On the Dot Books & More Book Stall, at the Ashmont Farmers' Market!

this is a nifty idea, hoping Dorchester folks will come out in droves to support this endeavor!
onthedotbooks

Arts & Culture all over Boston, for free!

A sample of the free events & activities in July:
July 6 - 28, Shakespeare on the Common.
Friday July 12, 5:30pm, Salsa @ Boston City Hall, also The Proclamation Project 7pm, The Strand Theatre.
Saturday July 13 - 21, Outside the Box Festival 9 days of free music & performing arts at various venues in Boston.
Saturday July 13 & 20, Summer Movie Nights starts 4pm, The Strand Theatre.
Saturday July 13, Caliente: A Celebration of Latin Music 7-9pm, Boston City Hall Plaza.
Sunday July 14, Open Streets on The Avenue of the Arts, 11am-4pm, Huntington Avenue.
Saturday July 26, Berklee Jazz Fest with a Taste of the Caribbean 7:30pm, The Strand Theatre.
Check here for more fun activities!

a time to mourn...

April 16, 2013: "The Peabody Square Clock in Ashmont, Dorchester MA will be stopped indefinitely in honor of those who were injured or died in yesterday's Boston Marathon bombing, and in support of the Richard family, who have done so much for our community. The first bomb exploded at 2:50PM, but its impact on our neighborhood and our city will last forever."

Our community's historic clock bears an eloquent public homage, and has become the focal point for quiet contemplation, memorial flowers, as well as messages of grief, support and love. We'll endure.

Development & Preservation: positive potential for Dorchester's historic commercial centers

The Historic Boston Inc.Neighborhood Centers program did great work in Fields Corner and pointed the way for future exciting projects, such as the O'Hearn Storage Building, pictured. HBI developed Commercial Casebooks for two other Main Street districts in Dorchester - Ashmont/Peabody Square (St Marks) and Upham's Corner - to highlight buildings that are significant locally and whose preservation may restore an important historic resource or expand economic opportunity in the neighborhood. The information in these documents guides the development of HBI’s pipeline of potential Historic Neighborhood Centers projects, and is intended to help neighborhood leaders and property owners identify opportunities for investment by the private and public sectors. Presented in light of major development potential and planning underway in these and other areas of Dorchester in time for May, which is Preservation Month.

Wanted: your vision for Upham's Corner!

An Upham's Corner Visioning Forum is happening on Feb. 2nd, 2013 - anyone who lives, works, plays, visits or cares about the Upham's Corner neighborhood is invited to attend! The goal is to involve as many people as possible in the BRA-led short and long term planning for the Upham's Corner area including economic development, jobs, public transit, housing and quality of life. Questions? Contact the BRA (Boston Redevelopment Authority) at 617.918.4434 and learn more about this initiative by visiting the Fairmount Indigo Planning website.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
9:30 am -1:00 pm
The Kroc Center 650 Dudley Street

discover Dorchester, via shopping!

We love the mix of cool local-sourced gifts that the Dottie Hotties have been sharing with us daily! Today's gift idea is Dorchester Pottery from Dark Horse Antiques, a well-known Lower Mills landmark. I plan to stop in and discover some one-of-a-kind treasures, also will check out the rest of "The Block" - Streamline Antiques (their holiday open house is Dec 15 & 16), any red dresses at Archangel Boutique, browse always chic HomeStretch Antiques. ...and maybe look at some vintage frames at Eye & Eye Optics...

Seasonal fun in the neighborhood

Much fun to be had! After the turkey and stuffing, time to make the rounds! After Thanksgiving our focus this year is to stay local, especially on Small Business Saturday - maybe we can fulfill the entire gift list by shopping only at spots we can walk to? More walk-to fun at the tree lighting in Peabody Square the evening of Nov. 24th, always a good crowd with kids, caroling and such. No need to drive to local music performances and parties going on for the next few weeks! Highlights: Holiday Craft Fair on Dec. 1st, on Dec. 9th the Historical Society's Open House and Ashmont Hill Chamber Music's free concert, and on Dec. 16th, the lovely Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at historic All Saints Church. 
“It turns out that, at social gatherings, as a source of entertainment, conviviality, and good fun, I rank somewhere between a sprig of parsley and a single ice-skate.”
― Dorothy Parker

help Dorchester Arts Collaborative get a kitchen!

In 2012, the Dorchester Arts Collaborative (DAC) celebrates ten years as  Dorchester’s "umbrella arts organization" actively supporting arts and culture in the community with the annual Dorchester-wide Open Studios weekend, creating local partnerships, connecting artists with galleries and patrons, and shepherding the "Sleeping Moon" project at Ashmont Station. Last year DAC broadened their visual arts focus to include performance arts, filmmaking, music, dance, and spoken word. 
DAC launched a Kickstarter campaign September 6, 2012 to install a kitchen in the new Erick Jean Center for the Arts under construction at 157 Washington Street in Dorchester. The 1200 sq. ft. center will house a gallery, classroom and workshop spaces, a performance space with movable stage, the DAC office, a small gift shop - - and a kitchen to support receptions and openings. The Erick Jean Center for the Arts will be the first space completely dedicated to showcasing, promoting, teaching, and enjoying the arts in Dorchester, and a kitchen will help ensure its functionality. 
To help out with a donation of any size, go to Kickstarter before October 6th. UPDATE: they reached their goal early, and are still welcoming additional donations to the project.

"Inside the piano, outside the box" concert

The second season of Greater Boston House Concerts starts Saturday September 15, 2012 with pianist Barbara Lieurance in an exciting salon of music for solo piano "Inside the piano, outside the box" - with compositional tour-de-force "Rhapsodies" by C. Curtis-Smith (the first piece to ever be written for bowed piano) along with a new commission inspired by the Rhapsodies by Canadian composer John Oliver. Other music includes the jazzy Russian virtuosity of Gubaidulina and the beautiful melodies of Brahms. The salon concert will be held at the home of Aaron and Catherine Larget-Caplan, 21 Virginia Street in Dorchester’s Upham’s Corner neighborhood. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Get tickets here. Greater Boston House Concerts presents high quality intimate performances in a salon setting. Each concert is followed by a meet-the-artist reception. Audience members are welcome to bring their own alcoholic beverages and/or contribute to the reception. For more information contact Aaron Larget-Caplan, 617-947-1330, Info@GBHConcerts.com.

USS Constitution sails Boston Harbor

21 gun salute, USS Constitution 8/19/12

On Sunday August 19, 2012, exactly 200 years after a key sea victory during the War of 1812, we were able to watch the USS Constitution sail under her own power off Castle Island* in Boston Harbor. It was a stirring sight! Loved the loud booms of the ship's 21 gun salute - the incredible noise helped give a sense of what a full blown battle at sea must have been like 200 years ago.

Excerpt from the 8/20/12 Boston Globe: The USS Constitution set sail for the first time since 1997 to mark the 200th anniversary of its victory over the HMS Guerriere, a Royal Navy frigate, during the battle of the War of 1812 that earned the ship her “Old Ironsides” nickname, officials said in a statement. The ship was tugged just before 10 a.m. with 285 people on board. Once Old Ironsides reached President Roads in the Boston Harbor, crews set three sails and detached the ship from the tugboats, officials said. The ship sailed under her own power for 17 minutes at a maximum speed of 3.1 knots.

*Castle Island is in South Boston, formerly Dorchester's cow pasture, where a key Revolutionary War victory led to the British evacuating Boston.

Fresh Fridays community café series

On Fridays from August 3rd to September 14th, check out a new fresh food concept in Dorchester - Fresh Fridays: A Global Fusion of Taste & Sound. This Friday night event series happens 6:00 to 8:00 PM at First Parish Church Dorchester and will celebrate Dorchester through diverse voices, talents and flavors - an interesting and fun event to experience for the whole family, child activities area  provided! Co-sponsors are the Dorchester Community Food Co-op and the Sustainability Guild International.

a new park!

A park near Codman Square has been completely renovated - see this information from a recent Dorchester Historical Society announcement (I am so pleased! I know Rev. Loesch - he deserves this and many other accolades!)
The City of Boston will officially re-name Dorchester's Wainwright Park (or Cronin Playground) as the Rev. Loesch Family Park on July 7, 2012.

The land that is now the play ground was part of the 17th century "Great Lots", an area that was bounded on the north by Field's Corner, on the east by Adams Street, on the south by Lower Mills and on the west by Washington Street. Early settlers received grants of land from the town of approximately 16 acres each within the area of the Great Lots for their planting fields. This land was almost completely agricultural until after the Revolution. Over the course of the 19th century, the town’s population expanded, and development occurred around commercial nodes like nearby Codman Square.

In the 18th century a mansion was built at the corner of the Upper Road (Washington Street) and what is now Welles Avenue.

Dorchester Descendants - new on facebook

Check this out: the Dorchester Descendants page on facebook, brand new! They are looking for folks whose families lived (or still reside) in Dorchester, MA, 300 years ago or 3. If you are interested in Dorchester's history from a personal perspective, please visit the page.
Image: Emilie (on left) and daughter Frieda Bethmann. 13 Carruth Street was built for Miss Frieda Bethmann in 1895. Frieda had come to the United States at the age of four, in 1872 with her family. Her father was a civil engineer at the Standard Sugar Refinery. Her mother owned the house at 31 Bushnell Street beginning around 1889.

nice coverage on Dorchester by Chronicle!

Dorchester-bred 'Clap's Favorite' pear

Residents know how great it is to live here, but it is really nice to have the positive elements of our community shared with the outside world! Dorchestrians take note: check out these four segments!

Dorchester: Segment One - Video - WCVB Boston

Dorchester: Segment Two - Video - WCVB Boston

Dorchester: Segment Three - Video - WCVB Boston

Dorchester: Segment Four - Video - WCVB Boston

MyDorchester Night! June 10, 6 PM

Food, music, art, awards, performances - fun community event tonight in Dorchester!

Jan. 26, snow emergency 7 PM

See snow emergency details here (including a list of streets not to park on or you'll be tagged/towed!) for Dorchester's District C-11. Be forewarned!

Reminder - Great Blizzards talk this Sunday!

A really "cool" event (sorry!) at the Dorchester Historical Society, 2 PM.

City plows snow onto our front walk - why?

Ok. I get that we as Boston citizens are required to help clear out snowy public sidewalks, teamwork and all that. We were out for hours today keeping ahead of it before it freezes into iron tonight. Our zeal deflated quickly however when a city plow pushed a whole giant mess of salty street snow on our neatly cleared sidewalk and then further all the way into our neatly cleared front walk. Drat. Our corner and front walkway is completely blocked. Why? This is not a narrow intersection at all. Took hours to clear it, 5 seconds for city's plow to undo. Apologies to our neighbors because it'll stay that way until spring.

Saturday Nov. 20, Nightingale Garden meeting at 10AM

Greening in Dorchester: on Sat. 11/20, 10-11:30 AM please attend a community meeting at the Codman Sq. Library to hear about how Dorchester's largest community garden is growing even larger! See this link for more. Then head over to the Green Perspectives II event at the Holland School, until 3 PM.

Anna Clapp Harris Smith's house saved

New Life for Old House in Dorchester from Chris Lovett on Vimeo.