Kathleen Kiely

For more than four decades, production designer Wynn Thomas has helped shape some of Hollywood's most memorable films while working with directors including Spike Lee, Ron Howard, and Tim Burton.Speaking from his New York apartment, Thomas reflected on a 44-year career that began at Boston University's theater program."I wanted to be a set designer," Thomas said. "Boston University had a very good theater department.

Edmonia Lewis, the first African American and Native American sculptor to achieve international fame in the 19th century, is being celebrated in with an exhibit featuring the largest collection of her works ever assembled. "We have 30 of her sculptures in this exhibition, which is the largest number of her works ever to be brought together in one place," said Jeff Richmond-Moll, the George Putnam Curator of American Art at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Quincy, Mass., known as the "City of Presidents," offers a Presidential Food Tour that combines the city's rich history with its vibrant culinary scene. "So, John Adams, who was our second president, and his son John Quincy Adams, who was our sixth president, they were actually born in Braintree, but Braintree became part of Quincy," said guide Roberta Allison. Allison leads the tour. "Quincy is a city that is extremely rich in history and has some excellent restaurants," she said.