Patriots Day in New England is commemorated with dramatic battle re-enactments, parades and ceremonies, each year on the third Monday in April.

Patriots Day is a public holiday in Massachusetts and Maine. All Massachusetts state, county and town government offices, libraries, and some local businesses close, though federal government offices, post offices, offices of large interstate and international companies, and most shops remain open.

When is Patriots Day? April 17, 2023.

Top Events

The headline events are the battle re-enactments in Lexington and Concord, and the Boston Marathon from Hopkinton MA to Boston. These are the events for which you must plan: transportation, parking, crowds.

Locations

Here's a list of events and locations.

Among the better-known commemorative events on Patriots Day is the Boston Marathon, which has been run now for over a century.

	A useful rule...

The re-enactment of the battle on Lexington Green starts at dawn, but crowds of spectators begin to gather by 4 am. If you don't get there at least two hours early, you won't be able to find any good vantage point for the "battle."

Some people believe that to get the best views, you must stake out your spot three, four or even five hours before. (In other words, you spend the night there.)

About 5:30 am you will hear the redcoats marching along Battle Road as they approach Lexington Green.

Patriots Day events in nearby Concord are a bit nicer to your sleep-time. A 9:00 am parade with lots of fife-and-drum bands and groups of Minutemen from surrounding towns and as far away as Michigan is followed by a re-enactment of the battle at Old North Bridge, commemorative ceremonies, and the repeated firing of brass cannons by the Concord Independent Battery.

Brass cannon goes boom at Old North Bridge
on Patriots Day in Concord MA.

Several church halls open to provide pancake breakfasts to the multitude.

Patriots Day is also the name of a movie (2016) about the Boston Marathon of April 15, 2013, and the terrorist bombings at the finish line.

Here's more on all the Patriots Day events.

—by Tom Brosnahan

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Patriots Day Events Minutemen Lexington Lexington Battle Battle Road Concord Old North Bridge April in New England New England History