Downtown Crossing

A rotating lineup of diverse vendors are popping up all season in Downtown Crossing. Presented by the Downtown Boston Alliance of businesses, the Downtown Boston Holiday Market happens (weather-permitting) on Summer Street Plaza every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11am–4 pm from November 29 to December 22. Keep your eyes peeled for carolers and other celebrations, as well.

Say what you will about the clown heads, but no one can argue that Downtown Boston’s inaugural Winteractive outdoor art experience that ran from January–April this year was anything less than memorable. The provocative, giant and some may say “creepy” clown heads—a work called “Endgame (Nagg & Nell)” by artist Max Streicher—hung between buildings on Washington Street and got the most press, but the installation I enjoyed most was “Territories 2.0” by Olivier Roberge, a walk-through cube situated on Federal Street, which hid a large-scale, yet miniature mountainscape. Other works, such as the illuminated, rideable bicycles on the Summer Street pedestrian plaza, and the massive whale structure on Franklin Street that echoed unsettling noise when observers got close, gave the 16-work public art pop-up a gotta-catch-’em-all sense of discovery. Winteractive is coming back in January 2025 and I can’t wait to discover what’s in store.