Gloucester - NOB Convention Center & Visitor's Bureau

Spend Spring Celebrating 400+ Years in Gloucester!

Discover Gloucester this spring, for its 400+ anniversary! Events marking the quadricentennial year and celebrating the area’s rich cultural history span throughout 2023. Don’t miss Gloucester’s 400+ springtime happenings! Dream up your spring getaway at discovergloucester.com. Map out your itinerary to share with travel buddies using the Plan Your Visit Tool. There is so much to see and do, start with this list of March and April musts!

By StoryStudio on March 13, 2023 11:19 AM

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Head to Machaca Taco & Tequila Bar for the Gloucester 400+ Singer Songwriter Contest, running Wednesdays through March! Judges will select a finalist at the end of each night for seven weeks. On the eighth week, all of the weekly finalists come together and perform for a piece of $2,500 in cash and prizes, including $1,000 for the best Cape Ann singer-songwriter, $1,000 for the best non-Cape Ann resident singer-songwriter, and a one-day recording package at Bang a Gong Studios in Gloucester, MA. Learn more about this and ongoing Gloucester 400+ celebratory events at gloucesterma400.org.

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Gloucester 400+ Singer Songwriter Contest, presented by Gloucester 400+ and Happy Valley

FUNDED by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

The tulips on Stacy Boulevard are a celebrated sign of springtime in Gloucester. The Generous Gardeners plant 30,000 tulip bulbs on the oceanfront boulevard each October to bloom bountifully in April. Stacy Boulevard stretches along the harbor across Western Ave from Pavilion Beach to Stage Fort Park. This scenic walkable stretch is also home to the famed Fisherman’s Memorial Statue: The Man at the Wheel, which was a legacy project from Gloucester’s 300th Anniversary. The Generous Gardeners volunteers beautify the area constantly, planting and harvesting a series ofcolorful flowers along Stacy Boulevard throughout the year, with dahlias in late autumn as the final annual flower in bloom until the first frost, sometimes into December.

Scenic Signs of Spring on Stacy Boulevard

Enjoy dinner on the water in heated igloos, custom designed for your cozy, unique and authentic Gloucester experience. Featuring the freshest locally caught seafood, grass-fed beef and carefully curated components to make every dish delectable, Mile Marker One also has an indoor dining room and bar with waterfront views. Head over for lunch, dinner and breakfast on the weekends! Plan your stay overnight in the Hotel at Cape Ann Marina’s newly renovated rooms with a view. Learn more and reserve at capeannmarina.com.

Dine in an Igloo at Mile Marker One Restaurant | Hotel at Cape Ann Marina

Photo credit: Isabel Pett

Photo courtesy Addison Choate

Photo credit: Michelle Williams

Photo credit: Frank C. Grace

Visit Rocky Neck Cultural District, which includes Gloucester Stage Company, North Shore Arts Association, Ocean Alliance (in the former Paint Factory building) and Rocky Neck Art Colony, and is speckled with galleries, many of which are live-in work and show spaces for Gloucester’s many talented artists. For centuries, the breathtaking and culture-saturated “island you can drive to” has inspired painters, poets, playwrights, novelists and all styles of creatives. Learn more about galleries, shows and programs at rockyneckculturaldistrict.org.

Explore Gloucester’s Authentic Artist Community on Rocky Neck

Hammond Castle Museum celebrates the start of its 47th season on Saturday, April 1, with a full day of complimentary self-guided tours from 10:00am to 3:00pm! Guests are welcome to explore the many exhibit rooms, including the Great Hall; the Courtyard, which features wooden storefronts from the 15th century; and the War Room, featuring the only surviving mural by American artist Eric Pape. Guests may tour the historic site daily beginning in May. The museum offers numerous educational and cultural events and candlelight tours throughout the season. Plan your visit at hammondcastle.org.

Experience Hammond Castle Museum

Enjoy some of Gloucester’s ample greenspace at Tompson Street Reservation, a property of Essex Greenbelt. On March 9, Essex Greenbelt is hosting a Women and Non-binary Affinity walk for folks who identify as a woman or non-binary person to enjoy a safe walk together through Tompson Street Reservation. Learn more about Greenbelt’s Gloucester properties, free and open to all, at ecga.org.

Get Outside at Essex Greenbelt’s Tompson Street Reservation

Photo credit: Tess McColgan

Photo credit: Atlantic Vacation Homes

Atlantic Vacation Homes offers a wide variety of vacation rental homes across Cape Ann that would be perfect for your spring getaway north of Boston. To book your accommodations at lower spring season rates, visit atlanticvacationhomes.com or call (978) 290-4331 to speak with a guest experience specialist.

Save on Your Stay with Seasonal Rates at Atlantic Vacation Homes

Photo credit: Matthew Sheehan

An added benefit to a March getaway in Gloucester: the area is known for its rare winter birding opportunities! Head to Halibut Point State Park to set your eyes on the highly sought after harlequin ducks, or book a space on the Greater Cape Ann Chamber’s Winter Birding Boat Trip aboard 7 Seas Whale Watch’s vessel the Privateer IV. You may even catch a glimpse of an Atlantic puffin, pictured from last year’s Winter Birding Boat Trip.

Winter Birding

Photo credit: Matthew Sheehan

Gloucester is home to 7 Seas Whale Watch and Cape Ann Whale Watch, which offer sightseeing trips with whale sightings truly unique to the area. Gaze upon humpbacks, minke, right whales and many more forms of marine life (like the white sided dolphin featured here, captured aboard by photographer Matthew Sheehan)! Opening day for 7 Seas Whale Watch is April 15, and Cape Ann Whale Watch kicks off their season April 22, which is also Earth Day. What better way to celebrate than surrounded by sea, sky and the great mammals of the ocean? Don’t miss these majestic creatures this spring ― a season when whales are active and easy to find off of Gloucester’s shores.

April Whale Watching

Photo credit: Matthew Sheehan

Gloucester is home to 7 Seas Whale Watch and Cape Ann Whale Watch, which offer sightseeing trips with whale sightings truly unique to the area. Gaze upon humpbacks, minke, right whales and many more forms of marine life (like the white sided dolphin featured here, captured aboard by photographer Matthew Sheehan)! Opening day for 7 Seas Whale Watch is April 15, and Cape Ann Whale Watch kicks off their season April 22, which is also Earth Day. What better way to celebrate than surrounded by sea, sky and the great mammals of the ocean? Don’t miss these majestic creatures this spring a season when whales are active and easy to find off of Gloucester’s shores.

April Whale Watching

Photo credit: Matthew Sheehan

Enjoy all of the delicious bar bites you crave, as well as a robust menu of sushi options at Minglewood Harborside open every day! But the wings aren’t all that’s hot at Minglewood they’ve got a spicy entertainment lineup in store for March and April, including reggae/ska band performances from Mile 21, Trivia Tuesdays and their weekly "acoustic corner" featuring a rotation of some of the best local musicians on the North Shore. On sun-soaked spring days, head to their newly covered, heated deck seating to take in the working waterfront and the splendor of Gloucester Harbor. Learn more at minglewoodharborside.com.

Dinner and Entertainment at Minglewood Harborside

Set on Maritime Gloucester's historic waterfront campus, the Maritime Science Education Center is a unique "eduquarium" experience. Maritime Gloucester’s new indoor touch tank exhibits allow visitors to explore Cape Ann's ecology, science and animals through educator-led and interactive activities. Rain or shine, there is always something fun to "sea" and do at Maritime Gloucester!

Family Fun at Maritime Gloucester

Photo: Maritime Gloucester

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Photo Credit: Matthew Sheehan

Photo Credit: Minglewood Harborside

Photo Credit: Maritime Gloucester

Photo Credit: Atlantic Vacation Homes

Photo Credit: Tess McColgan

Photo Credit: Frank C. Grace

Video Credit: Mile Marker One

Photo Credit: Michelle Williams

Photo Credit: Isabel Pett

Photo Credit: Addison Choate

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