Magazine Beach

Boston Percussion Group

Come picnic to the music of the Boston Percussion Group this Friday, July 25th, 6-8pm! Traditional African music meets contemporary percussion ensemble repertoire in this eclectic program, including covers of popular hits from Jackson 5, ABBA, Chick Corea, Journey, Sufjan Stevens, and more!

The Boston Percussion Group (BPeG) is a versatile chamber group that challenges what “classical” music is with the use of marimbas, drums, cymbals, tin cans, cowbells, and more. The core musicians come from diverse backgrounds having performed with Sydney Symphony, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Bang On A Can, Sound Icon, and Zeltsman Marimba Festival. BPeG has presented concerts at The Boston Conservatory, College of the Holy Cross, Community Music Center of Boston, Boston Arts Festival, Circle The City, and the Outside The Box festival. BPeG also performed in Jordan Hall as a finalist in the 2012 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition. Event produced by Tori Cheah.

Free! Bring a picnic! Foodtrucks, too: Jamaica Mi Hungry and Snowy Joey Ice Cream. All 2014 programs at Magazine Beach are sponsored by Sanofi, the Charles River Conservancy and Knucklebones.

125  Savored Performance by Mariale Dance Fusion This Morning

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Mariale Dance Fusion performed newly choreographed pieces, including Spanish Harlem, Frozen, and A Bajo del Mar. Children and adults, too, delighted in the Latin dance program, which closed with a salsa lesson. Thank you to Cambridge Arts for bringing this Summer in the City performance to Magazine Beach.

Lovers of the Riv

These local Cantabrigians, CRLS graduates, were hanging out at the Riv today. They love the place and have been hanging out there “forever.”

Why? “It’s a cool place to come to hangout with friends, to talk and relax…”

So head to the Riv to hangout OR to do yoga, dance or to picnic in the park this coming week!

Yoga Instructor Carol Faulkner

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 19th @ 9am: Carol Faulkner will lead Saturday morning yoga. Meet on the park side of the pedestrian footbridge.Free, but donations are welcome. Bring your yoga mat and water, too. Once again, it will be gorgeous… Stop at the farmers’ market at the Morse School afterwards!

Tuesday, July 22nd @ 10am: Mariale Dance Fusion and Boston Dance Company perform and teach the Salsa and Cha Cha! Courtesy of Cambridge Arts. Free.

Friday, July 25th, 6-8pm: Boston Percussion Group performs. Free. Bring a picnic. Foodtrucks, too: Whole Foods, Jamaica Mi Hungry & Snoey Joey Ice Cream. In case of rain, this performance will be cancelled! For updates, check hear Friday afternoon.

And, remember, the pool is open daily, 11am-7pm, until August 24!

The Cromwell Cup went wonderfully this past weekend thanks to great competitors,volunteers,and our Cambridgeport neighbors who came out and watched the races. The racing went smoothly, despite a bit of a breeze, and we were grateful the rain held off! We had over 700 competitors race in 40 events throughout the day, with many a Cromwell Champion crowned including our own Riverside men’s open 8+, women’s open 8+ (and quite a few more golds for the home team)!

We also had a few superstar rowers compete at the regatta: Gevvie Stone, the USA women’s single sculler, and the lightweight men’s quad (who are training at Riverside). These five athletes will be representing the USA at the World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam this August. More details to come on their performance abroad!

Mark your calendars for October 18-19 to celebrate the 50th racing of the Head of The Charles Regatta!

–from Amanda Milad, Riverside Boat Club

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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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