The City of Somerville will host its annual Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration at Trum Field on Wednesday, June 30 (rain date July 1). Live entertainment at Trum Field will begin at 6:30 p.m. with DJ Brother Cleve playing pop, soul, funk, and other classic tunes followed by Booty Vortex taking the stage at 8:00 p.m. Fireworks will begin at approximately 9:15 p.m. While fireworks attendees are not required to wear masks, anyone who is not fully vaccinated is advised to wear one whenever they are in a crowd. To ensure public safety and pedestrian access to events, traffic and parking restrictions will be in place. For more information, please call 311 (or 617-666-3311), or visit www.somervillema.gov.

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All city buildings will reopen to the public on Monday, July 12, with limited staffing. Both visitors to city buildings as well as staff will be required to wear face coverings while inside the buildings. Staff will be available on a walk-in basis in all departments for quick transactions like paying a bill or picking up a document. For matters that will take longer, residents will need to schedule an appointment with city staff. Many city services are also available online and, whenever possible, residents are encouraged to continue to use online services.

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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 sundown and the schedule is as follows: Thursday, July 8, The Empire Strikes Back, Seven Hills Park; Thursday, July 15, Mulan (animated version), Nathan Tufts Park; Thursday, July 22, Mrs. Doubtfire, Nunziato Park; Thursday, July 29, The Sandlot, Lincoln Park; Thursday, August 5, Coco, East Somerville Community School; Thursday, August 12, Black Panther, Baxter State Park; Thursday, August 19, Guardians of the Galaxy, Seven Hills Park. While attendees are not required to wear masks, anyone who is not fully vaccinated is advised to wear one whenever they are in a crowd.

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Celebrating their birthdays this week: Happy birthday to a good guy, Jonathan Buck, who celebrates this week. We wish a very happy birthday to a great person and longtime resident of Somerville, Paula LeBlanc. She is very committed to her work as a paralegal at attorney Sean O’Donovan’s law office. She is great! We wish her the very best and that all her wishes come true, and soon. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Terra Yan, Kenneth Lonergan, Marie Kearns, Hugo A Volpe, John O’Rourke, Cory Mashburn, Mike Bonanno, Diane Dee-Dee Smith, Mark Anthony Anderson, Dave Bertocchi and Peter Tsairidie 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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Somerville landlords and realtors are invited to join the city’s Office of Housing Stability for a virtual workshop about the benefits of renting to Section 8 tenants. Learn how Section 8 ensures stable rental income, how higher payment standards can lead to higher rent receipts, and how landlords and realtors can qualify for additional incentive payments and technical support through the city’s SomerVIP program. This event is Thursday, June 24, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Register to attend at somervillema.gov/OHS.

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The City of Somerville and its contractor, Simple Recycling, are making several changes to Somerville’s curbside textile recycling service to improve the program for residents and the environment starting Thursday, July 1. Pickups must be scheduled in advance. Under the current model, a Simple Recycling truck drives the entire trash route every day and picks up the pink textile-recycling bags on the curb. Scheduling pickups will significantly reduce the contractor’s driving miles, which will reduce gas usage and emissions, and it will streamline service so bags don’t get missed. Pickups can be scheduled at simplerecycling.com or by calling 866-835-5068.For more information, visit simplerecycling.com or somervillema.gov/textilerecycling.

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On Monday, June 21, the implementation of a municipal dedicated bus lane pilot between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekdays on Mystic Avenue (Route 38) began. Painting and signage along the entire stretch from Main Street in Medford to Wheatland Street in Somerville has been completed and the dedicated bus lane are now operational. The bus lane will be open for buses only on weekdays between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. For more information on traffic conditions, travelers are encouraged to: Dial 511 and select a route to hear real-time conditions. Visit www.mass511.com, a website that provides real-time traffic and incident advisory information and allows users to subscribe to text and email alerts for traffic conditions.

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Healthy, local food is important. The Farmers Markets are open again in Davis Square. Fresh, locally-grown fruit, vegetables, meats, baked goods. Rain or shine, holiday or not. Every Wednesday, 12:00 – 6:00 p.m., May 20 – November 25, at Day St. and Herbert St. (www.massfarmersmarkets.org/davis) and at Union Square, Saturdays, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., May 15 – November 20. New Location: 366 Somerville Ave., Somerville. Rain or shine. Shop local in open air at their COVID-19 prepared market. For more details, check out their website: unionsquaremain.org.

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The Center for Teen Empowerment, Inc. Center for Teen Empowerment is hiring for multiple summer positions and looking for young people interested in organizing around community issues. Application: http://tinyurl.com/ApplyTE. If you have any questions, please reach out to meat spost@teenempowerment.org.

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Venture out to the Somerville Community Growing Center on select Thursday evenings in June and July for live music. Dates are 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. on  July 1, 15, and 29 (rain dates on alternative weeks, as predicted rain will cancel by mid-day). Experience a mix of jazz with Latin flavors. Spread your blanket or grab a chair, bring your own picnic, explore the native pollinator garden or the food and herb beds and enjoy a summer serenade. For more info visit https://www.thegrowingcenter.org/.

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Walk-in vaccinations are available at multiple locations: You now can get a COVID-19 vaccination without having to pre-register or make an appointment. There are walk-in vaccination sites all around Somerville, and just outside it as well. Cambridge Health Alliance vaccine clinics have larger supplies of doses and can vaccinate kids ages 12-17. You do not need to be a CHA patient to use these clinics. They are free and open to all. Local CVS pharmacies and the Stop & Shop on McGrath Hwy. are also offering walk-in vaccines. Local Walgreens pharmacies require a brief pre-registration, but can process people quickly if they have open slots and you walk in. Here are the CHA walk-in sites: CHA Somerville Vaccine Center at 176 Somerville Avenue in Somerville, Mon.-Thurs. 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tufts University Gantcher Center at 161 College Ave. in Medford, Wed-Thurs. 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Encore Boston Harbor at 1 Broadway Center in Everett, Mon.-Thurs. 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Fri. 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

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Individuals younger than 18 will need parental or guardian consent to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. A parent or guardian can either accompany a minor age 16 or 17 to their vaccine appointment, or fill out a consent form that the minor can then bring with them to the appointment. Consent forms in multiple languages are available at the state’s website. Parents must accompany children ages 12-15 to their vaccine appointments.

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Help support your neighbors through the Somerville Cares Fund. If you’re lucky enough to have some extra money, please consider a donation to the Somerville Cares Fund. This donation-based fund provides direct assistance to Somerville residents, workers, and parents of school children so that they can cover basic expenses like housing, food, and utility bills. If you’re unable to donate you can still help by sharing information about the Somerville Cares Fund with your friends and family.

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