Kicking off with “Carnaval” along East Broadway, SomerStreets promotes active living, reconnecting with city neighborhoods

SOMERVILLE – SomerStreets: Carnaval returns for a 7th year of shaking up East Somerville! SomerStreets will kick off the 2016 season Sunday, June 5, from 2 to 6 p.m. (rain or shine).

SomerStreets is the City of Somerville’s take on the internationally-renowned Open Streets concept, closing busy city streets to vehicles, and opening them up for cycling, walking, dancing, running, and other modes of activity. Through SomerStreets, the City and its community partners aim to promote and encourage easy access to physical activity, fresh foods, and reconnecting with neighborhoods and businesses and their unique cultural elements in a thriving urban environment.
On June 5, enjoy the best of the East Broadway Business District and the East Somerville community including food, music, and culture from around the world. Programming will extend along East Broadway from McGrath Highway to Pennsylvania Ave. The festival kicks off with a Motion Parade at 2 p.m. beginning at the Cross St. Senior Center (165 Broadway).
Keep your feet moving with a variety of interactive activities including stilting and parkour. Watch Esh Circus Arts fly through the air on their trapeze rig. Play soccer and preschool games with the Somerville Recreation Department. Hop aboard the Arts Council’s MUSCRAT bus for craft & wild engineering projects with Parts & Crafts.
Check out music throughout the day on three stages! Acts include Grupo Los Nitidos, A Nova Brazil, Federator Number 1, Mariachis lost Viajeros de Mexico, Banda Bahia, Nuz Band, Loma Larga Banda de la Paz, and DJ Fadayz. Listen to a concert from our very string players freom El Sistema, dancers from On Stage Dance Company and youth performances from Teen Empowerment. 
SomerStreets: Carnaval is organized by the City of Somerville, the Somerville Arts Council and East Somerville Main Streets.
In order to ensure public safety at the event, several road closures and parking bans will be in effect between McGrath Highway and Lombardi Way.:
· Closed to all vehicular traffic from 12 to 8 p.m.;
· No parking on either side of the street from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.;
· Residents who live on the west side of Broadway will be detoured onto Broadway at Pennsylvania Ave.; Residents who live on the east side of Broadway will be detoured onto Pearl St.
MBTA buses will be rerouted from 12 to 8 p.m. For full detour information, visit http://www.mbta.com.
SomerStreets is an annual series that takes place one Sunday per month in the months of June through October. The 2016 events schedule is as follows:
· Sun, June 5: Carnaval @ SomerStreets. East Broadway (McGrath Highway to Pennsylvania Ave.) 
· Sun., Aug. 21: Strike Up the Bands @ SomerStreets. Holland St. (Davis Sq. to Teele Sq.) 
· Sun., Sept. 18: Seize the Summer @ SomerStreets. Highland Ave. (School St. to Lowell St.) 
· Sun., Oct. 23: Monster MashedUp @ SomerStreets. Somerville Ave. (Union Sq. to Lowell St.) 
All SomerStreets events run from 2 to 6 p.m., rain or shine.
For more information about road closures contact 311 (617-666-3311). For information on how to participate in any of the SomerStreets events, contact Nina Eichner, Special Events Manager, at (617) 625-6600 ext. 2998 or NEichner@somervillema.gov. 
Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Betsy Allen, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or BAllen@somervillema.gov.