Beverly's 400th Year Hands Its Last Weeks To Traditions Older Than The Committee

Who finishes a 400th anniversary once the group running it has put on its final big event? In Beverly, the group is Beverly Quadricentennial, Inc., a nonprofit set up in 2023 to plan anniversary events "throughout the year 2026." Its president, Ward 1 City Councilor Todd Rotondo, told The Salem News that the Sunday, Nov. 8 powwow at Endicott College would be the last major event Beverly 400+ puts on this year.

The calendar keeps going after that. For the rest of the year, the 400th runs through a holiday parade first held in 1947, a veterans' memorial tree, and Historic Beverly's December programs. The man who started the anniversary organization shows up at nearly every one of them, often under a different title.

Where The Committee's Own Calendar Ends

The committee's final programs turn to the earliest chapter of Beverly's history. The organization's history page says the land was first home to the Naumkeag and Pawtucket bands of the Massachusett Tribal Nation, and that the 1626 settlement by Roger Conant and other members of the Dorchester Company was part of what was then Naumkeag and later became Salem. The Beverly part of the story begins in 1635. That year Conant, John Balch, Peter Palfrey, John Woodbury and William Trask asked Salem for land on the "Bass River Side." Each man received 200 acres, 1,000 acres in all.

Its last two programs on Indigenous history look back to the people who were here before any of those grants:

1. Friday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m. to noon. Thomas "Spirit Tree" Green presents "History of the Massachusett Tribe" at the John Cabot House, 117 Cabot Street. It is a First Friday program at Historic Beverly, sponsored by Bev400+, and priced from free to $5.
2. Sunday, Nov. 8, noon to 5 p.m. The Indigenous Peoples Powwow at Endicott College is free and organized with the Ohketeau Cultural Center. The Salem News reported that it will feature three drumming groups and more than 100 dancers, and that it will honor the Naumkeag and Pawtucket bands.

"We want to recognize Indigenous people and make sure their culture is highlighted and learned about," Rotondo told The Salem News. He told the paper the work began in October 2023: "here we are, three years later, after so many successful events."

Those three years included a summer Homecoming that Patch reported was stretched to 15 days, July 26 through Aug. 9, as part of Beverly 400+. They also included the Oct. 10 reenactment of the 1775 fight between the Hannah and HMS Nautilus. The Salem News reported crowds at Dane Street Beach and the schooners Isabella and Ardelle playing the two ships. The 61st Homecoming got a longer schedule for the occasion, and the reenactment was staged on the battle's anniversary. Much of what follows Nov. 8 is older than the committee.

The Parade Takes The Theme

The Beverly Holiday Parade has been held since 1947. That makes it 76 years older than the nonprofit set up to mark the 400th. For Sunday, Nov. 29, its theme is "Celebrating 400 Years of Beverly," and its grand marshal is Rotondo. The parade's announcement lists his roles: founder and president of Beverly 400+, Ward 1 councilor, and co-owner of Salerno's Italian Pub & Eatery with his brother, Michael. It also lists his work with the Ryal Side Civic Association, the Beverly Veterans Advisory Council and the Greater Beverly YMCA.

The connections go further than the grand marshal. Al Temkin sits on the Beverly 400+ board, and Al and Francine Temkin host the parade's live broadcast on BevCam and YouTube. Historic Beverly lists its own entry in the parade as a free program celebrating the 400th anniversary. The parade becomes the anniversary's biggest late-year stage because the people who planned the anniversary are also inside the parade.

Nov. 29, Hour By Hour

The busiest day of the anniversary's final stretch, by the posted schedules:

• 11 a.m. Parade participants assemble at Beverly High School, 100 Sohier Road.
• 1 p.m. Step-off. The route covers 1.7 miles down Cabot Street, with performers stopping at the viewing stand at City Hall before the parade ends at Beverly Depot.
• 5 to 6:30 p.m. The Beverly Memory Tree Lighting Ceremony at Odell Veterans Memorial Park, presented by the Beverly Veterans Council and Beverly Vietnam Veterans as part of Beverly 400+.

The four hours between the two events cover the walk from the Depot end of the route and the early dark of late November. Rotondo is the grand marshal in the afternoon. He is also one of the two contacts named for the Memory Tree that evening.

If the weather is bad, the parade's rain date is Sunday, Dec. 6. Organizers say they will post any cancellation or postponement at least 24 hours ahead on the parade website and its Facebook page.

The Memory Tree Runs On A Deadline

The ornament deadline comes well before the lighting. Each ornament costs $20 and honors someone with ties to Beverly. A star is for a veteran of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard, and a silver ornament is for a non-military memorial. Profits go to a charity chosen by the Memory Tree Committee.

Orders must be received by Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, either through the QR code on the event flyer or by mailing the order form with payment to Beverly Vietnam Veterans, 19 Puritan Road, Beverly, MA 01915.

The deadline falls on Veterans Day, six days after this post goes up. A mailed form has to arrive by then, not just be postmarked.

Historic Beverly Carries December

Once the parade is over, the anniversary's last stops all lead to one address, the John Cabot House at 117 Cabot Street, home of Historic Beverly.

"The Spirit of Christmas Past: Four Centuries of Christmas in America," Saturday, Nov. 21, 2 to 3 p.m. The program is tagged as part of Beverly 400+ and covers how the holiday changed in New England and in Beverly. Tickets are $5 for Historic Beverly members and $10 for everyone else.

"Building Beverly: 400 Years in the Bricks," through Dec. 30. Shawn-Paul Filtranti's local LEGO creations have been on view since July 8, and the exhibit is included with museum admission. It closes the day before the anniversary year ends, which makes it the longest-running piece of the 400th still open.

Historic Beverly's Annual Holiday House Tour, Saturday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tour visits seven private homes decorated for the season, under the tagline "Seven homes. Four centuries of history." Tickets are $50. Member sales opened Oct. 1 and non-member sales opened Oct. 15, and Historic Beverly says the event sells out every year. The event page carries the anniversary tag, but the tour is the organization's regular holiday tradition, held this year in an anniversary year. Anyone hoping to go should check the event page for remaining tickets before making plans.

The same weekend, Beverly Main Streets brings back the Downtown Beverly Holiday Stroll on Dec. 11 and 12. Vendor and artist application details had not yet been posted. Put together, the house tour and the stroll make the second weekend of December the last full Cabot Street weekend of the 400th year.

The Dates, In Order

The anniversary committee's new events took Beverly from Dane Street Beach to the Endicott campus. Its final weeks belong to Cabot Street, the parade route and the museum, all of which were part of city life long before 2023 and will keep going after the 400th year ends.

Historic Beverly's house tour describes seven homes and four centuries of history, and that range is what Michael Selbst works with every day. He restores antique houses, serves on preservation boards, and markets them so their history goes with them to the next owner. If you own one of Beverly's older homes and want to talk about what its history adds to its value, schedule a consultation.