By Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone

If you have ever had the longing to honor your hometown by giving it your greatest rendition of “Happy Birthday,” well, I am happy to tell you that you will finally get that chance.

The month of March officially marks 175 years since Somerville separated from Charlestown (in 1842), and to mark the occasion we’re throwing a 175th birthday party this week. And it is, of course, “so Somerville.”

I hope you’ll join us on Wednesday, March 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Somerville-Charlestown city line, in the parking lot across from the Mt. Vernon Restaurant. (Leave it to Somerville to party in a parking lot.)

We’ll kick off our celebration with raucous live music by Grooversity, a high-energy drumming group that donates its profits to youth music programs in the Somerville Public Schools. They’ll be joined by the Somerville High School’s World Percussion Ensemble, which always adds a burst of fun to every event they play. Then we’ll toast to our City’s milestone birthday with a glass of Somerville-founded Prospect Hill Beverages’ soda before heading into the Mt. Vernon, another Somerville classic that’s been serving up popular chow in our fair city for more than 80 years (they deserve a birthday party of their own).

We’ll also celebrate a Somerville first. Aeronaut Brewing Company will launch its special edition 175th Birthday gluten-free beer, named “Municipal Freedom Gives National Strength,” which is our City’s long-standing and increasingly relevant motto.

And, as any good birthday does, we will have cake (not so Shape Up-Approved, but as we say, “everything in moderation”).

There are so many things that make Somerville a truly exceptional place to live, work, play, and raise a family. This year, we not only celebrate our history as an independent City, we also honor and celebrate our residents and businesses who continue to make Somerville what we are: incredible.

I hope you will join us not only this week, but also for some of the other events that will honor our City this year. We’ll be celebrating our 175 years all year long, so be sure to visit www.somervillema.gov/somerville175 for news and updates, and to submit your favorite Somerville story, photo, or memory from past or present. We’ll collect all stories for displaying in a gallery at the end of the year.

For now, I leave you with a sneak peek at our limited edition 175th Anniversary City seal. You’ll be seeing much more of it in the weeks to come!