A Revolutionary Tavern Night: Newburyport Toasts, Tunes, and Tales!

Songs, stories, theatrics, and an epic "crankie" panorama bring Newburyport’s Revolutionary taverns to life. Come raise a glass with us!

At the end of a landmark privateering symposium, what is there left to do but repair to the tavern? In Revolutionary Newburyport, taverns were more than places to drink. They were the town’s patriot headquarters, where news from other embattled towns was shared, committees met, captains were recruited, merchants and investors negotiated, and neighbors argued politics, prizes, and the price of independence. They were also the original entertainment venues, alive with songs, fiddles, ballads, recitations, sketches, and the kind of convivial spectacle that helped a crowded port blow off steam, build connections, and keep morale up through a bleak winter at war.

Join Edward Speck (Theater in the Open), Bethany Groff Dorau (Museum of Old Newbury), The Portermen (Newburyport’s shanty and traditional music purveyors), and fiddler and hurdy-gurdy player Adrienne Howard for an evening that channels that 18th-century spirit: toasts, music, art, theater, silly human tricks, and a show-stopping crankie (a moving panorama) featuring art by Alan Bull. Throughout the night, historians in silly hats will pop up with quick tales and tidbits about tavern shenanigans, from the rituals of drinking and song to the ways tavern rooms doubled as civic space when the Revolution came to town. Come ready to laugh, sing, and raise a glass to the people who made a rebellious port run.

This event is funded, in part, by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and by the generosity of our members, donors, and community foundations. Thank you for your support of the arts, history, and culture.