Ahts Festival

Posted September 9, 2014 by Gemma Doyle

One thing I love about Boston is the amazing diversity and frequency of the festivals and events that happen in the city throughout the year.  This is especially good if you’re new to town and aren’t quite sure what to do with yourself – I know I spent my first fall here learning the city by going to harvest festivals in neighborhoods all over the place, and it’s how I learned the T/commuter rail routes.  Fall may be the best time, the quintessential New England time, really, but summer is a busy time for festivals, too, and it’s hard to go more than a few blocks in the city without stumbling on tents and music and food trucks.  This happened to me Labor Day weekend, when I went into Boston mostly to visit the Institute of Contemporary Art but also just to poke around Haymarket and enjoy my last free weekend before classes started. 

The Ahts Festival is proof that no matter what anyone tells you about not being able to hear the accent you’ve grown up with, Boston people are very aware of their accent, and more than willing to make fun of it when they feel like it.  If you’re in Boston next year I fully recommend heading down to Ahts if you get the chance – the highlights this year were the many, many stalls of local artists and NPR’s the Moth performed on the big stage.  I ended up buying some amazing crystal jewelry I couldn’t really afford but that was too lovely to pass up.  I also left with blistered feet and a pretty deep late-summer sunburn – not a bad way to start the fall at all, if you ask me.