By Megan Jicha
Arts, intellect and culture congregated on Columbus Day throughout the Cultural District at the “Opening Our Doors!” festival, presented by the Fenway Alliance.
This collaboration of community and the arts showcased many different events over the course of the day for members of the community to enjoy. The event kicked off at 10 a.m. at Massachusetts College of Art with a fashion show, music and breakfast.
From there, people had the opportunity to attend various events, such as meeting Clifford the Big Red Dog at Barnes ‘ Noble on Huntington Avenue, taking youth-led tours of Fenway Park, listening to a chiming concert at the Christian Science Plaza and watching theatre and dance presentations.
Many events took place including face painting and educational activities such as TOMB, an interactive mock archaeological dig of a pharaoh’s tomb at 5w!ts. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, and a Community Arts Fair at Simmons College all offered free admission as well.
The Fenway Alliance has tried to unite the community of Boston and emphasize the importance of the arts and culture for almost 27 years. Recently they have developed a community partnership resource guide, which will be released online in November and was celebrated at the festival.
“The ‘Opening Our Doors!’ festival is our most visual project,” said Gillian Wilkinson McDaniel, outreach coordinator for the Fenway Alliance. “Our new community partnership resource guide is our most tangible product.”
The community partnership resource guide was organized because community members expressed interest in learning more about what the area has to offer when it comes to arts, culture and spirituality. The guide, available at public libraries as a reference document as well as approximately 150 different community groups in the city, includes general information for about two-dozen institutions in the Fenway Cultural District. Some of the institutions listed are Northeastern University, the National Braille Press, the YMCA of Greater Boston, Wheelock College and the Forsyth Institute.
“The community partnership program is a cornerstone for our program,” McDaniel said. “People have truly found this to be a useful tool. It is helping the community unite through the world of arts and culture.”
Katie Drago, a freshman in the LAMP program, said it is important for Northeastern to take part in surrounding events.
“By helping establish this sense of community, the community will find it easier to view students in a better light,” Drago said.
Students can develop a better sense of their surrounding community by participating in area events.
“By interacting and participating in the community, students are able to show that we do care about our surrounding community and we do want to make a difference,” said junior biochemistry major Erin Murphy. “By doing this, students are able to gain the respect of the community.”
Being a part of the Fenway Alliance can be a great way for Northeastern to continuously stay involved and help build a sense of camaraderie.
“By connecting to the community through the arts, you are connecting through feelings and inspiration that will never die,” Drago said.
The Community Partnership Resource Guide can be used to contact institutions involved in the Fenway Alliance. Its online calendar of events and the myNEU portal also have announcements for community activities.
