A rainy-day edition of the beloved What the Fluff? Festival was enjoyed by the many who joined in. — Photos by Katherine Davis

By Katherine Davis

Despite the steady rain this past Saturday, Somerville’s annual “What the Fluff?” Marshmallow Fluff Festival continued to pull in an impressive crowd for the 19th year in a row. Food and craft vendors, as well as community groups from all over the city, gathered together in Union Square to not only celebrate the beloved marshmallow spread, but also the city of Somerville itself.

(L-R) – Van Jones; Collin Yip (Founder and Managing Partner of Rafi Properties); Majic Alphonse (Director of The Dojo at Somernova); Havilah Nimako (Student/The Dojo); Tatiana Arroyo (Student/The Dojo); Delmy Janet (Student/The Dojo); Joe Curtatone (President of The Alliance for Climate Transition and Former Mayor of Somerville).

The Alliance for Clean Energy (ACT – formerly Northeast Clean Energy Council), hosted its Green Future Gala on September 19 at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The Gala gathered hundreds of climate champions, activists, policymakers, corporate leaders, and the startup community to celebrate the power of civic engagement and its role in shaping the clean energy future.

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It’s that time of year when pumpkin is everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Pumpkin flavored coffee, beer, baked goods, energy bars, cereals, yogurt, and so on. The beverage industry alone projects the pumpkin spice category to exceed about $2.4 billion by 2031!

The “What the Fluff?” festival hit Union Square once again last weekend, proving to be an event that has grown in the hearts of so many here.

Although a bit of wet weather crept in to put a damper on the festivities, true to form the fun-loving attendees managed to make the best of it after all.

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Review by Julia Carlson

Many of you may know Lee Varon for her fine poetry, but there is another side to her work, which is a focus on addiction. Varon, a clinical social worker, has explored addiction personally in her poetry, but in the last few years she’s expanded her work to include fiction and workbooks about this complex subject. My Brother Is Not a Monster, a book for young readers from the view of a young girl whose older brother is a drug addict, is a sensitive, realistic rendering of addiction in a family. This story defines addiction, its consequences, and recovery. It is a hopeful story.

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Maureen McElroy grew up in Boston. She attended Boston University and holds an MFA from Emerson College. She is the author of For Crying Out Loud (Kelsay Books 2024). Her chapbook Car Poems (Finishing Line Press) came out in March of 2020. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Nixes Mate, Mothers Always Write, Trampset, Fickle Muses, Literary Hatchet, and Io. She is Co-Chair of the Rozzie Reads Poetry Series sponsored by the Friends of the Roslindale Public Library.

Community members ages 12 and older can submit and vote on ideas for how to invest $1 million in city improvement projects

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is  announcing the launch of Somerville’s second cycle of the Participatory Budgeting process (www.somervillema.gov/PB), giving community members a direct say in how $1 million of city funds is allocated. Somerville residents are invited to begin submitting their ideas today, Friday, September 20. The city will begin implementing the winning projects in summer of 2025.

The Somerville Urban Forestry Committee is seeking two new members to help shape the future of our city’s urban canopy! We have one open position for a youth member (ages 14-17 at the time of appointment) and another position open to any resident passionate about urban forestry and public green spaces.