PorchFest makes a live, outdoor comeback, a ribbon cutting ceremony, and an expansion of Somerville Junction Park
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PorchFest and Ignite! bring festivities to the city
Two Somerville Arts Council events will be happening on October 2, PorchFest and the Ignite! Global Food and Fire Festival.
During PorchFest, audience members will be able to experience live music by traveling around Somerville and seeing performers on porches and in yards. The event will be going from noon through 6 p.m. Musicians will be performing at the following times:
- Noon to 2 p.m. – West Zone (west of Willow Ave.)
- 2 to 4 p.m. – Central Zone (between Willow Ave. and Central St.)
- 4 to 6 p.m. – East Zone (east of Central St.)
A full list of performers and a map of performer locations is available at somervilleartscouncil.org. There is also still time to sign up to play PorchFest. Registration is open on the Somerville Arts Council’s website until Thursday, September 30.
After having listened to music through PorchFest, people are welcome to celebrate Union Square’s “sizzling food landscape” through Ignite! The event will last from 6-10 p.m. and will be held in the Union Square plaza. According to SAC, revelers can “expect an evening of international eats, fire throwers, roving entertainment, and a raucous celebration of global culture. In addition to many local food vendors, there will be interactive light installations, numerous illuminated music and dance performers, and to top it all off, fire throwers. Local eateries throughout the square will be featuring Ignite! themed specials. A $2 donation is suggested. Visit somervilleartscouncil.org for a full Ignite! schedule.”
The Healey Community Play Area ribbon cutting ceremony moved
There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Healey Community Play Area at 5 Meacham Street on October 7, at 1:45 p.m. The date was moved due to rain expected on September 28.
Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone and City Councilor Jesse Clingan will hold a celebration for the newly renovated playground, formerly known as the tot lot, which features state-of-the-art play structures for children ages 2 through 5, an expanded natural area with log seating, and bright colors and graphics. According to a press release, the design was developed in partnership with the Healey School community and the Friends of Healey group. Renovations were funded using Community Preservation Act funds.
The same release states that, “The Healey Community Play Area is the first phase of a larger, transformational schoolyard renovation project focused on equity and access that is currently under construction and expected to be complete in the summer of 2022.”
The City will renovate and expand Somerville Junction Park
The City of Somerville was recently awarded $400,000 for park improvements, through the Commonwealth’s Parkland Acquisition and Recreation for Communities Grant Program.
During a September 21 ceremony, Governor Charlie Baker announced that Somerville will be one of 23 communities across the state selected to receive PARC funds this year. The PARC Program was established in 1977 with the purpose of assisting cities and towns in acquiring and developing land for parks and outdoor recreation purposes. As of 2004, Somerville has been awarded more than $6 million through the program. More recently, PARC funds were used to rehabilitate Prospect Hill Park and reconstruct the Central Hill playground.
Somerville will use this year’s PARC award to renovate and expand Somerville Junction Park, located off of Central Street near the Community Path extension, which is, now, being constructed as part of the Green Line Extension project. Improvements that have been planned include planting trees and adding “a splash pad, fitness area, and community gardens.”
Call for participants in Monster Mash
On October 31, the Somerville Arts Council will hold its final SomerStreets of 2021, Monster Mash. It will last from 2-6 p.m. outside of Union Square on Somerville Avenue, between Hawkins Street to Park Avenue. The deadline to join as a participant is October 7:
- Call for Craft Vendors and Artisans: https://forms.gle/hqL1W3Zxyy2ZYebT7
- Call for Community Tabling and Businesses: https://forms.gle/T2gquYdJD1MusHKDA
If you have questions, reach out to the events coordinator, Iaritza Menjivar, at imenjivar@somervillema.gov.
This article is syndicated by the Somerville Wire municipal news service of the Somerville News Garden project of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism.
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Shira Laucharoen is assistant director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and assistant editor and staff reporter of the Somerville Wire.
