It was a perfect day for Mass Audubon’s last 2023 Nature in the City Festival. There was live music, scary Halloween decorations, nature and art activities, and a corn snake.
More great programs are just ahead: A River Dragon Art Showcase, Community Open Mic, Nature Detectives and a Sound Bowl Vibe Session. For more info, click here.
Many were hanging out at the park and just soaking in the last warm rays of summer (in late October!). And there was a wedding. Congrats to the happy couple!
Also this past week: The Morse School Marathon, with hundreds of energetic kids running around the park, many times…
Despite the wet weather, the Head of the Charles goes on, with more than 11,000 rowers from around the world competing! Magazine Beach is a great place to watch the single and double sculls launch. Give a special shout out to Magazine Beach’s own Riverside Boat Club rowers— sporting blue and white striped jerseys—and to the Ukrainian team, in blue and yellow! Races start at 7:45am and last until about 4:30pm.
Mass Audubon’s nature center WILL BE OPEN for drop-in activities (and shelter and bathrooms), 12noon-5pm.
For over fifty years, Nellie has been bringing her family to the park to close the day and celebrate important occasions. Tonight, about 30 members of her family were there to honor her birthday. It was a love fest. Gifts: a bouquet of flowers, a roll of dollars—81 of them, I think—and many rolls of toilet paper. (A desired, practical gift.)
Coming this week at the park:
Evening Yoga, Tuesday, September 5, 5:30-6:30pm
A Pollinator Garden Planning Workshop, Saturday, Sept. 9, 3:30-5pm
Container Gardening for Beginners, Saturday, Sept. 10, 1-3pm
THE SPRAY DECK IS STILL OPEN!
Apparently, Saturday’s Poetry program was spectacular! Thanks to Scott Ruescher for organizing it. More to come.
Gorgeous day at the park today with a Nature in the City Festival featuring Japanese storyteller Yumi Izuyama, music by Saklamara and Bachata dance. And it’s still happening…
Mass Audubon’s September program has just come out. See events here. Coming this fall: two more festivals, poetry, yoga, a pollinator garden planting workshop, more Bachata and so much more.
Starting September 2, the Nature Center will be open for drop-in activities Saturday and Sundays only, from 12noon-5pm.
8.23.23 Update: Due to Friday’s rain forecast, Mass Audubon’s Nature in the City Festival has been moved to THIS Sunday, 8.27, 3-6pm. Bachata Dance will follow, courtesy of Magazine Beach Partners.
The last swim of the summer is today at Magazine Beach. Head down now. The pool closes at 6:45pm. Many thanks to DCR and to Mass Audubon for an amazing season at the park!
But there’s more to come:
The spraydeck will remain open and, in the next weeks, there’s Mindfulness, Storytime, Nature Detectives, Sound Bowl Vibe Session, another Nature in the City Festival, Bachata and so much more! Check here or here for updates.
And don’t forget that Mass Audubon’s Urban Nature Center at the Powder Magazine will remain open with free drop-in activities (and bathrooms!) Thursday-Monday, 12-7pm, until Sept. 1. After then, it will be open Saturday and Sundays only, 12noon-5pm, until November 30.
UPDATE! The pool will now close Sunday, August 20th, so we’ve got two more weeks of swimming.
So many friends and families enjoying the park today….
This week at the park:
Preschool Storytime Monday, August 7, 10-10:30am
Enjoy a nature-based story read by the librarians of the Central Square Branch in Cambridge.
Preschool Nature Detectives Thursday, August 10, 10-11am
From the river to robins and cattails to katydids, we will explore different aspects of the park each week to discover all the hidden mysteries around us.
Drop by the Powder Magazine for Mass Audubon’s free drop-in activities (and bathrooms!) Thursday-Monday, 12-7pm. For more information about Mass Audubon’s programs, click here.
Yesterday, we celebrated the overall improving report card for the cleanliness of the Charles, Mystic and Neponset Rivers.
51 years ago, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, the landmark legislation that called for all waterways in America to be fishable and swimmable by 1983.
We’re not there yet, but we’re seeing improvement. In 2022, sections of the Charles, Mystic and Neponset rivers received A and B grades. The river at Magazine Beach received a B, however, down from a B+ in 2021 and 2020 and an A- in 2019, but up from a D in 1996!
Much of the bacterial contamination comes from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), when waste water and storm water mix. For more information about The Charles River Initiative of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), click here.
Also keeping us from swimming in the river are heavy metals and PCBs in the sediment—waste from industry along the river long ago.
May we one day be bathing once again at Magazine Beach, once the Charles River’s most popular swimming beach!
The park was in full swing last night with Bachata dance, sponsored by Magazine Beach Partners. Many were picnicking there, including 4 generations of the Green/Dedmon family who gather there regularly all summer long. They were celebrating a birthday and playing croquet.
Great stuff just ahead this week:
Wed., 7am, Yoga
Thurs., 10am, (Preschool) Nature Detectives
Thurs., 3-5pm, Blueprinting Along the Charles. Register here. (Just one slot still open!)
Thurs., 7pm, Climate Change Films
Fri., 5-8pm, Nature in the City Festival
All programs are free. And the pool, spray deck and nature center are open. For more information, see: https://magazinebeach.org/events/. Remember story hour at the park is Mondays @ 10am. And most days are great for picnicking with the cool river breeze and large shade trees!
UPDATE: 7.18.23: Tomorrow’s Wed. morning yoga class is cancelled! Sorry! We’ll add another class Wed., August 2 @ 7am in it’s place. FREE!
Update 7.8.23: The pool is fixed. Head to the park for a swim!
Just heard from DCR: The pool was down yesterday for a mechanical repair and contractor is still working there now. Additional parts and a new pump were needed and we hope to have the pool open later today.
The best means to keep up to speed on the pool operation and all DCR Parks is the new parks alert system:
Just stopped by at the park and I can confirm that this is true. The pool is CLOSED, but the spraydeck is OPEN and so is Mass Audubon’s Urban Nature Center (and its bathrooms)! Stop by: its 10 degrees cooler at the park, with the river breeze and those big old shade trees… Thank goodness for Magazine Beach!
7.8.23 Update: The Pool is Closed, but May Open Later Today
Just heard from DCR: The pool was down yesterday for a mechanical repair and contractor is still working there now. Additional parts and a new pump were needed and we hope to have the pool open later today.
The best means to keep up to speed on the pool operation and all DCR Parks is the new parks alert system:
Magazine Beach 