During the first weekend in June, 17 artists spanned out across village centers, public spaces and at The Street and Chestnut Hill Square to paint their "Sit & Soar" benches. 

It was a gorgeous, cool, and sunny day to watch our artist's creativity soar as their benches came to life. Our "Sit & Let Your Spirit Soar” benches, donated by Boston Chinese Evangelical Church and decorated by regional and local artists and Newton students will be on display for all to enjoy through October 2022. 

If you spot any of these colorful benches, take a photo and tag us @newtoncommunitypride !  Watch for our scavenger hunt on social media soon and discover all 17 of them across the city. 

Presenting Sponsor: The Village Bank

Support from: Newton Cultural Council, Mass Cultural Council and Newton Parks, Recreation, & Culture

Beautification

Summer is in the air! The NCP Beautification Committee has been hard at work this spring sprucing up the Newton Centre and Newton Highlands gardens and getting ready for summer. Thank you to our team of volunteers whom you can find weekly early in the morning digging, pruning, and planting. Thank you for your tender loving care and green thumbs. To learn more about our gardens or to volunteer please visit 

https://newtoncommunitypride.org/newton-centre-garden/

Pictured from left to right are Pat Rand, Jay Cradle, Binnie Estrada, Howie Sholkin, and Mary Ann Reuys. 

Save the Date

7th Annual Linda Plaut Newton Festival of the Arts

July 22-24, 2022

Get your dancing shoes out and mark your calendars - The  Linda Plaut Newton Festival of the Arts is back! Celebrate Newton’s talented musicians, singers, bands, and more! Over 20 performances in 4 villages over 3 days for 1 fantastic music-filled weekend. Free, accessible, and open to all. Final performance schedule time and locations will be announced on July 1st, for more information visit www.newtoncommunitypride.org/FOA 

Murals

Have you spotted any of these amazing murals across Newton? We are so excited to see four murals come to life in the past few weeks in Newton!

• "It Was All A Dream” by artist Ryan Adams, is located on the Post Office wall in Newtonville and sponsored by Mark Development;

• "Welcome to the Lake" by artist Anna Dugan is located on 142 Adams St in Nonantum. NCP is proud to have supported this mural with an NCP Community Micro Grant;

• "You are Not Alone" by artist Harun Zankel is located at 28 Austin Street Plaza. NCP is proud to have partnered with 28 Austin Street Partners and support this important mural and message for Mental Health Awareness Month in May; and

• “Welcome to the Vault” by artists Grey and Leslie Held is located at NewCity Church in Newton Highlands. NCP is proud to have supported this mural with an NCP Community Micro Grant

If you are a property owner interested in partnering with NCP and commissioning a local artist to create a mural for your building, please contact [email protected]. We will be happy to discuss the process and provide you with cost options, artist agreements and several muralists to choose from. Let's continue to CreateNewton with public art! 

Arts Advocacy Alert

NCP believes it is important to activate our public spaces and create neighborhood opportunities to enjoy free arts and culture programming. One such opportunity is being presented next week. A volunteer-led effort to build a multi-purpose pavilion for the Cabot School neighborhood is being held on June 23, 2022 at 6:30 PM. Register here to listen to the Parks, Recreation & Culture Department's presentation at their "Cabot Park Pavilion Community Meeting". Read more about this proposal in this March 2022 NewtonTAB article and learn more about Cabot Park here. 

Donor and Volunteer Spotlight:

Randall Yee

Hi, my name is Randall Yee and I am one of the newest volunteer Board Members for Newton Community Pride. My wife, Allison, and I are both lifelong residents of Newton and are now raising our three young children in West Newton. 

As a family, we love exploring the city and attending community events throughout Newton. Over the years, we have enjoyed NCP sponsored events like the Linda Plaut Newton Festival of the Arts, the September Song Concert Series, the Halloween Window Painting and WinterFEST. 

I loved growing up in Newton and have been grateful to be able to share the beauty of what this community creates with my children. We've been able to check out the public art initiatives popping up throughout the city through programs like FenceArt, Artful Pianos and Newton Out Doors. We even purchased the "Fig Newton" door last year in the NCP online auction and have it displayed in our backyard!

I'm excited to be able to volunteer and support NCP at the Friend of the Arts level because my family and I are invested in making Newton a place where people are proud to live, work and play. I'm looking forward to future NCP programs and events and hope to create more memories with my children.

Pictured in photo are Randall Yee, wife Allison Yee, son Cooper, and daughters Sienna and Scarlett.

Newton Community Pride is a 501c3 nonprofit. Tax Id # 22-2793743

***

Kazuko & Bill Oliver

Plaut Mahoney Family

Gavris Family