Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 2 City Councilor J.T. Scott, Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, and the Union Square Community Design Team invite you to participate in a series of community engagement pop-ups to inform the future of Union Square’s public spaces. The Community Design Team is a diverse group of 11 Somerville residents leading the research and engagement effort for the Union Square Plaza and Streetscape Redesign project. This team is using participatory action research (PAR) to engage community members to imagine and share new ideas for Union Square. To kick things off this summer, the Community Design Team is hosting three pop-up events with activities designed to collect public opinions about Union Square’s streets, plaza, and public spaces. Join in at one of the next two events: Friday, July 23, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m., Union Square Plaza (rain date: Friday, July 30, 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.) and Saturday, August 7, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., Union Square Plaza (rain date: Sunday, August 8, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) For more information, visit bit.ly/UnionSqRedesign.

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Somerville residents have a few more free opportunities to learn gardening basics. After a successful pilot earlier this summer, the city’s Health and Human Services Department will host additional Growing Gardeners workshops for residents who are brand new to gardening in July and October. Growing Gardeners participants will learn how to plant, assemble, and maintain their own portable milk crate garden that will work well in any small outdoor space. Crates may include a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. All supplies will be provided. Participants should have no previous experience – this class is designed to grow a new group of gardeners in the city. Sign up to attend one workshop either Friday, July 30, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., or Saturday, July 31, from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the City Hall Annex, 50 Evergreen Avenue. Registration is required. Visit somervillema.gov/GrowingGardeners to reserve a spot.

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Groundwork Somerville is excited to announce their 2021 South St. Farm Open Hours. Stop by any Saturday between July and September, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., 138 South St., and check out Somerville’s very own urban farm. This time is set aside for our community to tour the farm, enjoy the green space, volunteer, or have a picnic. No registration is required, just come by. http://www.groundworksomerville.org.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to Leeann Rollins, we wish her the very best for her birthday. Happy birthday to local guy Richard Nilsson. We wish him a very happy birthday. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Millie Allwood, Nancy McCarty, Susanne Sordillo, Cheryl Chaille Horan, Alice Galvin, Tommy Mcdaid, Frank Tello Jr, Erica Jones, Carol Powers Joan Campo McKenna, Stephanie Ann, Justin Klekota, Peter Mcisaac, and Joanne Tibbetts 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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All city buildings are now open as of 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 Somerville Flea will kick off their 10th year in Davis Sq. on Sunday, August 1, at 10:00 a.m., 56 Holland St. The best local vintage purveyors and artisans are back. Come on out and support them after a year-long hiatus. Shop local!

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Enjoy Live Music Fridays at Assembly Row at Assembly Square. Join them on the new green space, located between Night Shift’s Owl’s Nest and PKL Boston, for free, live performances on select Friday nights. The next show will be on July 30 with The Cast Irons from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

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7ate9’s National Cheesecake Day Festival is back. 7ate9’s National Cheesecake Day Festival will take Place July 31 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 7ate9 Bakery, 199C Highland Ave., Somerville. There will be cheesecake sampling, temporary tattoo station, games, raffles and more. This year’s theme is “Things You Worry About in High School.” Contestants will be judged far more on how they pitch their cake than on the quality of their decorating. At 2:30 p.m. they will hold a cheesecake eating competition, five minutes, as much as you can eat. Here is the link to sign-up for the cheesecake eating competition and cake decorating competition. https://mailchi.mp/1674b907…/7ate9-national-cheesecake-day

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Visit the East Somerville Market this Sunday, July 25, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Deano’s Pasta parking lot, 15 Garfield Ave. Shop local small businesses, pre-ordering is available. For a full list of participating vendors visit https://www.eastsomervillemainstreets.org.

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If you’d like to combine your two favorite things – art and nature – they’ve got an amazing opportunity coming up for you at the Growing Center this weekend. On Saturday, July 24, at 4:00 p.m., the Somerville Community Growing Center, 22 Vinal Avenue, is delighted to offer a free charcoal drawing workshop in the garden. Join artist and teacher Danielle Krcmar in a relaxed outdoors drawing class. Danielle will demonstrate basic charcoal drawing techniques, and then time will be given at the end of the workshop for participants to create a complete drawing. No experience necessary. Attendance is limited and a reservation is required: Please RSVP to Liza Kitchell to take part (liza@thegrowingcenter.org).

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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 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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The City of Somerville’s Veterans’ Commission on Monuments, Memorials, and Dedications Committee is accepting applications for five positions – three to be filled by veterans. The commission will have charge and control of the construction of any memorial for a veteran and will have custody and care of the memorial after its construction. The commission, which will also develop policies and procedures to follow for dedicating memorials, will meet when needed to name these assets. Meetings are expected to begin in the fall of 2021. If you are interested in applying, please send a statement of interest to the Department of Veterans’ Services at veterans@somervillema.gov by Friday, August 6. For further details or questions, call (617) 625-6600, ext. 4700.

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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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