Amesbury's art tour runs a free trolley across twelve boarding stops this year, and most of them sit inside the old industrial buildings along the Powwow side of town, places like Cedar Street, Chestnut Street, Elm Street, Oakland Street and the Upper Millyard. The tour has always been laid out around those buildings.
The 30th annual Amesbury Open Studios runs Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, November 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Amesbury Cultural Council has run the citywide tour every November for three decades. Its page states the rule that shapes the whole route: any artist with a studio in Amesbury can take part. Artists without one get space from downtown businesses, City Hall and the Cultural Center for the weekend. That gives the trolley two kinds of stops. At some, artists open the doors of places they work in all year. At others, they set up in borrowed space. Once you know which is which, you can plan the weekend.
Where the Artists Work All Year
These are the stops where the building is the studio. If you have only a few hours, this is the side of the route that shows how much working space Amesbury's old industrial stock still provides.
- 14 Cedar Street Studios, 14 Cedar St. 14 Cedar Street Studios describes itself as a historic mill building renovated using sustainable building practices, with office, art studio and light industrial units. Heather Karp, who has Studio #214 here, calls this year's tour the 30th annual, with more than 100 artists across the city. The building's North of Boston event listing says it alone holds 20+ artists, with Kaha Coffee, Kitchen Local and musicians on site both days. Painter Tina Rawson will show work here as well.
- Trades Mill, 6 Chestnut St. Trades Mill is a renovated historic mill campus that rents flexible workspace to creative entrepreneurs and craftspeople. Birdhouse, one of its tenants, is hosting Sarah Wigglesworth of Empty Nester Art for the weekend.
- Sincere Metal Works, 17 Chestnut St. A custom foundry and fabrication shop that does metal casting, on the same street as Trades Mill. The shop dates to 2015. This year it's one of the trolley's boarding stops.
- 12 Oakland St. One boarding point serves three businesses. The Center is an art and community space that runs classes, arts events and community projects. BareWolf Brewing pours small-batch beer in a taproom and biergarten inside an antique mill building. Farm + Sea makes small-batch candles, diffusers and bath goods.
- 77 Elm St. Jewell Town Pottery offers classes, studio access and workshops. Mill 77 Brewing runs its taproom in the same renovated mill building.
- Pond Street Studios, 34 Pond St. Last year the Cultural Council's stop page listed artists here working in mixed media, painting, sculpture, crafts and jewelry. The 2026 roster is on the council's online map.
- The Cultural Center, 37 Upper Millyard. The council holds arts events and its own meetings here. Nearby, at Mill 2 in the Upper Millyard, the Amesbury Carriage Museum is opening its Industrial History Center to local artist K. Lee Mock. The museum bills it as art mixed with industry and promises a special demonstration Sunday afternoon.
Two of the seven stops have taprooms in mill buildings, and Cedar Street has Kaha Coffee and Kitchen Local on site for the weekend. You can make a full afternoon of the mill half alone without heading downtown for lunch.
Where the Artists Borrow a Wall
The other half of the route is the "gracious hosts" half. It's downtown, and these stops let artists without Amesbury studios take part.
- 62 Friend St., Old City Hall
- 100 and 104 Main St., the BLDG and the Old Post. The Old Post at 100 Main rents private office suites for professional, retail and light-industrial use.
- 44 Main St., alchemy+art, a gallery and art-supply shop.
- 9 Water St., Artists' Muse, where painter Amy Vander Els is showing both days.
- 5 Market St., Market Square. Golden Hour Counseling at 5 Market Square, B9 is hosting its community artist Megan Walsh. Tina Rawson splits her weekend between this space and Cedar Street.
The downtown stops are close enough to walk between. The trolley earns its keep linking them to Cedar Street, Pond Street and the Upper Millyard. The Newburyport Daily News reported that this year's program includes pop-up spaces for guest artists, children's activities, music and restaurant specials, with the free trolley running among a dozen studio locations. The council posts its downtown deals and live music schedule on its 2026 Open Studios page. The online map there also lists every artist and business sponsor.
What Changed on the 2026 Route
The council's own phrase is that "every year brings something different." Comparing this year's boarding list with last year's shows what that means in practice.
| On the 2025 trolley list, not on 2026 | On the 2026 trolley list, not on 2025 |
|---|---|
| 105 Main St. | 17 Chestnut St., Sincere Metal Works |
| Costello Transportation Center, 68 Elm St. | 37 Upper Millyard, Cultural Center |
Both additions sit on the mill side of town, and one of the dropped stops was a downtown address on Main Street. The changes push this year's route a bit further into the industrial buildings. Chestnut Street now has two stops, the foundry at 17 and Trades Mill at 6, so a single trolley stop there covers a lot of ground.
Last year's page called that tour the 29th and said the council was already planning the 30th for 2026. For the anniversary, the 2026 page asks visitors for a $30 "birthday gift" to the council.
Friday Night to Sunday Afternoon
The weekend starts a night early. Artists' Muse at 9 Water St. is holding a Friday, November 13 opening reception as the Open Studios kickoff, with drinks, snacks and live music by Just Steezy Things. The studio's own events page lists tour-day hours that differ from the council's. For planning, use the official schedule, which is 10 to 5 on Saturday and 11 to 4 on Sunday.
Sunday is the shorter day and ends an hour earlier, but it has the one scheduled demonstration on the route, K. Lee Mock's Sunday afternoon session at the Industrial History Center. One way to split the weekend is to spend Saturday on Cedar Street, Chestnut Street and Oakland Street, where the taprooms and Kaha Coffee keep things going past lunch. Then save Sunday afternoon for the Upper Millyard.
The Same Buildings Keep Working Into December
After Open Studios, the holiday season keeps coming back to the same addresses. The Industrial History Center at Mill 2 and Market Square both reappear.
- Tuesday, November 17, 6 to 8 p.m. The Carriage Museum's Community of Makers series brings pointed-pen calligraphy to the Industrial History Center, taught by New England calligrapher Liz Roessler. No experience is needed, and a take-home kit is included. Registration starts at $20.
- Saturday, November 28, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Amesbury Chamber of Commerce lists Small Business Saturday at Market Square, one of the trolley's downtown host stops.
- Saturday, December 5. The volunteer-run Amesbury Holiday Parade starts at Amesbury High School, 5 Highland St., and ends at the Market Street rotary with a community gathering, the tree lighting and Santa's arrival. Check the organizers' site for this year's start time.
- Sunday, December 6, noon to 4 p.m. The Carriage Museum's Holiday Market fills the Industrial History Center with local vendors, cocoa and a limited-edition museum ornament.
- Thursday, December 10, 6:30 to 7:40 p.m. The duo Sultana brings The American Story in Song, a program of history, original songs and slides written for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, to the Industrial History Center. Tickets start at $20.
Over about four weeks, Mill 2 hosts a working artist, a calligraphy class, a holiday market and a concert. Market Square hosts artists on November 14 and Small Business Saturday on November 28. On December 5, the parade ends at the Market Street rotary. The Open Studios trolley map doubles as a guide to where Amesbury gathers for the rest of the season.
Our team at The Good Life Real Estate Group loves weekends like this one, when Amesbury's mills and storefronts open up and you meet the people who make things in them. If you're curious which streets around Cedar, Chestnut or the Upper Millyard suit the way you live, we're always happy to talk it through. Contact Us.
