By William Tauro

On Saturday, Oct 6, Peter P Fantasia was honored by the City of Somerville with the dedication of the PF3 Peter Fantasia Square at the corners of Boston and Hamlet Streets.

The Somerville Chamber of Commerce held its second annual Oktoberfest on Sunday, Oct 7. – Photo by Bobbie Toner

The Somerville Chamber of Commerce held its second annual Oktoberfest on Sunday, Oct 7, at Elm and Chester Streets. The best of bratwurst and beer, along with food served from local restaurants Redbones, The Burren, Diva Indian Bistro, Foundry on Elm, Joshua Tree, and Mike’s Food & Spirits was enjoyed by hundreds who stopped by for the annual tradition. The Mad Bavarian Brass Band entertained the crowd performing polkas and great music.

Steve Cramer

I thought I had lost the following interview–but I just recently found it. It was conducted on my Somerville Community Access TV Show Poet to Poet: Writer to Writer in 2004. The audio tape is archived at the Poetry Room at the Lamont Library/Harvard University.

Steve Cramer is the author of four poetry collections, the latest being “Goodbye To The Orchard” (Sarabande 2004). His poems and criticism have been in the “Partisan Review,” “The New Republic,” “The Paris Review,” among others. He was the recipient of fellowships from the “Mass. Artists Foundation“, and the “National Endowment for the Arts.” He has taught literature and writing at B.U., MIT and Tufts. He currently directs the low-residency MFA program in Creative Writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. I talked with him on my Somerville Community Access TV Show “Poet to Poet/Writer To Writer.”

Karen Miller

Karen Miller writes The Somerville News:

“I’m a Somerville person, therapist, poet.  I wrote this poem about the Somerville Market Basket. Mostly, right now, besides my practice, I’m writing about a psychiatric hospital in upstate New York that closed in the nineties after 135 years, poems about the people who lived there and their lives.  That will be part of an exhibit of these people’s possessions, photographs, letters, at the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, opening in April, 2013.”

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and the Somerville Housing Division invite all interested community members to a Senior Housing Symposium on Thursday, October 18 to discuss the needs and opportunities for Senior Housing in Somerville.  The symposium will be held from 6– 8 p.m. at the Visiting Nurse Association Assisted Living Community at 405 Alewife Brook Parkway.  Topics will include results from the Senior Housing Survey completed last year, an overview of current senior housing opportunities in Somerville, the response of Somerville agencies and partners to senior housing needs and a discussion of senior housing design along a continuum of care, from independent living to shared housing to assisted living.  Participants are also invited to come between 5 and 6 p.m. for tours of the recently completed VNA Assisted Living Facility and receive information on senior services currently available in Somerville.

~Photos by Bobbie Toner

The 17th annual Somerville Homeless Coalition 5K Road Race took place Saturday, October 6. This year’s race featured electronic timing with start and finish mats.  Following the race, runners were treated to brunch at Davis Square 7 Hills Park, where an awards ceremony also took place.

~Photos by Bobbie Toner

Activist Street Bands from Somerville to Italy turned Davis Square into a festival  this weekend.

‘Queen of Rockabilly’ Wanda Jackson brings it to Somerville
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The First Lady of Country and Rockabilly will be rocking Johnny D’s on October 13.

By Jim Clark

The stage at Johnny D’s has played host to some of the most storied names in the world of popular music. On October 13 that stage will be tasked with containing the sprightly dynamism of Wanda Jackson and band, as she stops by on her current tour in support of her new upcoming album, Unfinished Business, to be released on October 9.

Trash and recycling pickup for this week will be delayed by one day due to the Columbus Day Holiday. Parking meters will not be enforced for Monday only. Saturday, October 13, is Household Hazardous Waste Day.