With the 250th anniversary of the first American Revolution battles at Lexington and Concord approaching, its time for visitors to start planning for the historic events.
On Saturday in Lexington, a reenactment staged on the Lexington Battle Green will kick off at 5 a.m., followed by a 5-mile road race at 8 a.m., the Patriot’s Day Parade at 2 p.m. and more events throughout the day
At 6 a.m., a dawn salute at Buttrick Hillside will kick off events in Concord. The local parade will kick off on Thoreau St. at 8:30 a.m., followed by a block party at the end of the route on Everett St.
For those planning on using transit, the MBTA provides a 250th Celebrations Guide for attendees to several anniversary events around Massachusetts.
“We strongly encourage taking public transportation due to extremely limited parking and multiple road closures,” the MBTA writes. “Event organizers also predict high levels of traffic. There will be increased service on Saturday, April 19.”
On April 19, there will be a special Commuter Rail schedule starting at 4 a.m., including additional trains added to the regular Fitchburg Line to accommodate increased ridership.
The bus route 62/76 also serves Lexington on Saturdays, and extra service will be running between Lexington Center and Alewife via Arlington, with 20-22 minute intervals from 5:10 a.m. until 7 p.m., the MBTA stated.
For those driving to Lexington, there will be six satellite parking lots secured on or around Hartwell Avenue. There are five additional parking lots within walking distance of the Battle Green. The lots are first come, first serve and free.
Shuttles will run back and forth from 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. from the satellite parking lots to a designated pick-up and drop-off area on Worthen Road, near the intersection of Bedford Street.
In Concord, there will be five satellite parking lots for the festivities served by bus routes to the events. The buses will drop at the Concord Museum on Cambridge Turnpike and the MMNP Visitor’s Center near Liberty Street and will run from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
There’s a sixth weather dependent lot at Verrill Wheeler Road, and a Lincoln pickup location at Lincoln School, Ballfield Rd. Campus. Concord organizers also have planned downtown business employees, handicap and VIP parking locations at Concord District Court House and Crosby’s.
A bus route can also transfer visitors from Concord to Lexington running from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The pickup and drop off locations are Concord Museum and in Lexington at Hartwell Tavern, MMNP, Visitors Center and Lexington at Park Drive. A shuttle will also run between Arlington and Lexington.
More information on event parking, transportation and more can be found at visitconcord.org/concord-250 and lex250.org.