Need advice on attending the Boston Fourth of July concert

[irlandaise]

Hi. A friend of mine and her 12-year-old granddaughter are going to be in Boston for a few days around July 4th. I mentioned that they might want to consider going to the Esplanade to see the Boston Pops concert in person. She asked when they would have to arrive in order to be assured of a place to sit.

The only time I went to the concert was like 40 years ago. At that time, they let people arrive around dawn, which my boyfriend and I did. We sacked out in a tent for a few hours until it was time to take that down. The friend we were staying with in Boston brought us some food and beverages in the late afternoon, schlepping a cooler on the MBTA, which was very kind of him.

Anyway...my experience is obviously now way out of date. Closed-side tents are no longer allowed. The BSO website says people can bring "folding/beach chairs"; does that mean that full-height folding chairs are okay, not just the lower beach chairs? And according to the BSO website, they now don't start letting people in until noon. Does the Oval fill up pretty quickly after that? If my friends show up, say, mid-afternoon, would they perhaps not be able to get a spot--or end up so far back from Hatch Shell that they might as well go back to their hotel and watch the show on television?

Thanks!

 

[QueenIsabella]

My husband took our daughter ~15 years ago. Yes, you still have to stake out a spot really early. He was fortunate--we knew another family there, so they spread out a blanket and saved spots for DH/DD (I think they went to a Red Sox game in the interim). When they returned, DH brought a case of water in with him to share.

The actual performance was amazing and worth it--long day, though!

 

[LoveDaisy]

Hi. A friend of mine and her 12-year-old granddaughter are going to be in Boston for a few days around July 4th. I mentioned that they might want to consider going to the Esplanade to see the Boston Pops concert in person. She asked when they would have to arrive in order to be assured of a place to sit.

The only time I went to the concert was like 40 years ago. At that time, they let people arrive around dawn, which my boyfriend and I did. We sacked out in a tent for a few hours until it was time to take that down. The friend we were staying with in Boston brought us some food and beverages in the late afternoon, schlepping a cooler on the MBTA, which was very kind of him.

Anyway...my experience is obviously now way out of date. Closed-side tents are no longer allowed. The BSO website says people can bring "folding/beach chairs"; does that mean that full-height folding chairs are okay, not just the lower beach chairs? And according to the BSO website, they now don't start letting people in until noon. Does the Oval fill up pretty quickly after that? If my friends show up, say, mid-afternoon, would they perhaps not be able to get a spot--or end up so far back from Hatch Shell that they might as well go back to their hotel and watch the show on television?

Thanks!

I went in 2023, my other visits were precovid. In 2023 you were not allowed to bring full size chairs, only the low beach chairs. I highly recommend the beach chairs you can wear as a backpack, it will make scrambling to your spot easier. They should also have an idea where they want to go when let in and immediately go there. We got there around 9:30/10am to wait in line to be let in. (Drove from CT then took the train in) The oval filled shortly after noon. I would guess if you arrived at noon that you did not get into the oval. If your friends are staying local I would ask at the hotel when they recommend they arrive.

The event happens rain or shine so I suggest bringing gear for whatever they are predicting for that day.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I live here and I don't go

 

[irlandaise]

Thank you for the very helpful information, QI and LD! I'll pass it along to my friend.

 

[irlandaise]

One more question: I found one reference online to there being food trucks at the Esplanade, but there's no mention of food on the BSO's website, so I don't know whether to trust the other site. Would appreciate accurate information about this. Thanks!