Starting Saturday morning, the towns of Concord and Lexington will host a series of tours and reenactments that commemorate the very first battles of the American Revolution and honor the soldiers who fought in them.
Saturday, April 13
Lexington’s three-day celebration kicks off at 9 a.m. on the Battle Green, the site where “the first blood was spilt in the dispute with Great Britain,” as George Washington once wrote in his diary. There, the Lexington Minute Men will reenact Captain John Parker’s second “call to arms” before marching up Massachusetts Avenue and Fiske Hill for a “skirmish reenactment” in Minute Man National Park, the town’s website said.
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At 1 p.m. in Tower Park, The Old Guard will demonstrate a series of Revolutionary War weapons and tactics. New England’s largest junior fife and drum corps will perform at 2:30 p.m., followed by a reenactment that features a working reproduced cannon at 4 p.m.
In Concord, hundreds of volunteer reenactors will spend the day at Minute Man National Historical Park to put on a series of living history programs and demonstrations, according to the town’s website.
From 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the Hartwell Tavern will be staffed with living history interpreters dressed in eighteenth century attire. Spectators are welcome to visit the historic house where the Hartwell family provided shelter for farmers and merchants.
Sunday, April 14
Just before midnight in Lexington, the town’s Historical Society will present a reenactment of Paul Revere’s famous ride at 11:30 p.m., according to the town’s website. For an early start to Monday’s celebration, crowds can gather at 36 Hancock St. to watch the “dramatized reenactment” of Revere’s arrival at the Hancock-Clarke House.
Monday, April 15
In Lexington, actors in Colonial military dress will assemble on the Battle Green around 5 a.m. to reenact the Battle of Lexington. The demonstration will end at 5:30 a.m. with the sounding of the Old Belfry alarm, a noise that once alerted the Lexington militia of the British Redcoats’ arrival.
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From 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m., the Lexington Minute Men will join the Daughters of the American Revolution to lay wreaths around the Battle Green in honor of the town’s fallen soldiers, the website said. One wreath will be placed on the Revolutionary Monument, which marks the burial site of soldiers killed on April 19, 1775.
Spectators can assemble back on the Battle Green at 1 p.m. to watch a reenactment of Paul Revere’s horseback arrival, the website said.
And finally, at 2 p.m., the Patriots Day parade steps off from Massachusetts Avenue and Maple Street in, according to the website. The route travels west through Lexington Center and ends at the town’s Center Recreation Complex on Worthen Road.
In Concord, viewers are invited to gather near the Monument Street entrance of the North Bridge and near Liberty Street at 8:30 a.m. for a reenactment of the “shot heard round the world,” the town’s website said.
At 9 a.m., the annual Patriots Day parade steps off from the Hunt Gym on Stow Street, according to the town’s website.
National Park Rangers will lead a crowd down Battle Road to Fiske Hill from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the website said. The 4-mile hike follows the path taken by the British during the Concord expedition, guiding participants through the “trials and triumphs” of war.
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Lila Hempel-Edgers can be reached at lila.hempeledgers@globe.com. Follow her on X @hempeledgers and on Instagram @lila_hempel_edgers.