Daily Archives: February 16, 2019


Registration Open for Esplanade Association Group/Corporate Volunteers

Bring your company’s employees to volunteer on the Esplanade as part of our award-winning Volunteer Program!

Volunteering with the Esplanade Association is a great way to build your team while participating in a visible corporate philanthropic effort to benefit a local nonprofit. Volunteers report a sense of pride caring for a public space that they are likely to return to with friends and family.

If you are interested in scheduling a separate volunteer opportunity on the Esplanade, please email Micah Jasny, Stewardship Manager (mjasny@esplanade.org)
Activities May Include:

Painting benches or fencing
Planting new gardens and bulbs
Removing invasive plants or weeds
Sweeping park pathways
Mulching
Raking leaves

Scheduling and Time Commitment

A minimum of 15 confirmed participants is required to set up a group day. Please email us to inquire about hosting groups larger than 100 people.
Volunteer days are three hours long (longer by request)
Volunteer days are typically scheduled for Tuesday or Thursday (others by request)
During winter and late fall, we will continue to schedule volunteers at the park as long as the weather is favorable.
Each group is required to designate one or more volunteer leaders from their group who will be present during the event to assist with coordination.

Please email Micah Jasny, Stewardship Manager at mjasny@esplanade.org if you have any questions. We would love to set up a volunteer day for your group.

Image result for Volunteer groups on Boston Esplanade


Tuesday, February 26, 5:15 pm – 7:30 pm – Our Own Orient: Mecca, California, and Dates

The Massachusetts Historical Society will hold a free Modern American Society and Culture Seminar on February 26 at 5:15 at its headquarters on Boylston Street, with Eleanor Daly Finnegan of Harvard University and comment by Laura Barraclough of Yale University on the topic of dates. Residents changed the name of Walters, California to Mecca in 1904. They were trying to use the exoticism of the Middle East to sell dates. This paper will focus on Mecca, California and the Indio Date Festival, looking at the complicated ways in which Orientalism has changed in the United States, its relationship to consumerism, and the economic connections made to the Middle East.

To RSVP: email seminars@masshist.org or call (617) 646-0579.

Image result for historical postcard Mecca California date trees