Final SomerStreets of 2014 includes costume parade, power tool pumpkin carving, Oktoberfest and more.

On Sunday, October 19, residents will flock to Somerville Avenue and Union Square for the annual Monster Mashed-Up @ SomerStreets event, the final installment of the City’s annual Open Streets series. The event is free and open to residents of all ages, and approximately 7,000 attendees are expected.

From noon to 4 p.m., the celebration along Somerville Ave. will feature a costume parade for residents of all ages, 150-pound pumpkins carved by artists using power tools, an Oktoberfest area, Milk Row Cemetery tours, live entertainment, a craft fair and more, from Washington St. to Lowell St.

SomerStreets is the City of Somerville’s take on the internationally renowned Open Streets concept, closing busy city streets to vehicles and opening them up for cycling, walking, dancing, running, and other modes of activity. Through SomerStreets, the City and its community partners aim to promote and encourage easy access to physical activity, fresh foods, and reconnecting with neighborhoods and businesses and their unique cultural elements in a thriving urban environment.

Family-Friendly Events and Activities

Along Somerville Ave., activities include but are not limited to:

• Costume Parade (steps off from Bow Street at 12:30 p.m.)
• Costume contests with prizes:

o   Children’s Contest: 1 p.m. at Conway Park

o   Dog Costume Contest: 1-3 p.m. at River Dog Daycare

o   Adult Costume Contest: 2:30 p.m. at River Dog Daycare

• Oktoberfest (1-6 p.m., Washington St. to Bow St.):

o   Machu Picchu

o   Sally O’Brien’s

o   Bull McCabe’s

o   P.A.’s Lounge

• Zero-Waste Halloween: Bring a Costume, Take a Costume
• Halloween Make-Up and Mask-Making Station
• Coconut Tree Climbing Wall
• Power Tool Pumpkin Carving by Artisan’s Asylum
• M.U.S.C.R.A.T Bus Story Telling Project with SCAT (12-2:30 p.m.)
• Ghosts of Milk Row Cemetery Tours
• Live music on two stages
• Safe Trick-or-Treating at more than 30 locations
• Autumn Craft Fair
• Family-friendly activities at Conway Park

Get on Board the M.U.S.C.R.A.T. Storytelling Bus!

Somerville Cable Access Television (SCATV) is teaming up with the Somerville Arts Council to gather stories about Union Square and Somerville Ave., then and now. What did this thoroughfare used to be like? How does that compare with today, and what do you see in the future.

Join SCATV and the Arts Council at the Monster Mashed Up @ SomerStreets from noon to 2:30 p.m. to board the M.U.S.C.R.A.T Bus and take part in phase one of what will be an ongoing, citywide oral history project. Stories will be shared with the public via videos that will air on SCATV and will be available as short videos on SCATV and SAC websites. For more information please contact Erica Jones SCATV, at scatmem@rcn.com.

All SomerStreets events run from 12 to 4 p.m., rain or shine. For more information including road closure and bus detours please go to www.somervillema.gov/somerstreets, or contact Carlene Campbell-Hegarty at 857-523-9017.