Why add your events to The Boston Calendar?
The Boston Calendar is the most highly visited event website in New England, reaching 250k+ live users and receiving 1 million page views monthly. If you want to get eyes on your event, this is the best way to do it. Plus, adding your event to the calendar makes it eligible to be included in TBC’s e-mail newsletters and event roundups which reach 37,000 subscribers. Best of all, it’s completely free!
Which events are eligible to be listed?
The Boston Calendar lists events in the Greater Boston area (roughly within the 495 belt) with an emphasis on Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline. Our readers often rely on public transit so events within that access are popular. Free or inexpensive events (under $50/person) also tend to perform best.
Before you submit an event listing, ask yourself if it’s really an event. A restaurant or bar open for business isn’t an event. A yoga class regularly offered at a studio isn’t an event. Our readers are looking for exciting and unique offerings.
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Examples of acceptable events: Festivals, live music, art exhibits and openings, performing arts, comedy shows, film screenings, brewery and distillery tours, beer and cocktail tastings, theme nights at restaurants, university lectures, free or unique fitness classes (offered less than once per week), tech meetups, cooking classes, nonprofit benefits, trivia nights, community events, kid-friendly events.
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Examples of ineligible events: Multiple-week courses, fitness classes offered multiple times per week, restaurant menu updates or drink specials, religious services, events with a very narrow audience (such as students or alumni of one university), events linking to affiliate ticketing sites.
Events that don’t meet our standards will be deleted, and users who submit multiple ineligible events will be banned. If you’re not sure if your events are eligible to be listed on TBC, feel free to email us at [email protected]. We’re happy to help!
What about permanent experiences?
We do allow listings for permanent, evergreen experiences that appeal to visitors and locals alike. These are experiences that bring value to visitors and locals alike. These are experiences that wouldn’t necessarily be part of an everyday routine, they are a special outing.
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For example: a museum, a historic home, parks and urban greenspaces (like the Arnold Arboretum), unique markets that are open regularly.
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What does not qualify: restaurants, fitness classes at gyms, advertisements for shops.
How do I create an account?
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Sign up for an account here by creating a username and password.
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Host profiles are now public which means when you add an event you will have the option to have it connected to your profile. That way when users click on your profile they can see all the events you have to offer.
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Make sure to update your profile with current information and a photo to make it look most engaging!
How do I add a listing?
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Click the green “Add a New Event” button at the top of any page to get started.
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Follow our guidelines below to learn specifically about each step of the process.
Media
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Photos and videos are key to catching our readers’ attention. Upload something high-resolution and visually interesting for the best results.
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Avoid flyers and other images with lots of text.
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Unauthorized use of copyrighted material is prohibited. By creating an event, you agree that you have permission to upload the content—including imagery—in the form. Read more here.
Title
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Do include: The name of the event! Only include the presenting organization here if it’s absolutely necessary to understand what the event is.
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Don’t include other details listed elsewhere in the listing, such as the venue/location, the date, and the price. That will come later!
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Don’t use the headline of a press release as the event title. Short and sweet is best.
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Don’t editorialize, i.e. ‘Boston’s Funniest Comedy Show’
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Don’t use all caps. Capitalize the most important words in the headline and articles like “the” can be lowercase. That way we know what’s most important.
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Use single quotes around titles of plays, films, novels, albums, and art exhibitions.
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Concerts: List the name of bands/artists, separated by commas. Example: Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Prince.
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Theater: include name of theater company before title of play. Example: Shakespeare Theatre Company: ‘Hamlet.’
Dates + times
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Be careful not to mix up a.m. and p.m. For events ending at midnight or later, remember to select a.m. on the following day. No one wants guests for a nighttime event showing up at 8 in the morning!
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For ongoing events spanning multiple dates, such as plays and exhibitions, do not create multiple listings for every date/performance. Create one listing with the start date and end date covering the run of the event -- the listing will appear on the calendar for every date within the range.
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List specific days and times by clicking “display daily times,” then using the time picker feature select the days and time periods the event is active. This is a great tool for permanent experiences like museums, you can use it to illustrate what days and times the institution is open.
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If you’re inputting an event that repeats on a weekly or monthly basis, create the listing for the first occurrence with the start and end date on the same day of the first event, as though you are making a single listing. Then check “weekly” or “monthly” under the “repeating event” dropdown menu. This only applies for events that recur on the same day of the week multiple weeks in a row or the same day of the month (example: the third Sunday) for multiple months in a row. Then you can select the end date under “If event repeats, until?”
Admission
