Register to vote for the November 5 election, one of three ways: online at somerville-ma.gov/registertovote, in person at City Hall (93 Highland Ave.), or by calling the Elections Department (617-625-6600 ext. 4200) and requesting a voter registration form. The in-person registration deadline is Saturday, October 26, by 5:00 p.m. or online by midnight. Your registration can also be mailed and will be accepted with a postmark of October 26 or earlier.

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Early Voting for the November 5 Presidential Election will take place at Somerville City Hall starting October 19. This week’s dates and times: Saturday, October 19, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday, October 20, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday, October 21, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Wednesday, October 23, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: We wish a special happy birthday to former Alderman Maryann Heuston. We hope she has a great birthday. We want to wish Somerville resident and Vietnam Veteran and Marine, Leo Mingace a happy birthday. We hope he has a great celebration. Happy birthday to one of our own, Harry Kane. We appreciate all he does for the paper and we wish him a great day. Happy birthday to Barry Rollins, who is celebrating this week. Happy birthday to Erin DiBenedetto from Medford, who grew up here in Winter Hill. We wish her a happy birthday. Happy birthday to Valarie Spinale-Bolduc. Happy birthday to Vicki Potaris. We wish her a great day. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Courtney Nelson, Laurie Tierno Johnson, Bill McCarthy, Darell Lee Shanafelt, George Lally, Charlene Murphy and Jim Douthart a very happy birthday. 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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On Friday, October 18, and Saturday, October 19, with doors at 6:30 p.m., Boston Fuzzstival returns for its 10th edition with 20 bands over two days at The Armory in Somerville. Fuzzstival is a celebration of local and regional music hosted by Illegally Blind. More info on lineup and tickets available here: https://events.humanitix.com/boston-fuzzstival-2024

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Assembly Row celebrates their 10 Year Anniversary. To celebrate they will host their first-ever drone show on Saturday, October 19. In 2014, Assembly Row opened its doors, debuting its first stores, restaurants, and apartments. Sponsored by Capital One Café, this public event kicks off at 3:00 p.m. Enjoy a variety of activities, including free play at Club VoloLink opens in a new window, live music on The Lawn, and drinks from the Downeast CiderLink opens in a new window pop-up. The festivities will conclude with a 150-drone light show at 7:00 p.m.

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Shoot Your Shot is the current exhibition at the at the Somerville Armory’s Rooted Cafe. A Community Photo Exhibition presented by Lumentation Photo Lab on view at Rooted Armory Café, 191 Highland Ave, from October 9 to November 13.

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Visit a strange and unusual Small Mart this Saturday at The Crystal Ballroom at the Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Free entry, 30+ local vendors, all ages, wheelchair accessible, full bar. 21+ to drink.

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The second Tavern Talk hosted by the Somerville Museum at Aeronaut Brewing takes place on Sunday, November 3, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Tavern Talk: Vitamin B for Victory: How Beer Helped Win World War II. In this special presentation by Dan Breen, PhD, we will follow the course of American beers from the Solomons to Bastogne, as the Greatest Generation marched towards victory with Lagers in hand. For tickets and more information visit https://www.somervillemuseum.org/.

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Local Somerville non-profit arts organization Around Hear is holding a fall concert in partnership with the Somerville Housing Authority on Saturday, October 26, 2:00 –  3:30 p.m., Mystic Activity Center, 530 Mystic Ave. Somerville. Free, open to the public, listeners of all ages are welcome, refreshments served. Write, draw, move while you listen, after-concert pizza party.

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Arts at the Armory will present a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Monday, October 28. Dive in to this classic musical-horror flick once again this year in the Performance Hall, 191 Highland Ave. Costumes and call backs are highly encouraged. The Teseracte Players will lead the charge and make sure you don’t miss a moment of the raucous ride. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. The viewing starts at 8:00 p.m. Come early and enjoy wine, beer, and a new food menu from the Hall bar. Visit https://artsatthearmory.org/.

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The Somerville Community Growing Center will be holding their Salvage Sale and Markers’ Market on October 19, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., 22 Vinal Ave. An innovative yard sale in two parts: the first a curated, seasonally-themed sale featuring salvaged housewares, clothing, jewelry, books and decorative items; the second, a craft/artisan fair offering everything from locally-designed clothing, original artwork and prints, to handmade jewelry and other treasures. More about the event at www.thegrowingcenter.org/yard-sale. To find out more about donating to the “Salvage Sale” portion, visit bit.ly/sss-give-24. To Volunteer, go to bit.ly/scgc-volunteer. To become a craft/art vendor, visit bit.ly/sss-sell-24 to register.

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On Tuesday October 22, Flatbread in Davis Square will be donating a portion of their sales to Vernon Street Studios to help support their 50th Anniversary Open Studios celebration on December 7 and 8, and their retrospective artist showcase at the Nave Gallery from December to January. Join in for a casual meet and greet from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. and meet some fellow artists, participate in a 50/50 raffle and of course enjoy some delicious pizza.

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Are you an emerging artist looking to share your artistic skills with your community? The City of Somerville, through the Somerville Arts Council (SAC), invites emerging artists (or a group of artists working as a team) to submit project concepts to be considered for a commission to create a temporary public artwork. This opportunity is funded in partnership with the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), making it public program. $750 for Finalists. $15,000 Selected Project budget,Applications are due on October 31, by 11:59 p.m. Apply here: www.somervilleartscouncil.org/TemporaryPublicArt.

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East Somerville Main Streets is gearing up for their Fall Clean-Up on Saturday, November 2, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Join them at 115 Broadway, East Branch Library, as they clean and beautify the neighborhood. Pastries and coffee will be provided.

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Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and the Somerville Arts Council (SAC) are inviting the community to join the final SomerStreets festival of the year, the spooky and fun “Monster Mash” on Sunday, October 20, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. (rain date October 27) on Somerville Ave. between School St. and Warren Ave. For more information, and a schedule of events, visit: somervilleartscouncil.org/somerstreets/monster.

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On October 20, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m., during SomerStreets: Monster Mash, visit Milk Row Cemetery to learn about our city’s history from those who lived it. Friendly ghosts will share their stories from the early days of Somerville during this free event, which includes an activity for kids. The Somerville Museum is looking for a few more “ghosts” to participate in the event. The role involves wearing period clothing (provided) and using a basic script to play an 18th or 19th-century character. Volunteers should be comfortable standing for several hours and interacting with community members. Contact Grace Bryan, Historic Events Manager, at grace@somervillemuseum.

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The 2024 Halloween Block Party Pet Spooktacular takes place October 26, at Chuckie Harris Park, 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. Dress up your pet in their most creative costume and join in for a day of Halloween fun like no other. Watch cute pets and their owners in a costume contest, play fun games, take great photos, and enjoy tasty food. Don’t forget to check out local artisans and vendors.

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Ward-based City Hall Community Meetings are back this fall. Hear from Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and city staff to find out what’s happening in your neighborhood, how to get involved, and ask questions about issues that are important to you. All ward meetings are in-person and will begin at 6:30 p.m.. Ward 2 (S. Union Sq., Perry and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, Beacon St. area, and more). Wednesday, October 16, Argenziano School Cafeteria, 290 Washington St. Ward 6 (Greater Davis Sq. neighborhood and more). Monday, October 21, Somerville Community Baptist Church, 31 College Ave. All Ward Virtual Meeting: Tuesday, October 22, online via Zoom with interpretation into Spanish and Portuguese, as well as other languages by request. For sign-in information, please visit www.somervillema.gov/communitymeetings or call 311 at 617-666-3311. For additional accommodations,please call 311 (617-666-3311).

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Halloween costume party at the Central Library, October 19, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., 79 Highland Ave. Celebrate Halloween at this special all-ages after-hours costume party. Dress up and swing by for a haunted house, music and dancing, face painting, a photo booth, crafts, karaoke, refreshments, a costume parade and more.

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The Elections Department is looking to hire multiple inspectors for the upcoming November 5 Presidential Election. The hours the polls are open to voters are 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, November 5. If you would like to learn more, please call the Elections Office at 617-625-6600 ext. 4200. https://www.somervillema.gov/departments/elections.

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Somerville Public Schools are now in session for the 2024/2025 school year. Visit the SPS district website calendar for more information: https://somerville.k12.ma.us/events/calendar. Visit the 2024/2025 School Year Calendar page for an English, Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole calendar to print: https://somerville.k12.ma.us/schoolyearcalendar. Visit the Food and Nutrition Services Department page for school meal menus. Breakfast and lunch are free for all students: https://somerville.k12.ma.us/fnsd.

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Somerville Public Schools is hiring substitute teachers for all of our PK-12 schools. For more information or to apply visit https://somerville.tedk12.com/hire.

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Did you know that SNAP and WIC benefits do not cover diapers? This leaves many families to make difficult decisions between food, diapers, and other needs. The annual Metro-Boston Diaper Drive, from October 6 to 19, gives all donated diapers to the Somerville WIC office, which serves Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Watertown, Lexington, Bedford, Lincoln and Belmont. Please visit mbdiapers.org to make a donation. In addition, drop off donated diapers to any of the Somerville Library Children’s rooms through October 19.

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The Somerville Flea is back at 52 Holland St. Join in as they celebrate their 12th year smack dab in the middle of Davis Square. Vintage vendors, artisan makers, farm stand and DJ. Find that treasure you never knew you even existed. 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sundays, August through October.

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All Wednesdays during the school year are now early release days. You may talk to your child’s teacher or school administrators if you have any questions about drop-off and pickup. Prekindergarten: 12:00 p.m., Grades K–8 (except Next Wave): 1:00 p.m., Next Wave/Full Circle: 12:10 p.m., Somerville High School: 1:33 p.m.

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The Council on Aging Flu and COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Dates at the Holland St. Senior Center, 167 Holland St. Senior Only Clinics, please register by calling the COA directly at 617-625-6600, ext. 2300. For clinics open to the general public, please register via the City of Somerville website. October 21 (ages 19+) noon- 2:00 p.m., November 18 (ages 19+) noon – 2:00 p.m., December 12 (ages 19+) 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Both flu and COVID-19 vaccines are conveniently offered at multiple locations across Somerville, improving access for all residents. Both vaccines are available with no out-of-pocket costs, and we accept those without health insurance. If you do have health insurance, please bring proof of coverage. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged. Walk-in appointments are limited.

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