EVENTS

UPDATE: We’re moving our Celebration of Walk/Ride Day Eve to our rain date, Friday, July 28. Sorry to change things, but we don’t want you sitting in the wet. Tomorrow should be beautiful! See you at the park!

Thanks SO MUCH to our lead sponsor, the Sanofi Genzyme, and to funders MIT, Kimco, Forest City and the Charles River Conservancy, for supporting our 2017 summer programs.

The pool opens Saturday, June 24! This year’s pool hours will be 11:15 to 6:45pm. DCR will be offering FREE swim lessons. Register at the pool July 3 @ 10am, July 17@ 10am & July 31 @ 10am. Kids should arrive in their suits, ready to take a swim test! Lessons are for ages 3 and up. (But if there is demand for a parent/toddler class DCR may add one.) Classes are Monday through Friday for two weeks. The 30 minute lessons will be held between 9:30 and 11am.  

Confirmation: The pool will be open even with the spray deck construction happening just beside it.

How to Get to the Park: Magazine Beach Park is at the foot of Magazine Street, at 668 Memorial Drive, along the Charles River in Cambridge, MA. It is a 10-15 minute walk from the T at Central Square (red line) or Boston University, Central Station (green line, B). The 47 bus also has stops nearby. There is some parking–beside the BU bridge, at the foot of Magazine Street, and beside the Riverside Boat Club–but these lots are often full. Walking, biking or taking the T to the park are your best options!

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*Invasive Removal at Magazine Beach–Friday June 23, 9am-12noon. Click here to sign up to help with Phragmite and other invasive removal at the park (not just for June 23 but other times, too). This is part of a larger effort, and CRWA’s F&W grant, to improve the Charles River watershed at Magazine Beach and engage and educate the public in the process. We need your help!

Ongoing:

[Note: In case of rain, ongoing programs are cancelled.]

Mondays, 10am, June 26 & July 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31:

*Stories and Song —Starting June 26, join us each Monday morning at 10am for children’s stories and song led by the passionate staff of the Central Sq. Branch of the Cambridge Public Library.

Saturdays, 9am, July 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 & August 5:

*Morning Yoga–Calling all yogis! This is the way to start your summer off right. Join us on Saturday, July 1st, for yoga under the trees with the renowned Jade Sylvan! Weekly sessions continue throughout the summer– all experience levels welcome! 7.15.17 update: Yoga is on. Looks like a little rain at 7am, but then just clear. Enjoy!

 Zumba: Tuesdays, 6pm, June 27, July 11, 18, & 25 & August 1 & 8:

*Zumba–Starting June 27, head down to the park on Tuesday evenings at 6pm for an enjoyable yet challenging Zumba class with licensed instructor Janice Nieman. Co-sponsored by Cambridge YMCA. 7.11.17: Zumba is ON!

Tuesdays, 10am, July 11, 18 & 25 & August 1:

*Nature Detectives: Preschool Discovery– Join educators from Mass Audubon Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary and discover life at Magazine Beach Park! Come listen to a story, do an activity and search for birds, bugs and blooms along the parkland.  You’ll be surprised to discover some of the wildlife we find. For children ages 3-6, adult accompaniment required. Max: 30 children.

7.26.17 Update: Nature Detectives is ON. See you at the park.

Wednesdays, July 5, 12, 19, 26 & August 2 & 9 (Preschoolers: 10am, Teens: 11:30am): 

*Navigation Games–Learn how to orienteer: read maps, navigate and work as a team to find checkpoints around the park. Co-sponsored by Navigation Games & Cambridge Sports Union.

Special Events:

Sunday, July 9 & Saturday, July 29, 11am-2pm:

*Sketching in the Park–Head down to the park for a little sketching. Bring your own art supplies or use ones here. All ages/experience levels welcome! Co-sponsored by Sketch Boston.

Wednesday, July 12, 10am (Rain Location: Morse School):

*Yellow Bird Chase: Family Theater–Liars & Believers Theater presents: Yellow Bird Chase, an adventure of masks, puppets, live music, and gibberish. Accessible to deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

Thursday, July 20, 10am (Rain Location: Morse School):

*Clown Fun–Juggling, magic, unicycle tricks, balloon sculpture, and a host of other fun surprises starring the oh-so-silly Davey the Clown. Co-sponsored by Cambridge Community Schools.

Thursday July 27, 6-8pm (Rain Date: Friday, July 28):

UPDATE: We’re moving to our rain date, Friday, July 28. Sorry to change things, but we don’t want you sitting in the wet. Tomorrow should be beautiful! See you at the park!

*Walk/Ride Day Eve Celebration–Music, commuter stories, and bicycle decorating to celebrate the community’s commitment to a greener tomorrow.

Boston-based band Trusting Fate will serenade us with familiar and original tunes about biking, walking, bus and otherwise “green” transport, combining elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, roots and blues.  Katie Liesener from Massmouth (Boston area story-telling organization similiar to the national “Moth”) will host commuters sharing their stories. (Have a funny, gripping, or otherwise memorable personal story about urban biking, walking, or transit experience to share in 4-5 minutes? MassMouth can help you refine it. Contact Cathie Zusy at cathzusy@gmail.com.)

Kids welcome! Gallery 263 will host a bicycle decorating table, so bring your bikes. And watch big animal puppets made by the Cambridge Wildlife Puppetry Project. Bring a picnic. Ice cream truck!

Co-sponsored by Green Streets Initiative, Gallery 263, Massmouth & the Cambridge Wildlife Puppetry Project

Sunday, August 6, 5:30-7:30pm (Rain Date: Sunday, August 13):

*Traditional Irish Session–All Irish instrumentalists, singers, dancers, and enthusiasts are welcome! Hosting the session will be Joey Abarta (Uilean Pipes), Tina Lech (fiddle) and Ted Davis (bango/guitar). Jackie O’Riley and her step-dancing students will join us. Come watch and join in! Bring a picnic. Ice cream truck! Co- sponsored by The Druid, Inman Sq.

Monday, August 14, 10am (Rain Location: Morse School):

Magic!–Join us for enthralling magic from the popular John Bonaparte. Oos and Ahs included. Co-sponsored by Cambridge Community Schools.

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*MassDOT’s Presentation to Cambridge about I-90–Thursday, April 13, 6:30-8:30pm, at the Morse School (40 Granite St.). Starting in 2019, MassDOT is slated to begin a 5-year, $460+ million construction project realigning the Mass Pike–right across from Magazine Beach. This project has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of Allston, Brighton and Cambridge residents. Come hear about the various plans being considered for I-90 and how they will impact Cambridge traffic, access, noise, views and the river environment during and after construction. Meeting organized by the Cambridge I-90 Committee. To see CCTV’s video of the meeting, click here.

*CNA Cambridge Community Meeting about I-90–Thursday, March 30, 7-9pm, at the Central Square Library (45 Pearl St.). Members of the I-90 Task Force, which has met since 2014, will present the major turnpike options (elevated and at grade), river and parkland issues, and other transportation issues, including West Station, the Grand Junction and connectivity. Speakers include representatives of A Better City, the Charles River Conservancy, Walk Boston, Charles River Watershed Association, Charles River Alliance, The People’s Pike, and Livable Streets. Led by Cambridge’s Task Force members Henrietta Davis and Bill Deignan and facilitated by Jack Wofford. For CCTV’s coverage of the event, click here. 

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*3rd Public Meeting about Phase II Design–Oct. 20, 2016. DCR staff and landscape architects will present their latest plans for the park. Come listen and share your thoughts. At the Morse School (40 Granite St.)  The presentation will be viewable after the meeting on DCR’s website at http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/public-outreach/public-meetings.  

If you have questions or concerns or wish to be added to an email list to receive DCR project-specific or general announcements, please email mass.parks@state.ma.us or call 617-626-4973. 

2nd Public Meeting About Phase II Landscape Design at Magazine Beach–Nov. 18, 2015

If you missed the meeting, you can see the presentation at http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/public-outreach/public-meetings.  

DCR Seeks a Tenant for the Magazine. DCR is seeking a tenant for the granite-block building that is the focal point for the park. To see responses to DCR’s Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) in the property, click here. Have an interest in the property? Contact: HCP.Requests@state.ma.us. Update: DCR may be looking for a tenant later this year. Bathrooms and lighting will be added to the interior this summer.

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Create Your Own Special Events at Magazine Beach

Magazine Beach is a DCR park. To learn how to organize your own special events at the park, click here. To schedule the playing fields, call 617-349-6238.