Free Open Streets event to feature live music, family-friendly activities, and more!

Come sing along at “Strike up the Bands,” the September installment of the City’s SomerStreets festival, on Sunday, September 16, from 2 to 6 p.m. between School St. and Lowell St. on Highland Ave. 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.

Activities along Highland Ave. will include:

·         Live music on two stages featuring queer and female artists:

o   ONCE stage featuring: 

§  2:30pm- Awaaz Do 

§  3:45pm- Lockette

§  5:00pm- sister

o   Armory stage featuring: 

§  2:15 pm- Kaiti Jones

§  3:30 pm- Paper Citizen

§  4:45 pm- Cathartic Conundrum

·         Vintage and artisan market by the Somerville Flea

·         ONCE Somerville beer garden, local rock photo show, and food from Cuisine en Locale

·         Aerial performances by Esh Circus Arts

·         Parkour with Parkour Generations Boston

·         Learn to walk on stilts with Open Air Circus

·         Hockey, football, and other games with Somerville Recreation

·         Story time with the Somerville Public Library at 3 p.m.

·         Bouncy house

·         Games with BuzzRoar Interactive 

·         Face painting

·         Martial arts performance and demonstration class with Villari’s Martial Arts

·         Explore a fire truck and ambulance

·         Community vendors & local businesses

·         And more!

Special thanks to our community sponsor for the September SomerStreets, ONCE Somerville.

To ensure public safety at the event, the following road closures and parking bans will be in effect.

·         Highland Ave. (School St. to Lowell St.): Closed to all vehicular traffic 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.; no parking 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.

·         Belmont St. (Summer St. to Highland Ave.), Spring Hill Terr., and Sycamore St. (Highland Ave. to Madison St.) will become two way streets from 12 pm to 8 p.m. to allow access for abutters.

·         MBTA buses 88 and 90 will be rerouted from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. For locations of rerouted bus stops, visit MBTA.com.

Mark your calendars! The final SomerStreets event of 2018 is:

·         Sunday, Oct 14: Monster Mashed-Up: Somerville Ave. (Hawkins St. to Spring St.) (Rain Date: Oct 28)

For more information, visit www.somervillema.gov, or www.somervilleartscouncil.org/somerstreets.

With questions about the festival or press queries, please contact Special Events Manager, Nina Eichner at 617-625-6600 ext. 2998.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.

-City of Somerville