Group photo of ceremony attendees. — Photos by Norah Doyle

By Norah Doyle

 On Thursday, June 12, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Central Hill Veterans Vietnam & Korean Wars Memorial on the front lawn of Somerville High School.

The Central Hill Veterans Vietnam and Korean War Memorial Project was part of the new Somerville High School Campus design, which opened on March 4, 2021. The first phase of this project is reinstalling the Vietnam and Korean War memorials in front of the high school, which will be part of a memorial walk with spaces that chronologically honor veterans dating back to the Revolutionary War. Belko Landscaping was awarded the construction of this project.

L-R: Rod Badaro, Business Agent, Greater Boston Labor Union; Matthias Rudolf, Co-Chair, USNC; Michele Hansen, Co-Chair, USNC; Collin Yip, Managing Director, Rafi Properties; Mike Kearns, COO, Shawmut Design and Construction. — Photo courtesy of Somernova

Rafi Properties, owner and operator of the Somernova innovation campus, is proud to announce the official signing of the Somernova Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and a first of its kind Project Labor Agreement (PLA) – marking a major step forward for arts and innovation ecosystem and equitable, community-driven development in Somerville’s Union Square.

Indivisible Somerville members meet up at the MBTA Ball Square Station before heading to the parade.  — Photo courtesy of Elaine Almquist

By The Times Staff

“No Kings” day brought participants from Somerville and around the area to Boston’s Pride Parade on Saturday, June 14, to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and protest against authoritarian overreach in a nationwide day of defiance.

RSJ is partnering with the City of Medford and Tufts University to provide additional Juneteenth programming during the month of June. Join Tufts University and the Cities of Medford and Somerville for a morning program that includes breakfast, a session on the history of Juneteenth, and workshops based around the theme of Expressions of Black Joy as a Form of Resistance at Tufts University, Wednesday, June 18, 8:15 to 11:30 a.m.. at the Joyce Cummings Center at Tufts University (177 College Ave., Medford) More event info at: www.diversity.tufts.edu/events/juneteenth2025/

You don’t have to run away to join the circus!

For 39 years, children, teens, and adults have learned circus skills from the OPENAIR Circus of Greater Somerville.  Everyone is welcome to learn new skills and join the circus community.

Classes this year include Baton Twirling*, Devil Stick*s, Diabolo*, Hula Hoops*, Juggling*, Poi*, Stilting*, Tiny Tots Trio, and Yo-yo.  Classes with asterisks are offered at the beginning and intermediate levels. All classes are an hour, except Tiny Tots, which is 30 minutes.

Eagle Feathers #331 – A Banner Weekend

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Somerville is the first location in America to celebrate its flag before the constellation of stars on it began to grow. After the Battle of Bunker Hill, Colonial troops withdrew to fortify Prospect Hill. It was there, during the next year, that America’s union began to form. Prospect Hill became known as General Washington’s Citadel, his command post during the siege of Boston.

Alongside all the hubbub and hurrah of military parades, civil protests, and the sweetness of familial love that Father’s Day can bring, another event quietly slipped by last weekend.

Flag Day is not an official federal or state holiday, but June 14 is the date designated by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson back in 1916 as a day to officially honor the stars and stripes that we solemnly revere today.

*

Recently I caught up with Faye Dupras, a puppeteer based here in the Paris of New England. I asked her about her life and work.

Doug Holder: How has it been for you as an artist moving to and living in Somerville?

Faye Dupras: I moved to the U.S. in 2001 to pursue an MFA in puppetry arts at UConn. I planned to return to Montreal after my studies. However, during this period I met my now husband who is American.

*

Miriam Levine is the author of Forget about Sleep, her sixth poetry collection, winner of the 2023 Laura Boss Narrative Poetry Award. Another collection, The Dark Opens, was chosen for the Autumn House Poetry Prize.  Other books include: Devotion, a memoir; In Paterson, a novel. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, and Ploughshares. Levine, winner of a Pushcart Prize, is a fellow of the NEA and a grantee of the Massachusetts Artists Foundation. She lives in Florida and New Hampshire. For more information about her work, please go to miriamlevine.com.