The City of Somerville is teaming up with CultureHouse to create an outdoor community space at the former “Homan’s Lot.”

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is announcing a partnership with CultureHouse to transform 350 Medford Street in Gilman Square, known colloquially as the “Homans Lot,” into a dynamic outdoor community space called “Gilman Park” from June through September 2024. This initiative will bring a vibrant, inclusive gathering space to life, fostering connections among residents, local organizations, and businesses.

Food For Free, the leading food rescue and distribution nonprofit dedicated to providing reliable access to fresh and nutritious food to Eastern Massachusetts communities, has received a $34,000 grant from The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB).

Linda Marks shares “A Recipe For Hope” on June 23, 3:30 p.m., at The Burren, 247 Elm St., Somerville.

In a frenzied world with a dire shortage of optimism, Linda Marks is eager to share her recipe for hope. The concept of sparking optimism the world over is more than a platitude for the Boston-area singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, whose compassion and tenderness shines throughout her latest record, A Recipe For Hope.

The Somerville High School Athletics Department invites community members to attend a dedication ceremony for Kevin Raymond on Thursday, June 13, at Somerville High School (81 Highland Ave.) at 3:00 p.m. A bench in front of SHS will be dedicated to Kevin at the ceremony. Light refreshments will be served inside the high school following the ceremony. For any questions, please reach out to Nicole Viele, Supervisor for Health and Physical Education, at nviele@k12.somerville.ma.us.

Eagle Feathers #306 – Somerville Standards

In 1872, our city established its first city seal. After the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, Colonial troops withdrew to fortify Prospect Hill. This hill became known as General Washington’s “Citadel,’’ his command post during the “Siege of Boston.” This was the first location in America to celebrate our flag, the Grand Union, before the constellation of stars on it began to grow. It was raised in the presence of the General.

You won’t get the day off from work or school or grocery shopping or … anything, really. There’ll be no three-day weekend or big picnic to mark the occasion. But for many, the significance of the day will ring loudly in their hearts and minds.

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.

June 10, 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic Arrow Paper Fire where Firefighters Joseph Reilly and Robert Brickley lost their lives. You can read more about them at https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/132954.

*

Reviewed by Off the Shelf Correspondent Karen Klein

My first reaction on reading this book was what an incredible group of women.

My second reaction: I wish I were one of them. I predict you will, too, when you read this amazing anthology of their poetry, prose, and plays.

The Streetfeet Women were multicultural before that became popular in the USA. In Somerville, MA’s, Winter Hill in 1980 a Black American, Mary Milner McCullough, and a White American, Elena Harap, began their literary partnership with Portraits of Sisters, a production of poems, music and dance performed by a multicultural groupof women. In 1982, they became formally known as “The Women’s Touring Company a part of Streetfeet Workshops of Mission Hill.”

*
Faith Blake is an emerging poet whose work enquires into the ways language can play, move, and liberate. She has studied Biology at Tufts University, and Education at Stanford University. Faith leads youth programs in the Boston area and lives in Arlington, MA.