5 Unique Ways to Get Outdoors This Spring

With a year of social distancing under our belts and winter almost behind us, outdoor activities are at the top of the spring to-do list. Here are some activities and places to visit in or near Boston that will be perfect for a day trip, an afternoon off, or a lunch break any day. And there are sure to be more outdoor events and activities popping up as the months get warmer, so be sure to subscribe to the ArtsBoston Weekly Newsletter and check the ArtsBoston Calendar for more outdoor events near you. 

Underground at Ink Block

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by Problak X Marka27. Photo: Lee Hopkins for Ow.ley

Underground at Ink Block is an urban park with a network of pedestrian and bike-friendly pathways connecting 8 acres of underpasses in Boston’s South End and South Boston neighborhood. The widespread are is home to many kinds of cultural attractions, food vendors, and shops, but most notable is the area’s substantial (and ever-growing) accumulation of mural art. 9 of the murals were just added in 2019, and the pieces curated for 2020 by Cey Adams, Sophia Dawson, Rob Stull, Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, and Rob “Problak” Gibbs

Lyric Stage Company’s The Walking Plays 

Photo: Maliya V. Ellis, via The Harvard Crimson

For theatre lovers who miss the experience of witnessing eye-opening stories and of being transported away by the spectacle, Lyric Stage Company is offering an audio play experience that “explores the private moments we experience in public.” The four plays (with more on the way) are available to stream right from your mobile device to headphones and include a map of a path that coincides with elements from the play. So far, local writers David Valdes, Ginger Lazarus, Liana Asim, and Miranda Austen ADEkoje have each penned moving and delightful pieces which, crafted by directors Jess Meyer and Dawn Meredith Simmons and teams of expert designers, are perfect for a day outdoors in Boston.

Music Outdoors with Creative Music Series

Ellwood Epps/Togetherness! play in Watertown Sq. on Saturday, April 17. Photo: Creative Music Series

Presenting local musicians in pop-up locations around all corners of the city, Creative Music Series is filling the air with music this spring! Coming up soon, Boston Jazz: A Free Live Outdoor Concert Series begins this Saturday, March 20 with local trumpeter Forbes Graham in Jamaica Plain. For a full lineup of scheduled performances, check out CMS’s website.

Persistence: A Community Response to Pervasive Plastic

Photo: ArtsArlington.org via ArtsBoston Calendar 

The Arlington Cultural District has curated a project from acclaimed fiber artist Michelle Lougee (the town’s first Artist-in-Residence), wich is created using a series of 37 brilliantly colored forms inspired by microorganisms found naturally in water, created with “plarn” or plastic yarn made from thousands of single-use plastic bags. The piece brings our awareness to microplastics that invade the marine ecosystem.

Explore the Rose Kennedy Greenway

‘The Herd” by Andy Li, celebrating the year of the Ox. Photo: Rose Kennedy Greenway

The long and winding pathways through Chinatown, the Financial District, the Harbor, and the North End, along the Greenway are home to lots of natural sights and plants of all kinds, but also a number of quality outdoor art exhibitions. For a map and list of the art installations along the Greenway, click here.

Header Photo: Rose Kennedy Greenway

Elena Morris (she/her/hers) is ArtsBoston’s Community Outreach and Marketing Manager. She is a dramaturg and arts administrator passionate about forward-thinking in the arts. Elena holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University, focusing her studies on dramatic literature and movement.
 @elena_pearl  @elena_pearl