Author: Simone Kramer

  • Annual JP Open Streets

    Local businesses, organizations, food vendors and musicians assembled on Jamaica Plain’s Centre Street last week in celebration of Boston’s last Open Street festival of the season.

    The city closed Centre Street from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Jackson Square and Soldier’s Monument, according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.

    The Open Street program began with three neighborhoods in 2022, six years after Open Newbury in 2016, the region’s first neighborhood event. This year’s series began in July with events in Roxbury, followed by Hyde Park, Dorchester and Mattapan before concluding in Jamaica Plain.

    In all, the Open Streets event has attracted more than 30,000 people to various neighborhoods, according to Ginger Brown, executive director of JP Centre/South Main Streets.

    Franklin Park Defenders, a community action group, used the street festival to raise awareness about its opposition to the city’s proposed sports complex at White Stadium.

    “These are the opportunities we have to meet people [and] talk to people,” said Melissa Hamel, a volunteer with the Franklin Park Defenders, an organization that lobbies city officials to restore White Stadium as a public space, rather than proceed with a for-profit establishment.

    Michelle Davis, a Franklin Park Defenders volunteer who grew up in the area, said the city neglects Franklin Park because it is surrounded by minority communities.

    Organizers divided the festival into three zones separated by intersections, which allowed traffic to pass through. Zone 1 stretched from Jackson Square to Moraine/Boylston Street, Zone 2 extended to Green Street, and Zone 3 concluded at Soldier’s Monument, according to a map provided by the city.

    The Stop & Shop near the Jackson Square MBTA station offered free fruit, water and granola bars.

    “We’re doing everything we can,” said Cindy Sailer, the store’s community relations specialist, responding to recent cuts to the federal food stamp program.

    Brown said Open Streets enriches Jamaica Plain’s community spirit, along with year-round events such as dance classes, farmers markets and other community events. According to Niche, a website that profiles neighborhoods and schools, Jamaica Plain is the third best neighborhood to raise a family in Boston.

    Northeastern graduate students Krithika Krishnamurkhy and Tanvi Kandalla are new members of the Jamaica Plain community who visited Open Street for the first time last week. They said it helped acclimate them to the neighborhood.

    “It was nice to go and sort of interact with a bunch of people who live here and meet them,” said Kandalla, who bought chicken wings from Cambridge Smoke, which, according to Instagram @cambridgesmoke, specializes in smoked meats, barbecue, Southern and Haitian cuisines.

    Replenish Scrubs owner Shaneen Harris offered visitors samples of organic body scrubs. Harris began creating the products in 2018. Her products include lavender vanilla, peppermint tea tree and sweet orange lemon scents, according to @replenish_scrubs on Instagram.

    “You create a buzz,” said Harris, describing Open Streets’ benefit to businesses.

    Families were able to use sidewalk chalk, take swings in batting nets set up by the Boston Red Sox, and participate in live painting classes combined with music from At Peace Arts.

    Brown said the Open Street event served its purpose by bringing people together.

    “What tends to happen is we isolate ourselves to the neighborhood we live in,” she said, “so if folks walk a bit further, they could discover something new.”

  • Free Culture Access Surges: Boston Family Days Program Triples in Size

     Mayor Michelle Wu announced an expansion of the Boston Family Days program last month that will provide more students and families free entry to multiple cultural venues this fall.

    City officials say the program has grown each year since it was introduced as BPS Sundays in February 2024. That first year, six cultural institutions were open on the first and second Sunday of each month. Today, students and families may visit 23 venues. Last year, 65,000 people were provided free access to cultural events and performances. The Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Huntington Theatre plan to provide more than 2,500 tickets this fall.

    Sage Morgan-Hubbard, director of learning and management at The Museum of African American History, said the program and experiences have resonated with young people.

    “We’ve had more young people come out, and our Juneteenth was probably our best visitation day,” she said. “We had like 450 people … of all different ages.”

    As one of the smallest museums in the program, Morgan-Hubbard said the additional traffic will advance the organization’s effort to spread a message of empowerment through education. Tours begin at the Abiel Smith School, the nation’s oldest public school to educate African American students exclusively. Among other exhibits, visitors can explore the African Meeting House, where prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass spoke to crowds, and abolitionist and writer William Cooper Nell attended school.

    When the Museum of African American History joined the initiative last year, it incorporated performing arts into its programming. The museum partnered with dance group Jean Appolon Expressions, and the Front Porch Arts Collective – a Black theater group, as well as others.

    “I think there’s nothing more transformative than having live arts because you know all your senses are engaged,” said Morgan-Hubbard. “They’re just much more interesting ways for young people to learn about different topics and be exposed to different art forms than sometimes a regular tour.”

    The Boston Family Days program was originally open only to Boston public school students and their families. Private school students and families are now eligible.

    Bostonians gathered on a recent Saturday at RoboBoston, Mass Robotics’ annual block party, held this year in the Seaport District. The free event showcased robotics from more than 50 institutions and companies throughout the city. While separate from the Boston Family Days program, the event attracted technology enthusiasts, families and students, including Jovie Slagle, a mother from Quincy, who said she was vaguely familiar with the city-sponsored program. But it sounded interesting.

    “I’d like to see some arts too,” said Slagle, who mentioned that disciplines such as math and science are important to childhood education, but creative expression is another powerful way to open their minds.

    The Huntington Theatre is tucked between the neighborhoods of Fenway, Back Bay and the South End. The theater joined the city program as part of the expansion, which staff members say is a continuation of an investment in Boston’s art scene.

    “It was pretty easy … we want in,” said Meg O’Brien, the theater’s director of education.

    Huntington staff members and representatives of other performing arts venues met with city officials last summer. The goal was to integrate theaters into a program originally designed for museums.

    The working group faced challenges. Museums allow visitors entrance at any time, while theaters operate with a fixed number of seats and specific performance schedules.

    A plan to expand the program was unveiled this spring. In May, the Huntington Theatre hosted two family days for “The Light in the Piazza” directed by its Artistic Director Loretta Greco. The events fueled optimism for the fall, according to O’Brien.

    To accommodate theaters, the city will release a rolling schedule of upcoming performances instead of set times throughout the fall. That way, families can decide when they are free rather than schedule an event in advance. “The goal is to make it feel as inviting and as welcoming as possible so that they actually do come out and spend the time with us,” O’Brien said.

    The city will continue the program through June 2026, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.

    “I would want to see more programming at the institutions themselves,” said Sam Fidler, director of administration and finance in the mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. “I think that is something also that we’re in the process of working on.”

  • Franklin Park Zoo Lights Up the Night with Annual Lantern Show

    A colorful glow lights the sky above the Franklin Park Zoo each night from August to November, a result of delicate, larger-than-life lanterns designed to transport people to distant lands, across lively coral reefs and into traditional Chinese villages.  

    “My favorite part is really seeing the joy on people’s faces as they walk around and discover these incredibly beautiful lanterns,” said Brooke Wardrop, the zoo’s vice president of marketing and communications. “There’s nothing like this experience in Boston.”  

    The annual show began six years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic. During a period of isolation for many, the zoo provided Bostonians an opportunity to safely leave the house and enjoy an event with others, according to Cassie Chance, associate director of marketing at Zoo New England, which owns and operates Franklin Zoo and Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts. More than 5,000 people enjoyed the light show Oct. 4, a typical Saturday turnout, Chance said.

    Naomi and Marco Mendiola, of Chicago, strolled along the Zoo’s lighted promenade on a recent chilly night.  They noticed the attraction on an Instagram video showcasing activities around the city. Fans of similar community events at home, they expressed appreciation for the grandeur of the show.

    “I think it’s beautiful. I wish we had something like this back at home,” Naomi said. “It seemed like there’s a lot of work that went into putting this all together.” 

    The zoo works closely with Tianyu Arts & Culture to design and build lanterns, according to Chance. It is the “largest Chinese lantern festival producer in North America,” according to the company’s website. Lanterns are built at a warehouse in China and are shipped around the world. Tianyu’s other partners include the National Museum of Natural History in France, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and the Los Angeles Zoo, among others.  

    Three years ago, Chance helped design an Egypt-themed section at the zoo. “I actually worked at the MFA (Boston Museum of Fine Arts) and the Egyptian curator there to craft that whole section right down to the hieroglyphs,” she said. 

    Zoo officials use surveys to understand which lanterns and interactive exhibits are most popular with visitors. “We take great care to have different themes and different lanterns each year so it’s a new experience,” said Wardrop. 

    The zoo wants to ensure that local community members also benefit from the event. Chance said that each year before the event opening, it hosts a community night with free entry for key community groups and non-profit organizations from surrounding areas such as Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and Dorchester. 

    “It’s really important to us that this event be accessible to everyone,” Chance said.

    The zoo’s lantern festival runs through Nov. 2. Beginning in October, lights illuminate an hour earlier, at 5:00 p.m., due to earlier sunsets, according to Wardrop. Guests can stay until 10:30 p.m.

    Wardrop said leaders of the zoo value biodiversity. “And so, as guests walk throughout Boston lights, they will notice signage that we have to relate the lantern themes back to conservation.”

    The zoo features interactive experiences such as motion sensors, a carousel and a wall of lanterns that challenge visitors to solve riddles. 

    It also supports projects such as Health In Harmony, a program that aspires to preserve wildlife and human health in the Manombo region of Madagascar.

    “[We’re] always trying to make sure that we keep the community engaged,” Chance said. “[It’s about] …really trying to make that connection, not just about the work we do in Eastern Massachusetts and from New England, but the connection between the work we do globally.”