Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Superintendent Mary Skipper, and local elected officials for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the renovated and reconstructed Somerville High School campus on Wednesday, December 8, at 6:00 p.m. This ribbon cutting will be the first opportunity for the Somerville community to come together in the new building to mark this historic milestone, celebrate this incredible state-of-the-art campus and public amenity, and recognize the work of so many who brought this transformational project to life. The ceremony will begin in the Somerville High School auditorium, 81 Highland Avenue. The auditorium entrance is between City Hall and the high school’s main entrance, facing Highland Avenue. Following speaking remarks, guests will be invited to enjoy music by student performers and take a guided tour of the school. RSVP is not required. All attendees must wear a mask indoors. For more information about the new building, visit shsproject.org.

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As the holiday gift shopping season intensifies, it’s important to remember that our local merchants are depending on us all to do our best to shop local. With the challenges they have dealt with over the past year or so, many are struggling to stay in business. Let’s help them to get back to business and be here for us in days, months and years to come.

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Happy birthday this week to several locals: Happy birthday to a great and good friend, Billy Murphy, who is celebrating this week. Happy birthday to Irene Bremis. We wish her the very best. Happy birthday to Kevin McDevitt. We wish him a great day. Happy birthday to Ann Cassesso-Ercolini. We wish her the very best of birthdays as well. Happy birthday to Cheryl Callahan, who is a lifelong resident, we wish her a great day. We wish all of our Facebook friends, such as Kat Rutkin, James V Avila, Rita VanSteensburg, Nicholas Cubides, Kristen Chiaraluce, Annmarie Costante, Sandy Piccolomini Ryle, Barbara Jewers, Barbara J Pinnelle Vivian, Heather Balchunas and Kimberly Pedersen 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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Join Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone and Ward 2 Councilor J.T. Scott for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the completion of the Conway Park athletic field on Thursday, December 9, at 1:00 p.m. The field will be available for use in the spring, when playground construction is also expected to be completed. Another celebration will be held then to mark the grand opening of the full site. For more information about the project, visit somervillema.gov/conwaypark. Event attendees should enter the field at the far gate near the back of the rink, since the Somerville Avenue site is still in construction.

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This year’s Assembly Square Ice Sculpture Stroll takes place on Thursday, December 9, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Assembly Row. Nine ice sculptures of various sizes, shapes and characters will be located throughout The Row for you to find. Start at any location and follow a map to visit each special location and enjoy perks and surprises along the way. Plus, collect a holiday memento when the map is complete. Holiday music brought to you by Kiss 108. Free and open to the public.

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Somerville’s month-long Illuminations celebration kicks off on December 9. Plug in your lights, don your bike helmet, and hit your high notes for Somerville’s interactive Illuminations extravaganza. This year, the annual Illuminations celebration will include self-guided neighborhood tours, porch caroling around town, a community lantern project, and a bike tour. The event kicks off when the official Illuminations 2021 map goes live on the Arts Council website, somervilleartscouncil.org. Illuminations Timeline: December 9 through early January 2022 – self-guided tours using the SAC’s official online Illuminations Map. December 9, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Illuminations kick off with city-wide caroling! December 11: Community Lantern project. December 18: Illuminations Bike Tour, starting at City Hall at 5:45 – departure at 6:00 p.m. (rain date December 19).

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Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone invites all interested to come together to remember those we have lost to COVID-19 and to recognize the many other losses our community has faced throughout the pandemic. We invite attendees to gather for a simple ceremony, a participatory remembrance project, and musical accompaniment on Saturday, December 11, from 1 to 2 p.m., at Symphony Park, 46 Pearl Street. (Rain date December 18.)

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COVID cases in Massachusetts just reached a nine-month high. In order to not repeat the tragic fall and winter surge of last year, COVID precautions are urged for this holiday season. The CDC has a holiday safety guide. The main thing to keep in mind is responsible behavior leading up to the holidays will lead to safer celebrations. Making sure everyone at the gathering is vaccinated, getting a booster if you are eligible, and masking up in indoor public spaces will lessen the chances of people contracting the virus and spreading it to others during what should be a happy occasion. Having smaller holiday get-togethers and keeping it among people who regularly associate with each other also can lessen the spread. Outdoor celebrations (sunny weather is currently forecast for Thanksgiving) are safer than indoor gatherings. Finally, get tested in the days leading up to the holiday if you think you might pose a risk. Go to somervillema.gov/covid19testing to find a testing location.

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Join East Somerville Main Streets for another Pop-Up Holiday Market at Connexion in Somerville. They’ll have some new vendors, more food and more music. Support small, local businesses while you do your holiday shopping. Saturday, December 11, 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Connexion, 149 Broadway.

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The Somerville Public Library is hosting, Character and World Building – Archaeology without Digging Writing Workshop, Saturday, December 11, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This innovative writing workshop, led by multi-award-winning novelist and leading writing instructor Michael Marano (www.GetOffMyLawn.biz), will explore the relationship between character development and the creation of a setting, be it for a novel, short story, screenplay or stage play. Participants will be shown clips from films ranging from Pixar’s Wall-E to the hard-boiled Paul Newman detective movie Harper and given a selection of readings that will help them develop a writer’s toolkit for creating an interplay of character development and world-building. As writers, you will be doing archeology without digging, using words instead of shovels. This event will be taking place over Zoom, register at: https://www.somervillepubliclibrary.org/

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Looking for a good read? The Tufts community – faculty, staff, and alumni – share more than 40 of their favorites with you. Visit https://now.tufts.edu/articles/winter-book-recommendations-2021?utm_source=Tufts+Now.

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