DIA DE MUERTOS CELEBRATION COMING TO COPLEY SQUARE
The City of Boston is teaming up with Boston’s Consulate General of Mexico to present a two-day Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration on Nov.1 and 2 in Copley Square from noon to 9 p.m. A formal event and speaking program is scheduled for Nov. 2 at 5 p.m.
Dia de Muertos is celebrated in traditional Mexican homes where dearly departed family members are remembered by altars lovingly decorated with photographs, papel picado paper decorations, offerings of fruit, favorite food and drink, and candles.
Guests are invited to send photos of their loved ones to be displayed on the altar in Copley Square and join in the Copley Square events on Nov. 1 and 2 to celebrate Dia de Muertos and those whose memories we keep alive.
Photos can be submitted online at boston.gov/dia-de-muertos. Donations of picture frames can be made at Boston Centers for Youth & Families locations at Paris Street in East Boston, Grove Hall in Dorchester, Curtis Hall in Jamaica Plain, and Tobin Community Center in Mission Hill.
The celebration also includes masses of fragrant orange cempasúchil marigolds, also called the flor de muertos (“flower of the dead”) in Mexico and used in the Day of the Dead every Nov. 2. The marigolds, with their bright orange color and scent, are thought to guide the spirits home. The City of Boston’s Dia de Muertos altar in Copley Square will contain 500 pots of marigolds, grown from seed and tended to since August by Boston Parks and Recreation Department horticulturalists.
FENWAY STUDIOS OPEN STUDIOS, FOOD DRIVE
The Fenway Studios building will hold its annual Open Studios on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10 and 11, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open Studios provides a rare opportunity to meet and talk with artists as well as to see the inside of this National Historic Landmark. Fenway Studios is the oldest purpose built structure in the country designed soley as artist studios.
This year, Fenway Studios are very proud to host its 10th annual Food Drive to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank; they are celebrating this decade of dedication with our neighborhood friends at The Lansdowne Pub. As an additional incentive to bring a non-perishable food item to the Open Studios. Those who do will receive a thank you surprise.
IBA 50th ANNIVERSARY GALA
On Nov. 3, renowned chefs, dignitaries, civic leaders and community members will come together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of leading community developer IBA, the largest Latina-led nonprofit in Greater Boston. Hosted at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute, the Gala will celebrate IBA’s journey and monumental impact in the areas of housing, education, youth development, economic opportunity and the arts, and honor 50 leaders who have contributed to the organization along the way.
Featuring numerous award-winning chefs, including recent “Chopped” champion and Envoy Hotel Head Chef Tatiana Rosana, the Gala has drawn support from globally renowned figures. In particular, award-winning composer, performer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda and his foundation have generously donated tickets to Hamilton this fall.
The evening’s cocktail reception and chef showcase will also feature delicious cuisine from popular chefs that hail from Boston and beyond.
“We are extremely grateful for the overwhelming support we have received from our sponsors and look forward to an evening that celebrates 50 years of IBA – the incredible journey of our organization and impact it has had on thousands of low-income residents,” said Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO of IBA. “The Gala is a culmination of the past year that has paid homage to our historic roots and founders, and looks towards another 50 years of community empowerment.”
SOUTH END/BAY VILLAGE FALL CLEAN UP
The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services will host the Annual Fall Clean Up in partnership with Love Your Block, Public Works and the Boston Parks Dept. on Saturday, Nov. 10. Please keep in mind that this falls on Veterans Day weekend. Please send an email to [email protected] to register for the clean up.
You will need to specify:
-Where your clean up site is; Please note if the site includes an official City of Boston park
-How many volunteers
-Trash pick up location
The annual clean up runs 8-11 a.m. for Bay Village and 9 a.m.-12 p.m. for South End. Tools can only be picked up by a registered participant. All participants must register by 5pm on Wednesday, Oct. 31st, 2018.
BACK BAY HAPPENINGS
- The next NABB Wine Tasting will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 6, in the Ayer Mansion – a rare Tiffany gem on 395 Commonwealth Ave. Step back in time to America’s Golden Age for a tasting of great wine in one of only three surviving Tiffany residential commissions. The event will take place at the Mansion from 6:30-8:30 p.m. To R.S.V.P., a payment of $33.50 must be made by Saturday, Nov. 3.
- NABB will hold its next Licensing and Building Use Committee meeting on Monday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Lenox Hotel. For more information, contact Elliott Laffer at [email protected]
- NABB’s Architecture Committee’s next meeting is on Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Clausen Room of the New England College of Optometry, 424 Beacon St. For more information contact Sue Prindle at [email protected]
- Save the Date! The Fausa Christmas Luncheon will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 11, at noon in The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Ave. It is hosted by Nancy Thornley.
SOUTH END DATES
- Novelist and short-story writer Jessicas Keener will discuss her most recent work, “Strangers in Budapest,” a 2017 Indy Pick, on Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 6:30 p.m. The best-selling author of an earlier novel, “Night Swim,” and the short-story collection, “Women in Bed,” Keener will be introduced by Boston’s At-large City Councilor, Annissa Essaibi-George. The recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Grant for fiction, Keener was listed by the editors of the Pushcart Prize under “outstanding writers.”
- The South End Forum will meet for its next quarterly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 13. It will be moved back one week due to the election on Nov. 3.
- Eight Streets Neighborhood Association will have its regular meeting on Tuesday Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. in Project Place on Washington Street. The agenda includes ISD representatives coming to talk about rodent control.
- The East Berkeley Neighborhood Association (EBNA) will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 for its regular meeting in Project Place.
- Ellis South End Neighborhood Association will have its Fall Clean-Up on Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to noon. Stop by the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza to pick up rakes, brooms, shovels and bags to help spruce up the neighborhood.
- The IAG for the Exchange South End project will re-convene on Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in the former Flower Exchange building, 540 Albany St., to discuss next steps in implementation of the public benefits. This is a new process in the South End for distributing and discussing how to mitigate developments.
- The artist building at 535 Albany St. will be having an open house with 20 artists showing work on Nov. 2 from 5-8 p.m.
- IBA will hold a community meeting on Monday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m. to discuss the transition of the Boston Housing Authority homes on West Newton Street into the portfolio of IBA. The plan has been in place for some time, but now movement is starting to happen on the long-anticipated project.
FENWAY TIMES
- Upcoming Fenway Park Events: Saturday, Nov. 10, & Sunday, Nov. 11, —Spartan Race, 10,000 expected, times TBA
Saturday, Nov. 17—“The Game” Harvard v. Yale, 35,000 expected, noon-3:30 p.m.
- There will be a public meeting regarding the 60 Kilmarnock Street project on November 7 at 8:00 pm in Room C101 in the Main Campus Building at Simmons College, 300 Fenway. The proposed project includes a total of approximately 443 residential units in two buildings with ground floor retail space, and 250 below-grade and surface parking spaces.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced that applications are being accepted by the Citizens Nominating Panel, for two open positions on the Boston School Committee, opening in January 2019. The deadline to submit applications is Nov. 13.
The Boston School Committee is the governing body of the Boston Public Schools.
The seven members of the School Committee are Boston residents appointed by the Mayor to serve four-year staggered terms. The Mayor appoints members from a list of candidates recommended by a 13-member Citizens Nominating Panel composed of parents, teachers, principals and representatives of the business and higher-education communities. The Committee also includes a non-voting student member of the Boston Student Advisory Council.
The School Committee meets approximately twice per month during the school year to adopt, review and modify policies and practices that support teaching, learning and improved student achievement. With the exception of executive sessions, Committee meetings are open to the public, feature public comment periods and are broadcasted on Boston City TV.