We went last summer just for the food as we saw a vendor serving Filipino food and have a very hard…read moretime finding any places serving it in our area. The food was AMAZING. You could see everyone working together to cook the food for quite literally the longest line at the festival because of how good it was. We got pancit, garlic rice, lumpia, pork and chicken BBQ, and turon. Each dish was also served with a small vinegar based sauce as well. There is something for everyone at the folk festival as well, with SO many different food vendors from all over the world sharing their unique flavors with the city of Lowell! The festival itself is free, but parking around the festival is not so you definitely need cash. It is also suggested to have extra cash inside the festival as well because many vendors are cash only. There are always concerts playing with live bands and plenty of local artists selling their work. HIGHLY suggest going one of the days it is available over the summer.

The Lowell Folk Festival, always the last weekend in July, is the nation's largest free folk…read morefestival. The Festival starts on Friday night and runs through Sunday afternoon. All of the performances are FREE. There are American Folk, Jazz and Blues performers as well as very many international singers and performers. There are sundry food stalls selling meals from around the world. The prices are always good. The downtown shops and restaurants actively participate, too, with great specials. All of the venues are within walking distance of each other. Everything is held outside, rain or shine. There are lots of tents set up in case it rains and to give shade. Schedules are available on line and from volunteers when you arrive. There are free shuttle buses from the Lowell train station.

Koto opened recently in Downtown Lowell, in the former Bar 74 space. This Asian fusion restaurant…read moreoffers dine-in, takeout, and DoorDash delivery, a spacious dining area with ample table seating, a full service bar with high soft seats offering 12 beers on draft, wine, and cocktails and sushi bar. For food, they offer the usual suspects such as appetizers (gyoza, spring rolls, shumai crab rangoons, edamame, skewers, chicken fingers, scallion pancake...), soup, salads, noodle soups, stir fried noodles, fried rice, bento boxes, teriyaki dinners, katsu, donburi, sushi rolls, and sashimi entrees and appetizers. The pricing is moderate here. On my way back home, I passed through Lowell and decided to stop in at Koto for takeout, later in the evening before closing time. The place wasn't too busy on a hot weeknight. I decided on the Shrimp & Veggie Yaki Udon Noodles ($16 plus tax), which was hot, ready and bagged in a nice looking sealed Koto reusable bag. The food was still hot when I arrived home about 30 minutes later. The portion seemed modest, but expected since I ordered the thick round udon noodles. This dish had a mix of soft udon noodles, carrots, broccoli, onions, red peppers, cabbage, zucchini, and tender shrimp (cleaned). Other than the noodle dish being a bit overcooked, it tasted pretty good. I will very likely order the pork katsu with rice & salad or a bento box on the next visit to Koto in Lowell.

This place was dead at 10pm on a wednesday. I showed up at 10:30, having read the flyer stating…read morekaraoke starts at 10pm... false advertising. I am standing there while the "DJ" literally sits and eats drinks and smokes, and the excuse to sit around and do nothing is he "has no singers". I arrive half an hour after the official start time and he would not let me do karaoke. This guy does the same thing wherever he goes it's crazy. Then the angry owner protects his friend rather than hold him accountable for not doing his job.. It's no wonder the nightlife scene in Lowell is dead. These people put their delinquent friends and/or family before their customers. Hopefully some business-minded people will take these spots over where, these people are taking the location and the local people for granted. The fact that he even said, "starting at 10pm" is crazy, and shows how out of touch and uncaring these business people are, as any1 with a middleschool education can clearly see the entire problem was that karaoke...from my own FIRST HAND ACCOUNT, hadn't started at 10pm. Yes, please do as this guy says; be there at 10pm like I did and see if the karaoke isn't started by 10:33 pm (which is when I finally left) or even 10pm as he's claiming, make sure you also leave this owner a 1 Star review to prevent more uppity out-of-town business owners who think they run the place from taking advantage of local spots where good businesses would actually thrive and add value to the area instead of more smug, cynical, every man for himself, here today, gone tomorrow turn-key bullcrap. This guy is delusional... everything I stated was a first hand account, for him to flat out LIE is crazy. Also the story he is giving here doesn't match up with what he said in his own restaurant. I had a face to face convo with this guy INSIDE the restaurant.. the karaoke hadn't started and he knew that because he told me, "this DJ had a method where he waits for a bunch of singers to show up". So this guy KNEW and yet he calls out the truth on me, what a snake. What a pompous, nose-in-the-air person this guy is. Untruths, lol a word the news uses to blanket discount anything any1 says. Goes to show even people with money can be crazy, it's not just the guy strung out sitting on trash. Also, this DJ's "method" is him sitting around drinking, smoking, and ordering drinks WELL PAST the karaoke start time. I literally went to another location that "hires" him (more like a charity donation) and it was LITERALLY past 11:30 pm and this same DJ hadn't started yet despite the start time being 10pm.... These big business types want you to shut up and take it and be quiet, they care nothing of the service they provide.

This is a hidden gem for theater lovers right in the heart of Lowell. I've been going to 2-3 plays…read morea year for over 15 years and I've never been disappointed. My most recent play was Misery and all I can say is WOW! they did an amazing job working with a small set to create a story that delivered a fantastic performance. It is a small theater but there are no bad seat in the house. They also have special offers for tickets that can make the experience more affordable. The variety of plays include many multicultural plays or including multicultural cast members. I applaud their commitment to diversity. Staff is super friendly and accommodating. Parking can be street parking or you can park at the church lot next door during performance nights.

We now have our second season subscription. The shows put on are on the whole delightful and well…read moreacted. Among my favorites were Outbound Tide, Tiny Beautiful Things and Cry It Out.

Great concert! The staff were very friendly and helpful. The building itself is beautifully…read morerestored, and expertly decorated. The floor seats however leave a lot to be desired, they are way to close together, which made for an uncomfortable evening.

Saw Pretty Woman the musical today. The cast was amazing- very talented. Seating is tight,…read moreespecially with everyone wearing winter coats- folding chairs on the floor. They have a small concession area with beverages and snacks. Decent parking in the area and traffic wasn't bad after the show- easy in and out. Good place for a musical or concert- sound system was very good.

We had our end of the season youth hockey party there. Absolutely amazing! Value, staff, food all…read moreexceptional. Highly recommend

Majority of arcade games weren't functional and the one employee working was indifferent and sullen.read more

I went to an great glass fusing class here! Erica, the owner, is friendly, patient and fun. She…read moreshowed me all the different kinds of things she makes in her studio - it's filled with lovely plates and bowls and pieces for jewelry. She then explained the different kinds of glass, showed me how to cut glass, and answered all of my MANY questions. With her help, I assembled what will become a glass bowl - a sheet of clear glass with colored glass placed on top of it in a pattern - she has LOTS of different kinds and colors of glass. Then I placed another sheet of clear glass on top. Erica carefully placed it in the kiln where it stayed for 30 hours! She sent me photos of it when it came out - it's a flat solid sheet, and it's gorgeous! Now she'll place it in a mold and put it in the kiln again to heat just enough for it to slump into a bowl shape. I can't wait!

From the owner: - Fused Glass - Classes…read more - Custom Made Goods - Open to the public first Saturday of each month, 12 - 5 pm - Sign up for Classes and message the business directly!

Coming from a place where cotton and hand looms were pretty much the life of the people, a lot…read morewhich was stolen by the British imperialists back 300 years away I was still amazed. Yes, I have seen enough of high quality cotton stuff and carding and converting them into threads still this place amazes me. It's a part of the industrial revolution of the west especially a teenage USA. The drop in the water, opportunities for growth etc and then how a planned city nearly dies and coming back while thriving on the diverse culture of immigrants is fascinating. Not to be missed. Park in the visitor center and take the free trolley. Won't take one more than 2-2.5 hours to and from the visitor center.

Excellent place to visit as they talk about the historical impact of millwork on Lowell and how it…read moretransformed the lives of ordinary teenage girls/women in a time where they had almost no economic opportunity. The looms themselves are turned on several times a day so that visitors can experience the loudness of the looms and how fast the weaving takes place. (You do need the ear plugs.) Bathrooms are renovated and are available on both floors. This will take between 1 - 2 hours. The admission fee is $6 for adults.

Open seasonally, this is a unique NPS park as a site representing the industrial revolution,…read morefactory working conditions, and an early but prominent labor strike, led by female workers. When I went, the visitor center was undergoing renovations, but I could still tour a few of the open buildings, which were well worth it. We started with the boardinghouse. Young women from local farms were early workers who lived on site in an era when women hadn't worked before. I found the information thorough representing both the pros and cons of women having their own income and Lowell being one of the first towns women could open their own bank accounts, they were experiencing life outside their family's farms for the first time interacting with new people to the terrible working conditions and slashed pay forcing the women to stand up for themselves as a collective. It wasn't just a simple "workers good factory bad" but had quotes from many of the workers and the array of experiences. Next door is the factory itself. There is a very thorough exhibit on the entire history of Lowell from its founding based on its ability to harness the river power to its decline based on the rise of other power sources and cheaper sites and labor in the south to its revival based on changing industries. The exhibit was very informative and visually interesting. We didn't even have time to look at everything because it was close to closing time, so leave at least an hour to go through it. There were two videos to engage with, and hearing interviews from former workers was very insightful. When we went, the machine demo was not available, so there was no fee. A tour guide explained how the machines work, so even without them actually running, you could understand the noise, the safety risks, the unbearable heat they worked in, and the fabric fibers in the air they breathed in constantly. Small gift shop on site, and they offer other buildings and tour types on different days, so it's best if you can pick a day for one of the boat tours or when some of the other buildings are open. Personally, I thought what we experienced was still really interesting and worth the visit. NPS sites generally put on a great presentation.

Overall a great stop, several different areas make up the park (I included some extra pictures of…read morethings we saw while walking). The 1st Spot was the main visitor center- Very nicely done and very friendly Rangers that gave us an overview of the area. The displays are very informative and helpful. A lot of stuff to see while walking, a train, a fountain, canals, murals (not part of park). We went to the second area, a very friendly young Ranger at desk, she explained what we could see within the buildings. This area was also beautifully done with some of the best restrooms that we have seen. Top of the line !!! The machines were running upstairs to give you a general idea of the noise & chaos that the workers endured. There were videos of actuall workers who told their story which really brought the history to life. There is a trolley that will take you to a third part of the Park (we ran out of time) so missed out on that location. Overall a great representation of an era,of a time of industrial development and the people who made it possible. We visited on a holiday weekend so downtown was pretty empty and street parking was easy (and free due the day). I can see where parking could be confusing on normal days. The second location was very confusing as the building is located where they converted surrounding buildings into apartments. The parking lot in front had restrictions and we just parked on street to be safe. Most of the Rangers working were friendly & helpful except for a group of three that we encountered on factory floor. We just missed a demonstration I am guessing (there were no other visitors that around), but as we walked up, they broke off their conversation and walked away. No acknowledgement at all, which was strange as usually they greet you at least. This incident, parking and the Boarding house not being open (sign said it was) put a slight tarnish on the whole visit. Definitely recommend as the history is fascinating, the areas we saw are well done, and most of the Staff are super helpful & friendly.