January:
New Year's Day - January 1st, see the L-Street Brownies, a group of elderly swimmers (many in their eighties and nineties) take their annual plunge in the icy waters at South Boston's Carson Beach

February:
Boston's Chinatown - mid-February, Chinese New Year celebrations
Boston Wine Festival - held at the Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf, includes a rare wine auction and the Anthony Spinazzola Gala, New England's premier culinary event
The Museum of Afro-American History - in conjunction with the New England Conservatory of Music, celebrates Black History Month
Ice Hockey - several Sundays, the annual Beanpot Hockey Tournament between college teams

March:
St. Patrick's Day Parade - March 17th, big celebrations throughout Boston. Also Evacuation Day, commemorating the expulsion of British troops from South Boston by General Washington in 1776

April:
The Red Sox - another hopeful season at Fenway Park Swan Boats
The return of the swan boats in the Public Garden is a real sign of spring Patriot's Day
The Monday nearest April 19th, re-enactments of Paul Revere's famous ride from Hanover Street in Boston's North End to Lexington
Boston Marathon -On Patriot's Day, the Boston Athletic Association fills the streets with runners from Hopkinton to the Back Bay

May:
Great Boston Kite Festival - mid-May, this event is held at Franklin Park
Arnold Arboretum - celebrations of the 400 varieties of lilac in bloom, on 'Lilac Sunday'
Ducklings - from Beacon Hill to the Public Garden lagoon, people 'make way for ducklings' during their Mother's Day waddle

June:
Boston Early Music Festival - early June, this week-long event takes place biannually in odd-number years. It features dozens of lectures, classes and performance of a rare, fully-staged baroque opera
Bunker Hill Weekend - mid-June, weekend of activities culminating in a parade on Bunker Hill, remembering the battle in Charlestown
Boston Globe Jazz Festival - lasting a week, at venues throughout the city Fourth of July celebration - late June / early July, Boston's annual Harborfest includes a concert with fireworks over the harbor

July:
Boston Pops Concert and Fireworks Display - early July, a musical extravaganza at the Hatch Shell
Lowell Folk Festival - late July, more than 100,000 music-lovers make their way to Lowell for this festival
Civil War Battle Re-enactments - weekend closest to July 18, held at the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial on the Common

August:
Dragon parade - mid-August, this parade through Chinatown is part of the August Mood Festival

September:
Cambridge River Festival - mid-September, numerous events; takes place along the Charles River North End 'Feasts' - the North End honors a variety of saints with great food and music (Italian)

October:
Massachusetts Cranberry Harvest Festival - Columbus Day weekend, held in both Plymouth and neighboring South Carver's Edaville Cranberry Bog. The nation's oldest county fair, the Topsfield Fair, recalls the area's farm heritage

December:
December Lights - trees in the shopping centers and on Boston Common are covered in thousands of tiny lights - and also on the big evergreen in front of the Prudential Center
Newbury Street Holiday Stroll - entertains shoppers with music, food and holiday activities
Boston Tea Party Re-enactment - mid-December, this event takes places at the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum and also in Cambridge at Harvard's Sanders Theater
Holiday Celebrations - general festivities, including music at Faneuil Hall, dance and folk plays from around the world
New Year's Eve - this is a full day and night of outdoor and indoor concerts and festivities, culminating in fireworks over Boston Harbor