Event Spotlight: Free Fun Friday at Stone Zoo

[Editor's note: The following information derives from a Highland Street Foundation press statement.]

The Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Fridays will offer free admission to four Massachusetts’ cultural attractions on Aug. 12 including Stone Zoo in Stoneham. The zoo will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

The JFK Library & Museum in Boston, Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain and Tanglewood (BOS) in Lenox will also be open for free Aug. 12 as part of the program. No tickets are necessary for admission. 

Free Fun Fridays shattered attendance records set during the 2010 Free Fun Fridays in the first five weeks of the program. So far 100,934 patrons have visited the cultural attractions across Massachusetts and there are still three weeks left of the program.

Last summer Free Fun Fridays had a total of 105,602 visitors. This year Free Fun Fridays decided to expand its program to provide four free venues every week for a total of 36 cultural institutions.

Highlights of the 2011 Free Fun Fridays include: 

• 22,071 visitors to the Museum of Science, their highest attended day ever.
• 14,213 visitors to Museum of Fine Arts, up from 11,049 visitors on Free Fun Fridays in 2010.
• 9,514 visitors to Boston Children’s Museum, up from 7,351 visitors on Free Fun Fridays in 2010.
• 8,746 visitors at the Plimoth Plantation, up from 7,758 visitors on Free Fun Fridays in 2010.
• 7,609 visitors to the Buttonwood Park Zoo, up from 515 visitors on Free Fun Fridays in 2010.
• 3,296 visitors to the Discovery Museums, up from 2,271 visitors on Free Fun Fridays in 2010.
• 3,132 visitors to the Institute of Contemporary Art, up from 2,489 visitors on Free Fun Fridays in 2010.

The Aug. 12 program details for the Stone Zoo are below. The zoo will be open for free on Friday. No tickets are necessary for admission.

What: Free Fun Fridays

When: Friday August 12, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Where: Stone Zoo, 149 Pond St., Stoneham

This year Free Fun Fridays has expanded to provide four free venues every week for a total of 36 cultural institutions. In addition to popular attractions from previous years including the Boston Children’s Museum, the JFK Library & Museum, and Museum of Science, new venues such as Tanglewood, Heritage Gardens and Museums, and New Repertory Theatre have been added to the schedule.  A full schedule of events can be found on line at Highland Street Foundation website.

Since 1989, the Highland Street Foundation has donated more than $123 million to many worthy nonprofit organizations including $86 million to groups in Massachusetts alone. It is committed to addressing the needs and concerns of children and families primarily in Massachusetts and California specifically in the areas of education, housing, mentoring, health care, environment and the art.