No Town Night or fireworks, but Saturday set to go

UPDATED, Sept. 12: Town Day, an annual tradition here since 1976, is set for Saturday, Sept. 14. 

Here is a link to all events >>

Town Night is usually held the evening before with fireworks, but there will be no fireworks (or events) that evening.

As of Friday, Sept. 6, the deadline for the town to arrange a contract with a fireworks provider, no one had come through with a way to contribute.

Last year, residents Katie Garrett and Pasi Miettinen spearheaded the fund-raising effort and collected $8,679.89, which covered the cost of the contract with the fireworks vendor, Assistant Town Manager Jim Feeney wrote Aug. 28.

Meanwhile, preceding Town Day hours is the Walter V. Moynihan Run. 

Save $5, as prerace registration is $20 per person. Register online until 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13.  Day of the race is $25. Registration starts at 7:30 to 8 a.m., with race time starting at 8:30. Details >>

Town Day takes place along Mass. Ave. between Pleasant Street and Jason Street from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. , when more than 200 booths will be available. This area of Mass. Ave. will be closed as well as access to Mass. Ave. from adjoining side streets. 

MBTA buses are rerouted accordingly. Traffic delays are expected. Visitors are encouraged to walk to the event, if possible. 

Meanwhile, here are some Town Day participants:

Dallin Museum Town Day ― Art on the Green

Feeling artsy? The Cyrus Dallin Art Museum hosts its annual Art on the Green art and author festival on Town Day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This jubilant event, held in Whittemore Park, in front of the museum in Arlington Center (corner of Mass Ave and Mystic St) showcases local artists, author book signings and music, and offers free museum tours.

Artists

Come see the following artists who offer painting, prints, textiles, jewelry and more:

• Anne Black – photos, cards, jewelry
• Laurie Bogdan – jewelry
• Peg Casey – clothing
• Anita Costello – vegan leather bags
• Susan Devita – tie-dye tee shirts
• Rita Dioguardi – collages
• Jen Flores – Hardy elementary after-school crafts
• Maggie Furtak – ceramics
• Ariel Kessler – mixed media art/collages
• Nina Lapchyk – textiles
• Julia Ledoux – metal jewelry
• Chikako Mukai – handcrafted handbags/accessories/clothing
• Helen Ray – soaps
• Ruth Ann Weinstein – handmade knits
• Nancy White – photo cards
• Susan Wing – ceramics
• Ruth (Cherry) Youngblood – notecards 

Book Signings 

Mingle with a star-studded lineup of local authors, available for book-signing:

• 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ― John Harrison, Dead In Good Company
• Noon to 12:30 p.m. ― Arlington author Whitney Scharer, The Age of Light
• 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. ― Arlington author Jane Healey, The Beantown Girls
• Noon to 1:30 p.m. ― Investigative reporter and best-selling author of 11 award-winning novels of suspense Hank Phillipi Ryan, The Murder List
• 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ― Carter Allen, Digital Diaries 

Music

Enjoy woodwind instruments playing classical music, 10 a.m. to noon. Robin Henzer has been coordinating the woodwind ensemble with Art on the Green for more than 10 years. This lovely tradition of classical music, with their soothing sounds under the shade trees in the park, is a wonderful accompaniment to a day full of art.

The Dallin Museum

Free parking is available in the lot behind the museum. The museum will be open free of charge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Cyrus Dallin Art Museum is open to the public Fridays through Sundays 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visit www.dallin.org for more information.

Community Card

Get your 2019-2020 Community Card at Town Day.

Still only $10 for ongoing discounts for an entire year at more than 40 local establishments. 

All proceeds benefit Thompson School PTO.  Look for the community card booth and/or the volunteers in the turquoise Thompson PTO aprons.

Visit the Robbins Library book sale

Stop by the library booth and the Arlington Libraries Foundation booth, say hi to Library Director Andrea Nicolay, learn what’s new, and how you can support your libraries.  

The Friends of the Robbins Library will hold its annual Town Day book sale from 10 to 3. Friends members are invited to come early — from 9:30 to 10; members should receive their preview postcards either in the mail or via email.

The sale is in the parking lot behind the library as well as down in the library’s Community Room.

At the book sale you will also be able to purchase both of the Friends tote bags, plus enter your name to win a jar of the library’s honey from the third-floor bee hives.

There will be thousands of books at very affordable prices — come browse and enjoy and purchase books, media, tote bags and more to support Arlington libraries.

Donations of gently used paperback and hardcover books for the sale may be left in the large blue bin in the front lobby of the Robbins Library.

Please do not donate textbooks over 10 years old, videotapes, guide books more than 5 years old, computer texts or books without covers. All other books, books on CD, music CDs and DVDs are welcome.

Anyone wishing to assist the Friends with the sale should contact Friends Coordinator Amy McElroy at 781-648-4109 or ae65 at verizon.net. Volunteers are needed to sort books during the weeks prior to the sale and to set up, organize and clean up on the day of the sale.

Town-related booths

Arlington Police Department table is near Robbins Library for public safety information and discussion. The Family Services Team is available to provide assistance on a wide range of topics and the APD mental-health clinician will be sharing facts on the Arlington Opiate Outreach Initiative and treatment resources available for residents.

Animal Control Officer Diane Welch is on hand providing information on pets and wildlife, and K9 Officer Michael Hogan along with the APD’s K9 “Eiko” conducts demonstrations throughout the day in the Robbins Library parking lot. 

Planning and Community Development: Stop by and meet the staff and volunteers. Spin the wheel for a bookmark, and learn about our work and upcoming planning activities, including the Net Zero Plan, the Sustainable Transportation Plan and zoning initiatives.

Arlington Youth Health & Safety Coalition is dedicated to preventing and reducing youth substance use and other risk behaviors. Meet friendly members, to learn about parent workshops, and to get prevention materials. Test your knowledge of the recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey results and win a prize.

Garage band: A Town Day pop-up dance party

Saturday, Sept. 14, 4 to 6 p.m.

Arlington Global Service Station, 334 Mass. Ave.

Free and open to all.

After experiencing the best that Arlington has to offer at Town Day, head over to GARAGE BAND, an After Party organized by Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture and hosted by Arlington Service Station. Bring your dancing shoes to fully enjoy a diverse program of swing, Latin, and Japanese musical traditions performed by master musicians in the town’s hippest new venue for the arts – an old-time neighborhood garage covered with polka dots!

ACAC is grateful to our sponsors, Arlington Service Station and Column Health, for bringing these amazing talents to the party:

Odaiko Drumming

A dynamic ensemble performing and preserving a traditional Japanese form of drumming, based in Arlington.

Dan Fox Foxtet 
Arlington band leader and educator Dan Fox of numerous ensembles and the Morningside Music School brings a swing band dedicated to getting folks on the dance floor.

Grupo Fantasia
A panoply of Latin/Caribbean styles, Grupo Fantasia is the brainchild of Dominican multi-instrumentalist Angel Wagner. With Grupo Fantasia, Wagner and his band demonstrate a mastery of Latin music through the styles of merengue, salsa, Latin jazz, cumbia, bachata and vallenato. When he isn’t performing at shows, Wagner heads the Angel Wagner Musical Workshop, providing students with hands-on lessons in the sounds of the Caribbean and Latin America. 

BACKGROUND

Arlington’s arts scene has been gaining momentum in the last 3 years, bringing a cultural renaissance to the town. A newly reformed and energized Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture is working to bring artists and cultural organizations together to share goals, coordinate programs, and achieve synergy. www.artsarlington.org/, www.facebook.com/artsarlingtonMA/

GARAGE BAND is an excellent example of the commission’s mission. The first such event, held on June 8, 2019, drew more than 1,000 people of all ages from throughout the region to a free, family-friendly dance party that was the perfect culmination the town-wide Porchfest. 

Arlington Global Service Station serves as a perfect venue for the celebration. The station’s owner, Abe Salhi, was awarded “Business of the Year” by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in recognition of this innovative practice of privately sponsoring public art, in this case, engaging artist Johnny Lapham into transforming his establishment into a colorful array of polka dots and stripes.

For further information, contact Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture (ACAC): 
www.artsarlington.org/livearts/, info@artsarlington.org, 781-646-1071

This news announcement was published Friday, June 7, 2019, and updated Sept. 12, to add Moynihan race early registration.