Thank you to everyone who came out to the Toy Drive over the weekend. We had a great time meeting new friends and your donations are truly appreciated. This upcoming weekend is the last for the “Fill The Cruiser” Toy Drive benefitting families of the Mystic Learning Center. Officers will be at Target on this weekend, Saturday (12 – 8 p.m.), and Sunday (12 – 8 p.m.).

— Somerville Police Department

Last friday nights East Somerville Main Streets Cozy Holiday Market at Deano’s Pasta was a night of festive fun. There were activities for the whole family with The Beautiful Stuff Project, singing of Christmas Carols, delicious food from La Cosecha, amazing vendors and artisan with unique holiday goodies and pictures with Santa.

​In 2024, as part of their 30th Anniversary celebrations, the Friends of the Community Growing Center partnered with Somerville artist and Massachusetts master gardener Mary Kocol on a special collaborative project.

From April to October, Ms. Kocol visited the Growing Center every few weeks to capture each season’s flowers to make anthotype colors, as seen in the poster on the right. An Anthotype (“flower print”) is an ephemeral image created through an eco-friendly photo-based process involving plant emulsion, using the sun to make exposures in order to extract natural color from flowers and plants, a process discovered during the Victorian era by the same inventor of the Cyanotype (sunprint) process.

The former Cummings Elementary School building will serve as a warming center for unhoused residents through the winter months.

Center Provides Hot Meals, Bathrooms, and Safe Sleeping Spaces for Residents Experiencing Homelessness

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, together with the Somerville Office of Health and Human Services (HHS), is announcing the opening of the 2025 Overnight Warming Center to support adults experiencing homelessness.  

For most of this year, tickets have been and will be $7 on Tuesdays at the Somerville Theatre, as well as the Capitol Theatre in Arlington. This is in celebration of installing solar power at the Arlington location earlier in 2024. Per yourarlington.com, over 300 panels were installed which will help lower electricity costs at both theatres, since they are owned jointly. Enjoy a cleaner viewing experience.
— Jeffrey Shwom

Backbar’s rotating menu are a special feature that regulars particularly appreciate.

By Karenna Umscheid

You may have heard of backbar – it’s been named as one of the coolest bars in the world by Thrillist, and one of the best in Boston by Boston Magazine. It has a reputation for being a hidden gem, a speakeasy-style spot in the heart of Union Square. To Somerville residents, backbar is just a gathering place, a welcoming institution since its opening in 2011.

Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

The year was around 1980 and it was Christmas week. I was playing a solo gig with my guitar at The Original Restaurant in Cambridge. We had a pretty good crowd and I was finishing up with a couple of Christmas songs.

— Photo by Jeffrey Shwom

Workers stage along Lowell Street at the Magoun Square MBTA station Saturday. The Green Line is currently shut down from December 6th through December 20th between Medford/ Tufts, Union, and Park Street as part of planned track work. MBTA officials have been working for over a year to resolve track slow down areas, with this section being one of the last in 2024.

For more information, please visit mbta.com/TrackProgram.

— Photos by Bobbie Toner

Somerville kicked off the holiday season Thursday, December 5, with a Christmas Tree Lighting on the City Hall Concourse. Santa Claus was escorted by the Somerville Fire and Police Departments making his grand entrance atop a shiny red fire truck. Once the tree was lit, children were able to have a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus in the Somerville High School Cafeteria. All children who attended received a special gift from Santa.