. W. Norton 2012).
Ticket prices are $250 per person, or $2,500 for a table of ten. Advanced ticket purchases are required; call the Forbes House Museum with your credit card at (617)696-1815, mail a check to 215 Adams Street, Milton MA 02186 or use the Paypal option below:
Corporate sponsorship of the Keechong Dinner is a great way to support the Museum. Please contact the FHM Executive Director, Robin Tagliaferri, to obtain more information on the benefits of sponsorship for you or your business.
Sunday, 5 April 2014, 2:00pm
Lincoln Essay and Drawing Contest Awards Cermemony
Please join us at the Pierce Middle School Auditorium of Milton to celebrate the achievments of local students in the Lincoln Essay and Drawing Contest!
Tuesday, 15 April 2014, 7:00- 8:30pm
Civil War Circle Meeting
Join the FHM Civil War Circle (CWC) for intensive round table discussions held on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm unless otherwise noted. The group meets at the Forbes House Museum and chooses monthly topics for discussion. Recent topics have included exploration of Lincoln assassin, Mary Surrat, and General Philip Sheridan. Admission is $5 per person. The CWC is a member benefit at Forbes House Museum; sign up for a Family level membership and receive free admission to CWC sessions.
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