Co-Founders Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards — Co-Founders of the MA Walking Tour Mark Mandeville and Riaanne Richards. Photo Credit Trailing Twine Photography

RELEASE DATE: May 15 2023 CONTACT: Raianne Richards ORGANIZATION: Massachusetts Walking Tour PHONE (508) 981-6245 EMAIL masswalkingtour@gmail.com WEB masswalkingtour.org

Folk troubadours trek through Norfolk/Plymouth County Towns offering Daily Hikes and Free Community Concerts

Holbrook, Abington, Whitman, Rockland, MA June 21-24, 2023 – Since 2010, singer-songwriters Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards have organized a grassroots bipedal trek annually to raise awareness of recreational greenspace throughout the state and create folk coffeehouse-style musical events in each town. This June, with help from Gateways to Nature and local volunteers, the 12th Annual Massachusetts Walking Tour will offer a series of daily public hikes and free community concerts each, while walking with their backpacks and instruments from Holbrook to Rockland. Hiking properties featured include Holbrook Town Forest, Ames Nowell State Park, Hanover Branch/Rockland Rail Trail and Whitman Town Park. For complete details on daily hikes and a list of concert venues, visit www.masswalkingtour.org.

The Massachusetts Walking Tour has performed over 131 concerts in 113 towns across the state, partnering with the National Parks Service, Mass Audubon, Trustees, DCR, Freedoms Way and AMC to hike sections of the Appalachian Trail, Mid-State Trail, New England National Scenic Trail, Bay Circuit Trail, Cape Cod Rail Trail, South Coast Bikeway and many of the region’s smaller recreational greenspaces. In 2017, Senator Ed Markey officially recognized the Massachusetts Walking Tour in the congressional record for an annual commitment to promoting trails, arts and culture throughout the state.

“Our intention is simply to help people understand the importance of greenspace in our busy lives by inviting them out for a walk, to see younger and older folks hiking together, sharing thoughts on a nice day out in the woods,” states co-founder Mark Mandeville. “As for the concerts, we do our best to create a respectful listening environment which highlights local performers, artists and folks with good work to announce – in that way, each concert is unique.”

Aside from organizing the Massachusetts Walking Tour, performing and recording their original compositions, Mandeville and Richards serve as music teachers in central MA through Blackstone Valley Music, an independently owned school with a popular Band Camp Program and monthly community coffeehouse. To find out more about Mark & Raianne, visit markandraianne.com.

Gateways to Nature : People at the grassroots level coming together to experience nature and to see what it is we need to preserve and protect right here in our own backyard.