The Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) is hosting a unique exhibition throughout the summer, the likes of which we will not see again for a long time. It is entitled “The Irish Atlantic - A Story of Famine, Migration and Opportunity” and it presents a chance to explore 175 years of the Irish in Boston from the founding of the Charitable Irish Society in Boston in 1737, through the famine relief efforts led by Capt. Robert Bennet Forbes, to a mass migration movement, the progression of community, cultural, and institutional building, and a rise in political power.

Wolfe TonesFolk legends The Wolfe Tones and renowned Irish tenor John McDermott return to the annual Irish Fest Boston, which takes place June 3 and 4 at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England in Canton. Other acts to appear at the festival include the Cillian Vallely Band – featuring Lunasa piper, flute and whistle player Cillian Vallely – veteran ballad/folk band Dublin City Ramblers, folk and country singer Louise Morrissey, Dublin rockers The Stunning, singer-songwriter Mundy, Kerry-based rebel/ballad band Dreams of Freedom, and Ishna, which blends Irish and Celtic music with classical, rock and, contemporary styles.

As always, performers from the Greater Boston area and elsewhere in Massachusetts will be on the schedule, among them Devri, Boston Erin Og, Boxty, Jinty McGrath, Silver Spears, Tradition, The Fenian Sons, Curragh’s Fancy, Erin’s Melody, Cliodhna & Trad Ash Heads, House DJ Sean O’Toole, and the Noel Henry Irish Showband, as well as musicians from the Boston branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

Irish Fest Boston also will feature other entertainment and attractions –including the Irish Wolfhounds Association, an encampment of the Viking Irish (recreating Hiberno-Norse Viking culture from the ninth and 10th centuries), hayrides, and games and activities for children and families – a food court and various vendors and exhibitors. Festival information is available at irishfestboston.com.

Attendees at the 24th annual New England Women’s Leadership Awards last month received a huge surprise in the form of a bona fide political superstar: former Vice President Joe Biden.

Benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester, the ceremony presented and honored Donna Gavin of the Boston Police, World Marathon Challenge winner Becca Pizzi, and pastry chef Joanne Chang. Mayor Martin J. Walsh was scheduled to make an appearance, but organizers were only informed minutes before his arrival that he would also be bringing Biden, with whom he’d just had dinner.

For Jocelyn Sammy, a 15-year-old student at TechBoston Academy who works at the Boys & Girls Clubs, Biden’s surprise visit was an emotional experience.