By Aislyn Fredsall and Stephanie Eisemann
Saturday, June 7, was a great day for Boston. Not only was it the first day that truly felt like summer, but there were plenty of fun events around the city to keep everyone occupied while they soaked in the sunlight.
City-Wide Friends Book Sale at the Boston Public Library
Book lovers, rejoice! The Boston Public Library offers a bi-monthly book sale to satisfy all of your literary cravings without hurting your wallet. With prices that even a college student can afford, the sale features hundreds of books and even movies, CDs and vintage records.
“Books are sort of treasures,” said Melissa Smith, a visitor from Connecticut who stumbled upon the book sale. “You can read them and then pass them on to somebody else.”
That type of thinking is exactly the philosophy behind the book sale, as most of the items are used. Run by the City-Wide Friends of the Boston Public Library, the book sale is mostly comprised of books that would otherwise be thrown away.
“A majority of the books come from the Boston Public Library,” Brandon Abbs, President of the City-Wide Friends said in an e-mail to the News. “Each week books are discarded from the collection and we add some of these to our inventory. Other books come from unsolicited donations.”
The City-Wide Friends then uses the money from the sales to help pay for different things in the library.
“The library gives us a wish-list of things that they can’t necessarily buy with their budget,” said Julie Streeter, a newly elected board member of the City-Wide Friends. “We buy things like… a new microphone machine for the newspaper department, we bought AV equipment for one of the meeting rooms, the museum passes are all bought by the City-Wide Friends and… the computer system to check them in and out, that kind of thing. It’s an extras type of thing.”
While you may not find the latest bestseller at this book sale, there is still plenty to find, from once popular stories, such as “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold, to little known novels that could become new favorites if given a chance. If fiction is not your cup of tea, the book sale also includes many different genres of nonfiction, such as biographies and Asian studies books. When asked about what genre seemed to be the most popular, Streeter could not pinpoint a clear favorite but added, “we never have very many science books and we always have people coming in looking for them.”
A book sale in the basement of the Boston Public Library may not seem like the obvious way to spend a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon, but it is the choice that many people made not only on this day, but many days before.
“There’s usually a stampede of people coming down the stairs at ten o’clock in the morning and then it’s that busy all day,” explained Streeter.
She was not exaggerating; no matter where you looked there were people happily hunched over stacks of books about to be purchased. Zack Mooney, a junior Theater Education major at Emerson College, was one such person, proudly declaring, “I got like 6 books!”
While not everyone will want to participate in the heavy lifting of buying armfuls of books, there truly is something for everyone at this book sale. Whether you’re looking for a light read or a book about the history of some bygone era, there are some great books that are begging to be bought, and with prices like $1 for paperbacks and $2 for hardcovers, it is nearly impossible not to oblige.
The City-Wide Friends Book Sales occur on the first Saturday of every other month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the next book sale on August 2. Those interested in helping with the sale can send an email to [email protected].
Somerville Food Truck Festival
Next was the Somerville Food Truck Festival. After a T ride out of the city and a dash across the highway, the festival came into view. Unfortunately, it soon became evident that it was being held on the hot asphalt of an outlet mall parking lot with no seating or shade.However, the power of appetite always wins and after a five-dollar entry fee the feast began.
The 22 truck line-up included Bon Me, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, Sweet Tomatoes, Frozen Hoagies, and Cameo Macaron, Boston’s first French macaron food truck, which was proudly sporting a Northeastern sticker.
“We go out of our way to bring the ‘best of the best’ to our festivals,” said Janet Prensky, a media representative for Food Truck Festivals of New England. “We try to have a great variety. So you would find wood-grilled pizza, Asian noodles, goat cheese sandwiches, sirloin sliders, grilled cheese and bacon, barbeque ribs, empanadas, homemade ice cream sandwiches, whoopie pies, you name it!”
For the 21+ crowd they also offered beer and wine. The Somerville festival was the first of Food Truck Festivals of New England’s six-festival collection, which began in 2011 and includes over 250 trucks.
“We wanted to do a ‘new’ event for one of our clients,” Presky said. “We had heard about food trucks….they were all the rage at the time in LA and we wondered if we could find some in New England and hold a small festival at The Pinehills. We found 8 trucks. We didn’t know how many people to expect; we told the trucks to prepare for 1,000 people. 4,000 people showed up! We knew we were onto something and Food Truck Festivals of New England was born.”
An incredible amount of people turned up to enjoy some of those vendors and their cuisin. The crowds, however, led to some disappointed attendees.
Chi Vmlien, a Quincy resident said, “I feel like no one’s even getting the food because they’re too slow. Like they cook way too slow, the lines are really long. They should limit the people, you know, or make you buy the tickets beforehand…This is expected, at one o’clock everyone’s just going to be begging for food.”
Hood Cream, the title sponsor of the new installment of the food truck festival series, offered some distractions with a photo booth and free coffee, and there was even a face-painting station for families. Somerville residents Crystle Petrie and Jamie Strand, with baby girl in tow, enjoyed “awesome” cuisine from the Bacon Food Truck and Fugu. First time food truck festival attendees agreed, however, that the long lines and the food trucks being forbidden from selling beverages were downsides to the overall event.
It may not have received the Gordon Ramsey stamp of approval, but after an hour and a delicious salted caramel treat courtesy of The Whoo(pie) Wagon, the entrance line was still massive and the festival kept on truckin’.
Coolidge Corner Arts Festival
There was a decidedly relaxed atmosphere at the Coolidge Corner Arts Festival. Whether it was the trees providing a much-needed respite from the blistering sun, or the general friendliness of the almost 70 artists displaying and selling their work, the festival was extremely welcoming and pleasant.
Located at the Devotion School grounds in Brookline, the festival was well-worth the ride on the Green Line that it took to get there if only to see the lovely, handcrafted work of the artists. However, everyone was doing much more than just looking.
“My credit cards hurt!” exclaimed Missy, a festival attendee. “I really enjoy jewelry and glass,” she said, displaying the bags that held her recent purchases.
Jewelry and glass were only two of the many crafts displayed at the festival, in addition to hand-carved wooden bowls, paintings, handmade clothing, mixed media pieces, and so much more. One of the tents that particularly stood out, was the tent of Mar-Ke Baskets. Operated by husband and wife duo Keith and Margaret Boling, the tent of Mar-Ke Baskets was practically overflowing with beautiful, colorful baskets that were allhandcrafted.
“My husband does all the weaving,” Margaret said. “I do all the business part of it. I do all the banking, I do the set up, I do purchasing, but I don’t do any weaving.”
Even with just a quick glance at the baskets, it was clear that Keith and Margaret were very passionate about their work.
“It’s amazing how you feel when you create something,” said Keith. “And that’s what I’m doing: I’m creating.”
The passion that Keith has for basket-weaving may be in part due to the fact that it helped him recover after a car accident that resulted in over ten surgeries.
“That’s how I started,” he said. “I needed something to do and someone kept bugging [Margaret] to weave, and… she didn’t want anything to do with it, and I started it and I absolutely loved it.”
“It’s almost like a way of life,” Margaret said. “We sell out of our home, we don’t have a store but it is set up in the basement… After being in it 20years that’s the best part: you have followers, people call and say ‘I’d like to come get a basket.’”
In addition to weaving and selling the baskets, Keith also gives weaving lessons. Baskets have truly become a part of Keith and Margaret’s lives, having sold their baskets at festivals for two decades. These years of experience have given them expert knowledge of the festivals in the area, and they had nothing but good things to say about The Coolidge Corner Arts Festival in particular.
“They’re very cooperative, they try to meet your requests,” Margaret said. “They’re very kind, there are people here helping you set up, take down, there’s coverage if you want to go get something to eat. It’s a well-run fair.”
The Coolidge Corner Arts festival was not the most exciting event of the day, but it was definitely one of the most visually appealing. Yes, the actual crafts on display were nice, but the true beauty came from the concept that is at the heart of the festival: artists being able to share the work of their soul with others.
Cambridge Arts River Festival
The 35th Anniversary Cambridge Arts River Festival was the biggest and brightest of the festivals. From live entertainment to free yogurt, henna tattoos and street performing puppets, the event truly celebrated the different cultures and interests that form the community.
Five separate stages were set up to captivate audiences of all ages. The Energize Stage featured indie, rock and alternative performers plus the ever-popular beer garden, while the Create Stage focused more on jazz, R&B and World music. There were also the Engage Dance Stage complete with belly dancers; the Inspire stage for theatrical performances featuring Improv Boston and a costume photo call station; and, lastly, the Imagine Children’s Stage.
The festival was held from noon to 6 p.m. in the Central Square Cultural District along Massachusetts Avenue from Prospect to Sydney Streets. Though the fair has been held along the banks of the Charles River since it began in 1977, the official press release cited that construction and conflicting events held by their sponsor Harvard University caused a temporary diversion from the traditional site.
“Of course it’s nicer to be right on the water…but actually that stretch on Sydney Street, there’s a lot of park there along the street and it is pretty nice over there,” said Bruce Marcus, frequent festival performer in the Story Stream tent with the massmouth Organization.
After his contribution to the entertainment for the evening, he stayed to enjoy the free community gathering with his young daughter.
“I like walking around and meeting [attendees]. Cambridge has some very unique individuals and we got a chance to hang out with Sidewalk Sam for a little while and chat with him and that was time well spent,” Marcus said of thechalk artist.
There was not only plenty to see, but also plenty to eat and buy. Sports merchandise, dream catchers, jewelry, woodworking and photography were all for sale. Many of the booths represented the attires, cuisine and art of different ethnicities and cultures making for a truly broad and intriguing selection. Between sand art and housewares, there was even a “Saori Weaving” tent, which allowed visitors to learn something new and weave their own bracelets.
The Cambridge Arts River Festival, despite having to relocate, was a huge success. A free, large and enjoyable community event with all the essentials for a great gathering, the annual occasion allows all sorts of people to come together, eat, play, relax and appreciate the many wonders Boston has to offer.
Photos by Loi Truong
