Centers And Squares
Cambridge Discovery Days 2011
Cambridge Discovery Days
Looks like we’ll have good weather (not *too* hot) for the first installment of Cambridge Discovery Days tomorrow.
Every August on two Saturdays, a variety of tours and talks are held around Cambridge. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War and many of the events will focus on the impact of the Civil War in Cambridge.
Cambridge Discovery Days is sponsored by the Cambridge History Collaborative – a partnership of local historical and educational groups that include the Cambridge Historical Commission, the Cambridge Historical Society, Mount Auburn Cemetery, and the Longfellow National Historic Site.
In addition to tours of Mount Auburn Cemetery, the Longfellow House, and the Cooper-Frost-Austin House, there are talks and tours around town. Here’s a sampling of the talks for Cambridge Discovery Days 2011:
- Telling Our Story: Fresh Pond and the Civil War
- Candy Land
- Discover East Cambridge Through Public Art
- The Poet and the Civil War: James Russell Lowell
- “His thoughts sounds no depth”: Cambridge’s Greatest Literary Battles
- Strolling Down Magazine Street
For details, times and more there’s a two-page flyer or a multi-page listing with full descriptions of each tour or talk.
Events are free, open to the public and held rain or shine. Please note – some events require registration. Check the flyer for more details and contact information.
Cambridge Discovery Days 2011 will take place on Saturday, August 6. 2011 and Saturday, August 13, 2011. Self-guided tours of Mount Auburn begin at 8 am, the first talk begins at 9:30 am.
Co-op Fair in Cambridge on Saturday
Find Out about Local Co-ops at the Fair on Saturday
If you’ve stayed in the city this holiday weekend (and judging from my easy drive home tonight many of you haven’t) there’s a Co-op Fair being held tomorrow, Saturday, July 2, 2011 on Essex Street in Cambridge.
Part of a celebration of co-ops around the world, the 2011 Mass Bay Co-op Faire is the first time the International Day for Cooperatives has been celebrated in the Boston area.
Participants include:
- Boston-Area Solidarity Economy Network
- Cooperative Fund of New England
- BRANCHES housing co-ops
- Equal Exchange
- Beacon Hill Friends House
- Boston Building Resources
Stop by the fair to learn about local co-ops of all types – workers, agricultural, housing, etc. There will also be a screening of the movie At Home in Utopia about New York housing co-ops in the 1930s – 1950s.
The Co-op Fair will be held in the parking lot on Essex Street adjacent to the Harvest Co-op from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, July 2, 1011.
Opposition House – Cambridge
Opposition House - Now On Hancock Place Cambridge
This Sunday, the Cambridge Historical Society will screen the documentary Opposition House by filmmaker Susan Chasen.
The film tells the story of a mid-Cambridge house that was built in 1807 to block the construction of Harvard Street.
The house was moved and still stands on Hancock Place. Nicknamed Opposition House, the property was added to the National Historic Register in 1982.
The screening at the Cambridge Historical Society is free and open to the public. The Cambridge Historical Society is located 159 Brattle Street in the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House. The movie screening is scheduled for 1:00 to 3:00 pm on Sunday, June 12, 2011.
If you can’t make the film screening this Sunday, CCTV will broadcast the movie in June on cable TV in Cambridge. Opposition House can be seen on:
- June 15. 2011 at 10:00 am on Channel 10
- June 16, 2011 at 9:00 am on Channel 10
- June 18. 2011 at 9:30 am on Channel 10
- June 22, 2011 at 4:00 pm on Channel 9 and at 9:20 pm on Channel 10
- June 24. 2011 at 6:00 pm on Channel 9
- June 27, 2011 at 3:40 pm on Channel 10
The Filter Bubble – Eli Pariser – Not To Be Missed
The copy of The Filter Bubble I bought for my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad! If I could convince the family to have his birthday party at the Harvard Book Store tonight I would.
Tonight at the Harvard Book Store, Eli Pariser will speak about his new book The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding From You. It’s a not to be missed event – this is a book everyone should read.
In The Filter Bubble Pariser writes about the impact of personalized search online on sites such as Google, Facebook. etc. Personalized search has bothered me since it was first introduced and I’m delighted that someone has written about the problems it creates. In a time when we’re losing newspapers, people are reading selected news items online (and only those pieces), TV news is degenerating into fluff, and information is being collected about us at every turn, Pariser is sounding the alarm about what this means for us, our future, and our system of government. Do we want news providers to only show us what’s popular or what they believe we “like”? If information is power what does it mean when large corporations (some almost unknown to us) know more and more about us?
The Filter Bubbleis one of the best books I’ve read in ages. Pariser is one of the few (only?) writers I’ve encountered who, while immersed in technology much of his life, can write about the internet without resorting to jargon and without being blinded by the benefits of technological progress. He’s one of the smartest thinkers I’ve come across.
If you’re using Google or Facebook or spending any time online you really want to get this book. Tonight, you’ll get the chance to hear from the author, Eli Pariser, when he reads from The Filter Bubble at the Harvard Book Store at 1256 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge in Harvard Square. The reading begins at 7 pm and is free and open to the public.
Green Homes Bike Tour
Green House Tour in Cambridge
I love Cambridge. We just wrapped up the week-long Cambridge Science Festival just in time for the start of Cambridge Climate Change Week this Friday.
There’s a variety of events planned for the week but as a house tour aficionado the one that caught my eye is the Green Homes Bike Tour planned for Sunday, May 15, 2011.
Participants will meet at Danahy Park on Sherman Street at 10 am and then bike to four houses in North Cambridge and Somerville that have utilized energy efficiency and eco-friendly practices.
There’s more info about the Green Homes Bike Tour and other events planned for Cambridge Climate Change Week on the Cambridge Climate Emergency Action Group website.
Check out the Massachusetts House Tour page for lots more house tours – no bike tours, just plenty of house tours.
Cambridge Open Studios
Cambridge Open Studios This Weekend
The first of three open studio weekends in Cambridge takes place this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, May 7th & 8th, artists’ studios will be open in East Cambridge. The East Cambridge Open Studios will include the Lechmere, Inman Square and Kendall Square neighborhoods.
Artists’ studios will be open from noon to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday. Check out the Community Arts website for more information and a brochure with map.
I’ve updated the Massachusetts Open Studios page as well as the Massachusetts House Tours page, and the Garden Tours in Massachusetts page. There’s a lot to do this Spring!
Cambridgeport History Day 2010
An If This House Could Talk Sign from the 1st Cambridgeport History Day in 2009
Cambridgeport History Day Clearing skies are predicted for tomorrow’s Cambridgeport History Day.
Charlie Sullivan, Executive Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, will again lead a two-hour tour of the history of the Cambridgeport neighborhood. The tour begins at Dana Park at noon.
One of my favorite features of last year’s celebration of Cambridgeport history was the If This House Could Talk project. Homeowners created more than 70 signs with info about their house’s history.
Cambridgeport residents, businesses and non-profits have been invited to display signs in front of their properties. The If This House Could Talk signs will remain on display until 5 pm on Sunday, October 10th. It’s a wonderful week to walk around Cambridgeport.
Here’s a map of 2010 If This House Could Talk sign locations.
Other events on Cambridgeport History Day on Saturday, October 2, 2010 include:
- An exhibit at Gallery 263, 263 Pearl Street: My Cambridgeport: Personal Maps of the Neighborhood
- Activities for the kids and family at Dana Park from 2 to 5
- A potluck dinner from 4 – 7 pm hosted by the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Assoc with music by the Bagboys
More information about Cambridgeport History Day can be found on the Cambridge Historical Commission website.
Harvard Book Store Lectures
One of the best benefits of living in a college town is that you can find interesting lectures and readings almost any day of the week. The Havard Bookstore in Cambridge always has a super lineup of appearances by authors, political figures and social commentators.
When you’re driving through Harvard Square and see a crowd lining the sidewalk it’s often people waiting to get into a Havard Book Store event. Many events are free, for others tickets are available in advance or at the door if still available. The tickets are very reasonable but many of the most popular speakers’ events do sell out in advance.
I’m going to hear Ariana Huffington on Monday night but the event is sold out. I missed getting tickets for Tony Blair and Tina Brown on Wednesday – won’t that mistake again! Here are just a few of the upcoming Harvard Book Store lectures with tickets available as I write:
Mary Catherine Bateson speaks on Composing A Life: The Age of Active Wisdom on September 21, 2010 at the Harvard Bookstore (no tickets required)
Robert Reich will discuss Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future at the Brattle Theatre on September 24, 2010
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer will discuss Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge’s View at the First Parish on September30, 2010
Oliver Sacks will discuss his new book The Mind’s Eye at the First Parish in Harvard Square on October 28, 2010
Be sure to check the Harvard Book Store website for additional information, ticket availability, and for many more upcoming events.
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