City Services

Talk with Mayor Wu at Mozart Playground on Friday

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Mayor Michelle Wu Neighborhood Coffee Hours will bring her to Jamaica Plain's Mozart Playground on Friday from 9:30 to 10:30 am. The coffee hours is a mayoral tradition that provides a unique opportunity to speak directly with the mayor and staff from city departments such as the Boston Planning & Development Agency, Boston Transportation Department, and more. Come talk to the mayor about open space, bike lanes, composting, or does she like cats and/or dogs. As always, Dunkin’ will provide iced coffee, Munchkins, lawn games and gift card giveaways. Fresh fruit will be provided by Star Market, and each family in attendance will receive a free flowering plant provided by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, while supplies last.

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Neighborhood Life

Pride Celebration Speak Out on Saturday in Response to Anti-LGBTQIA+ Graffiti on First Baptist Church

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The community is invited to a pride celebration and speak out in response to anti-LGBTQIA+ graffiti that was spray painted on the outside of the First Baptist Jamaica Plain church that was discovered on Thursday morning. First Baptist Jamaica Plain is one of the most inclusive churches and prides itself on "standing up for the rights of our LGBTQIA community, hosting a [monthly] vigil in support of Black Lives Matters, offering educational events about Israel/Palestine, marching for our immigrant neighbors, speaking up for the incarcerated, advocating in the state house, working for affordable housing and and end to homelessness..." The church also run a food justice program, hosts community meals, is affiliated with the Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, which seeks full inclusion and leadership within its church for the LGBTQIA+ community. "We have received so much support from our community in response to the hate speech written on our building this week. We want to show our thanks for your love and as a show of public solidarity with our queer community in and around our church - with a celebration of queer love and joy!"

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Neighborhood Life

Celebrate Jamaica Plain’s Oldest and Newest Synagogue on June 6

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The Nehar Shalom Community Synagogue is inviting the Jamaica Plain community to help celebrate its 18th anniversary on June 6. Nehar Shalom was founded 18 years ago by Rabbi Victor Reinstein in his house, becoming the first and only synagogue in Jamaica Plain.. Since that time, it has grown to more than 100 membership units, mostly in the immediate Jamaica Plain and Roslindale area. The synagogue is active partners in the community, including with other Jamaica Plain clergy, and Nehar Shalom currently rents space from First Church in Jamaica Plain for Shabbat services and Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana for its Hebrew school and has used Hope Central Church for special events. Members and clergy, including current Rabbi Leora Abelson, have deep roots and relationships with and in Jamaica Plain, and enjoy getting challah bread for Shabbat from local bakeries including Monumental Market, Blue Frog Bakery, and JP Licks, the latter of which has hosted weekly Torah study sessions.

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Neighborhood Life

‘Pictures of the Year’ Returns to Jamaica Pond

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If you're starting to spend more time outside, make sure you walk over to the Jamaica Pond. The Boston Press Photographers Association will showcase its annual outdoor exhibit at Jamaica Pond from May 31 to June 13. The public exhibit showcases 350 images from the BPPA's annual "Pictures of the Year" competition to recognize New England's best photojournalism. Local news organizations and independent photographers submit hundreds of photographs to the competition, and a team of independent judges selects winners across dozens of categories, including breaking news, feature stories, politics, portraiture, and more. See all of the 2022 award-winning images here.

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Arts

Photos: Fairy House Building Workshop at Franklin Park

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Children created their own personalized, eco-friendly homes for the woodland fairies of Franklin Park while wearing their favorite fairy and elf costumes. It was a beautiful morning at the annual Fairy House Building Workshop at Franklin Park's Schoolmaster Hill hosted by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department and the Mayor's Mural Crew on April 20. (Photos by Jon Seamans for Boston Parks and Recreation) 

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Arts

Wake Up the Earth Festival on May 6: Parades, Musical Performances, Vendors, and More

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While the 45th annual Wake Up the Earth Festival will be a lot of fun this weekend, it's also important to recognize the reason the festival was created, and how it relates to modern times. This year's festival is from noon to 5 pm on the Southwest Corridor by the Stonybrook MBTA Station. The original festival was created by community activists who worked together to defeat a proposal to put a highway through the neighborhood. This year's organizers would like to "move more deeply into awareness of climate resiliency and how climate change connects to low income and affordable housing access, and the racial inequities in Boston that make climate change a vitally important social justice and racial justice issue." As organizers explore how they can make an impact, they're encouraging the community to make a pledge to action.

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Neighborhood Life
A scene from the South Street Parade at Wake Up The Earth 2015

Wanted: Wake Up The Earth Festival Volunteers

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The 45th annual Wake Up the Earth Festival is May 6, and organizer Spontaneous Celebrations want volunteers for several different things. They outlined the volunteer gig in an email:

A few immediate asks:

We need confirmed puppet carriers for the parade! Big and small puppets
We need a megaphone
We need experienced parades to help Marshall

If any of these things are possible for you email wuteparade2023@gmail.com

Closer to the Festival/Day of:

We also need strong help Friday the 5th in the afternoon to set up stages and Saturday the 6th to help with set up 8-11am. If that’s you, email wutefestival@gmail.com
We need stage support to help Zumix from 11-6 day of the festival - perhaps pick a 2 hour shift or more and let us know? Wutefestival@gmail.com
We need people to run the cardboard slides and mini golf kids activities from 12-6 e-mail your available time to spontaneousvolunteering@gmail.com
We need core volunteers to be a trash bandit!

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Arts

Help Fundraiser to Create New South Street Mural

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A community fundraiser to create a mural on South Street by the basketball/pickleball/tennis courts is in full swing -- and JP Centre/South Main Streets has said it will match any online donation.  

The mural will be made on the wall outside Peru Travel. Gabrielle Hahn, the owner of nearby business Said & Done tattoo, created the fundraiser to pay local artist Massiel Grullón who is creating the mural. The goal is to fundraise $4,500 to cover paying the artist and supplies. Grullón was born in Boston, is an alum of the Boston Arts Academy, earned a bachelors degree in painting and graphic design at Montserrat College of Art in 2014, and teaches painting at Artists for Humanity in South Boston.

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Neighborhood Life

Photos: Half Half Half Half Half Marathon at Jamaica Pond

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There was more than one very important marathon this month. More than 70 serious and casual runners gathered at the Jamaica Pond Boathouse for this year’s Half Half Half Half Half Marathon, hosted by 826 Boston at Jamaica Pond on April 13. All photos by Deborah Karson Photography

The event raised more than $18,000 for 826 Boston’s writing and tutoring programs, offered free to thousands of Boston students and their families every year. “We’re so grateful to everyone—friends, babies, college students, grandparents, dogs—who joined us for Boston’s greatest shortest race,” said Loni Zelfon, 826 Boston’s Development and Events Manager. “We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to walk, wheel, and run around Jamaica Pond to support 826 Boston’s incredible student authors."

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