2024 in events, arts, and culture

This year brought exciting events, cultural initiatives, and of course, public art! 

From WinterFest’s return to downtown, to the installation of mini galleries on the Riverwalk, 2024 was a year of culture, arts, and festivals in Lowell. Annual favorites such as Greater Lowell Pride & 4th of July saw new locations and programming, and City of Lights boasted the largest parade in five years! 

In February, WinterFest returned to downtown Lowell after two successful years at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. On Palmer Street, live ice carving and fire sculptures engaged attendees of all ages. Performances in the Enterprise Bank Music Tent and the Derby Park Tent drew excited crowds, and the Experience Lowell Arts Market showcased the talents of artists across the region.  

Building on the success of the 2023 Busker Series, in 2024 CASE programmed 18 different musical acts, 10 visual artists, and 1 poet to perform throughout the spring and fall, adding ambiance to downtown Lowell every week.  

Responding to community request, Mosaic Lowell and CASE teamed up to produce the first Volunteer Fair in October. The event was hosted at St. Anne’s Edson Hall, and 20-plus organizations participated, highlighting a variety of opportunities to get involved.  

2024 saw the addition of seven public art projects in Lowell, some of which included multiple locations. As a part of the Let’s Dance, Lowell project, artist Kit Collins created a network of eight murals in each of Lowell’s neighborhoods. The murals depict diagrams of culturally significant dances – each of which was choreographed by members of the community. ARPA grant funding contributed to Let’s Dance, Lowell, along with six other projects installed in 2024.  

On a smaller scale, in October five mini galleries were built and installed by YouthBuild on the Riverwalk. The galleries displayed small works by 15 Lowell artists through mid-December. The project was funded through a grant from the Lowell Cultural Council.  

 The Art in City Hall series continued in 2024, with eight different galleries or community members curating shows. Each show included an opening reception, as a chance to celebrate the contributing artists.  

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Whether you attended your favorite festival, submitted artwork for a call, volunteered at an event, or partnered with the Office of Cultural Affairs and Special Events on a program, we’d like to thank you for your participation and support in 2024. We’re excited for all 2025 will bring – stay tuned for everything we have in store.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X to keep up to date on 2025 happenings!

Lowla's Favorite Things

Your Guide to WinterFest 2024

Lowla Bear has been attending WinterFest for a long time, so she’s an expert on the event.

As the festival returns to Downtown Lowell, Lowla has decided to release her “favorite things” guide so you can experience WinterFest like she does! From classic, longstanding activities to new programs, there is something at WinterFest for everyone (even polar bears)!

WinterFest is February 16th & 17th on Middle & Palmer Street in Downtown Lowell.

1. The Music

The Enterprise Bank Music Tent and Derby Park Tent are the “anchors” of WinterFest, and a trip to the festival would not be complete without stopping by to hear some local musicians. 14 different acts will perform throughout Friday and Saturday, with special programming for kids in the Enterprise Bank Music Tent early on Saturday.

Check out the set times here: Schedule — Lowell Winterfest

2. The Experience Lowell Arts Market

Produced by Mosaic Lowell, the Arts Market has quickly become a WinterFest staple! Since 2022, the Arts Market has showcased vendors from all artistic disciplines. For unique wares, stop by the Enterprise Bank Arts Tent from 6-8:45pm on Friday and 12-8:45pm on Saturday. You can preview the vendors here: Art Market — Lowell Winterfest

3. The Soup Bowl Competition

Restaurants and organizations prepare soups to compete for the judges’ choice, as well as a people’s choice award! This year, the Soup Bowl Competition is moving to a new home- St. Anne’s Church in Edson Hall. It’s only $5 per person to try all the soups and tickets can be purchased at the door. Be sure to stop by from 12-2:30 PM on Saturday! Check out the list of competitor and judges here.

4. Axe Throwing

Welcome our newest addition to WinterFest- Axe Throwing with the Axe Shack!

We’ve partnered with the Axe Shack to bring a totally new experience to WinterFest. Stop by the axe booths on Middle Street, in front of Derby Park, where axe-throwing experts will talk you through the best techniques. Players must be ages 10+ and wearing close toed shoes.

Stop by on Friday and Saturday to test your skills! More info here.

5. Fire and Ice Sculptures on Palmer Street

As a polar bear, Lowla obviously loves ice. She’s even been depicted as an ice sculpture at previous WinterFests.

This year, ice sculptures are coming back to WinterFest- and fire sculptures are joining the party!

In addition to sculptures, fire performances will delight audiences of all ages. Throughout the festival, you can watch as artists carve ice into intricate sculptures.

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You can experience all of Lowla’s faves and more at WinterFest on February 16th and 17th in Downtown Lowell!

See everything in store for WinterFest weekend at LowellWinterFest.com.

Year in Review

2023 has been a remarkable year for events and cultural happenings in Lowell!

From mainstay events like WinterFest and Fourth of July, to new favorites like Lowell Busker Series and the Culinary Celebration, we’re thankful to the community members who showed their support by attending and volunteering. This year, we added a parade to Greater Lowell Pride, and an open air concert to City of Lights. New additions to the event calendar include:

• Lowell’s 1st Annual Lunar New Year Festival

• Lowell Youth Baseball and Softball League (LYBSL) Opening Day Parade and Earth Day Cleanup

• Lowell Busker Series

• Culinary Celebration

• Series of Health and Wellness Classes at Boarding House Park

• The first community Menorah Lighting on the first night of Chanukah

The Bicentennial Committee was formed to begin planning Lowell’s Bicentennial Celebration in 2026. 20-plus community members from different organizations make up the committee.

In order to make planning events more accessible for the public, we partnered with Lowell Telemedia Center to produce a video tutorial on the special event permit application process.

ARPA Cultural Sector Grantees with City Council members and CASE staff

2023 also saw the introduction of the ARPA Cultural Sector Recovery Grants. The program funded a total of nearly $1 million in grant funds to Lowell cultural organizations, festivals, and public art.

The MythMakers installing the Night Watchwoman. Photo by Marte Media.

Upon completing the NEFA Making it Public training program, CASE launched a call for Public Art on the Riverwalk extension by Lowell Memorial Auditorium. The MythMakers were selected to install the Night Watchwoman, a bamboo sculpture of an owl, on the Riverwalk extension. Night Watchwoman was unveiled in April.

In March, DIY Lowell gifted the scuplture Black Joy by Kamil Peters to the City of Lowell. The sculpture came to fruition after a community meeting guided by the artist and DIY Lowell. Black Joy was unveiled in July.

To add to the City’s public art, a call for art in two parking garages was launched in June. Local artists were invited to submit existing work to the call, and the selected pieces were printed on boards. A total of four pieces are in the Roy Garage and Downes Garage.

Throughout the year, art from local galleries and artists were displayed in City Hall in an effort to highlight artists in the community.

Thank you to everyone who participated in an event or program coordinated by CASE this year whether it be by attending an event, volunteering your time, or partnering with us on a program. We are grateful for a vibrant community to serve.

Fannie Lou Hamer: Speak on It!

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) joins theatres across America this month in presenting Cheryl L. West’s electrifying Fannie Lou Hamer: Speak on It!, a new play with music about the civil rights icon and voting rights leader. The digital event will kick off with a performance at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 23, and continue through October 26, according to Courtney Sale, Nancy L. Donahue Artistic Director, and Bonnie J. Butkas, Executive Director.  MRT had hoped to present the work live outdoors, in front of the theatre, but the spike in coronavirus cases in Lowell necessitated a move to video only. 

Yewande Odetoyinbo will play Fannie, and Andrés Amitai Wilson will accompany her on guitar, as well as serve as Music Director and Arranger. Malika Oyetimein will direct. 

To RSVP, visit www.mrt.org/fannie.

Kerouac: The Buddhist Years

Even though the annual Kerouac Festival will not be hosted on-site in Lowell, you can still take in the annual Moses Greeley Parker lecture by way of the LCK website.

The presenter this year is Mr. Charles Shuttlesworth, a member of the faculty at the Harker School of San Jose, California, and a well accomplished scholar of Kerouac and Beat Literature. His topic is “Kerouac: The Buddhist Years.”
 
You can take in his lecture by going to the LCK website at www.lowellcelebrateskerouac.org.
 
You can also participate in a Q&A with Charles this coming Saturday, October 10th at 2 pm EDT. The Harker School is hosting this conversation via ZOOM, and access information for those who wish to take part is also on the LCK website.

A Virtual Town and City

The Town and The City Festival will be presenting a special online program for 2020, bringing more than a dozen acts together for the third year of the festival.  The eclectic lineup will feature many past festival participants as well as new artists performing Americana, Folk, Rock, Blues, Poetry and Indie music. 

“Under the circumstances of the pandemic, we are not able to bring the festival back to downtown Lowell this year.   However we still want to provide a way to showcase some great artists and draw attention to our annual event as well as the Lowell community,” said Chris Porter, President and CEO of Porter Productions. “This is going to be a great night of music with an all star lineup from across New England and beyond.  We look forward to returning in person in 2021.”

Photos by Coleman Rogers Photography

Debuting in 2018, The Town and The City Festival is produced by Porter Productions in association with the Greater Merrimack Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Named after the novel "The Town and the City", the first major work published by Jack Kerouac, the festival typically spans two-days and takes place in event spaces, bars, cafes, and galleries throughout downtown Lowell.

The Town and the City Festival will stream online Saturday, October 24 at 8pm EST on the festival’s Facebook page, the festival's website (www.thetownandthecityfestival.com) and the ONCE Virtual Venue YouTube channel.  A special Zoom link may also be used to view the program (via oncesomerville.com). 

PLEASE RSVP TO THIS EVENT HERE