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Arrow Street Arts announces March 2024 launch festival celebrating the official opening of its Harvard Square venue.

Arrow Street Arts, Inc. (ASA), a Cambridge, MA-based non-profit, announces the official opening of its new venue in Harvard Square with a week-long Launch Festival in late March 2024. Produced by Cambridge-based Liars and Believers (LaB) led by executive producer Georgia Lyman and artistic director Jason Slavick, the festival will offer a wide variety of performances, events, and community gatherings celebrating the vibrant diversity of the Greater Boston performing arts community. ASA’s Launch Festival marks the beginning of the venue’s inaugural year of activity, with the facility beginning regular operations on April 1, 2024.

Arrow Street Arts, founded by David Altshuler, a long-time Cambridge resident and arts advocate, reflects the vision that “Art Creates Community and Community Creates Belonging.” A multi-space performance and event facility, the venue hosted a mid-construction, soft-opening activation of its main theater with Moonbox Productions’ presentation of Sweeney Todd that just completed a successful four-week run. ASA’s street-front Studio will be activated as a rehearsal, class, and small presentation space in early December 2023. Final renovations to the building and installation of seating and theatrical systems will be completed this winter before the full opening.

ASA and Liars and Believers will launch an open call to performing artists later this month with the goal of assembling a varied range of performances and genres to occur during the opening festival. These performing artists will be selected by a jury panel assembled by LaB’s Executive Producer Georgia Lyman, and the opening programming will include these artists alongside a group of curated performances and a special performance by Liars and Believers. If selected, artists will receive a compensation package to produce their works. Selected artists will be notified in January 2024, and more information about the programming of the opening festival will be announced shortly thereafter.

More information on guidelines and submitting an application for festival performers is available at https://arrowstarts.org/launch

New Fund at Cambridge Community Foundation Expands Access to ASA Spaces  

In addition to its revitalization of the two performance spaces, Arrow Street Arts has partnered with the Cambridge Community Foundation (CCF) to increase equitable access to the performance spaces for artists and arts organizations who wish to present their work at ASA’s venues. The foundation of and for all of Cambridge, CCF aspires to make the community vibrant, just, and equitable for all, today and into the future.

CCF launched the first grantmaking cycle from CCF’s Arrow Street Arts Fund on November 6, 2023. For more information on how apply, visit: https://cambridgecf.org/grantmaking/arrow-street-arts-fund/

ASA founder David Altshuler says, “We are thrilled to kick off our inaugural year of programming in our new performance spaces with our opening Launch Festival. We know partnering with Georgia and Jason and Liars and Believers will be a fantastic collaboration to bring in dynamic performing artists who will utilize the spaces to their fullest capacity. Through our relationship with the Cambridge Community Foundation, we can’t wait to welcome a wide array of local artists and creators. This festival will further promote Cambridge as an artistic hub.”

“Through our partnership with Arrow Street Arts, we hope to increase access, particularly for artists from historically underserved and diverse backgrounds, to affordable and welcoming arts spaces in Cambridge,” said Christina Turner, director of programs and grantmaking at CCF. “This fund is one piece in the Foundation’s commitment to strengthening the creative capacity of arts and culture in Cambridge now and into the future.”

Informed by the region’s well-documented need for accessible rehearsal and performance spaces, most notably in the Boston Performing Arts Facilities Assessment and Cambridge’s Mayor’s Arts Task Force Report, Arrow Street Arts addresses the pressing need of small to mid-size organizations and individual artists for spaces accommodating audiences ranging from 150-600. Outfitted with comprehensive lighting, sound, and production capacities, ASA’s facility offers both venues and production services that will help meet community and artists’ needs.

Locally focused and artist-centric, Arrow Street Arts is committed to being a learning organization, exploring issues of affordability, access, equity, and sustainability and increasing the resources available to artists and community organizations, such as the Arrow Street Arts Fund at the Cambridge Community Foundation.

Founded by David Altshuler, with renovations planned by Charles Rose Architects, the 11,500 square-foot Arrow Street facility will be revitalized with extensive production enhancements to two flexible performance spaces and other upgrades that will enhance both the audience and artist experiences. A 4,500 square-foot black box theater will offer various seating configurations for up to approximately 300 audience members, and a new 1,100 square-foot street-front studio will offer a more intimate venue for smaller presentations and events as well as rehearsals and classes. Both multi-use spaces will support projects across a range of artistic genres, including theater, spoken word/readings, dance, music, and film.

Saint Paul’s Choir School (SPCS) presents “Christmas in Harvard Square,” a concert of festive seasonal Christmas music, on Sundays, December 10 and 17, 3 pm, at St. Paul’s Parish, 29 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge. SPCS’s Boys’ Choir, perform together with the Schola of St. Paul’s, Back Bay Brass, and instrumental accompaniment, including percussion, harp, and organ. The program includes many traditional favorites, including SPCS Founder Theodore Marier’s beloved setting of “Silent Night,” musical selections from the 10th through 21st centuries, including a plainsong “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and the Nigerian carol “Betelehemu.” General, reserved, and premium seating tickets range from $35 to $70, available at christmasinharvardsquare.com.

“Christmas in Harvard Square,” features a delightful mix of traditional and contemporary music of composers Benjamin Britten, Franz Biebl, Herbert Howells, Theodore Marier, among others. Audiences return yearly to this joyful celebration of the Christmas season, a beloved annual tradition, sung by one of the few boy choirs in the United States. Attendees enjoy the rare opportunity to hear the boy choristers perform in concert, offering a program that transcends their weekly Mass duties and worship services at St. Paul’s Parish.

SPCS Interim Director of Music Richard Webster leads the ensemble, together with Associate Music Director Brandon Straub. Webster brings an impressive five decades of experience to his appointment for the 2023-24 academic year, previously serving as director of music and as organist at Trinity Church in Copley Square for 17 years, and 29 years as organist and choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston, Illinois, where he directed its Choir of Men and Boys and the Girls Choir to much acclaim.

“I’ve held only three jobs in my life, and this, in the best way, is by far the most challenging,” says Webster, a nod to his appointment at St. Paul’s Choir School. “To serve a school that’s very serious about music means that I still have the privilege of growing and learning myself.”

St. Paul’s Choir School is the only all-boys Catholic choir school in the United States, sustaining longtime collaborations with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Boston Pops Orchestra.

“Christmas in Harvard Square is a unique twist on what you would normally hear at St. Paul’s. This is not Mass, it’s not Vespers, it’s a concert of traditional sacred music, and music that’s not at all traditional. It offers multicultural works, several helming from faraway places,” explains Webster. 

Those attending the concert also have the chance to join the choir in singing the traditional favorite carols “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Come All Ye Faithful.” This traditional concert experience is enriched by St. Paul’s outstanding acoustic, which Webster touts as “one of the best in the Boston area.”

To learn more about “Christmas in Harvard Square,” or to order tickets, visit christmasinharvardsquare.com. To learn about Saint Paul’s Choir School’s enrollment, curriculum, programs and performances, visit saintpaulschoirschool.us, call 617-868-8658, or follow St. Paul’s Choir School Harvard Square on social media.

A growing group of coffee shops and coffee carts based in New York City will soon be opening a fourth outlet in the local area, nearly a year after it was first announced.

According to a press release, Blank Street Coffee is slated to open in Cambridge on November 16, moving into a space on Mass. Ave. in Harvard Square that had previously been home to a location of Starbucks. The new location will join others locally on Boylston Street in the Back Bay, Charles Street in Beacon Hill, and Cambridge Street also in Beacon Hill, along with others in Manhattan, Brooklyn (where it started out), and elsewhere.

The address for the new location of Blank Street Coffee in Harvard Square is 1380 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138. The website for the business can be found at https://www.blankstreet.com/

For Hillel Stavis, who first sold books part time as a high school student, there was something almost spiritual about spending time in a sanctuary of book-lined shelves.

“That reverential moment when somebody walks into a bookstore,” he told the Globe in 1997, “is a different kind of experience from entering a clothing store or supermarket.”

When he launched his own bookstore, though, he had his feet firmly planted on the ground — on sidewalks, to be precise. Scouting Greater Boston locations and calculating foot traffic, he settled on Harvard Square, where he opened WordsWorth Books on Brattle Street in 1976. Even though the neighborhood already had bookshops, he saw it was full of readers walking with books in hand.

The festival will feature performances by Le Vent du Nord and other artists across venues in Cambridge and Somerville, MA.

The 21st annual Boston Celtic Music Festival will return to Club Passim and Harvard Square, with added venues like the Crystal Ballroom, The Burren, and The Rockwell on January 11-14, 2024. The festival will showcase Greater Boston’s deep tradition of music, song, and dance from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic communities. BCMFest features traditional acts and others that draw on contemporary sounds and ideas, full-time, professional touring acts, and local session musicians, highlighting performers from across the generations. Tickets are on sale now at passim.org/bcmfest. 

This year, the festival will include the award-winning and highly acclaimed Québec band Le Vent du Nord, performing at the Nightcap Finale on Saturday, January 13 at the Crystal Ballroom. The group’s vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions. At the same time, their highly rhythmic and soulful music, rooted in the Celtic diaspora, is enhanced with a broad range of global influences.

Among the acts confirmed to perform are: Joey Abarta, Jenna Moynihan, Neil Pearlman & the Wallbreakers, Mariel Vandersteel, Casey Murray & Molly Tucker, Triga, Cape Breton, Highland Dance Boston, Ramblxr, Boston Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, Scottish Fish, Pine Tree Flyers, Firefly Landing, Eight Feet Tall, Isabel Oliart and Friends, The Carroll Sisters with Sammy Wetstein, Elias Cardoso, Medford All-Star Ceili Band, Jinty Mcgrath, Calico, Erin Hogan & Jimmy Kelly, No Seconds, Emma Azelborn, Elizabeth and Ben Anderson, Sarah Ann Hajjar, and Sarah Collins & Jonathan Vocke.

“Considered to be the epicenter of Celtic music in America, Boston has maintained its historical reputation of being home to some of the most prolific Celtic musicians in the country. The Boston Celtic Music Festival represents the heart of our vibrant local Celtic music scene,” said Summer McCall, BCMFest Director. “This year we’re delighted to be at both our home venue of Club Passim in Harvard Square, and to be expanding into Davis Square for Friday night and Saturday day and night at the Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theatre, The Burren, and The Rockwell.”

Festival highlights include:

• The First Round concert on Thursday, January 11, at 7pm provides a night of the more traditional sounds of Celtic music in Boston. This evening’s concert will take place at Club Passim with performances from Joey Abarta, Jenna Moynihan, and Neil Pearlman & The Wallbreakers.
• Friday, January 12 at 7pm is the Roots and Branches Concert. Guests can experience the dynamic sounds and diverse styles of Boston’s Celtic music community, with music from Mariel Vandersteel, Triga, and Casey Murray & Molly Tucker.
• BCMFest: Boston Urban Ceilidh will occur on Friday, January 12 at 7:30pm at the Crystal Ballroom. The night will feature participatory and social dances from the Cape Breton and Scottish traditions, all with live music. 
• BCMFest: Dayfest offers over six hours of entertainment from mid-morning until 5 pm on Saturday, January 13. All events will occur in Davis Sq. in Somerville at The Crystal Ballroom, The Burren, and The Rockwell.
• BCMFest: Nightcap with Le Vent Du Nord – Capping BCMFest 2024 on Saturday, January 13, at 8pm at the Crystal Ballroom will be a performance by the award-winning and highly acclaimed band Le Vent du Nord.
• Enjoy some fine food in a relaxed live Celtic music atmosphere on Sunday, January 14, at the BCMFest Brunch at Club Passim from 10am – 2pm. 
• Festival performers will lead workshops on Sunday, January 14, at the Passim School of Music at 26 Church Street in Harvard Sq. More details are coming soon.

BCMFest takes place from January 11-14. All festival details including performances, times, and locations are available at passim.org/bcmfest. 

Orinoco Harvard Square
56 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge

We’d heard many good things lately about Orinoco, a Latin kitchen inspired by “taguaritas,” rustic, family-run eateries found along Venezuelan roadsides, so we decided to drop by and check their array of Venezuelan and Latin American cuisines for ourselves.

Orinoco has three Boston locations: South End, Brookline Village, and Harvard Square. The Harvard Square location is tucked away behind a sweet little recessed archway under the trees, so, even before entering, we were immediately struck by the intimate and inviting atmosphere. Inside, the decor was tastefully done, with a mix of folk art and family photography adorning the walls. The dim lighting and soft music in the background set the perfect mood for a relaxed dining experience, and we immediately agreed that it looks like a great spot for a date. Especially if you sit out on the lovely outdoor patio.

The Maracuchitos:

The menu is digital and a bit disordered, but offers an enticing array of dishes. On the vegetarian side of things, most of the exciting options are some combination of carb and cheese. We ordered Maracuchitos ($7.75), Arepa La Gringa ($6.75), Arepa Jardinera ($7), Cachapa ($15) and Torta Fluida ($7).

The Maracuchitos – queso Paisa wrapped in sweet fried plantains – were wonderful. The plantains were soft and lush but had lovely chewy edges. The combination of the creamy salty cheese and the sweet and tangy plantains created a flavor explosion. One of us doesn’t usually like plantains, but loved this dish.

Arepa La Gringa:

The Arepa La Gringa was stuffed with shredded, unmelted edam cheese. To our taste both the filling and the bread were a bit dry, and there was nothing really to marry the one with the other. The Arepa Jardinera also features cheese, as well as sweet plantains, and guasacaca, which is a tangy avocado sauce. The individual elements were fine, but altogether the combination was not cohesive.

The Cachapa:

The Cachapa, which we ordered with only the queso de mano, was the unexpected (but nevertheless deserving) favorite food item. This is a tender sweet corn pancake overflowing with melted queso de mano. More sweet than you are probably thinking right now, though not overwhelmingly so, and certainly not dessert sweet. The slight saltiness of the handmade cheese really underlines that sweetness and makes it shine. For this dish alone, we would visit again.

Torta Fluida:

For dessert, we split a Torta Fluida, a molten chocolate cake, which the menu boasts is made with “100 percent Venezuelan dark chocolate.” This adorable individual cake came to us piping hot. It had a beautifully light crumb and was absolutely brimming with melted dark chocolate. Dark chocolate was such an excellent choice for this cake, as it cuts the sweetness and gives it more depth of flavor. Thus our meal ended on a high note.

While most of the dishes we ordered hit the mark, in the end, Orinoco left us with mixed feelings. While we had high expectations for the arepas, they felt like a miss compared to the other options, and the service was somewhat slow and inattentive. But while the experience had its ups and downs, we definitely appreciated the restaurant’s charm, the cachapa, and the chocolate cake.