The Harvard Square Business Association is pleased to announce that September is Revival Month in Harvard Square. Long regarded as a bastion of intellectual thought, social awareness, and tradition, Cambridge remains a welcoming hive for artists, musicians, authors and free thinkers of all stripes. Inspired by the forthcoming folk music novel, Revival by celebrated arts writer and folk musician Scott Alarik, the festivities kick off with a return of Bread and Puppet to the Cambridge Common on September 2nd and culminates in the HONK! Parade and 33rd Annual Oktoberfest on October 2nd. Throughout September, an array of events will display the vibrant mix of inventiveness and revival, tradition and renewal, that define Harvard Square’s unique cultural life, including Alarik’s book release show at Passim, Revels’ annual RiverSing gathering, free outdoor concerts, the 3rd Annual Urban Agricultural Fair, an old fashioned hootenanny and more.
September 2nd – Return of Bread and Puppet Theater to the Cambridge Common
Bread and Puppet Theater presents Man = Carrot Circus, with an introduction by Scott Alarik, author of the new folk music novel, Revival, will be held on the Cambridge Common from 6pm – 8pm. The award-winning Bread and Puppet Theater from Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, have not inhabited the Cambridge Common since the mid- 1980s. Bread and Puppet champions a visually rich slapstick style of street-theater that is filled with huge puppets made of paper mache and cardboard, along with masked characters, political commentary, and a lively brass band for accompaniment.
Man = Carrot Circus, for children of all ages, is based on the revelation that upright man rooted in dirt was created in the image of the upright carrot in the dirt. Fifteen Vermont puppeteers and musicians will enact the issues of the day, not only in how they affect carrots, but how they affect us all. Some of the circus acts may be politically puzzling to adults, but usually an accompanying kid can explain what is going on! The audience is welcome to examine all the masks and puppets after the performance, and cheap art will be for sale.
Bread and Puppet Theater’s free Man = Carrot Circus performance on the Cambridge Common is made possible with assistance from the Cambridge Arts Council. More information about Bread and Puppet can be found at www.breadandpuppet.org.
Bread and Puppet Theater, Cambridge Common, 6pm – 8pm.
September 8th – Scott Alarik Performs a Free Outdoor Concert on Palmer Street.
Author, folk singer, and songwriter Scott Alarik will sing original and traditional songs, and will read excerpts from his new book, Revival: A Folk Music Novel, a love story set in the modern Cambridge folk scene. He’ll be joined by gifted instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, Jake Armerding, who will accompany excerpts and perform his own songs. Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor wrote of Alarik’s shows, “I have rarely seen an audience in such a good mood as when he’s just been there.”
This free event is part of Passim’s outdoor summer music concert series. More information can be found at http://www.clubpassim.org/
Scott Alarik in Concert, Palmer Street, 1pm – 2pm
September 10 – Alastair Moock Album Release Shows at Passim
On Saturday, September 10 at 10:30am and 3:30pm, Boston roots musician and family entertainer Alastair Moock will be performing two shows to celebrate his new kids’ album, These Are My Friends, at Passim. Moock will be accompanied by a number of musicians who joined him on the album, including Rani Arbo, Mark Erelli, Vanessa Trien, Anand Nayak, and more!
These Are My Friends follows Moock’s award-winning family music debut, A Cow Says Moock, which won a 2010 NAPPA Gold Award. Like Pete Seeger and others from an earlier generation of folk music, Moock makes little distinction between his own songs and cover material. For him, it’s all part of a continuum – a collaboration between the old and the new.
Tickets $10 for adults and $8 for children, free for kids under 2. For more information and reservations, contact the club at 617-492-7679 or online at www.clubpassim.org.
Alastair Moock in Concert, Club Passim, 47 Palmer Street, 10:30am and 3:30pm
September 15 – Revival Book Release Party
Harvard Book Store and Club Passim are excited to host a book release party for local folk musician and critic, Scott Alarik, whose first novel is Revival. The evening will begin with a free reception and book signing from 6:00pm – 7:30pm. The concert, for which $20 tickets can be purchased from Passim www.clubpassim.org )will begin at 8pm and will include performances by popular and award winning folk musicians, Ellis Paul, Jake Armerding, Alastair Moock, and Meg Hutchinson. The book signing will continue immediately following the show.
Revival is a love story set in the subterranean world of modern folk music. Talented, charismatic songwriter Nathan Warren lost his chance at stardom years ago, and now sees his life as waste and ruin. Kit Palmer is young beautiful, and explosively gifted, but her dreams are also doomed unless she can keep from falling apart on stage. They travel the Boston folk music scene as lovers and artists, through basement clubs and funky jam sessions, rowdy open mic nights and sprawling festivals, seeking stardom for one and redemption for the other.
Additional information about this event, Passim and Harvard Book Store can be found at www.scottalarik.com, www.clubpassim.org, and www.harvard.com
Revival Book Release Party, Club Passim, 47 Palmer Street, 6:00pm Reception, 8:00pm concert
September 18 – 3rd Annual Urban Ag Fair
The Third Annual Urban-AG fair will be held on Sunday, September 18, 2011 on the site of the first marketplace in Newtone (1630s) and will showcase locally grown fruits and vegetables. Come sample delicious local fare, purchase locally grown foods, get tips from local experts on composting, community gardening, container gardening, and raising chickens and bees and more! Cooking demonstrations by local chefs will be held throughout the day. In addition, there will be great live music and a beer garden featuring locally crafted brews! All events are free, open to the public and are family friendly.
Submit your fruits, vegetables, flowers, honey, eggs, baked goods, preserves, pickles and beverages in our judged competition! Prizes will be awarded in the categories of tastiest, biggest, prettiest/most creative, most interesting/funny-looking and student grower (under 17). In addition, prizes will be awarded for photographs in the categories of composition, best use of space in a community garden and best use of space at a residence. This event is being sponsored the Harvard Square Business Association, Relay Rides, A Taste of Honey, Cafe of India and many more.
Additional information and forms to participate can be found at www.harvardsquare.com and www.urbanagfair.com
3rd Annual Urban Ag Fair, Mount Auburn Street and Winthrop Park, 11am – 5pm
September 18 – 8th Annual “Revels RiverSing” Celebrates Fall with Music and Song
On Sunday, September 18th, join thousands of voices in song, including special musical guests, nationally acclaimed folk singers and recording artists The Nields, as Revels celebrates the approaching Equinox along the banks of the Charles with music, poetry and communal singing at the 8th annual Revels RiverSing.
Revels music director George Emlen leads this free outdoor celebration by the Weeks Footbridge featuring nearly a hundred area chorus members plus many other guest performers. Sax great Stan Strickland will close the evening with an improvisational sunset serenade from an illuminated Sun/Moon boat floating along the river, providing a magical ending to the end of summer and a striking herald to the onset of fall. Before the sing, come early to Harvard Square for family fun including face painting, a "honk" band, hula hoopers and a colorful puppet-filled parade to the river that all can join.
5:00 pm: Family Festivities Begin in Harvard Square's Winthrop Park
5:45 pm: Grand Processional to the Charles (with puppets, acrobats and the Dirty Water Brass Band)
6:00 pm: The Singing Begins!
Additional information can be found at www.revels.org
8th Annual Revels RiverSing, Weeks Footbridge, banks of the Charles River, beginning at 6pm.
September 25 – An Old Fashioned Hootenanny in Harvard Square
On Sunday, September 25th from 3pm – 5pm , the Cambridge Center for Adult Education and the Harvard Square Business Association invite you to an old-fashioned Hootenanny at the CCAE at 56 Brattle Street (The Blacksmith House). Bring your instruments and play along as we continue celebrating Revival Month in Harvard Square. The Hootenanny will feature Lorraine and Bennett Hammond on dulcimer, banjo, guitar and voice, Scott Alarik singing, and Danno Sullivan on the ukulele.
Lorraine Hammond is a renowned master of the Applachian dulcimer and also plays banjo, mandolin, and the Celtic harp. Bennett Hammon is a superb finger-style guitarist and recent convert to the five string banjo. Bennett names “the three B’s” – Bach, the blues and Buddy Holly as major influences. Revival author Scott Alarik covered folk music for the Boston Globe for over 20 years. Pete Seeger calls him "One of the best writers in America." He is also a folk singer and songwriter who toured the national folk circuit and performed regularly on A Prairie Home Companion. Danno Sullivan has taught hundreds of people to play the ukulele. He performs comedy and music at special events around the country, and runs Ukes of Greater Harvard, the biggest ukulele club in New England.
For more information about the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, please visit www.ccae.org
An Old Fashioned Hootenanny, Cambridge Center for Adult Education at 56 Brattle Street (The Blacksmith House), 3pm – 5pm
October 2 – 33rd Annual Oktoberfest Fest and HONK! Festival Parade
Join the HONK! Share the Streets Festival Parade as they reclaim the streets for horns, bikes and feet! The parade will depart Davis Square at noon and arrive at the 33rd Annual Harvard Square Oktoberfest at 1:00 pm, for an exciting day long party in the streets! Grand Parade Marshals will welcome over 30 marching bands from the Honkfest, and an equal number of community groups, as they roll, stroll, bike, stilt-dance, strut, and walk to Harvard Square! Join us at the reviewing stand from 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm for the most entertaining and unusual parade you may ever see in your entire life! The theme of the parade this year is SHARE. The bands and community groups in the parade will investigate the dynamics of SHARE by creating actions, images, slogans, concepts, choreographies and other elements that explore how we can share our lives, communities, resources, and spirits.
Ascend to new heights with bird’s-eye-views of Oktoberfest inside the Re-max Hot Air Balloon located in the Cambridge Common! Bring the kids for kid sized events and activities on Church Street, including a Thomas the Train ride around the square, and more. As always Oktoberfest features six stages of live entertainment including a main stage in the Super Crosswalk, a Club Passim Stage, a showcase of music in the Church Street Parking Lot, and a HONK! Encampment and several HONK! Band Stages throughout the festival. 50 plus international food vendors and several beer gardens will be dispersed throughout the Square to quench your thirst and satisfy your food desires! Harvard Square’s Oktoberfest features 200+ stalls featuring artists, DIY vendors, vintage, and sidewalk sale vendors!
For more information please visit www.harvardsquare.com
33rd Annual Oktoberfest, Harvard Square, 12pm – 6pm (Raindate: Sunday, October 9th)
HONK! Parade, Davis Square to Harvard Square via Massachusetts Avenue, 12pm – 2pm
Please visit the Club Passim Website for a complete calendar of performances and events throughout the month of September. www.clubpassim.org
For more information about Revival Month events, please contact:
Denise Jillson: 617-491-3434
djillson@harvardsquare.com
For updates on Revival and other events in Harvard Square, please visit
www.harvardsquare.com