News Briefs

BCYF Family Gym

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) free Family Gym Program is back for the fall season in more community centers than ever before and Boston families are invited to join in! Family Gym is a free, weekly play program that promotes physical activity for children ages 3-8 and their families. 

Family Gym runs on Saturdays beginning Oct. 5 at five BCYF community centers, including BCYF Blackstone Community Center in the South End. Start time is 10 a.m.

Children and adults move at their own pace in supervised activities. Colorful play equipment encourages individual, small, and large group play. Families can jump rope, play on an obstacle course, do the limbo, or play parachute games or sports. No pre-registration or center membership required however caregivers must participate and remain in the gym with their children at all times. Thanks to a partnership with Northeastern University, UMass Boston and Simmons College, student volunteers serve as Activity Leaders at Family Gym. Family Gym is sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital and The Foundation for BCYF.

This session of Family Gym will run through November 23.

Ward 4 Dems to Meet

Boston Ward 4 Dems October Meeting. Tuesday, October 15, 6 p.m., Union Church, 485 Columbus Ave. The Boston Ward 4 Dems will be hearing from a speaker from the Emancipation Initiative / Mass POWER about the Right2Vote ballot initiative as well as several City Council candidates on the ballot in November.

Back Bay Happenings

Women’s Lunch Place Joins Ride for Food for the Third Year in the Fight to End Hunger

The 8th Annual Ride for Food, organized by Three Squares New England, is a cycling event taking place on Sunday, Oct. 6, to support hunger relief. The event takes place at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham and raises funds for their partner organizations, including Women’s Lunch Place (WLP), a day shelter for women experiencing poverty and homelessness on Newbury St. in Boston. All beneficiaries of the event are dedicated to providing healthy meals for people in Massachusetts who struggle with food insecurity. The goal for this year’s Ride for Food is to raise $600,000 to support ending the hunger crisis. Riders can choose from 10, 25, and 50 miles routes, based on their skill level. Riders on Team WLP are required to raise at least $1,000 to help them provide healthy meals for women experiencing homelessness or poverty in the Greater Boston Area. “This is our third year sending a team to The Ride for Food which raises critical funding to support our healthy meals program.  seventy-eight percent of the women we serve rely on WLP as their consistent source of hunger relief. Ongoing poor nutrition results in diabetes, heart disease, as well as depression and anxiety. Hunger is the primary reason women first visit WLP to eat a hearty and healthy meal in a supportive, safe community. Food security is often the first step towards stability and solving other longer-term challenges. Once wellness and dignity are restored, women are motivated to work towards a better life,” said Chloe Kimball, Women’s Lunch Place Team Rider.

Mayor’s Fall Pumpkin Float Taking Place on Oct. 18

Mayor Martin J. Walsh has announced the return of the annual Fall Pumpkin Float at the Boston Common Frog Pond on Friday, Oct. 18, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Hundreds of illuminated jack-o’-lanterns will be floated on the water accompanied by spooky family activities. Attendees are asked to bring eight-inch or smaller carved pumpkins that will be lit and then floated on the Frog Pond for a dramatic early evening display.  Adults and children are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes and participate in a wide range of fun activities.  Test your courage in our haunted zombie maze, take a ride on the Spooky Mansion Slide, experience the Jumpin’ Pumpkin, try your skills at the bean bag toss, and enjoy nighttime fun on our LED swings and seesaws.

Urbanity Dance Crawl

Urbanity Dance’s 2019/2020 season will open with FACTS, an interdisciplinary dance crawl in the South End, on Thursday, Oct. 24 – Saturday, Oct. 26. Dancers from Urbanity’s Professional Company and Creative Class, a roster of guest choreographers, and interdisciplinary collaborators will perform vignettes in a variety of locations in the South End that explore the many ways through which we receive information – the internet, books, stories, communities, bodies, time – and how one’s personal narrative can serve as one’s ultimate truth. Locations include Blackstone Community Center, Bates Art Center, and Urbanity Dance.

Each evening, four groups of audience members will travel to the four locations of FACTS and experience a unique interdisciplinary performance at each venue. The first group will begin at 7 p.m., followed by groups at 7:20 p.m., 7:40 p.m., and 8 p.m.

With artistic direction by Alexander Davis, FACTS will feature new choreography by Meg Anderson, Tarikh Campbell, Cayley Christoforou, and Alexander Davis. Urbanity Dance is thrilled to collaborate with Gillian Dana, Chris Fournier, LILAH, Paola Munda & The Lotus Sound, and Jeremy Stewart for music, set design, and lighting. Additionally, FACTS will feature Community Ambassadors, members of the local South End community, who will serve as guides throughout the performance.

Tickets are $35 each and are available at urbanitydance.org/19-20 and by calling 617-572-3727.

South End Dates

•The Mount Vernon Company is proposing to construct a roof deck patio and bar at the Revolution Hotel located at 40 Berkeley St. All are invited to attend the abutters meeting on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. in the lower-level Conspire space at the hotel to learn more about the proposed project.

•Eight Streets Neighborhood Association will have a block-Toberfest on Taylor Street Sunday, Oct. 6, from 4-6 p.m. Everyone is invited to bring a dish to share with neighbors. There will be a BBQ, drinks and plenty of good spirit among neighbors. The time is sponsored by the Friends of Watson Park, as well as those on Dwight and Milford streets.

•Eight Streets Neighborhood Association will also have its fall meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Project Place. The meeting will feature a presentation on Silver Line tweaks, a report from the Friends of the South End Library, and a presentation on the redevelopment of 3 Bond St.

•Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association and the Blackstone Franklin Squares Neighborhood Association will have a social between both groups at Estragon on Oct. 15.

Fenway Times

Fenway Park Happenings:

•Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer Announce Fenway Park Performance on Aug. 27, 2020

•Saturday, Nov. 9 and Sunday, Nov. 10—Spartan Race, 20,000 people expected per day.

New college bowl series coming to Fenway Park in 2020

On Sept. 16, Fenway Sports Management (FSM), ESPN Events, and the City of Boston officially introduced the “The Fenway Bowl,” an annual college football bowl game at Fenway Park featuring a matchup between two of the game’s top conferences. The new addition to the NCAA bowl lineup will feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and is set to kick-off at the home of the Boston Red Sox beginning in 2020. Part of a multi-year partnership between ESPN Events and FSM, “The Fenway Bowl” will mark the first time that a college football bowl game will be played in front of the “Green Monster,” ushering in a new football tradition at Fenway Park. “There’s no better place for sports than Boston, and we look forward to this new tradition at Fenway Park,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. ”Boston is a world-class city and we look forward to welcoming the schools, alumni and fans to Boston, and showcasing all our city has to offer.”

Fall Events and Fenway Bleacher/Music Hall Construction

This year, Fenway Park will only host one offseason event, the Spartan Race on Nov. 9 and 10. We hope to break ground this fall on the bleacher improvements inside the ballpark and the new Fenway Music all slated to open in 2021 at Lansdowne and Ipswich Streets. More information to come as we move forward with these projects.

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