SOWA Market Returns May 5
The SoWa Open Market, on 460-540 Harrison Ave., will kick-off its 16th season on Sunday, May 5. Every Sunday, from May through October, more than 175 makers and thousands of visitors converge in SoWa, amidst a vibrant backdrop of artist studios, galleries, boutiques and vintage shops.
This Sunday will feature the return of the SoWa Beer Garden, with Fiddlehead Brewing Company taking over the taps. Created in partnership with Craft Collective, a different local brewer will take over the taps each Sunday. Other brewers will include SingleCut Beersmiths, Finback Brewery, Banded Brewing and many more.
Live music will be from Elisa Smith and the Tiny Little Lies from noon to 3:30 p.m.
Keep an eye out for special events and guest appearances, such as our Mother’s Day rosé pop-up with The Urban Grape and our annual Oktoberfest party hosted by Schilling Beer Company. The family and pet-friendly beer garden will also feature live music, lawn games, and Boston’s favorite food trucks. In addition, SoWa will continue to host a DIY Workshop series, where visitors can sign up for instructional classes led by a SoWa vendor, and will continue partnerships with local charities via collaborative activations, such as performances by Urbanity Dance, interactive painting with Artists for Humani-ty, a More Than Words book swap, and kick’n it with South End Soccer.
For information on weekly happenings, please visit: www.sowaboston.com/calendar/.
Exchange South End Community Space Survey
The upcoming Exchange South End project on Albany Street is calling on the community to help them define a required 30,000 sq. ft. community space that will be located in the development. The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) in collaboration with The Abbey Group developers will be seek-ing input from neighbors for the space. The survey can be accessed online via the BPDA project website.
However, there will also be open houses on Thursday, May 9, at 6 p.m. in the Ruth Lillian Barkley Apartments, 1472 Washington St.; and on Weds., May 15, at 6 p.m. in the Flower Exchange Building, 540 Albany St.
Rep. Santiago Secures $112k in First House Budget
Last week, State Rep. Jon Santiago joined his colleagues to pass its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget, which invests in programs and services across the Commonwealth. Funded at $42.7 billion, the House budget makes major investments in education, housing, substance use disorder services, healthcare, and other areas while projecting a more than $200 million deposit into the Stabilization Fund – bringing the fund’s bal-ance to more than $2.5 billion to safeguard the future of vital programs and services.
“With the leadership of Speaker DeLeo and Chairman Michlewitz, we made significant investments across the Commonwealth in the areas of education, transportation, housing, and public health, including our efforts to combat the opioid epidemic,” said State Representative Jon Santiago. “I am also proud that we were able to suc-cessfully advocate for an additional $112,000 in funding for critical projects in the South End, Roxbury, Fenway, and Back Bay.”
In the South End and Roxbury, $25,000 has been allocated to Boston Healthcare for the Homeless to establish a pilot program to increase substance use disorder outreach and needle collection. An additional $25,000 has been allocated to the Friends of the South End Library to renovate the South End Library Park, a vibrant civic space that provides critical services and programming to our community. Lastly, $50,000 has been allocated to the South End’s Community Music Center of Boston for capital improvements and $12,000 to assist with Muddy River cleanup efforts in the Fen-way/Back Bay.
Also included in the budget is the designation of the Mary Longley Garden section of the Southwest Corridor Park. Honoring Mary Longley, the founder of the first Tenant’s Development Corporation and a trailblazing South End tenants rights advocate, a gar-den will be created in the crescent adjacent to Northampton and Watson street, across from the Carter School playground.
District 8 Candidate Debate
On Tuesday, May 21, at 6:30 p.m., Berklee College (160 Massachusetts Ave-nue), there will be a District 8 candidate debate. Join the Boston Wards 4 and 5 Democratic Committees, Fenway CDC, Fenway Civic Association, Greater Bos-ton Young Democrats, and MassVOTE for a community conversation with the Boston City Council District 8 candidates. Margaret McKenna, President Emeri-tus of Lesley University and a civic and philanthropic leader in Boston, will be moderating. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at bit.ly/BostonD8Forum.
Major Gift to Enhance Community Boating Youth Sailing Programs on Charles River
Community Boating, Inc. (CBI) has received gifts totaling $1 million to support on-the-water programming for young sailors in CBI’s summer-long Junior Pro-gram as well as enhanced windsurfing and dockside facilities. The new funds have been donated by family members in memory of Norman Priebatsch, busi-nessman, philanthropist, outdoors enthusiast – and avid Charles River windsurf-er. The charitable gift represents the largest single gift to CBI in the organiza-tion’s history. The gift will create a permanent endowment for CBI’s Junior Pro-gram, augment CBI’s windsurfing endowment, and fund the installation of a permanent dockside shelter, the “Priebatsch Pavilion”. Seth Priebatsch, founder of restaurant technology startup LevelUp (recently acquired by Grubhub) was an active member of CBI’s junior program for many summers.
Huntington Theatre Spotlight Spectacular
Huntington Theatre Company Board Chairman David Epstein, Education Committee Chair Betsy Banks Epstein, and Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director Peter Du-Bois will be honored with the Wimberly Award at the 2019 Spotlight Spectacular on Monday, May 6, at 6 p.m. at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts. The Spotlight Spectacular co-chairs are Cokie and Lee Perry and Linda and Daniel Waintrup.
The 2019 Spotlight Spectacular will be designed by Rafanelli Events featuring set de-sign by Tony Award nominee Alexander Dodge, an award-winning scenic designer and frequent collaborator of Peter DuBois. The event will feature a cocktail reception, a live auction offering one-of-a-kind items, a seated dinner provided by MAX Ultimate Food, the presentation of the Wimberly Awards, and performances by some of Broadway and Boston’s best talent. The Gerard & Sherryl Cohen Award for Excellence will be given to two Huntington staff members who consistently go above and beyond in their contri-bution to the company: Individual Giving Manager Annalise Baird and Costume Crafts Artisan Denise Wallace-Spriggs. Guests will also have the opportunity to “Sponsor a Class” in support of the Huntington’s student matinee series and other education pro-grams. For more information on the event please visit huntingtontheatre.org/gala.
Long Island Bridge Meeting May 7
The City is calling for as many residents as possible – especially from the South End – to make the trip to Quincy on Tuesday, May 7, for a state Chapter 91 wa-terways license meeting regarding the rebuilding of Long Island Bridge.
City officials have been stressing all week that having a big turnout from Boston will be critical in the state’s decision to grant this “make or break” license. Technically, the license allows the City to use tidelands for the bridge.
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will conduct the meeting on May 7 at 7 p.m. in the Kennedy Center, Quincy Council on Aging, 440 East Squantum St., Quincy. The meeting is a public hearing so anyone from the pub-lic will be invited to give oral or written comments on the license.
Written comments can be given through May 27. Written comments must be addressed to: Chrissy Hopps, DEP Waterways Regulation Program, One Winter Street – 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02108 or via e-mail to [email protected].
Mayor’s Coffee Hours
Mayor Martin Walsh announced his Coffee Hours for the coming spring and summer months. All Coffee Hours run from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
The schedule is as follows:
•Thursday, May 2, Bay Village, Elliot Norton Park, 295 Tremont St.
•Tuesday, May 14, Fenway, Symphony Park, 39 Edgerly Rd.
•Thursday, May 23, Back Bay, Comm Ave Mall, 15P Comm Ave.
Participants will enjoy coffee and breakfast treats provided by Dunkin’ Donuts and fresh fruit from Star Market. In addition, each family in attendance will re-ceive a flowering plant grown in the city’s greenhouses as a gift from Mayor Walsh. Residents at the event will also be eligible to win a raffle prize from Dunkin’ Donuts. Information will be available on City programs from the Boston Public Library, Boston Public Schools, Boston Police Department, and Boston Centers for Youth & Families.
Red Sox Home Games
The Red Sox kicked off the home season this month. Other upcoming home games include:
5/10 vs. Seattle Mariners at 7:10pm
5/11 vs. Seattle Mariners at 1:05pm
5/12 vs. Seattle Mariners at 1:05pm
5/14 vs. Colorado Rockies at 7:10pm
5/15 vs. Colorado Rockies at 7:10pm
Back Bay Happenings
•The NABB Alley Rally will take place on Saturday, May 4, in the Back Bay. Happening since 1967, the rally is an effort by neighbors to keep the Back Bay beautiful via spending three hours sweeping up the alleys and side streets. Resi-dents are invited to meet at 8:30 a.m. on May 4 in the Clarendon Street Play-ground for coffee, bagels and donuts. At 9 a.m., neighbors will head off to clean up. Gloves and tools will be provided. Return to the playground at noon for a lunch and raffle.
•The Back Bay Association will hold its 96th annual meeting on May 13, 9 a.m., in the John B. Hynes Veteran Memorial Convention Center. Keynote speaker will be Mayor Martin Walsh.
•Commonwealth Avenue Mall Lighting: Dark stretches of Commonwealth Ave-nue Mall will stay bright year round, thanks to the launch of a plan to design and install permanent lighting of the statues on each block of the Mall. The first pro-ject will be the Morison statue in the Spring of 2019, followed by the Garrison and Collins statues. We are currently raising funds for the Commonwealth Ave-nue Mall Statue Lighting. If you’d like to help, you can donate online at friend-sofhtepublicgarden.org or by sending a check in the mail. For more information, email Margaret Pokorny at [email protected], or call 617-723-8144.
•SAVE THE DATE: A NABB Homelessness Forum will take place on May 20, at 6 p.m. The discussion will focus on homelessness and how it affects the Back Bay and many neighborhoods in the city.