Photos by Frankie Saint
By William Tauro
This past Sunday thousands of people attended a free Open Streets event that featured live music, family-friendly activities, and more at MONSTER MASHED-UP” 2018 AT SOMERSTREETS ON SOMERVILLE AVE.
This event was the last SomerStreets festival of the year. The spooky and fun “Monster Mashed-up” event took place between Union Square and Park Street.
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 aimed 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.
MONSTER MASHED-UP” 2018 AT SOMERSTREETS Activities along Somerville Avenue included:Live music on three stages Sally O’Brien’s Oktoberfest stage at 337 Somerville Avenue that featured – Lily Black. Another stage at the Church Street stage that took place at 389 Somerville that featured – Mint Green, Oom Yung Doe martial arts demonstration, Liv Greene and Boston League of Wicked Wrestlers
Then another stage at the Mass Ave. Music Stage that was located at 487 Somerville Avenue that featured the Martha Bourne Band, Mike Gent, School of Honk, the Mass Ave Music All*Star and the We Can’t Work It Out (Beatles Tribute band).
There were doggie costume’s beer gardens and pumpkin decorations as well as a rock climbing wall.
A Costume parade later kicked off at the corner of Hawkins Street with participants wearing costumes. All were welcome to participate.
Additionally participants were invited to join the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission, Historic Somerville, and the Somerville Museum for a “Ghosts of Milk Row Cemetery” at the historic Milk Row Cemetery located on Somerville Avenue.
Milk Row the City’s 19th century burial grounds, featured a guided tour of the gravesites where at each site a “ghost” will engaged in conversation about his or her life in Somerville in centuries past.
