By Laura Stiffler

These days, it seems that Somerville is on everyone’s mind. From being mentioned on Buzzfeed’s Most Mouth-Watering Eats to Thrillist’s Hippest Cities to Live In, people cannot stop talking about our beloved home.

As residents, the beauty and charm of Somerville is something we have known all along. Every year we get to experience community driven celebrations like Porchfest, Artbeat and The Honk! Festival. Such events remind us of what an amazing and creative community we get to call home. And now, there is one more event to add to the list. Somerville Cable Access Television (SCATV) is gearing up to bring us the first ever Community Vault.

Conceptualized by SCATV’s Director of Membership and Outreach, Erica Jones, Community Vault showcases the unique and creative depth from over 30 years of local access programming.

The idea originally came to Jones while sitting on her porch scrolling through a public access archive website. With Massachusetts being a mecca for community access television, Jones felt a strong desire to share that rich and vibrant coalition.

The idea has been developing for about a year now, as Jones and her team of local filmmakers and SCATV contributors, Amanda Wild, Bryan McKeon and Emily Falcigno, have shuffled through over 50 submissions from all over Massachusetts.

The screening, which runs roughly an hour and a half, works as a “retrospective of not only archived pieces, but contemporary ones as well to show the legacy of public access television,” said Jones.

The main goal of the project is to open the doors to community access programming and for people to become more engaged in community storytelling. The event promises laughs, showcasing clips from 1984’s Somerville Kitchenette and 1991’s Somerville Dance Party, but also engages in real and current issues.

Although not surprising, Jones and her team found 15-25 year old footage discussing things like race relations and same sex marriage dialogues. Although advancements have been made, much of the conversations have remained the same.

Jones also notes intrigue behind watching the city of Somerville change. “It’s cool to see how all the development is happening, seeing what has changed and what has stayed the same,” Jones explained.

The event also features contemporary work by a few local filmmakers such as Somerville resident, Michael Epstein and Sophia Cacciola. The inclusion of these works demonstrate the massive advancement of technology and how this has changed the way community television is watched and produced; as well as the evolving empowerment of community voices.

At its heart, Community Vault is “all about community building in every way,” said Jones. The production is sure to bring people together and start conversations – a quintessential Somerville event that is not to be missed.

Community Vault plays on Saturday, June 20 from 3-5 p.m, Davis Square Theatre, 255 Elm Street.  Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door. For more information visit www.scatsomerville.org and search Community Vault.