Due to the weather, the city’s Arbor Day event was postponed until Wednesday, July 6 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Urban trees hold many essential roles in our city – from cleaning our air and making it cooler, to providing habitat for wildlife, lowering stress levels, and much more. Celebrate Somerville’s urban forest this Arbor Day at Nathan Tufts Park, 850 Broadway. Learn about our local urban forest, welcome newly planted trees in the park, make leaf art, and take home free native plant seedlings.

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STEAM at the Library, Wednesday July 6, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Join Somerville resident and science educator Jessica Garrett for hands-on STEAM programs. Intended for ages 7-12. Registration for these events are required at https://www.somervillepubliclibrary.org/calendar.

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Don’t forget to check out the two exhibits at the Somerville Museum running until July 9. Firehouse Reels: 40 Years of SCATV: A collaboration between the Somerville Media Center and the Somerville Museum. Firehouse Reels documents a local community television channel that has been in operation since 1980. The station was called Somerville Community Access Television (SCATV) and was an essential contributor to local culture. Space Invader: An immigrant experience through immersive art: Space Invader is curated by local audio-visual artist and spatial sound designer Rook Murao, an immigrant and naturalized citizen. Murao explores this concept of “Alien” through satire, parody, comedy, and even absurdity with art as the medium. For more information visit www.somervillemuseum.org.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: We wish former mayor and great guy Gene Brune a very happy birthday this week. Gene gives so much to this community. Happy birthday Gene, we hope you have a great birthday with your many friends, family and admirers here. We wish a big happy birthday to another great person, Rebecca McLaughlin of Century 21 North East. We hope she has a great day and we are sure her kids will make it extra special. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Holly Dow, John Hughes, Maureen Pirone, Charles Zammuto, Yvette Wilks, Michael Terrio, Barbara Passero, John Taglilatela, David Figueiredo and Tom Fitzgerald a very happy birthday. We hope everyone has a great day. We hope everyone has a great day. To all the others we may have missed, we sincerely wish them the very best of birthdays.

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Free summer meals for kids under 19 years old starts July 6. Visit the website for breakfast and lunch times and locations. https://somerville.k12.ma.us/summermeals

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The City of Somerville’s annual SomerMovie Fest returns this year with a series of seven family-friendly films being shown in parks around Somerville. Screenings begin at dusk and the schedule is as follows: Ghostbusters: Afterlife, July 14, Lincoln Park (Argenziano School); Sing 2, July 21, Lincoln Park (Argenziano School); Encanto, July 28, Lincoln Park (Argenziano School); Jumanji: The Next Level, August 4, Seven Hills Park; West Side Story, August 11, Seven Hills Park; Star Wars: The Force Awakens, August 18, Seven Hills Park

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Somerville Pub Sing, outdoors in-person, Tuesday, July 19, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. An outdoor, in person sing at the Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave. (https://www.facebook.com/somervillecommunitygrowingcenter). It’s a beautiful space. They will have a propane fire pit and marshmallows to toast; other snacks are welcome!

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The Joe the Salamander book release party will take place Saturday, July 23, 4:00 p.m., Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave. Hosted by Doug Holder, with readings by Charles Coe and DeWitt Henry. It’s the long-awaited release of Timothy Gager’s novel, Joe the Salamander.

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The Somerville Homeless Coalition needs snacks for their clients, and as the weather warms up, bottled water, sunscreen, and bug spray become essentials. All donations can be dropped off weekdays at the 1 Davis Square office from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. for lunch. Visit their Facebook page to see a list of their client necessities: www.facebook.com/SomervilleHomelessCoalition.

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ArtBeat Dance is back in the Somerville Theater for 2022. July 16, 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The Somerville Arts Council will host these artists: Continuum Dance Project, Eliza Malecki Dance, Carmen Rizzo, Art UnEarths, Danza Organica, SINDHOOR & NATYAVEDA – Navarasa Dance Theater, JLin and Colleagues, Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company with Ensemble Maresienne, Duets for a Lifetime, and Deborah Mason School of Dance. Please join them in welcoming these dance groups back to this Somerville stage for an afternoon of dance.

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Stay protected against COVID-19. The Somerville Public Library (MA), 79 Highland Ave., will host a vaccine clinic on Wednesday July 13, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. The Pfizer vaccine and boosters will be available for all people five years and up. The clinics are free, regardless of immigration status or health insurance. Identification is not required. Appointments are required and can be made at: tinyurl.com/SomervilleVax. For more vaccination options visit somervillema.gov/vaccine. If you need assistance to pre-register or help with transportation, please contact 3-1-1 at 617-666-3311.

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This summer, the city is offering three spaces just for teens while efforts to identify a permanent Teen Center location continue. Temporary spaces include: Somerville Public Library, Central Branch, 79 Highland Ave.; Edgerly Education Center, 33 Cross St.; Powderhouse Park, 838 Broadway. Each space will provide activities, snacks, connections to services, and access to city social workers. For opening dates and more information, visit somervillema.gov/teencenter.

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Starting July 13, a new Housing Stability Notification Act amendment will require landlords to provide tenants with information about their rights and resources at the start of all new housing rentals, rather than only when pursuing eviction. Anyone facing displacement or needing housing assistance is urged to contact the Office of Housing Stability at 617-625-6600 ext. 2581. For more information, visit somervillema.gov/ohs

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On July 9 and August 3 from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., the Growing Center, 22 Vinal Ave, will turn itself into a garden cafe. A place where you can come relax, read a book, meet a friend and, of course, become a budding artist. The Budding Artist Cafe will provide a variety of drawing materials at each of its cafe tables so that anyone can draw or create their own artwork inspired by the garden. The Budding Artist Cafe will also have a featured art project each month, led by a local artist, and centered on natural themes such as painting with brushes made out of branches and grasses; pressing flowers and leaves; and nature journaling.

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The city’s Adopt-A-Tree program has officially launched. Newly planted trees can be found around Somerville, and now they need your help. Look for the colorful “Adopt Me!” tags and scan the QR code or visit tinyurl.com/somervilletree to find a tree in your neighborhood and go through the steps to adopt it. Name it, water it and even receive an adoption certificate. For more information, visit somervillema.gov/adoptatree.

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Don’t forget to visit Somerville’s farmers markets. Every Wednesday through November 23, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m. visit the Davis Square Farmers Market, across from American Flatbread at 44 Day St. Visit: https://www.massfarmersmarkets.org/davis. Every Saturday through October 29, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., the Union Square Farmers Market takes place at 66-70 Union Sq. visit: https://www.unionsquaremain.org/2022-fmseason. Every Sunday through November 20, the East Somerville Farmers Market takes place at 115 Broadway, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Visit https://www.eastsomervillemainstreets.org/market. There is a $15 SNAP match at all Farmers Markets across Somerville.

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