Boston Flora

Tag: Christopher Columbus Park

  • Monday, October 14, 10:45 am – 3:00 pm – Christopher Columbus Day Celebration at Christopher Columbus Park

    The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park continues its tradition of marking Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America with a free celebration to be held Monday, October 14 from 10L45 am – 3 pm.  Events will kick off with the annual Kids Parade, where kids of all ages are invited to bring their decorated bikes, scooters, or strollers at 10L45 for a promenade through the Park.  At the conclusion of the parade there will be a short ceremony at the Christopher Columbus statue, including a wreath laying ceremony led by Mayor Thomas Menino and Italian Deputy Consul Luigi Munno.

    Entertainment through the day will include performances by Jenny the Juggler, Peter O’Malley the Magician, Boris the Pennyfarthing Bicyclist and T-Bone the Interactive Pied Piper, as well as readings by Eliot School students and a patriotic musical performance by the North End Music & Performing Arts Center.  Other activities include face painting, a crafts table, lawn games with prizes, and tours of a real working fire truck.  For complete details visit www.foccp.org.

    http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/caribarch/images/chrisc.jpg

  • Monday, October 8, 10:45 am – 3:00 pm – Christopher Columbus at Christopher Columbus

    The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park invite you to a fun filled Christopher Columbus Day Celebration on Monday, October 8, beginning at 10:45 with a very short and very amusing parade through the park, which you may join or simply watch and cheer.  Young and old will be delighted by the Tanglewood Marionettes, Big Joe the Storyteller, Magician Peter O’Malley, and more.  Thanks go to Al Dente Restaurant, Benevento’s, Boston PushCart, CL Waterfront Properties LLC, and Tia’s Restaurant, for sponsoring this event.  Find out more at www.foccp.org.

  • Saturday, June 30, 10:00 am – 2:30 pm – US Navy Band Northeast at Christopher Columbus Park

    The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park will host a family friendly day on Saturday, June 30, beginning with a parade through the park at 10 am, followed by numerous family activities including a magician, juggler, storyteller, and face painting.  At 1:30, the US Navy Bank Northeast will perform a concert (they are pictured below performing on the Today Show.)  The Park is located at 100 Atlantic Avenue in Boston.  The event is the kickoff of a week long celebration commemorating the bicentennial of the War of 1812, culminating in the Tall Ships/Fourth of July Celebration.  The event is free, and has received the generous support of Al Dente Restaurant, Benevento’s Restaurant, Boston Pushcarts, and Century Bank.  The North End Music and Performing Arts Center will participate with musicians, singers, and its unique musical petting zoo.  For more information, contact Joanne Hayes-Rines at 617-283-0981, or email jhayesrines@gmail.com.

  • Request For Proposals for Boston Committee Grant

    Established in 1989, The Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America is a consortium of 14 garden clubs in the greater Boston area, from Buzzards Bay to the South, and coastal Maine to the north, with a total membership of 1,100 individuals. The Garden Club of the Back Bay is an affiliate member of The Boston Committee.

    Over the past years, the Boston Committee has awarded $110,000, through its Blossom Fund, to various not for profit groups in the City of Boston, for the purpose of beautifying our urban spaces. The Fund has been most effective when used to leverage larger grants. It has been at the forefront of projects such as the construction of the Blackwell Path at the Arnold Arboretum, which allows access to the Arboretum from public transportation. The Blossom Fund has helped with the construction and planting of a butterfly garden and maple tree allee at Massachusetts Audubon Society’s George Robert White Nature Center, in Mattapan. It has provided money for the restoration of the Kelleher Rose Garden on the Emerald Necklace. The Esplanade Association purchased irrigation equipment, the Charles River Conservancy restored the landscape surrounding the Eliot Bridge, and a garden was established at the Neighborhood Charter School, all with the help of the Blossom Fund.

    Now, the Boston Committee is soliciting proposals for a project in the vicinity of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. We expect to award a single grant for $50,000, with the potential to collaboratively raise additional funds in the future.

    The Committee members agree that innovation, positive community impact, and horticultural achievement must be the hallmarks of a successful Greenway proposal. Sustainability and future maintenance are important considerations. The grant will not be awarded for general fund drives, endowments, or for operating or staffing costs. The successful applicant must work with us to raise additional monies in the final year of the fund drive. Importantly, applicants must be an exempt organization under the IRS code.

    Complete details may be obtained by email. Contact Michele Hanss, current Chairman of The Boston Committee, at m.hanss@comcast.net. Applications are due February 10. We have received notice that applications may be forthcoming from the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park, The Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the Boston Aquarium, and the Boston Harbor Walk. After a full review and interviews, member Clubs will vote for the winning application, to be announced at our Annual Meeting in the fall of 2012, after which we will embark on the final year of fund raising. We encourage all groups in or around the Greenway to submit applications.

  • Sunday, January 8, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Photography Workshop and Scavenger Hunt

    The Boston Parks Department and Art Commission are presenting free winter photography workshops December-February. The next event will take place Sunday, January 8, from 10 – 12 at Christopher Columbus Park.

    Participants in the scavenger hunt will be asked to search for unique features in specific Boston Parks based on clues. The clues for the scavenger hunt will be emailed and posted on www.facebook.com/bostonparksdepartment and www.twitter.com/bostonparksdept. For those who take the best photos of these specific one-of-a-kind landmarks, there’s an opportunity to win cool prizes!!  Register via email: lauren.patrick@cityofboston.gov.

  • Protect Sunlight in Public Parks

    The Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay has informed us of a Petition to Support H. 1169, An Act Protecting Sunlight in Certain Public Parks, sponsored by Representatives Martha Walz and Byron Rushing. To read the bill, go to www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01169.  This bill seeks to expand and clarify the current laws that protect the sunlight on the beloved Boston Public Garden and the Boston Common by limiting new shadows.  Specifically, the bill would prohibit any new construction or building remodeling from blocking sunlight and casting new shadows on six additional public parks.  The goal of the bill is to allow reasonably-scaled development near the parks while protecting sufficient sunlight for the health of the park environment and the enjoyment of its users.

    The five Boston parks and one Cambridge park will be protected by the bill are:

    * The Back Bay Fens
    * Christopher Columbus Park
    * The Commonwealth Avenue Mall
    * Copley Square Park
    * The Esplanade
    * Magazine Beach Park

    You can sign the petition immediately (through May 22) by logging in to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/sunlight2.  However, if you have already signed the petition, please do not do so again.  If you have any questions concerning this legislation, you may email Sue Prindle at sprindl@verizon.net.  Photo from www.gardenvoice.com.

  • Tuesday, December 15, 11:00 am – Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment Hearing

    As you probably know, Representatives Marty Walz, Byron Rushing, and  Senator Anthony Petruccelli sponsored a bill to prevent additional shadows from being cast on the Charles River Esplanade, Christopher Columbus Park, Commonwealth Avenue Mall, Copley Square Park, Magazine Beach Park, or Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway (House Bill No. 853: An Act protecting certain public parks). This legislation is critical in protecting our historic parks from being thrown in shadow cast by excessively tall buildings.

    The Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture is holding its an important hearing on this bill on December 15 at 11 am in State House Room A2. It will be critical that we collect as much written and oral testimony as possible. We hope you will join in supporting this bill as forcefully as possible.

    Send letters in support of the legislation to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee Co-Chairs Senator Anthony Petruccelli (address Room 413-B, State House, Boston, MA 02133, phone: 617-722-1634) and Representative William Straus (address Room 473-F, State House, Boston, MA 02133, phone: 617-722-2210).

    Send emails to: Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee Co-Chairs Anthony.Petruccelli@state.ma.us and Rep.WilliamStraus@Hou.State.MA.US with copies to Rep.MartyWalz@Hou.State.MA.US and Rep.ByronRushing@hou.state.ma.us

    We know this is the worst possible time of year to try to influence public policy, but we hope everyone will recognize the importance of this issue.  A copy of the legislation is posted on the web at http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/186/ht00pdf/ht00853.pdf.

  • Holiday Lighting Around Town – Mayor Menino Plugs In

    The Mayor will be busy indeed as he dashes around town spreading holiday cheer beginning Monday, November 23 at Christopher Columbus Park in the North End.  At 5:30 pm, he will flick the switch on 50,000 bulbs in a unique, blue and white design, which have been strung along 260 feet of trellis in the heart of the park.  The free celebration will include entertainment from the North End Music and Performing Arts Center and the Ray Cavicchio Band, as well as food from Mike’s Pastry, Starbucks, the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel, and Legal Sea Foods.  The entire evening is sponsored by the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department.

    On Wednesday, December 2, you may spot the Mayor closer to home when he joins the Friends of Copley Square, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, the Salvation Army Brass Band, and the Trinity Church Children’s Choir at the official Copley Square Tree Lighting, beginning at 5:00 pm.  You’ll find Santa Claus and, once again, Legal Sea Foods.  The forty foot blue spruce has been sponsored by Normandy Real Estate Partners.

    The next night, Thursday, December 3, from 6 – 8 pm, the City of Boston’s 68th Annual Tree Lighting takes place on the Boston Common.  Sponsors WCVB-TV Channel 5 and Magic 106.7 will provide live coverage of, you guessed it, Mayor Menino, and refreshments will be provided by H.P. Hood LLC, Cabot Creamery, Nantucket Nectars and Snapple, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jazzy Apples, and New York Life (they cook?).  Entertainment will include R&B singer Brian McKnight, “American Idol” Season 6 third place finalist Melinda Doolittle, the Boston Arts Academy Dance Troupe, the Masquerade cabaret troupe, and Magic 106.7’s Nancy Quill and Mike Addams.  Nova Scotia again provides the tree. (Thank you to www.boston.com for the image below)

    Once the Mayor has lit the Common, he’ll proceed to Arlington Street and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall to illuminate the two hundred trees along the Mall with little white lights, all paid for through community support and private donations raised by the Committee to Light Commonwealth Avenue Mall.  The Taj Boston will provide refreshments.

    Call the Boston Parks and Recreation Department at 617-635-4505 if you need more information.

    http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_Photo/2007/11/20/1195575195_2423.jpg

  • Friday, November 13, 7 – 11 pm – Friends of Christopher Columbus Park Gala Fundraiser

    Join  the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park on Friday, November 13,  from 7 pm – 11 pm,  at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf, 296 State Street, Boston, for a wonderful 6th annual Gala to raise money to support the Christopher Columbus Park.  There will be a cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, & a silent auction.  The ticket price is $150, and you may reserve by emailing info@foccp.org, or logging on to www.foccp.org/Gala.html.

    The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park (FOCCP) is a non-profit organization made up of North End and Waterfront neighbors whose purpose is to further the restoration, protection, preservation, care, enhancement, improvement, and maintenance of the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park.  The FOCCP work closely with the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department to keep the park clean and well maintained.
    This all-volunteer neighborhood group provides funding for the Annual Trellis Lights, maintains the Rose Kennedy Rose Garden, and purchases new trees and plants for the Park.
    http://www.boston-discovery-guide.com/image-files/boston-marriott-long-wharf3.jpg