Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area invites partners throughout the region to participate in this year’s Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture, & History, a month-long celebration of the remarkable people, places, and objects related to the Heritage Area’s 45 communities.

Throughout the month of May, Hidden Treasures curates an immersive mixture of online and physical events and activities hosted by our partners. This collection of creative offerings showcases the landscape, traditions, and stories of the uniquely American region that is the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area.

New for 2023, Hidden Treasures will include the following optional thematic focus tracks to highlight our Community Partners’ work that closely aligns with ongoing initiatives of the Heritage Area:

• Monuments, Memorials and Markers: Exploring the stories behind how history has been commemorated in the region through physical objects in the landscape.
• Operation Pollination: Discovering the ways in which native pollination systems are created and cared for in the Heritage Area, highlight opportunities for the public to engage in this important work.

As a Hidden Treasures Community Partner, you will host an event or activity featuring a “hidden treasure” that:

• takes place within Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area (see map),
• is scheduled for a day and time of your choice in May 2023
• is free and open to the public

Register online by Saturday, April 15th. Let us know if you need a bit more time!

Keep track of the time spent preparing and hosting your Hidden Treasures program, as well as the number of attendees, and send us this information by Friday, June 30^th to apply for a stipend to reimburse up to $250 of qualified expenses.

Hidden Treasures events and activities will be featured on our website’s Community Calendar and Interactive Map, as well as in our mobile app “Explore Freedom’s Way NHA” enhancing the visibility of your organization across the Heritage Area—and beyond—introducing your work to new and diverse audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

One last thing—it doesn’t cost anything to participate! As a partnership endeavor, we capture the value of your time spent working on your Hidden Treasures event or activity as an in-kind contribution to the Heritage Area. This helps us fulfill our obligation to match the funding we receive through the National Park Service and demonstrate our ability to leverage this federal support to realize our mission.

By working together, we increase accessibility to the region’s heritage assets for all, bringing awareness and appreciation to the valued treasures that make Freedom’s Way worthy of its national distinction.

Not sure where to start? Want to talk through an idea? Have questions or need clarification? We’re here to help and we’d love to hear from you! Give us a call at (978) 772-3654 x300 or email our 2023 Hidden Treasures Festival of Nature, Culture and History Program Manager/Community Engagement Coordinator Dan Knapp at hiddentreasures@freedomsway.org.