Search

A summary of the many ways that parks and open space can be activated through programming and design.

Join the Cambridge Public Library in celebrating Pride Month by welcoming Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things, With Teeth, and—published just this past March—STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE. After a reading from her work, Arnett will be joined in conversation by Jill McDonough, author of five books of poetry including American Treasure and Here All Night. Called "a perversely funny novel about family, ambition, and desire" (Shelf Awareness), STOP ME IF YOU'VE HEARD THIS ONE follows a professional clown, Cherry Hendricks, as she tries to stay true to her needs as a person as well as an artist. This is a hybrid event and registration is required. This event is cosponsored by the Cambridge Public Library Foundation.

Join us for a conversation about community, resilience, and activism in the Latinx community with Gladys Vega, the Executive Director of La Collaborativa in Chelsea. Gladys Vega is a groundbreaking community organizer and advocate, working relentlessly and fearlessly to ensure the Latinx immigrant community has a voice in determining how it’s needs and concerns are addressed. She believes that empowerment of the individual leads to empowerment of the community and that social action is the vehicle an empowered community can use to achieve its goals. Gladys is the architect of nearly all of La Colaborativa’s programs, initiatives, and community organizing campaigns. Her leadership has resulted in expanded rights for immigrants, low-income families, tenants, workers, youths, and people of color across Massachusetts.

Using 30 languages represented in Cambridge, the new Welcome poster states, “You are welcome here,” and was woven together in a quilt-like design to represent the City’s rich cultural diversity. It also contains text to remind community members of their right to receive services and information in their preferred language, regardless of their immigration status. We encourage you to display this poster in a public-facing area of your department, like a reception desk. The poster is intended to convey solidarity with our immigrant community members visually. It can also be used as a tool for visitors to indicate the language they prefer to communicate in, which will help City staff coordinate appropriate interpretation or translation follow up.

Join the Cambridge Public Library in welcoming Rachel Slade, author of Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (And How It Got That Way)—as well as the national bestseller, Into the Raging Sea—for the latest installment of the Our Path Forward Lecture Series. Slade's book, which follows a young couple in Maine trying to kickstart a lost industry, was named a Publishers Weekly "Top 10 Pick in Business and Economics." Cosmopolitan called Making It in America an "enlightening look at the history of manufacturing in America and how we got to where we are today." After the lecture, Slade will sit in conversation with Janelle Nanos, a business enterprise reporter at The Boston Globe and a finalist for a 2023 Pulitzer Prize, after which she will answer questions from the audience. Registration is required.

34 artists and organizations are being awarded $112,461 in Local Cultural Council Grant funding by Cambridge Arts and the City of Cambridge. Funded projects include a comics camp for foster children, a hip-hop dance class for seniors, a celebration of the history of Black American music, a poetry writing program pairing teens with older adults, an elementary school playwriting project addressing the indigenous history and ecosystem of the Charles River, performances of short plays by short plays by Asian Americans, a documentary about the late Cambridge artist Peter Valentine, and a documentary about The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub.

CPD's Secret Santa for Seniors Gift Drive is Back for Its 19th Year. This program relies solely on generous donations from Cambridge businesses, residents, community members, and CPD employees. Gift bags are organized and distributed to seniors throughout the city on the days leading up to Christmas to remind them that they are not forgotten. The program is a great way to support Local Businesses and Seniors This Holiday Season. Gifts can be dropped off 24/7 at drop boxes in the first-floor main lobby of the Robert W. Healy Public Safety Facility at 125 Sixth Street in Cambridge through Monday, December 19th. For more information, please contact Kessen Green at (617) 349-6009 or email kgreen@cambridgepolice.org.

To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series. Explore how Americans have remembered and forgotten Washington’s involvement with slavery over the past 250 years. Three historians who work at the intersection of scholarship and public history will shed new light on our founding contradictions: Kelli Racine Barnes, ACE Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow and historian of 18th- and 19th-century U.S. history John Garrison Marks, author of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory (forthcoming April 7, 2026) and Vice President of Research and Engagement at the American Association for State and Local History Kyera Singleton, Executive Director of the Royall House & Slave Quarters and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tufts University Center for the Humanities This event will conclude with a book signing by John Garrison Marks. Copies of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory will be available to purchase.

In anticipation of the extremely cold weather this weekend, the City of Cambridge is expanding capacity at shelters and offering important safety tips. The Winter Warming Center, located in the basement of 806 Massachusetts Ave. will be open on Saturday, Feb. 4. Libraries will also be open for regular hours over the weekend. Limit outdoor time for the whole family, including pets. If you go outside, dress in layers and cover exposed skin. Wear a hat and mittens (not gloves). Cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs. When outside, stay active to maintain body heat and take frequent breaks from the cold.

This month's book: The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson Audience: Adults who enjoy reading true crime. How to get the print book: Copies of the print book are set aside at the Main Library. Visit the Main Library Q&A Desk at 449 Broadway during service hours and a staff member can help you check out a copy. How to get the e-book or digital audiobook: This month’s book is available as an e-book and digital audiobook through the Libby app. How to register: Click the registration link below to register. We'll meet in the Rossi Room on the first floor of the Main Library. For more information, contact Amie at alemire@cambridgema.gov.