The Somerville Arts Council's annual ArtBeat festival takes place tomorrow evening in Seven Hills Park and Saturday all over Davis Square. This year's theme is "Green".

For more information, including complete schedules in a variety of formats, visit the ArtBeat '08 website.

I'll be staffing the T-shirt table tomorrow night next to the Seven Hills Park stage, from 7:30 pm onwards. Stop by and say hello!

And if you attend any part of ArtBeat, please buy a dogtag for $3. That helps fund this and future Somerville Arts Council festivals.

Probably too late to be asking but ...

... are any towns nearby doing fireworks tonight? I'd rather not schlep into Boston and fight the huge crowds. Anywhere near/around Somerville?

Does anyone know when they would cancel the fireworks for tonight? I have family coming for dinner and to watch them so I would hate to have them come if its going to be stormy out. Weather.com says 60% chance for thunderstorms which is up from last nights forecast of 40%.

I called the city and they weren't too much help. The woman basically said she has no idea when they would make that decision and how they would communicate it to the residents.

Speaking of things that go boom...

The City of Somerville starts its 4th of July celebration this week:

Thursday, June 26^th

Beginning at 6:30 pm, the Independence Day celebration at Trum Field (on Broadway between Ball and Magoun Squares) will include musical entertainment and the largest fireworks display to date. 

Fireworks are set to begin at approximately 9:15 pm.  The rain date for the event is Saturday, July 5^th.

 

Redbones' 12th annual bicycle party and benefit is tonight, on Chester Street from 5 to 9 pm. Your $15 ticket gets you food & drink, bicycle valet parking, music, and (if you arrive before 7:30) a raffle ticket. Be there!

(note: postponed from last Monday 5/12 due to expected rain, which didn't actually occur)

(crossposted to a couple local groups)




Starting tonight is the Independent Film Festival of Boston, which will be screening about 60 feature-length films and 40 short features. They're showing films for the next week at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, the Brattle Theatre, and the Coolidge Corner Theatre.


It’s a fantastic opportunity to catch a lot of great independent films that would otherwise be very hard to find. Check it out! http://www.iffboston.org

A friend emailed me this yesterday, and thought that it might be of interest, since folks have posted positive things about prior HONK!fests here.

--------------------------
HELP US HONK!

Support the 3rd annual HONK! Festival of activist street bands, at a honk-style fundraiser party

Sunday March 30th, 6-9pm
The Dante Club
3 Dante Terrace (entrance off Craigie St, between Somerville Ave & Summer St)
Somerville, MA
Free Parking!

 The IFF Boston is coming to Davis Square for the 6th year and they are looking for volunteers to do all kinds of stuff -- ushering, driving, entertaining filmmakers, hanging out at the parties, brow beating crowds as they overload the Somerville Theater (and the Brattle and Coolidge Corner) and other fun activities you can add to your resume.   

The films are showing April 23rd through 29th.  Most of the action is in Davis Square as the event takes over the Somerville Theater for the weekend. 

Ras na hEireann is an Irish 5k race and celebration of traditions dating back centuries - and simply a celebration of spring in Somerville. Everyone (not just those of Irish decent!) is invited, all runners and walkers, to celebrate life, the coming of spring, and to enjoy a memorable race and St. Patrick’s Day celebration on March 16th at 11am in Davis Square!

I'm not affiliated with the event (I'm not even Irish!), but I am running and helping spread the word because I think it will be a good time.

The official website with extensive information and registration (limited to 2500 runners and filling fast!) is here.

A FaceBook community that I put up to coordinate with other racers is here.

I had a blast at The Honk! Festival and Parade this past weekend. I took tons of photos, most of which can be found here. Enjoy!

At Honkfest, which was quite the colorful event and I hope there are
more of them, thank you to the vampires with tubas for making things
more surreal... who were those folks?

Wow, Honk Fest. _Killin'_ me with the wow.
So now, belatedly, I want a Honk Fest T-shirt baaad. Were the shirts really only for the volunteers and bandmembers? Does anyone know how to get one online, or via the right mucketymucks associated with it? I did look on website, myspace page, and google, etc.

I've uploaded some of the pictures I took at the HONK! Festival today.  They can be found at http://flickr.com/groups/honkfest2007/.

Enjoy!  And add some of your own pictures if you took any -- my kids were fading in the heat and I only got to see a couple of the bands.

In case you haven't caught the buzz already, there's an amazing event happening this weekend in Davis Sq. featuring activist street/marching bands from all over the continent (and from Italy!) The streets will be overrun with jubilation and exuberance! It's outside and it's FREE! It's HONK! Fest and you're not going to want to miss any of the excitement!!!
http://honkfest.org/schedule.htm

We want you to check out all the shenanigans, but in particular we want you to come see us, Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band ;)

Our performances are from 2-3 and 4-5. At 2 we'll be performing on Chester St. right in front of Redbones and at 4 we'll be at 7 Hills park, which is directly behind the Holland St. T station.

Spread the word! Bring your friends! Bring your kids! Bring your pets! Bring your love of kick ass music! Bring yourselves to HONK! Fest!

Good stuff is happening all over our little city this weekend:

The Somerville 5K race, benefiting the Somerville Homeless Coalition, starts Saturday at 9 am in Davis Square.

The Return of HONK! Festival starts Friday night at the Abbey Lounge in Inman Square, then moves to the streets of Davis Square on Saturday, beginning with an opening ceremoney at 11:30 am in Seven Hills Park. Bands will play outdoors all over the square until 7 pm. The festivities continue Saturday night at the Dilboy Post VFW and Johnny D's.

On Sunday, a parade of honk bands, walkers, cyclists, and rollerskaters starts at Davis Square at noon, marching to Harvard Square where they will join the Harvard Square Oktoberfest.

Meanwhile in Union Square, ArtsUnion brings us Shop The World: An Import Market, on Saturday from 3 to 7 pm. The market features vendors selling imported products from throughout the world, including handmade baskets from Ghana, fossils from Morocco, and traditional clothing from India. Master dancer, choreographer and drummer Joh Camara will entertain with sounds of Mali, and Camelia Latin Jazz will perform instrumental Latin and Caribbean music.

Finally, the Growing Center on Vinal Avenue is holding a Harvest Fair on Saturday from 1 to 4 pm. The fair features pumpkin decorating, apple bobbing, grape pressing, fresh applesauce, a butter dance, games and prizes, and a family sing-along with the Pixie Sticks.

(Copying an pasting from their website...) http://honkfest.org/

Fri - Sun Oct 5 - 7 Davis Square

"Last October, for the first time ever, a dozen honk bands from around the country gathered in Davis Square to meet, perform and hang out together. It was a blast! So we're doing it all over again this coming Columbus Day Weekend, October 5-7, 2007. This time around, we are honored to welcome The Original Big Seven Social Aid & Pleasure Society from New Orleans. We are all looking forward to learning from their decades old tradition and rocking to their music in the streets. We've also planned a parade, workshops, and lots more honking in the Square. There'll be more music, more bands, and plenty more fans to help us party in the streets. Hope to see y'all there!"

Lots more details here:
http://honkfest.org/

ArtsUnion presents the second annual What the Fluff? festival tomorrow in Union Square, from 4 to 7 pm.

This weekend's ArtsUnion event is the Urban Country Fair, Sunday from 3 to 7 pm. Inspired by country fairs that feature neighbors sharing knowledge, showing off their own talents and having fun, the Urban Country Fair does the same for city folk. There will be Boston SkillShare workshops, old time countrified musical entertainment, exhibitors and craft and art sellers.

(And coming up on Saturday, September 29: the second annual What the Fluff? festival)

Hey,

I recently heard that Davis Square hosts a yearly Apple Cider fair in the autumn. Does anyone know when / if this will take place this year? I'd like to buy cider in bulk for brewing. Thanks!

This Friday at 8 pm in Union Square Plaza, ArtsUnion presents Sounds of Silents, a festival of original short silent films by local filmmakers and visual artists, each scored by a local musician or musical group. The KNOWmovement Orchestra will perform a live soundtrack to the films. Films will be photographic, experimental, narrative or even documentary in nature.
( List of films and filmmakers )

Also, this Friday evening and all day Saturday, the Community Growing Center on Vinal Avenue is holding the Viva La Vinal Festival, an outdoor event of music, comedy, and food.
( Viva La Vinal Schedule )

Here's a reminder that tomorrow (8/18) is the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...Recraft!" Fair in Union Square. There will be eco-friendly shopping, live music, free craft activities and local environmental organizations.

( Click here for more details! )

This Saturday, the fine chocolate products of Truffleupagus will join the mocktails and puppets of Willoughby & Baltic as they celebrate ArtBeat!

Our menu for the day includes:

3-layer Espresso Brownies

White Chocolate Citrus Squares

Double-Layer Orange/Chocolate Puffs

German Chocolate Truffles

Toffee-Butterscotch Truffles


Each of these products will, of course, be handmade, rich and dense, and remarkably efficacious.


Willoughby & Baltic, 195G Elm Street, is open from 12-9 throughout ArtBeat. Cool, refreshing drinks! Shade! Chocolate!

Fireworks? Thunder? A new front on Bush's war?

30 seconds of explosions near the center of Davis- not firecrackers.

gawd, how I have grown to hate the "4th" over the years.

The City of Somerville will have a fireworks display at Trum Field, this Thursday night around 9:15. Preceding it will be a street party with musical entertainment on Broadway, starting at 6:30.

There will be no parking on Cedar Street from 8 am to midnight, or on Broadway between Ball and Magoun Squares from 4 pm to midnight. This section of Broadway will be CLOSED, with buses #80 and #89 rerouted into South Medford.

City press release
Poster

(There will also be a 'Family Fun Day' at Trum Field on Saturday, June 30, from noon to 5 pm.)

Redbones is having its annual outdoor bicycle block party tonight, on Chester Street from 5 to 10 pm. Tickets are $15, which includes food, beer (or a non-alcoholic beverage), valet bike parking, and two raffle tickets. The Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society marching band will provide live music.

Read more about the event here.

By now you know about the Independent Film Festival of Boston (first screening is this Wednesday at the Somerville). You've possibly looked at a few screenings that sound interesting but, alas, claim to be SOLD OUT.

Well, they probably aren't.

It's like this:

IFF sells a limited number of " Chrome Passes", for folks who know they'll be going to enough screenings, seminars and parties to merit getting the pass, or otherwise don't want to decide in advance which screenings they want to attend. (2007 Chrome passes are already sold out.)

IFF sets aside a number of seats in each screening for Chrome Pass holders. A "Sold-Out" show includes that number, as well as actual ticket sales.

However, there can six different screenings happening at once. Even if every Chrome Pass holder went to as many screenings as they possibly could, there'd still be unclaimed seats.

Chrome pass holders (and people who bought tickets for just that film) have until 15 minutes before the film's scheduled start to show up and claim those seats. If there's a waiting list (i.e. "Rush Line") for that screening, those unclaimed seats are then made available to the folks in line.

If you have tickets or a chrome pass for a popular screening, get there at least 15 minutes early.

If you don't have tickets, the Rush Line may start as much as an hour in advance for really popular films. (I've heard that Thursday's world premiere of On Broadway is going to be mobbed, so plan accordingly.)

If you're in the Rush Line, and the official start time has passed, don't give up until an IFF volunteer confirms that the screening has already started. They will delay the start of a screening to make sure every possible person from the Rush Line that can get a seat has gotten one.

Hello all. I don't have anything to do with this but I just got an email about it and thought some of you here might be interested since it's happening in Davis Sq.

---

Announcing the Step It Up Somerville Climate Change Rally!
Saturday, April 14th 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Davis Square

Join millions of Americans on April 14th to ask Congress to "Step It Up" and legislate an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The Step It Up Somerville climate rally will be one of more than a thousand actions taking place across the country on Saturday April 14th. The rally will take place in Davis Square from 11:00am to 1:00pm. (With an aerial photo at Noon).

Step It Up Somerville will be emceed by comedian Jimmy Tingle. State Senators Jarrett Barrios and Patricia Jehlen will speak, as will Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Somerville U.C.C. Reverend Kerrie Harthan.

The event will also feature music by the Balinese Music Ensemble and the Revolutionary Snake Ensemblette brass band, as well as face painting and poster making.

For more information, please visit http://www.stepitupsomerville.org

Did you know that Marshmallow Fluff was invented in 1917 in Somerville's Union Square? Come celebrate the genius of Fluff creator Archibald Query in a tribute on Saturday, September 30. Join artists, musical and theatrical performers, inventors, and humorists to pay yummy homage to this great American foodstuff in a madcap festival of science meets nostalgia meets urban landscape.

The event takes place from 3 to 7 pm in Union Square Plaza. Rain date is Sunday, October 1. Union Square Main Streets website has the full scoop.

I received this notice from the Somerville Arts Council mailing list, and figure some people here would be interested:

Residents, neighbors and friends are invited to celebrate the fourth annual Community Day at Tufts University from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 1. The event will take place on the academic quad at Tufts' Medford and Somerville campus and is cosponsored by the two cities.

( Highlights of the day include free lunch, music, dance, kids' activities ... )

Community Day is free and open to the public. All events are handicapped accessible. Events including lunch will take place on the main academic quad at the top of the hill by Goddard Chapel, Ballou Hall and the statue of Jumbo. Community Day will be held rain or shine.

A complimentary shuttle will run from Davis Square (across the street from Somerville Theatre) to the Tufts campus.

For more information about Tufts Community Day, visit http://www.tufts.edu/cday or call the Office of Community Relations at 617-627-3780.

The Second Line Social Aid & Pleasure Society Brass Band presents the HONK! Festival featuring Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, Stick and Rag Village Orchestra, The Hungry March Band, Rude Mechanical Orchestra, Brand New Orleans County Brass Band, What Cheer? Brigade, March Fourth Marching Band, Brass Liberation Orchestra, The Carnival Band, Environmental Encroachment, Black Bear Combo, and the Leftist Marching Band. Saturday-Sunday, October 7-8, in and around Davis Square, Somerville. Saturday schedule, rain or shine: 9-11 am (finish line concerts on Holland St. for the Somerville Homeless Coalition Road Race), noon-6 pm (outdoor parades and concerts), 3:00 – 5:00 pm (“Philosophy of Honk” symposium held indoors at Jimmy Tingle’s Off Broadway Theater, 255 Elm St.); all Sat. events are free and open to all. Sunday schedule: 8 pm-midnite concert at the VFW Dilboy Hall, 371 Summer St.; donation $10. All events are wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near the Davis Sq. stop on the MBTA. For more information log onto www.honkfest.org or call 617-497-9889.

DETAILED SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7TH:
( Read more... )

The Union Square Brazilian Festival takes place tomorrow (Saturday) from 6 to 9 pm in Union Square Plaza. It is part of the Somerville Arts Council's ArtsUnion series.

The festival will present arts and activities representing
the southern region of Brazil. Cultural activities, including dance classes
and musical performances by Forro No Escuro and Batuk Axe, will offer the
local community, particularly the Brazilian population residing in Union
Square, an opportunity to engage in some of southern Brazil's most cherished
traditions.

At least 12 New Orleans-style marching bands will parade through Davis Square on Saturday, October 7, for the first ever HONK! Festival.

The event is organized by our local Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society, who are occasionally seen marching around Davis even when there isn't a festival going on.

with a series of band concerts in Seven Hills Park, behind the T station and theatre. The show runs until about 11 pm.

ArtBeat continues all day tomorrow, throughout Davis Square.

Please buy a $3 dog tag to help support the event. Buy an ArtBeat T-shirt, too. I'll be working the Seven Hills Park table tomorrow from 11 am to 1 pm. Stop by and say hi!

The full ArtBeat schedule
The schedule as a PDF

Some people from the Davis Square Flickr Group are meeting up tomorrow to take pictures of artbeat. If you share photos on Flickr, we'd love for you to join us. See the group for details.

McIntyre & Moore Booksellers proudly hosts several ArtBeat “reCycle/reNew” festival activities, sponsored by the Somerville Arts Council. McIntyre & Moore Booksellers is located at 255 Elm St. in Davis Square, Somerville, near the Red Line. Free and open to all; wheelchair accessible. For information on these store activities, call McIntyre & Moore Booksellers (617) 629-4840 or log onto www.mcintyreandmoore.com.

ArtBeat Festival activities @ McIntyre and Moore Booksellers:
( Read more... )

Davis Square's annual ArtBeat festival will take place Friday evening and Saturday, July 14 and 15. This year's theme is "reCycle/reNew".

The full schedule is now available online, both as a web site and as an 8-page PDF file.

The city will have its annual (pre-)Fourth of July celebration next Thursday, June 29, at Trum Field. Musical entertainment will start at 6:30 pm, with fireworks to follow at 9:15. Trum Field is at Cedar Street and Broadway.

UPDATE: here's the official city announcement. There's also a sign at Trum Field, and an article in this week's Somerville Journal.)

Redbones will have its Tenth Annual Bicycle Party and Benefit tomorrow (Monday) night. Chester Street will be closed off between Elm and Herbert streets. This event was originally scheduled for May 15, but was postponed due to rain.

Tickets are $15, which gets you a Redbones sa