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

Wake Up The Earth Festival & Parades on May 7

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The beloved Wake Up The Earth Festival & Parade will be on May 7, and you'll have three places to join a parade, as they come together at Stony Brook. Parades will gather at 10:30 am. If you're interested in joining the parade, and everyone is welcome, please email Zafiro at wute22parade@gmail.com.  The trio of parades will start at Curtis Hall, the Curley K-8 School, and the Egleston Square YMCA. Parades will meet at Jackson Square and then continue together down Lamartine Street to begin the festival at Stony Brook, which starts officially at noon, and goes to 6 pm. The festival includes musical performances, food vendors, a local farm selling seedlings, lots of local organizations with information tables, a kids musical play area, and more.

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Neighborhood Life
A scene from Wake Up The Earth 2015.

Wake Up The Earth Festival is May 7 — Still Time To Get Involved!

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This year's Wake Up The Earth Festival is May 7 -- and there are numerous ways to still get involved with Spontaneous Celebrations' annual beloved tradition. The first WUTE festival took place in 1979 on land that was going to be a large highway that is now the Southwest Corridor with a community garden, and a playground. The tradition continues every year (except for the lousy pandemic interruption) by the Stony Brook T station. There are numerous ways to get involved with this year's festival. This year's theme is Power of the People, and there will be banners on the fence between the Stony Brook and Jackson Square T stations, celebrating the nonprofits, community groups and local businesses that helped stop the highway.

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Business

Coronavirus Collateral Damage: Funerals, Animal Vets, Art Schools, Wake Up The Earth Festival, All Affected

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The damage wrought by COVID-19 is permeating all aspects of society. Our funerals are being affected, our woodworking classes are being cancelled, and our beloved Wake Up The Earth Festival is not happening May 2. The Forest Hills Cemetery was consecrated in 1848, and it's not clear if there's ever been restrictions placed on the number of attendees allowed at funerals. But now there are -- in accordance with Governor Charlie Baker's executive order, burials are now limited to 25 people, according to Forest Hills Cemetery's website. Along with the 25 person limit, there are other new protocols:
We are requesting that all family members remain in their cars until the casket has been placed at the gravesite and the Cemetery personnel have left the area.

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