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The Marblehead Festival of Arts marks its 60th anniversary this year, packing 117 events into five days from Wednesday, July 1, through Sunday, July 5. To spare readers from clicking through a dozen separate pages, The Marblehead Independent published the Festival Companion at festival.marbleheadindependent.com, putting every event on one screen.
The lineup spans visual arts exhibits across historic buildings, the Concerts at Crocker Park series, classical chamber music and a farewell show from local band Better Than Nothing after 20 years together. Families can join a scavenger hunt for one of 200 commemorative pins or build model boats for the Redd's Pond Regatta.
The Festival Companion replaces endless scrolling with a few specific features:
- Search and filter: Filter events by day, type or venue.
- Custom schedules: Select the star icon on any event to save it under the My Festival tab.
- Offline mode: Open the page once and the saved events and most of the guide stay on the phone even if the connection drops.
- Interactive map: See event locations across town.
- Official details: Every event card links back to the festival's official listing for the latest details and tickets.
With this year marking 250 years of American Independence, the schedule tags Fourth of July staples, from the 10 a.m. Horribles Parade to the 9 p.m. fireworks. The fireworks are volunteer-run and funded by donations, and the Marblehead Fireworks Committee reported running short on funds this year.
The guide is free. To sustain the work, the newsroom aims to reach 175 recurring contributors by summer's end; 122 readers are signed up. Click here to contribute.
