Old South Meeting
House Party
Thursday, October 16, 2025
Step Into the Revolution
Join us for a one-night-only journey through the events that sparked a revolution. This fall, Revolutionary Spaces invites you back to Old South Meeting House for an unforgettable evening of immersive storytelling, historic flavors, and bold vision as we bring the road to independence to life.
Old South Meeting HOUSE PARTY!
310 Washington Street, Downtown Boston
Thursday, October 16, 2025
6:00 pm - 9:00 PM
This year, we’ll bring you closer to the people, moments, and turning points that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It's a dramatic, story-driven experience you won’t want to miss.
Expect a contemporary tasting menu inspired by Revolutionary-era traditions, curated by the team at Boston's own Chef Dave's, and served alongside colonial-themed cocktails in one of the most storied spaces in America. Dress code for this event is cocktail attire.
Sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets are now available. Click the buttons below or email LSottile@RevolutionarySpaces.org to learn more. Your support helps Revolutionary Spaces preserve two of Boston’s most iconic buildings while bringing history to life in bold, immersive ways.
Let’s make history together!
Travel Through Time
House Party Begins
Join us at Old South Meeting House, located at 310 Washington Street in Downtown Boston.
Town Crier Proclamation
Daniel Berger-Jones joins as our Town Crier and emcee to take us through the events of the evening.
1765 - The Stamp Act is Announced
Parliament taxes paper goods without colonists’ consent, sparking riots and repeal.
Spotlight on the Pulpit
Performance by Amanda Shea featuring poetry by Phillis Wheatley Peters.
1770 - The Boston Massacre
British soldiers fire on Bostonians outside the Old State House, killing five including Crispus Attucks.
Mini-Reenactment
Take your seat as a colonist, and witness the debates that led to the Boston Tea Party.
1773 - The Boston Tea Party Meeting
Thousands crowd the Old South Meeting House to discuss the tax on tea; two hundred men dump 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor in an act of protest.
A Moment of Movement
Performance by Chanon Judson tracing the emotional shift from protest to war.
1775 - The War Begins
Paul Revere’s ride and the battles of Lexington & Concord ignite the Revolution.
Honoring Memory-Makers
Nat Sheidley honors photographer Lou Jones, reflecting on Boston’s Bicentennial, the power of public memory, and the importance of Revolutionary Spaces’ mission.
House Party Ends
Gather at the Old State House, located at 206 Washington Street, for a performance and After Party—The Let Out.
1776 - The Declaration Is Heard
On July 18, 1776, Bostonians gather at the Old State House to hear the Declaration of Independence read aloud from the balcony.
The Let Out Begins
In partnership with Embrace Boston and Everyone250, we honor this moment with Amanda Shea and a performance by Joliné Brito. Join us for The Let Out, late-night celebration for a new generation of revolutionaries, inside the Old State House!
The Let Out Ends
Our evening of history and celebration comes to an end. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
When the House Party winds down,
The Let Out begins.
Co-hosted by Revolutionary Spaces and Everyone250, The Let Out is a late-night celebration made for a new generation of revolutionaries. Please join us at the Old State House immediately following the House Party. House Party sponsors and ticket holders will automatically be added to The Let Out after party guest list.
About the Performers & Partners
Daniel Berger-Jones - Emcee & Featured Performer
Daniel Berger Jones is a Boston-based entrepreneur, performer, producer, and director with a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University who brings a unique performance background to running his businesses. He has been in productions with all of Boston’s most renowned theater companies and shared the stage with local performers and Boston’s globally recognized classical ensembles alike. In 2011, Berger Jones founded Boston tourism company Cambridge Historical Tours, now Boston History Company. He has been educating tourists, locals, and students in history, literature, art, and science for 16 years, exploring new ways to deliver stories that promote empathy and compassion for others, and we are delighted for him to bring his talents to this year’s House Party.
Amanda Shea - Featured Performer
Amanda Shea is a three-time Boston Music Award–winning spoken word artist whose work bridges poetry, music, social justice, and culture. WBUR praised her EP God, Again for “bridging the gap between poetry and music,” blending spoken word with hip-hop, rock, opera, jazz, and R&B. Her voice, rooted in African and Puerto Rican oral traditions, has been featured by the MFA, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Boston Globe, TEDx, Netflix, Prime Video, BBC News, and GBH. Described by Boston Globe columnist Jeneé Osterheldt as a “connector of creativity and community,” Shea co-founded and curates Activating ARTivism, hosts GBH’s Outspoken Saturdays, and serves as Arts & Culture Director at 617PEAK. She produced the award-winning documentary BLACK: Narratives in Boston’s Black Queer & Trans History (2023), curated HELLABLACK VOL. 6: SACRED at the BCA in 2024, and will curate HELLABLACK VOL. 7: SHIFT in 2025. A 2024 LAB Grant recipient, she is also a teaching artist in Boston Public Schools and will publish her first poetry collection, Pieces of Shea, in 2025.
Nat Sheidley - President & CEO, Revolutionary Spaces
Dr. Nathaniel Sheidley is the President and CEO of Revolutionary Spaces. He was formerly Executive Director of the Bostonian Society and Assistant Professor of American and Native American History at Wellesley College. He is a graduate of Stanford University and holds a Ph.D. in American History from Princeton University. Sheidley is a programmatically daring historian whose leadership has reimagined public history at the center of Boston’s cultural landscape. His work is guided by a deeply held belief that public history at its best can do more than tell us about the past; it can also deepen our understanding of the present and equip us to build a more just and equitable future. Sheidley curated and provided creative direction for numerous exhibitions and programs, including Blood on the Snow, an immersive, site-specific work of theater written by playwright Patrick Gabridge that dramatizes the pivotal aftermath of the Boston Massacre in the very room where the events took place.
Lou Jones - Honoree
Photographer, documentarian, and chronicler of Boston's Bicentennial and “Where's Boston,”
we are proud to honor Lou Jones for his extraordinary work capturing Boston’s communities during the nation’s Bicentennial, and for reminding us of the power of images to shape collective memory and public consciousness. His work helps us understand that history is not just what happens, but how it’s seen, shared, and preserved. Jones began his photography career in 1971 and has maintained his Boston based studio since.
During this year’s House Party, guests will have the opportunity to experience a digital showcase of his work, curated in partnership with Lou, and to join us in celebrating a living legend of Boston’s creative and cultural history. Click here to view a portfolio of his work.
Chanon Judson - Featured Performer
Chanon Judson is a choreographer, performer, and educator whose work explores the intersections of dance, community, and cultural memory. For over two decades she was a core member and later Co-Artistic Director of the acclaimed Urban Bush Women, where she helped create the site-responsive work Haint Blu and many other projects centering ancestral stories and social justice. Her choreographic credits span theater, music, and ritual performance, including The Hang (Taylor Mac, Here Arts), Cannabis: A Viper Vaudeville (Baba Israel/Grace Galu/Talvin Wilks), and her original work Nurturing the Nurturer. An avid arts educator, she has taught widely with AileyCamp, BAM, and Cumbe Center for Diasporic Arts, and co-founded Pre-school Rock/Family Arts. Judson is currently a Visiting Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo, where she is advancing research and curriculum redesign in jazz embodiment and the aesthetics of the African Diaspora.
Joliné Brito - Featured Performer
Joliné Brito is an Afro-Dominican spoken word poet and pre-law student at Northeastern University, using her powerful voice to ignite change. As the daughter of immigrant parents, her poetry fearlessly confronts racism, sexism, immigration, and generational trauma within Black and Latinx communities. Featured at TEDx Roxbury, MIT, 617Peak, and Mayor Wu’s campaign, Brito's work amplifies the voices of the marginalized, demanding justice and revolution. Every poem is a protest. With every word, she challenges the status quo and advocates for a world where resilience, resistance, and equity thrive.
Back by Popular Demand
Chef Dave's
We’re thrilled to welcome the team at Chef Dave's back for another year!
Chef David Welch began his culinary career over 20 years ago as a produce buyer at Boston’s beloved Formaggio Kitchen. It didn’t take long for his talent to stand out—soon, the Formaggio team tapped him to launch “Dave’s Grill,” a BBQ division that quickly drew a loyal following. Building on that success, Chef Dave launched a private chef service, bringing his bold, flavorful cooking into the homes of an ever-growing list of distinguished clients.
With a lifelong passion for sourcing the freshest local ingredients and transforming them into imaginative, artful plates, Welch brought his philosophy to a new level with his first bistro concept at The Street Chestnut Hill.
At House Party 2025, Chef Dave returns with a menu of revolutionary-inspired bites and signature cocktails that blend history, creativity, and seasonal New England ingredients. Guests can look forward to bold, surprising flavors that honor the past while pushing culinary boundaries
Your Hosts
Lou Jones, Honoree
Everyone250, Honoree
Alexandra Hastings, Co-chair
Martha McNamara, Co-chair
Pam Albright
Sarah Biller
Ted Clark
Connie Coburn
June Cooper
Cathryn Griffith
Nakeisha Johnson
Elizabeth L. Johnson
Connie Lehman
Amanda Shea
David Yamada
Nathaniel Sheidley, President & CEO
Martha McNamara, Chair
David Yamada, Vice Chair
Raymond Hoefling, Treasurer
James F. Hunnewell, Jr, Preservation Officer of the Old State House
Christopher Lane, Preservation Officer of the Old South Meeting House
Judith B. McDonough, Clerk
Thomas Appleton
Asaf Bitton
Toby Chaudhuri
Charles Coe
Alexandra Hastings
Malia Lazu
Ellen Lipsey
Aliza Saivetz-Glasser
Julie Solz
Nancy Taylor
Katherine B. Winter
House Party Sponsors
Alexandra Hastings & Thomas Frank
Anonymous
The Waldron Civic Fund: Robert & Jennifer Waldron
Cathy & Jack Brennan
Elizabeth L. Johnson
Pam & Bear Albright
Connie Coburn & James Houghton
Wayne Davis & Ann Merrifield
Susan & James Hunnewell
The Donald C. McGraw Foundation:
Buzz & Robin McGraw
Tracy & John Flannery
Hilary Bacon & Chris Gabrieli
Judith McDonough
Martha McNamara & Jim Bordewick
O'Neill & Associates
Shawmut Design and Construction
Rev. Nancy S. Taylor
David Yamada
A.W. Perry
Boston Duck Tours
Linda Cabot Black
Eugene Clapp
Electrosonic
Steve Eustis
Finegold Alexander Architects
Cathryn Griffith
Historic Boston Inc.
Connie Lehman & Paul Nofer
Drs. Sidney & Lynne Levitsky
Ellen Lipsey
William & Christine Martin
National Parks Conservation Association
Tom & Lynne Paine
Anne & Stephen Peacher
Janine Penfield
Smith Duggan Cornell & Gollub LLP
J.P. Licks
Noble Ford Productions
Richard Lewis Media Group
Jack's Abby
