The Boston Arts Festival takes place on the second weekend of September, from 11am – 6:00 pm, at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. This annual event is designed to showcase the visual and performing arts in Boston. Affectionately dubbed (ähts), it began in 2003 by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events with the mission of promoting the Open Studios happening throughout the Fall in Boston’s neighborhoods.

The Boston Arts Festival is now run by the organizers of the Beacon Hill Art Walk and Artists Crossing Gallery, and will launch Boston’s Arts Open Studios season featuring juried local visual artists, craftspeople, and local musicians performing on the Waterfront Stage throughout the day. The event brings tens of thousands of visitors to Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, on Boston Harbor, where they can meet the artists and craftspeople who are there to share a wide variety of art and high-end craft work, including painting, photography, ceramics, jewelry and sculpture, and much more.

Christopher Columbus Park is conveniently located on Boston’s waterfront between Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Boston’s historic North End. The Park is easily accessed via public transportation: Blue Line to Aquarium stop, Green Line to the Haymarket stop, or the Orange Line also to Haymarket stop.