On Saturday September 12, neighbors, friends and family came together to celebrate the culture and diversity of the Port Community, as well as learn about various resources and services. People of all ages and backgrounds enjoyed the neighborhood cookout, music, arts & crafts, and amusements available. We especially loved the talented face painters and of course, the moon bounces and pony rides are always a hit!
Opening up the performances of the day, were the talented young people from the Community Art Center who graced us with their skills in dance. Our friends JG and the Meggatones played our favorite soul and R&B hits. Also performing was the Fred Woodward Collective, a group of truly amazing instrumentalists. Linda McClean from Pentecostal Tabernacle got the kids involved in the fun by pulling them all up on stage for a dance! Closing out the day was the Hip Hop Transformation Project, a group of Cambridge teens learning about the history and production of hip hop. They were a great group of energetic talent and we look forward to seeing where they go next!
The basketball tournament was, as always, a major highlight. Congratulations to this year’s winning teams!
The event was planned in partnership with Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, MIT, the City of Cambridge Police Department, Cambridge Public Health Department, the City of Cambridge Department of Human Services, Port Action Group, Area 4 Coalition, the Community Art Center, and Pentecostal Tabernacle.
We want to give a shout-out to Jaclyn Rose of the Cambridge Police Department, who was crucial in coordinating with the Department, and to Matt Nelson of CPD, who served as grill-master in the hot sun all day long! A special thanks to the Cambridge Fire Department, as well as to Ducky Downs of Cambridge Public Works, who worked tirelessly in cleaning up the event. To all of our amazing volunteers from Cambridge Running Club, Lesley University and the community at large, a huge thank you for making this day happen!
We hope everyone has a great autumn and we look forward to all the fun events in our neighborhood to come!
On August 7th at the Clement Morgan Park, MetaMovements, in collaboration with the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, hosted “Salsa in the Park”.
MetaMovements is “an entrepreneurial artist collective dedicated to using the arts as a tool for positive transformation of self and community, creating bonds, fostering meaningful relationships and creating lasting social change.” Click here to learn more.
A free and popular outdoor summer series for all ages, backgrounds and abilities, Salsa In The Park is an innovative community engagement project that transforms public space for public benefit through music, dance and education. A public health initiative, featuring movement as a key to wellness, it draws over 500 people from all walks of life every Monday evening from 6pm to 9pm for salsa instruction (dance and percussion), high quality performances showcasing a variety of cultures and genres, social dancing and health and wellness promotion. MetaMovement’s weekly Salsa In The Park is held at South End’s Blackstone Community Center courtyard every summer.
The Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House has been fortunate enough to collaborate with MetaMovements, who taught dance lessons to Margaret Fuller House youth throughout the summer and helped us in hosting our very own Salsa in the Park! It was fantastic evening with a turnout of hundreds of folks of all ages. We want to thank MetaMovements and look forward to further collaboration with this wonderful organization.
Stayed tuned for updates on future events!
DJ Derek Evans
Barbara Kibler and Stephanie Morris
The first STEAM in the Port night was a huge success! On February 12th, Margaret Fuller House collaborated with Tutoring Plus of Cambridge and The Community Art Center in the FMA gym to provide students and families with a night to learn about Science, Engineering, the Arts and Math! We want to give a special thanks to Sharlene Yang, who was instrumental in the success of this event! Thanks also to Danger!Awesome, Mmmmaven, Volpe Center, and the Fletcher Maynard Academy for participating in the event and offering activity tables. And thanks especially to MIT for sponsoring the event! We look forward to future collaboration with these wonderful organizations to provide this great neighborhood with more STEAM-based fun. Stay tuned for details of the next event!
On Saturday September 6th, neighbors, friends, and family came together to celebrate Peace & Pride in the Port Community. People of all ages enjoyed the neighborhood cook-out, arts & crafts, music, and amusements available. We especially loved the talented face painters, and of course the pony rides are always a hit!
The day’s performers included the Hip Hop Transformation Project, a group of Cambridge teens learning about the history and production of hip hop. They were a great group of energetic talent and we look forward to see where they go next! Also performing was the Fred Woodard Collective who were simply put, a group of amazing instrumentalists. Closing out the day was of course, our friends JG and the MeggaTones who played the hits of today and yesterday.
The basketball tournament was a highlight, despite the extreme late summer heat! Congratulations to this year’s winning teams!
We were so grateful to have Chandra Banks, Conflict Mediator of the Cambridge Public School District, on hand to address the crowd about peace and respect and caring for our neighbors. The Change for Peace Art Installation attracted new participants to express their peaceful ideas in an artistic way. Overall, it was a fun and peaceful day spent with friends and family.
The event was planned in partnership by the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, MIT, the City of Cambridge Police Department, City of Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs, Cambridge Public Health Department, the Port Action Group, the Area 4 Coalition, and Pentecostal Tabernacle.
A major thank you and shout out to all of our amazing volunteers who made this day happen! We hope everyone has a great autumn and we look forward to all of the fun events in our neighborhood to come.
This past Saturday, hundreds of people from Area 4 and across the city of Cambridge came to celebrate neighborhood strength at a block party in our backyard.
Members of the Kensley Project enjoy a performance by Elon Flyfield
The half-day event featured musical performances and face painting, basketball playing and water dunking—all of it thanks to a new community group called the Kensley Project, and the many people who support it.
The Kensley Project formed earlier this summer to honor the memory of Kensley David, a 22-year-old father shot and killed on Windsor Street in July. In the aftermath of that tragedy, several of his friends committed to strengthening the quality of life for residents of Area 4/The Port—and they’ve been adding members to the group ever since.
From left: Cambridge Police Lt. Dan Wagner; Kensley Project Co-Founder Santos Carrasquillo; and Cambridge Vice Mayor Dennis Benzan
We’ll bring you some of their voices in later posts, but for now, enjoy some photographs of the block party below. Thanks to all who organized it, supported it, attended it, and cleaned up after it—and see you next Saturday, Sept. 6, for Area 4 Pride Day!
To learn more about the Kensley Project, email kensleyproject@gmail.com.
There are lots of great events that the MFNH is proud to support! Come spend some time with the Margaret Fuller Family before summer ends!
Friends of the Margaret Fuller House are welcome to join the staff and families of our Summer Explorations Program for an End-of-Summer Party! Just in time for our kids to get ready to go back to school, our friends from the Novartis Corporation, Draper, and Amgen will be providing back-packs full of supplies! This party is a cookout and potluck, will feature a youth talent show, a slideshow of all the fun events and moments shared over the summer, and will offer the chance for parents to learn more about our after-school program.
This party will take place in the Margaret Fuller House parking lot on Wednesday, 8/27, from 5:30 – 7 pm.
The Port Café is a new community meal right here in our neighborhood. This meal will offer delicious food and a space for fellowship and community-building with neighbors. Our friends who are organizing the Port Cafe need YOUR help, as neighbors, to give the Port Café flavor!
The first Port Café potluck dinner was on Monday July 28th the Margaret Fuller House, and it was a blast! The second Port Café will be a potluck dinner on Thursday, August 28th from 6:00-8:00 PM. Location is currently TBD but will be in the Port/Area 4 neighborhood!
Please take a moment to RSVP here. Feel free to invite a neighbor!
The Port/Area 4 Pride Day is a free public event featuring activities and resources for all ages.
This year, Pride Day will feature an exhibition of the Community Art Center’s “Change for Peace,” an ongoing art-making and music series. Local community based organizations will be in attendance to offer information about critical resources and services ranging from health to housing to education. Popular events such as the basketball tournament and live music will be back this year. Children’s activities will include arts & crafts, face-painting, pony rides, and more!
Port/Area 4 Pride Day is Saturday, September 6, from noon to 5 at Clement G. Morgan Park (at the corner of Columbia and Washington Street) and surrounding streets, Cambridge, MA 02139. Rain Date is the following Saturday.
What is the Taste of Cambridge?
When and where is the Taste of Cambridge?
Thanks to CLAB for choosing the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House!
We had a great time at the 9th Annual Sweet Soul Supper and we hope you did too. We hope all of you enjoyed the food, music, and fun and we hope to see everyone again next year! In the meantime, stop by the house, volunteer, or take a look at our new website to stay in touch with all of the happenings at our Neighborhood House.
This year’s Sweet Soul Supper was a grand success thanks to you and our many dedicated sponsors who help us provide critical services to the community. Through sponsorships, tickets, silent auction proceeds, and donations received at the event, we raised over $85,000-the most raised at a Sweet Soul Supper to date! We could not have done this without you and we look forward to many more years of partnership and mutual support.
We have a special request: If someone in your group donated to our scholarship fund by credit card, please let us know right away. Unfortunately, our credit card devices did not collect names and addresses of donors, and we want to thank these generous supporters as soon as possible! Please have anyone who donated by credit card e-mail breilly@margaretfullerhouse.org and we will make sure to thank them promptly!
Stay tuned for a full album of event photos!!