With the summer of ’22 now in the rearview, the fall is already shaping up to be a season filled with memorable events and activities on Beacon Hill.
Connect and network with neighbors at the Beacon Hill Network Fall Mixer on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to the Owl’s Nest Beer Garden on the Esplanade via the Arlington Street footbridge. (The rain location is The Sevens at 77 Charles St.)
A longstanding neighborhood tradition, the Beacon Hill Business Association’s annual Beacon Hill Sidewalk Sale returns on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18.
As part of its Centennial Celebration Weekend, the Beacon Hill Civic Association will hold a Centennial Dinner on Saturday, Sept. 17.
Guests will be seated at one very long table on Mt. Vernon between River and Brimmer streets for the festive dinner. Each place will include a creative booklet highlighting the BHCA’s biggest achievements over the last 100 years in just 100 words.
The evening begins at 6 p.m., with a cocktail-style party featuring wine, soft drinks, and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a seated dinner from 7-9 p.m. When registering, guests will choose one of three gourmet dinner boxes containing either sliced flank steak, sliced chicken or grilled tofu, accompanied by salad, grilled vegetables, and French rolls. Bluegrass music will be provided by a trio led by Berklee College of Music graduate Micah Nicol, a guitarist and singer based in Boston.
Tickets, which are $160 each, are available until Friday, Sept. 9. Visit bhcivic.org for more information.
The BHCA’s Centennial Celebration Weekend continues with the annual Fall HillFest on Sunday, Sept. 18, from noon to 4 p.m. on Mt. Vernon Street. In addition to games and food for children and their families – hotdogs and ice cream, along with beer and wine, will be served – the event will also feature the eagerly awaited dog show, a book sale, live entertainment, nonprofit neighbor tables, and activities, among other offerings.
The West End Museum and The Vilna are teaming up for a special tour of the historic synagogue and the West End neighborhood on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 10:30 a.m. The event begins with refreshments on the patio at Vilna Shul, 18 Phillips St.
Next, the tour will head outside and around the West End, which attracted thousands of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Highlights will include the home of Annie Londonderry, a Jewish woman who cycled around the world, and the Old West Church, the former Boston Public Library branch that led Jewish programming. Tickets cost $20 per person. To learn more about this event – and to register – visit https://vilnashul.org/events/event/special-tour-of-the-vilna-followed-by-a-walking-tour-of-the-west-end.
On Sunday, Sept. 25, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., musician Evan Haller will lead families with young children through song and dance in a special Rosh Hashanah event at The Vilna Shul. Tickets for the event, which is hosted in collaboration with JCC of Greater Boston, cost $25 per family and can be purchased at vilnashul.org.
A Sukkot Celebration for Families with Young Children, led by Rotem Goldenberg, also takes place on Sunday, Oct. 9, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at The Vilna Shul. It will feature a puppet show, followed by an art-based activity. Tickets cost $25 per family and can be purchased at vilnashul.org.
(A bagel brunch will be served at both the Rosh Hashanah event and the Sukkot Celebration. Grandparents and older siblings are encouraged to attend.)
One of Charles Street’s beloved businesses, Blackstone’s of Beacon Hill will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 24, at 40 Charles St.
The store’s actual 40th anniversary date fell on July 3, during the height of the summer holidays, so “we have waited to celebrate this momentous occasion with our friends, neighbors and visitors with an all-day event,” said Jennifer Hill, owner of Blackstone’s.
In addition to drawings and special activities, Blackstone’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, will also include a book-signing with Mark Duffield, a longtime Beacon Hill resident who just authored his third book, “As I Recall: Wings of Remembrance.”
“As I Recall: Wings of Remembrance,” which features illustrations by former Beacon Hill Mail carrier, Nancy O’Hearn, and cover art by Mark’s twin sister, Sharon Duffield, recounts the true events of 2006 when Mark and Jennifer Hill assumed ownership of Blackstone’s and how Mark wishes his late father was there to lend him counsel during this period.
The exact timing of Mark’s booksigning will be announced once the details of Blackstone’s 40th Anniversary Celebration have been finalized.
In other literary news in the neighborhood, the eagerly awaited Beacon Hill Books & Café is set to open soon at 71 Charles St.