Eighth Annual Massachusetts Walking Tour Prepares for Hike Exploring Thoreau’s “A Walk to Wachusett”

The Eighth Annual Massachusetts Walking Tour, founded by songwriting duo Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards will be wandering in Thoreau’s footsteps – performing 5 free community concerts in towns along the proposed Thoreau Trail while traversing the state on foot . In 1842 Henry David Thoreau travelled from Concord to the summit of Mount Wachusett in Princeton, a journey which he recorded in the essay, A Walk to Wachusett. Engaging with communities and partners throughout the region, the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area is working to create a recreational trail as an interpretive walking experience in the spirit of Thoreau’s essay.

The Free Concert at Thoreau Farm ( Thoreau Farm 341 Virginia Rd. Concord, MA 01742 SHOW: 6-8pm | COST: FREE) will feature local performers Ben Blum, Ric Allendorf and local poet Wendy Drexler-Poet with the MA Walking Troupe to follow.

The project’s signature event in 2017—A Walk to Wachusett — is a multi-day trek exploring the preliminary trail route accompanied by the

Massachusetts Walking Tour, will take place June 27 - July 2. The Thoreau Trail project launched in 2017 as a Thoreau Bicentennial legacy project with support from the National Park Service. While the hikes are free to the public registration is required. Links to the registration for all hikes, concert information, etc. is available at: www.masswalkingtour.org or www.freedomsway.org

The 994-square-mile Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area (FWNHA) includes forty-five towns and cities in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire and is home to over 750,000 people. FWNHA connects people, places and communities through educational and interpretive initiatives that protect and promote shared resources and encourage residents and visitors to explore its landscape, history and culture.

Schedule of Events:

All concerts begin at 6:00 pm and end at 8:00 pm and will be performed by the Mass Walking Tour accompanied by local musicians, poets,

historians and artists. Concerts are free and open to the public.

June 27th: Thoreau Farm, Concord

June 28th: Stow Community Park, Stow

June 29th: Bolton Town Common, Bolton

June 30th: Lancaster Town Green, Lancaster

July 1st: Mount Wachusett, Princeton

Since 2010, Mandeville and Richards have organized now over 100 coffeehouse style concerts which showcase local musicians and artists across the state – creating a quality evening program for all ages and an opportunity for talent young and old to be enjoyed by a listening audience. Carrying approximately 40-50 lbs of gear and instruments, the Massachusetts Walking Tour Troupe, including veteran members Mark Kilianski (guitar, banjo) and Amy Alvey (fiddle), will be hiking from concert to concert using the proposed Thoreau Trail after just completing an 11 day hike through the Blackstone Valley. The tour visits different regions of Massachusetts each June inspiring support for the arts and greenspaces in small towns across Massachusetts.

For more information on these events or for videos of previous year’s Massachusetts Walking Tours, please visit:

www.masswalkingtour.org