‘I don’t ever want to leave this area,’ says Katie Nolan..
Katie Nolan has been going to the Dorchester Day Parade for as long as she has been alive. Born in February 1998, she notes that she was at the parade that June in her stroller. Some 28 years later, on Sun., June 7, the Adams Village native will head down Dot Ave in the Dot Day Parade as the mayor of Dorchester.
Nolan earned her honorary title after raising the most money for the Parade Committee. Four candidates – Nolan, Brian Sullivan, Shirley Jones, and Lisa Searcy – collected more than $36,000 combined, she said. Her campaign brought in $18,830 through T-shirt sales, raffles, music bingo, GoFundMe donations, and support from local businesses and residents.
More about the parade and Dot Day.
A recreation program manager with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department and a youth sports coach in Dorchester, Nolan spoke with The Reporter about her role in the parade and her life in Dorchester.
Q. How would you introduce yourself as a Dorchester person?
A. I’m 28 years old, born and raised in Dorchester. Still here, 28 years later. I work for the City of Boston. I coach a large deal of youth sports around the area here. I’m friendly and outgoing. A lot of people would joke and say I could have a conversation with a wall. I like to keep everything casual and lighthearted.
Q. Where in Dorchester did you grow up, and what was that part of the neighborhood like when you were a kid?
A. I grew up in Adams Village, Adams Corner, St. Ann’s Parish. I’m still here, and I think that is a true testament to how much I love it and how much of an impact growing up in this area had for me. I don’t ever want to leave this area. My favorite part of Adams Corner, when I was little, was, honestly, the people. Everyone knows everybody. You can go anywhere and have a conversation with anyone.
Q. Where did you go to school, and how did those years shape your connection to Dorchester?
A. I went to St. Ann School, and then it got renamed Pope John Paul II Catholic Academy. For high school, I went to Fontbonne Academy in Milton, and for college, I went to the University of Southern Maine, up in Portland. I think being from Dorchester really taught me to always see the good in people, not take things too seriously, and be loyal to your friends.
Q. What is your strongest memory of the Dorchester Day Parade?
A. I’ve gone every single year but one to the Parade. The one I missed was because I was away in Aruba. That was fun, but it wasn’t Dot Day. It wasn’t the same. The strongest memory would be marching in the Parade; I believe it was 2008. I was 8 years old, and my hockey team, the Dorchester U12 Lady Chiefs, had just won the state championship title that year. We all got to march in the Parade, and that was a highlight of my young life for a while.
Q. How did hockey become such a big part of your life, and what has that full-circle experience of coaching young people in the neighborhood meant to you?
A. We are a big hockey family. Everyone in my family has played: my brother, my dad, my uncles, my cousins. I think I was skating as soon as I could walk. It’s definitely very rewarding. To have the coaches that I had growing up, and being able to be half of what they were as coaches, is super rewarding to me. Being able to see the young athletes around here accomplish their dreams and goals and play their favorite sport really means a lot to me.
Q. What made you decide to run for mayor of Dorchester?
A. Honestly, a lot of friendly encouragement. And then wanting to give back to the community that’s given me so much.
Q. What kind of support surprised you most?
A. I teamed up with one of my friends, Dave Blandino, who runs Dorchester Swag, and he really helped me out with the sale of the shirts. Then I teamed up with Blasi’s Kitchen and Bar, and Maria, the owner, was super generous to me. We hosted a music bingo night there, and that was a huge success.
We had raffles. A lot of the local businesses around here donated great raffle prizes to me. The local businesses around here have just been the backbone of the Dorchester community, so all the support they gave me, I was blown away by. It was even people I had never met before. You may not know someone personally, but you’ll give to them in times of need. That meant a lot.
Q. On a lighter note, what are your favorite places to eat or spend time at in Dorchester?
A. I have a whole list. Some of my favorite places are Landmark Public House, Blasi’s Kitchen and Bar, McGonagle’s, Via Cannuccia, Greenhills for coffee, and Mud House. Those are my top places, for sure.
Q. When you go down Dot Ave as mayor of Dorchester, what will you be thinking about?
A. All the people who make Dorchester, Dorchester. I’ll be thinking about all the local businesses, small business owners, who support this community and come out day in and day out to support the people in the community and the residents here. And definitely all my family and friends who supported me. I’m just really excited to see everybody at the parade.
I’ll also be thinking of the young athletes I coach. They were all super into the campaign and super excited for me to run. They think I’m the real mayor of Boston, and I haven’t had the heart yet to tell them that I’m not.
This story is the product of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.