Porchfest will Bring Music, Dance, and Community to the Streets of Jamaica Plain

On Saturday, the streets of Jamaica Plain will be filled with the sights and sounds of music and dance, as thousands of attendees comb the sidewalks for the JP's second annual celebration of art and community, Porchfest. Porchfest co-producer Mindy Fried--who, along with coproducer Marie Ghitman and a handful of additional volunteers, organized the festival--described it as "six hours of art", a free event during which multi-genre performances will emanate from over 72 porches, driveways, community centers and green spaces. Ghitman said JP is one of the 23 cities and neighborhoods to have organized their own Porchfests. The ideas was first conceived in Ithaca, New York in 2007 as a music festival held directly on community members' front doorsteps. Jamaica Plain, said Fried, was "ripe for this kind of event," which has expanded from last year to include not only music, but dance, storytelling, spoken word, theater and more.

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