Community, Personal Fitness, and Social Wellness in July

Celebrating community, connection, and wellness in summertime Boston.

This July, we’re taking a moment to spotlight the many ways you can make the most of your summer, with an emphasis on health, fitness, and social well-being. Self-care takes many shapes, whether it’s staying active through regular exercise, picking up new skills, broadening your knowledge, or simply enjoying some live music. We’ve found that having meaningful experiences to look forward to can make a big difference in supporting both self-care and broader life goals.

As July is also Social Wellness Month, we wanted to give special attention to group and community activities, alongside this NIH guide to improving social wellness.  Many of these are active outdoor events, and being mindful of the heat spikes this year and the general summer heat, we also want encourage people to stay safe and follow these cooling suggestions from the city’s Emergency Management Department, as well as follow these recommendations from the National Weather Service.  

Listed below are some of our favorites:

• Boston Parks and Recreation has released their summer guide, with many free community activities such as sports, arts and crafts, and fitness.   A key highlight is the Fitness Series: a free exercise activity available for anyone, with virtual and in person groups scheduled through the end of august.  Click the link to find out more.
• The Boston Public Library maintains a regularly updated calendar of educational and community celebration events around the city for people of all ages.  They also maintain a health and wellness page with info on nutrition, self care, and related events.
• The Green Way, a public conservancy program that manages the Rose Kennedy Greenway, offers this calendar of free fitness and community events offered at that location throughout the summer.
• To help stay cool, this page highlights the opening of several Boston Center for Youth and Family pools, alongside youth summer programing.
• This regularly updated list of summer camps and learning programs for children and adults is searchable by area, feel free to browse to see what different options may be available.
• Boston Central.com, MeetBoston, and the Boston Discovery Guide all offer continuously updated aggregate lists of local free and paid group activities.  We encourage you to take some time and explore all that is available.
• This list of free and paid summer concerts features numerous different local venues and musical genres, always an exciting way to spend time with friends and family. 

From all of us here at the EAP, have a wonderful July.