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Brattle Street in Cambridge transformed into a sea of pink on Saturday as attendees enjoyed live music, sipped pink wines and browsed through tables selling unique items — all in support of a meaningful cause.

The Paint the Square PINK Block Party in Harvard Square, a celebration in support of breast cancer survivors, was held by the Harvard Square Business Association in partnership with the American Cancer Society..

Denise Jillson, executive director for the Harvard Business Association, said the idea for the pink party originated when the American Cancer Society proposed an outdoor celebration for breast cancer survivors.

“This is a horrible disease, and we’re seeing great improvements in healthcare and in treatment, and that’s something worthy of celebration,” Jillson said.

The event was originally scheduled for June 14, but was postponed twice due to rain. The organizers persisted and moved the date once more to Friday, Sept. 13.

“Third time’s the charm for tonight, because the weather is perfect,” Jillson said.

In addition to providing resources to survivors and those currently fighting cancer, the free event featured live music, a pink inflatable chair for photo opportunities and a wine garden sponsored by the Commonwealth Wine School.

The event was also an opportunity for small businesses to display their unique products. A portion of their sales contributed to Making Strides of Boston, a walk that fundraises for breast cancer research and treatment. The walk is part of the national movement Making Strides Against Breast Cancer and will take place Oct. 5.

One of these businesses was Ninawa Zero-Waste Clothes, run by Aelen Unan, a fashion designer who upcycles unwanted textile materials into eco-friendly, reusable tote-bags and sustainable clothes.

Unan said she wanted to participate in the block party because of her dedication to “women’s health but also spreading awareness about cancer.”

She said Paint the Square PINK offers support to individuals and families affected by cancer by making resources available to help them and their loved ones.

“If they have a family member suffering from any kind of cancer, when they participate in these events, they find it easier to talk about their experiences,” she said.

Elaine Cesar, an attendee who is currently battling cancer, said the event is “crucial” to spread awareness of the fight against breast cancer.

“I think it’s good because some people don’t have any idea what’s going on in your body, and [if] you come here, you can learn,” she said.

She encouraged those who might be similarly battling cancer to stay strong and positive.

“You just have to fight and believe you can do it,” Cesar said.

Her wife, Katie Cesar, who attended the event with her, added, “Don’t let it get to your mind.”

Unan said that events like Paint the Square PINK are vital for supporting those struggling with breast cancer.

“When we hear about cancer, it’s very heavy,” Unan said. “But when there’s music, there’s vendors, there’s pink color … people can take it more easily.”

Happy Friday, Boston!

🎬 Calling all students: The MFA has a sweet back-to-school deal for you: $5 movie screenings for students at schools participating in the university membership program. First up? A Sept. 19 screening of “Donnie Darko.”

👀What’s on tap today:

• Local census findings
• The Big E is BACK
• Dancing with the (TikTok) Stars

Up first…

OKTOBERFEST

Something to prost for

Illustration: Gia Orsino

The latest sign of fall is finally near: Oktoberfest. While originating in Munich, this German beer festival is happily celebrated around the world. It’s the perfect excuse to throw a party, have a pint, and wear lederhosen. 

Celebrations are kicking off around Boston this weekend, so here’s where to toast and prost: 

🍻 If you’re looking for a big party … Head to a big brewery! These spots are all throwing down for Oktoberfest with day(s)-long parties packed with stein-holding competitions, themed brews, bites, and live music:

• Remnant Brewing, Sept. 14, 15. Expect a special fest brew, giant pretzels, and a “German sparkle” afterparty.
• Trillium, Sept. 21, 22. All four locations will have parties with merch and German food. There’s a late-night afterparty at Headroom Hi-Fi Lounge in the Seaport, too.
• Sam Adams Taproom, Sept. 20, 21, 22. It’ll be a classic downtown throwdown with nonstop live music. Grab early tickets for free Oktoberfest swag!
• Mighty Squirrel, Sept. 20, 21, 22. This bash includes an Oktoberfest 5k with TWO complimentary beers for entrants, plus a special prize.
• Night Shift, Sept. 28, 29. This beer-stravaganza takes place in Everett and Boston. Head to Everett for the chance to win $50 in the stein-holding contest.
• Harpoon Brewery, Oct. 4, 5. Arguably one of the biggest brewery Oktoberfest celebrations around Boston, Harpoon is coming to play with live oompah music, stein hoisting, food trucks, and … chicken dancing?
• Harvard Square and HONK! Parade, Oct 6. OK, this one isn’t a brewery. But it’s perhaps the most iconic celebration, with a huge parade, art, HONK! music, food, and beer.

Massachsuetts Mexican chain Tenoch will open a new branch in Harvard Square. By Jina H. Choe

By Mandy Zhang, Crimson Staff Writer

3 days ago

Massachusetts Mexican restaurant chain Tenoch has plans to open a new branch in Harvard Square at 83 Mount Auburn St in The Garage, according to the company’s website.

The new location fills a vacancy left by Las Palmas, which closed permanently in March less than five months after its grand opening. The space was also previously home to El Jefe’s Taqueria from 2015 to 2022 prior to the popular Mexican restaurant’s move into the Abbot Building in the Square.

Tenoch will join a robust lineup of Mexican food options near Harvard’s campus, including El Jefe’s, Felipe’s Taqueria, Achilito’s Taqueria, the Painted Burro, and Más Veggies Vegan Taqueria. Its menu will boast a wide selection of tortas, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and tacos.

Though Tenoch has earned a loyal following at six other restaurants in Greater Boston for its traditional Mexican flavors — and has dispatched a food truck periodically to the Science Center Plaza — its permanent arrival in the Square stirred mixed reactions among Cambridge locals and Harvard students.

With several established restaurants serving a variety of traditional Mexican dishes, some locals questioned whether there’s room for another player in the Square’s market.

Kelly Coveney, a local Cambridge resident, said there are “too many Mexican restaurants,” even before Tenoch’s opening.

“You can’t have more than two of any kind anywhere because it gets redundant,” she said, adding that too many of any kind of restaurant is “not good for business.”

John S. Kato, a Harvard Square resident since 1978, said Tenoch — a chain restaurant — is a symbol of a longer-running shift in Cambridge dining away from family-owned restaurants.

“A lot of the stores in Harvard Square now have become the result of franchise operations,” Kato said, adding that it “takes away from the local Cambridge culture of Harvard Square the way it used to be in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.”

Construction will resume on the Harvard Square Kiosk Plaza after years of delay, according to the Harvard Square Business Association. By Julian J. Giordano

By Eunice S. Chae, Crimson Staff Writer

3 days ago

Construction is slated to resume on the Harvard Square Kiosk Plaza with an eye toward completing the project by 2026, the Harvard Square Business Association announced on Thursday.

The renovation project has been in the works for nearly a decade, but the construction was delayed by a variety of factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain issues, according to HSBA Executive Director Denise Jillson.

HSBA announced in an email that the project will go through eight phases before it is completed in 2026. The update comes after a years-long delay in the project, with the latest update on the city’s website being from mid-2022.

Jillson said in an interview that several recent incidents — such as the falling debris in Harvard Square’s MBTA station — also likely contributed to the project’s delay.

“It was just really clear that the MBTA wanted to make sure that everything was solid before construction began upstairs, overhead with the plaza,” Jillson said. “Because from the sidewalk below, there’s just — literally, in some cases — just a couple feet before you hit the top of the tunnel.”

The renovation will start with Phase 8, due to delays involving minor water pipe issues with the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority.

“Luckily, they’re moving forward with Phase 8, because all of the requirements around that particular phase are in a position for us to move forward,” Jillson said.

Jillson also discussed some of the planned changes, including improving accessibility of the overall space.

“I think probably the one thing that will please everybody is that the plaza will be ADA compliant, and right now it’s not,” she said. “So it’s very difficult for people with disabilities to maneuver through the plaza.”

“The Song is Still Being Written” about the Cambridge folk scene and Club Passim opens Sept. 12 in Boston.

By Lauren Daley
September 12, 2024

Folk music, Barry Schneier wants you to know, is not dead. 

“It’s well alive. Certainly in the Boston and Cambridge area,” Schneier tells me in a recent phone interview from his Plymouth home.

The title of his new photography book — and accompanying exhibit at Boston’s Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame opening Sept. 12 — says it all: “The Song is Still Being Written: The Folk Music Portrait Project.” 

That song is not just by older white guys, Schneier, 74, points out: “A lot of people have this impression that folk music is old white guys with guitars. It’s not,” he said. “All music is folk music.” 

A popular New York-based gourmet cookie chain is preparing to open two new locations in Massachusetts.

Chip City will be opening its third Massachusetts location in Harvard Square in Cambridge and its fourth location on Newbury Street.

The cookie chain’s menu rotates more than forty unique flavors yearly such as Peanut Butter & Jelly, the Everything Cookie, Oatmeal Apple Pie, Blueberry Cheesecake, S’Mores, Lemon Berry, and the Cannoli Cookie.

The menu also changes each week to offer classic flavors, seasonal varieties and always offers dairy-free options.

This year the chain successfully rolled out imaginative desserts such as the Chocolate Cupcake Cookie, Frootie Crunch, and most recently, debuted their Thin Chips and Chip Crookies.

The Harvard Square location will open on September 13th and the Newbury Street location will open its doors on September 27. The first 100 customers will receive a free cookie.

September 09, 2024

• Cristela Guerra

ArrowFest organizers are leaning into chaos and whimsy. Over the next week in Cambridge, audiences will be introduced to more than 40 performances by hundreds of artists in Harvard Square’s newest venue, Arrow Street Arts, the former site of the Oberon.

The inaugural festival offers daily opportunities to experience music stylings, a dance showcase, lunchtime concerts, and interactive performances for a spectrum of ages, including an interactive show for babies called “Whipped Up!” by Soap & Rope Theatre Company.

It follows a server at a 1950’s-style diner trying their very best to please their tiny customers and caregivers. It previously had a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August last year.

“It’s been such a joy to be in that space, to watch it come together and, and take a step back and then come 40 steps forward,” said Georgia Lyman, executive producer for theater ensemble Liars and Believers and the lead curator for the festival. “I consider our role to support the artists in their vision and to push them to go even further.”

Lyman said she feels there aren’t many places asking artists, “What do you want to do?” And then having the vision, funding and willingness to take that risk.

“So often I feel that art has to make safe choices in order to sell tickets,” she said.

The atmosphere has felt both exciting and chaotic as she’s spent so long looking at budgets and spreadsheets, schedules and contracts, to now finally see artists marvel at where they get to create. Among the artists is Mz Mo Phila, a media personality, born and raised in Dorchester. She will host and MC the festival’s grand finale the “Women of Boston” hip hop showcase on Sept. 15, which was co-curated with BAMS Fest, and will also feature Dutch Rebelle, Brandie Blaze, kei, Cakeswagg, and Jazzmyn RED with their own sets.

“Art is a universal language and I’m grateful for this festival to showcase the many facets of art, and having the freedom to showcase that art however they see fit,” Phila said. “That’s the biggest theme that I hear in all of this is inclusivity. We always find so many things that separate us and make us different. But there’s one thing that’s always going to bring us together. And that’s art.”

Lyman attributes this focus to Arrow Street Arts founder and president David Altshuler who brought that sense of openness and edginess into the space. Altshuler said the festival was designed to be improvisational — in other words — expect the unexpected. It opened Sept. 5 with a ribbon cutting and an experimental and immersive show by Liars and Believers called, “Don’t Open This,” which is a spectacle of aerials, masks, music, puppets, and dance.

He said Arrow Street came out of a core belief that art builds community and community can build belonging. The new space has been renovated and expanded to change according to the needs of the productions.

“These days you need your audience to be more than just somebody who shows up in a seat,” Altshuler said. “They like to feel a part of what’s going on in the performance.”
The festival runs through September 15.