Highland Street Foundation Announces 5th Annual Free Fun Fridays Statewide Summer Program that Offers Free Admission to 60 Museums and Cultural Venues

NEWTON, Mass., May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Highland Street Foundation announced the fifth annual Free Fun Fridays program during a press conference call with Matthew Malone, the Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Joshua Kraft, the Nicholas President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, and Linda Steigleder, the President & CEO of Hancock Shaker Village.

"This is our biggest and best Free Fun Fridays program," said Highland Street Foundation Executive Director Blake Jordan. "Free Fun Fridays shines a spotlight on the broad and diverse art and cultural offerings across Massachusetts. Whether you live in Boston or the Berkshires, Worcester or Cape Cod, the North Shore or the South Coast, you can take advantage of this free program."

Free Fun Fridays is the annual summer program that opens doors at no cost to visitors to many of the most treasured cultural venues in Massachusetts. This year, 60 museums and cultural venues will participate in the program, which is an increase from the 50 venues that participated in 2012. Beginning June 28^th through August 30^th, six cultural venues will be open free-of-charge every Friday for 10 weeks this summer.

"Keeping young people intellectually and socially engaged in the summer is very important – whether the children are in pre-school or all the way through high school. This is a great program for families to take advantage of this summer," said Matthew Malone, Massachusetts Secretary of Education.

The Highland Street Foundation provides grants to participating venues to cover the cost of opening their doors for free. The Highland Street Foundation has invested $650,000 to support the Free Fun Fridays program this year.

This year, the program welcomes back favorite sites like the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Peabody Essex Museum, along with new venues, including The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Barrington and the Ocean Explorium in New Bedford. 

For all the full Free Fun Fridays 2013 program schedule and to learn more about the Highland Street Foundation, visit www.highlandstreet.org or join us at facebook.com/HighlandStreet and on Twitter @HighlandStreet.

About Highland Street Foundation:
Since 1989, the Highland Street Foundation has worked to enrich the lives of children and families in Massachusetts by donating more than $146 million to worthy non-profit organizations. From its support of the TADpole playground in Boston Common, to providing tickets to local sporting events to local non-profits, to building capacity and providing technical assistance to hundreds of nonprofit organizations, the foundation is dedicated to expanding opportunities for families in Massachusetts and beyond. This year marks the fifth anniversary of Free Fun Fridays and a record-breaking 60 venues will participate, with six cultural venues in Massachusetts open free-of-charge every Friday for 10 weeks this summer. Over the past four summers more than 500,000 visitors have enjoyed the Free Fun Fridays program.

SOURCE Highland Street Foundation