‘SEIZE THE SUMMER’ AT SOMERSTREETS ON HIGHLAND AVE, 7/29
July’s SomerStreets Event to be Held Noon-4pm along Highland Ave. from Walnut Street to Cedar Street
- "Seize the Summer," the July installment of the City's seasonal SomerStreets
festival, will take place on Sunday, July 29th from noon to 4pm
between Walnut and Cedar Streets on Highland Ave. It is the second of five SomerStreets
celebrations planned for 2012, with the first event having drawn more than
3,000 attendees in June along East Broadway.
For this unique street fair, where "roads are closed to cars and open to
you," programming includes: a "Kidical Mass" bike ride to Davis Square;
Cambridge Health Alliance health & fitness fair; family-friendly
activities; health workshops including an American Red Cross blood drive; arts
and craft vendors; live music, and more.
SomerStreets is the centerpiece of the City's Open Streets Initiative,
which closes sections of roadways one Sunday per month to promote and support
active living - walking, biking, running, dancing, and more.
"SomerStreets has really taken off as a way
to celebrate the pleasures of urban living," said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.
"Based on the popularity of ArtBeat, I concluded that Somerville's
residents would respond to an opportunity for outdoor activity in a safe,
family-friendly environment. Think of it
as a series of big block parties. Somerville
has always loved its block parties."
Along Highland Ave.,
local businesses and organizations including the American Red Cross, Cambridge
Health Alliance, Kidical Mass, the Center for Arts at the Armory, the
Somerville YMCA, the Somerville Public Library, and the Somerville Fire
Department, among others, will partner with the City to provide activities for
children and adults of all ages.
Activities will include, but are not limited to:
-
The
Flying Word Fair and children's yoga (Central Library) -
"Kidical
Mass" Bike Parade (begins at 1:00 from School Street) -
American
Red Cross Blood Drive (To make an appointment, visit redcrossblood.org) -
Live
music and arts & crafts vendors (Center for Arts at the Armory) -
Health
& fitness fair (Somerville
Hospital) -
Face
painting, food, and family-friendly
activities
In order to ensure public safety at the event, road closures
and parking bans will be in effect.
- Highland Avenue
(Walnut Street to Cedar
Street)- Closed to all vehicular traffic 10:00am
-6:00pm; no parking 8:00am6:00 pm
- Closed to all vehicular traffic 10:00am
- City Hall
Concourse and Central Library- No parking on-street 8:00am-6:00pm
MBTA buses will be rerouted from 10:00am-6:00pm.
Residents
who live directly on Highland Avenue may call (857) 523-9017 in advance or on
the day of the event and city volunteers will assist you in leaving/returning
to your property safely during the event.
The remaining 2012 SomerStreets schedule is as follows:
- Going Green on Rte. 16 - Sunday,
August 19th on Alewife Brook Parkway from Dilboy Field to Broadway - Rolling on the Mystic - Sunday,
September 9th on Shore Drive - Monster Mashed-Up -
Sunday, October 28th on Somerville Ave. from Union
Square to Porter Square
SomerStreets builds on the Shape Up Somerville healthy
living initiative. Similar open streets events take place all around the world,
carving out space normally taken up by automobile traffic for people to be more
active.
All SomerStreets events will run from noon to 4 p.m., rain or shine.
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