Hidden Treasures Festival—Guitar Museum sneak previews

Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area is using its May 2026 Hidden Treasures Festival to give visitors a look at the planned Guitar Museum of New England before the permanent museum opens. The month-long festival runs from May 1 through May 31 and features more than 101 free events across 45 communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, according to festival listings. Within that schedule, the guitar museum has staged a spring pop-up exhibition and event series in West Concord that organizers describe as a preview of the future institution. The Guitar Museum of New England says the preview series includes instruments from its core collection, talks with curator Wilson Schünemann, and architectural plans and animated renderings for the permanent building. NewEngland.com, in a May 14 events roundup, said the museum would have four sneak-preview opportunities during the festival and described it as set to become “the first and only guitar-devoted museum in the Americas.” (nhpr.org) ### Where are the sneak previews happening? West Concord, Massachusetts, is the site of the pop-up series at 129 Commonwealth Avenue, the museum’s temporary space. Freedom’s Way and the museum both list that address for the May preview events. Visit Concord said a May 16 open house there let visitors see hand-crafted guitars from the museum’s collection and review plans for the permanent museum. That listing said the permanent site is planned nearby at 74 Commonwealth Avenue. (freedomsway.org) ### What has been on the May schedule? May 2, May 9, May 16 and May 23 are the four dates listed by Freedom’s Way for the guitar museum’s Hidden Treasures programming. The May 2 event featured Celtic harp by Jaimee Joroff, the May 9 opening reception featured live music by Goodwin String Thing, and the May 16 event was billed as “Meet the Curator” with Schünemann. (freedomsway.org) The museum’s events page says Schünemann, identified there as co-founder and curator, has also been available at the pop-up space from May 2 through May 22 on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. to discuss guitars in the sneak-peek display. (visitconcord.org) The same page said the May 9 Goodwin String Thing event was limited to 30 people and required reservations. ### What do visitors actually see? The museum says visitors can view guitars drawn from its core collection and a video showing architectural plans for the future building. (freedomsway.org) Freedom’s Way says the broader preview series ranges from curator and luthier talks to musical performances and examples from several guitar collections. Visit Concord described the May 16 display as a “sneak peek” of hand-crafted guitars by top luthiers and said Schünemann would discuss the museum’s origins, inspirations and planned features. (guitarmuseum.org) That listing also said the museum expects concerts and collaborations with major artists while it awaits construction of the permanent site. ### How does this fit into the larger Hidden Treasures Festival? Freedom’s Way says Hidden Treasures, launched in 2015, is its signature May program and is designed to highlight the natural, cultural and historical resources of the 45-town heritage area. (guitarmuseum.org) The organization describes the festival as a curated slate of free public programming hosted by local partners. New Hampshire Public Radio’s community calendar says the 2026 edition is presented by nearly 100 partners of Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, a program of the National Park Service. (visitconcord.org) The listings describe the month as a self-guided mix of walks, performances, exhibitions and access to local historic and cultural sites. ### What’s next this week? May 23 is the next listed Guitar Museum of New England Hidden Treasures event, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 129 Commonwealth Avenue in West Concord. (freedomsway.org) Freedom’s Way says the event is free, though space is limited for some programs and RSVP details are posted through the museum’s events page. May 31 is the final day of the 2026 Hidden Treasures Festival, according to festival listings. Organizers direct visitors to Freedom’s Way and the Guitar Museum of New England event pages for the remaining schedule and registration details. (nhpr.org) (freedomsway.org)