Magazine Beach

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Starting this Saturday, July 12, at 9am, we’ll offer yoga at the park for 6 Saturdays: July 12, 19 & 26 and Aug, 2, 9 & 16. Our instructors are Cambridgeport’s own Carol Faulkner, a certified Iyengar yoga teacher and Riverside Boat Club rower Monica Batkis-O’Donnell, MEd, LMHC, registered yoga and pilates teacher. About instructors, see: http://carolfaulkneryoga.com/ and www.monicayogapilates.com

Where? Cross the pedestrian footbridge at Magazine St. and Memorial Dr. and look for balloons to guide you to the location. Afterwards, stop by the Cambridgeport Farmers’ Market in the Morse School parking lot.

Bring a yoga mat and water. Free, but donations are welcome. For all levels.

In case of rain, classes will be cancelled. If the weather looks iffy, check this page for updates.

Today, the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) began roof repairs at the 1818 powder magazine at Magazine Beach Park, Cambridge! In 2014, this structure—the oldest on the Charles River Basin and the focal point for the park—will get a new roof, windows, doors, masonry re-pointing and security lighting. Stanley Roofing will do the initial roof work.  “This project will meet a long-felt need,” said Charles Sullivan, Executive Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission.

The granite-block building once stored gunpowder for ships in Boston Harbor. In 1899, the Olmsted Brothers converted it into a bathhouse for Charles River swimmers. How would it best serve us in 2015? As a concession? Meeting space? Performance venue?

The Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association and the City of Cambridge have partnered with DCR to make these improvements. Working together we are revitalizing Magazine Beach!

Thank you for your participation, contributions and advocacy!

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The Greene family won’t let Hurricane Arthur get in the way of picnicking in the park. They’re gathered there this evening, for an early 4th celebration, and the whole family will be there Saturday as well.

Thank you to DCR for the port-o-potties for July 4th! The pool will be open, 11m-7pm, if the weather permits!

The Greene, Dedmon and Gomes families have placed a new memorial to their lost loved ones in the cherry tree next to the Powder Magazine.

The Greene, Dedmon and Gomes family has been gathering in the park for over seventy years. Each summer they gather there to picnic, swim, barbecue and celebrate birthdays, memorials, holidays and regattas. According to Rae Dedmon, a family friend calls them “the river people.”

Why Magazine Beach?, I asked Rae.

“Because of the breeze, the river, the sun, the shade, the grass, the pool, the boats, the peace, the sunset….”

What should we fix first at the park?

“The wading pool, and then the picnic tables and benches. We need more trashcans and grills, too. “

Updated: 7.11.2104

Note: No lessons Monday, July 14th.

DCR is offering FREE swim lessons for children from ages 6 to 96 at the Magazine Beach pool starting Monday, July 7^th. Sign up NOW at the pool, itself. (You can’t register by phone or e-mail.) You can still join in and drop ins are welcome!

Children’s lessons are Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

Level 1: Introduction to Water Skills,  at 9:30am

Level 2: Fundamental Aquatic Skills,  at 10am

(Cancelled until enrollment: Level 3: Stroke Development, at 10:30am)

Adult lessons are Tuesday and Thursday at 9:30am.

The Veterans Memorial Swimming Pool at 719 Memorial Dr., Cambridge, MA 02139 (at Magazine Beach) is open daily June 28 – August 24, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

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Almost 100 neighbors and friends joined us Sunday night at our Benefit Party for Magazine Beach Park. Riverside’s powerful rowers removed their erg machines and transformed the second floor of their 1912 club into the social hall it was earlier in the century. Best Ever Chicken (parts) serenaded us from the original bandstand. A cool breeze blew through the club and the balcony, with its colorful hanging baskets of flowers, offered amazing views of the Charles River. Food and drink were superb.

Riverside Boat Club (RBC) historian Richard Garver shared a brief history of the club and Senator Anthony Petruccelli, DCR’s Director of External Partnerships Conrad Crawford, and Ex. Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission Charles Sullivan each shared a few words.

Here are quips of their speeches:

About the Riverside Boat Club: 

About the History of the Powder Magazine and Captain’s Island: 

About Senator Petruccelli’s efforts to make see improvements at the park: 

About DCR’s efforts at Magazine Beach: 

Each has been critical to moving this project forward. Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association President Bill August thanked and recognized City officials: Dennis Carlone, Tim Toomey, Nadeem Mazen, Fred Fantini and emeritus Minka van Beuzekom and Alice Turkel. Magazine Beach Committee Chair Cathie Zusy thanked Sanofi, lead sponsor for 2014 summer programs, and partners the Riverside Boat Club and Charles River Conservancy. Zusy also introduced and thanked party organizers Decia Goodwin and Brian Conway, and CNA board members Olivia Fiske, Jay Shetterly, Marge Amster, Colleen Clark, Leslie Greis and Bill August, who with Richard Garver of the RBC, Brian Conway, Decia Goodwin, Tom Scanlon and Tori Cheah, are leading park improvement efforts.

Many thanks to all who joined us and to the many others who made donations in-kind or in cash. TRILL Foods and Whole Foods—delicious treats, cheeses and veggies. Thank you. Rowing together, we are making Magazine Beach a nicer park!

Photographs courtesy of Michael Schaffer (above) and Julie O’Neil (below). Thanks also to Werner Grundl for his videos. For a fuller account of the evening, see

Mary Holbrow’s article for CCTV Neighborhood Media.

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Magazine Beach awaits. Why drive for hours when you can vacation right here? The FREE pool opens tomorrow, Saturday, June 28,11am-7pm; it’ll be open through August 24th. And there’s a cool breeze along the river…

And don’t forget our Benefit Party for Magazine Beach Park at the Riverside Boat Club Sunday, June 29th, 7-9pm. Tickets are $35 per person and tax deductible. Purchase them on Eventbrite or pay at the door. It’s going to be a beautiful evening on the river. Show your support for improvements to our local park and salute the sunset from this haven for Olympic rowers.  See you there!

Remember to purchase your tickets now for Sunday’s Benefit Party for Magazine Beach at the Riverside Boat Club! Gorgeous weather is predicted. You could be a raising your glass on the balcony as the sun sets over the Charles, savoring Jay Shetterly’s famous chicken wings, Whole Foods’ luscious cheeses, Trill’s delicious desserts, and more. And all to the tunes of (parts of ) Best Ever Chicken’s bluegrass. The Riverside Boat Club is usually filled with focused, committed, athletic and ambitious rowers working out as they prepare for competition. Sunday those strong rowers will be moving their erg rowing machines aside to make way for this community celebration and benefit for programming and improvements to our 15-acre riverside park. Please join us!

Benefit Party at the Riverside Boat Club, Sunday, July 29, 7-9pm, at 769 Memorial Drive (to the right of the swimming pool and across from Starbucks)

Tickets are $35 per person, and tax-deductible!

Please make checks payable to: Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Inc. Note: For Magazine Beach Revitalization.  Mail them to: Magazine Beach Committee, CNA, c/o Olivia Fiske, 131 Magazine St., Cambridge, MA 02139.

Or purchase tickets on Eventbrite. Questions? Contact Cathie at cathzusy@gmail.com.

Tickets will also be available at the door, but we’ll be able to plan better if we know in advance that you are coming.

At 15 acres, Magazine Beach Park is Cambridge’s second largest park. A DCR property, it needs a new playground, water feature for children, benches and a great lawn to replace sunken pavement. Please help us to make these improvements!

The CNA has organized a full program of free activities at the park this summer, including a Family Summer Kick-off, Saturday morning yoga, Friday night concert picnics, and more. Hope to see you at the beach this summer, Magazine Beach!

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Over 300 turned out at Magazine Beach Park last night for a perfect almost summer evening of picnicking, music, games and art. Neighbor Ken Field’s New Orleans Mardi Gras band the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble created a fun and funky ambience for picnickers as children delighted in Knucklebones’ very fun assortment of games and amusements. Whole Foods fed the crowd, first with their food truck, and then, later, with an unplanned feast—courtesy of the River Street store. Thank you, Whole Foods! Frosty’s provided ice cream. What could be better? To top it off, artists Ross Miller and friends marked the shoreline of Captain’s Island with little blue flags and artist Susan Israel marked, with stencilled fish, where the water may rise in 2050 and 2100. (Turn off your lights. Vacation at your local park. Let’s preserve our planet!)

Thank you to Tom Scanlon for playing a lead role in organizing and getting the word out about this event and to the many others who made it happen. This was the first of a full program of activities organized for Magazine Beach Park. This summer, come vacation at the beach, Magazine Beach!

Note: Our next event will be next Sunday, June 29^th, a benefit party to raise funds for programming in the park and park revitalization, at the Riverside Boat Club—the training grounds for many an Olympic rower. Please join us for wine, hors d’oeuvres, great conversation, river views, and live music! Tickets are $35 per person and tax deductible. Please make checks payable to: Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Inc. Note: For Magazine Beach Revitalization. Mail them to: Magazine Beach Committee, CNA, c/o Olivia Fiske, 131 Magazine St., Cambridge, MA 02139. Or purchase tickets on Eventbrite.

All of these events have been organized by the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Inc., with partners the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, the Charles River Conservancy, Riverside Boat Club, Cambridge Arts and the Cambridge Historical Commission. Our sponsors are Sanofi, Knucklebones and the Charles River Conservancy.

For a video of the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble performing at Magazine Beach click here.

Join us Friday, June 20, 5-8pm, for live music, children’s games organized by Knucklebones. and art installations that you help create! Bring a picnic and enjoy the almost longest day of the year. Music provided by the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, a costumed funk & street beat improvisational brass band based in Cambridgeport. Food trucks, too! This will be the first of a whole series of FREE programs at Magazine Beach this summer.

The Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, led by saxophonist Ken Field, performs a unique blend of original and traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras brass band music. The group’s colorful costumes and creative arrangements have delighted audiences from Maine to New Orleans, and this July they will be performing in Roswell, NM and Venice, Italy.

Knucklebones will inspire athletics for all ages…for the love of play!

 Art Installations, that you can contribute to: Rising Tides by the Energy Necklace Project, looking forwards and making the invisible visible by showing future flood levels due to sea level rise, storm floods and climate change today, 2050, 2100. . Marking the Shoreline by Cambridgeport’s own Ross Miller, looking back, at the early 1800s shoreline of Captain’s Island. Yes, Magazine Beach was once an island!

And Foodtrucks: Whole Foods and Frosty’s Ice Cream Truck

Organized by the Cambridgeport Neighborhood Association, Inc., with partners the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, the Charles River Conservancy, Riverside Boat Club, Cambridge Arts and the Cambridge Historical Commission.

Sponsored by Sanofi, Knucklebones and the Charles River Conservancy.

Note: In case of rain, this event will be cancelled. If it’s looking cloudy the day of the event, check here for weather updates.

Questions? Contact Cathie Zusy at cathzusy@gmail.com or 617-868-0489.

Location: Magazine Beach Park is along Memorial Drive, between the BU Bridge and Riverside Boat Club, and across from Micro Center and Trader Joe’s. It is at the foot of Magazine Street; there is a pedestrian bridge there to cross over to the park. It is a 15-minute walk down Magazine Street from the Central Square MBTA stop.