Updated: Due to this weekend’s forecast, Somerville’s All-America City Celebration which was planned for Sunday, Oct. 4, at Assembly Row has been cancelled

By Rebecca Danvers

Help Somerville celebrate its newest All-America City Award on Sunday, Oct. 4, from 2:30 to 6 p.m., when the city hosts an event to honor our community’s commitment to youth achievement, and showcase local young musicians and leaders through performances and workshops.

The event will be held at the DCR Baxter Park at Assembly Row, and will feature live music by Somerville youth performing groups including the popular World Percussion Ensemble drum corps, Teen Empowerment, and the Somerville High School Acapella Ensemble. Local cover band The Rockery will round out the celebration.

The celebration will also kick off a year-long series of youth- and community-engagement workshops, which will include youth-police dialogues and Walking Dialogues with the Somerville Police Department, music workshops, and a photo voice project asking residents to display what being an All-America City means to you. The October kickoff event will include a free photo booth and commemorative All-America City t-shirt sales.

“Being named an All-America City for the second time in six years is a tremendous honor, especially in 2015 with the award’s focus on youth,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone. “Somerville’s commitment to youth includes using music and art as mediums for social change, and through strong partnerships with organizations like Teen Empowerment, some of our most vulnerable young people are given tools, resources, and opportunities for job readiness and peer leadership that are strengthening our community every day. The All-America City Award celebrates every resident and stakeholder in Somerville, but this year, let’s especially honor the role our youngest citizens play in making our city an exceptional place to live, work, and play.”

Beginning in October and continuing through June 2016, the City will celebrate the All-America City Award and its commitment to youth by hosting a series of workshops focused on different topics of importance to youth, and youth enrichment. Workshops will include music series, continuing youth-police work, youth and peer leadership workshops with Teen Empowerment, and much more. Workshops will be announced as they become available and will be open to the public.

The Oct. 4 event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jackie Rossetti at 617-625-6600 ext. 2614, or JRossetti@somervillema.gov.