The 5 Best Coming Attractions for 2016

Spring is a season of anticipation, and with each lengthening day, these coming attractions in New England draw closer to completion. They’ve been in the works for months, years…one for more than a decade, and all five are destined to provide memorable 2016 moments for travelers fortunate to be among the first to experience them.

The Berkshire Carousel
Pittsfield, MA

Christopher Reeve spoke of giving back to your community at Williams College’s 1999 commencement. You’ll delight in a ride aboard the work of art in motion his words inspired, even without knowing the whole story behind the Berkshire Carousel, which will begin spinning merrily daily inside a new octagonal-style building by July. With Berkshires scenes by local artists—and horses, a donkey, and two chariots hand-carved by 400 volunteers—it represents a revival of turn-of-the-twentieth-century craftsmanship and more than a decade of unwavering community passion. “None of the people knew how to carve,” says executive director Maria Caccaviello. “They learned. They progressed. Now, they’re master carvers.” Each horse demanded 1,800 hours of effort; each has a name and purpose. An anticipated 186,000 riders will clamber aboard each year. Be one who learns the whole story: It may move you to create something that outlives your own go-round. 413-499-0457; berkshirecarousel.com

Birds from Down Under
Providence, RI

Some 500 Australian birds in the boldest kaleidoscope of hues are winging their way to Roger Williams Park Zoo, and these parrots, cockatiels, and grass parakeets won’t just be on view April 15 through Labor Day. “They will land on you; it doesn’t get better than that,” says executive director Dr. Jeremy Goodman. A 2,000-square-foot, all-weather greenhouse, which previously housed fickle butterflies that could never be counted on for close encounters, will become an immersive aviary swirling with color and diversity. It’s a thrill with a purpose: encouraging visitors to connect with animals and notice nuances, from the way they fly to the details on their feathers. Admission includes a seed stick: your magic wand for summoning these fluttering wonders to you. 401-785-3510; rwpzoo.org

Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Rockland, ME

It could have been a casualty…anywhere else but Maine. Established in 1952, the Center for Maine Contemporary Art finally found a permanent home in a Rockport livery stable in 1967. By 2010, though, the organization’s limiting location and fragile finances threatened its survival. That’s when new director Suzette McAvoy began rallying artists and philanthropists behind a plan “to do something big and bold.” Those who’ve previewed the CMCA’s new 11,500-square-foot, Toshiko Mori-designed, corrugated metal and glass building in Rockland are “amazed by the scale.” When it opens June 26, with exhibitions of work by Alex Katz, Jonathan Borofsky, and Rollin Leonard, the CMCA will join Rockland’s Farnsworth Art Museum, Strand Theatre, and dozens of galleries in promoting Maine’s place in American art. It’s “an extraordinary story,” asserts McAvoy, “that Maine hasn’t told widely and loudly enough.” 207-701-5005; cmcanow.org

Eataly Boston
Boston, MA

A little Italian town is springing up in Boston, and 5 million people are expected to visit in year one: That’s more than all the Italian immigrants who poured through America’s ports and settled in places like Boston’s historic North End before 1924. Eataly Boston—set to occupy 40,000 square feet on three floors of the Prudential Center—will uniquely reflect this culinary-obsessed city when it debuts in the fall. With market counters, restaurants, pasta and other fresh production labs, local and imported foodstuffs, and a cooking school, founder Oscar Farinetti and his American partners Joe and Lidia Bastianich and Mario Batali want their fourth U.S. venture to nourish, educate, and inspire. As overwhelming as Eataly may seem, you’ll relish interactions with friendly experts like the vegetable butcher. eataly.com

Hartford Yard Goats
Hartford, CT

There’s so much excitement surrounding Hartford’s first minor league baseball stadium—9,000-seat Dunkin’ Donuts Park—management decided the Class-AA Eastern League team needs two mascots: plaid-clad Chompers and polka-dot-dress-wearing Chew Chew. And yes, even she sports a furry “goat-ee.” There’s more to the Yard Goats moniker—selected via a submission contest—than just quirky branding. In old railroad lingo, a “yard goat” is an engine that shuffles cars between tracks in a railyard. Hartford’s new home team will play inaugural season games on the road through at least May 8. When the $56 million ballpark’s complete, it will anchor the new DoNo—Downtown North—neighborhood redevelopment, with out-of-the-park enticements like a brewery and Hard Rock Hotel in the works. 860-259-1042; yardgoatsbaseball.com