By Simone Kramer
Local businesses, organizations, food vendors and musicians assembled on Jamaica Plain’s Centre Street last week in celebration of Boston’s last Open Street festival of the season.
The city closed Centre Street from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. between Jackson Square and Soldier’s Monument, according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office.
The Open Street program began with three neighborhoods in 2022, six years after Open Newbury in 2016, the region’s first neighborhood event. This year’s series began in July with events in Roxbury, followed by Hyde Park, Dorchester and Mattapan before concluding in Jamaica Plain.
In all, the Open Streets event has attracted more than 30,000 people to various neighborhoods, according to Ginger Brown, executive director of JP Centre/South Main Streets.
Franklin Park Defenders, a community action group, used the street festival to raise awareness about its opposition to the city’s proposed sports complex at White Stadium.-*
“These are the opportunities we have to meet people [and] talk to people,” said Melissa Hamel, a volunteer with the Franklin Park Defenders, an organization that lobbies city officials to restore White Stadium as a public space, rather than proceed with a for-profit establishment.
Michelle Davis, a Franklin Park Defenders volunteer who grew up in the area, said the city neglects Franklin Park because it is surrounded by minority communities.
“You would never privatize the Boston Common,” Davis said.
Organizers divided the festival into three zones separated by intersections, which allowed traffic to pass through. Zone 1 stretched from Jackson Square to Moraine/Boylston Street, Zone 2 extended to Green Street, and Zone 3 concluded at Soldier’s Monument, according to a map provided by the city.
The Stop & Shop near the Jackson Square MBTA station offered free fruit, water and granola bars.
“We’re doing everything we can,” said Cindy Sailer, the store’s community relations specialist, responding to recent cuts to the federal food stamp program.
Brown said Open Streets enriches Jamaica Plain’s community spirit, along with year-round events such as dance classes, farmers markets and other community events. According to Niche, a website that profiles neighborhoods and schools, Jamaica Plain is the third best neighborhood to raise a family in Boston.
Northeastern graduate students Krithika Krishnamurkhy and Tanvi Kandalla are new members of the Jamaica Plain community who visited Open Street for the first time last week. They said it helped acclimate them to the neighborhood.
“It was nice to go and sort of interact with a bunch of people who live here and meet them,” said Kandalla, who bought chicken wings from Cambridge Smoke, which, according to Instagram @cambridgesmoke, specializes in smoked meats, barbecue, Southern and Haitian cuisines.
Replenish Scrubs owner Shaneen Harris offered visitors samples of organic body scrubs. Harris began creating the products in 2018. Her products include lavender vanilla, peppermint tea tree and sweet orange lemon scents, according to @replenish_scrubs on Instagram.
“You create a buzz,” said Harris, describing Open Streets’ benefit to businesses.
Families were able to use sidewalk chalk, take swings in batting nets set up by the Boston Red Sox, and participate in live painting classes combined with music from At Peace Arts.
Brown said the Open Street event served its purpose by bringing people together.
“What tends to happen is we isolate ourselves to the neighborhood we live in,” she said, “so if folks walk a bit further, they could discover something new.”
Simone Kramer is a student in the Boston University Journalism program. This story is a partnership between Jamaica Plain Gazette and the Boston University Journalism program.