I was not able to physically go to the service but was able to view most of it live on TV.  Whether you are a Biden fan or not our vice-president game a memorable speech which relayed his perspective on loss(he has personal experience losing a child) and his perspective on the question we all ask ourselves when something so inexplicable happens.  Why?

He basically says that “terrorists motives are not just to instill fear in us but to change who we are and what we/the Unites States stands for”.  Besides the basic freedoms given to us in the United States, I believe terrorists underestimate the strength of our resolve.  Not just for our United States ideals (and yes I know we sometimes fall short of these) but also for our value of human life.

I found James Taylor’s song(Shower the People)comforting since it reminds us that every day is a gift and we should never leave our love for others unsaid or undemonstrated.  Rest in peace Officer Sean Collier and to the men and women who keep us safe, Thank You.

Previously I erroneously stated that James Taylor had indicated he is giving the proceeds of sales from his song to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.  It’s actually Neil Diamond who is doing so for the current sales of his Sweet Caroline song that he performed at Fenway.  Both can be downloaded on ITunes…

A cultural district is a compact, walkable area of a community with a concentration of cultural facilities, activities, and assets. MCC’s Cultural Districts Initiative grew out of an economic stimulus bill passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2010. It is designed to help communities attract artists and cultural enterprises, encourage business and job growth, expand tourism, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values, and foster local cultural development.

Central Square Cultural District, Cambridge

Cambridge’s Central Square Cultural District is home to a mix of small, funky independently-owned shops and creative start-ups, with larger, well-established corporations, all fueled and supported by existing cultural resources such as public art, resident working artists, dynamic cultural organizations, ethnic restaurants, and leading educational institutions like Cambridge College and MIT. Central Square is home to a number of large cultural events, including Cambridge Science Festival, Cambridge River Festival, Central Square World’s Fair and the City Dance Party, together drawing an annual audience to the square in excess of 500,000. Property-owners in the Square are committed to the vision of the District and support attracting new businesses that will maintain a positive balance of size, diversity and industry. The Central Square Cultural District amplifies an authentic, urban neighborhood that is constantly evolving while maintaining a core identity as a unique and eclectic place to live, work and play.

Having worked in Central Square and often walked it’s streets and visited many of businesses and restaurants up and down Mass Ave I am happy to see that Central Square is getting some visibility!  We found a nice video from the Boston Globe that puts a spotlight on Central Square.

Holiday lights are always part of getting into the spirit this time of year.  Now that the Cambridge Black Out is behind us for now we can focus on enjoying some of the light displays around the city.  Harvard Square has already lined the trees of the area with their SparkleFest lights.  This event is actually a series of events put on by the Harvard Square Business Association.  In their words:

Sparklefest is a five week celebration of the holiday season in Harvard Square that begins on Plaid/Black Friday and culminates on New Year’s Eve.  With colorful holiday lights adorning the trees and street lamps, Harvard Square becomes the perfect festive location to shop, dine and enjoy the holiday season.  Set aside time to partake in all the family-friendly events, many of which are free and open to the public!

There are quite a few events from here to New Year’s so be sure to check out the Harvard Square SparkleFest 2012 event page.  A few that stick out for me are Jose Mateo’s Ballet performance of The Nutcracker, the opening of the Ice Skating Rink at the Charles Hotel and the Ciclismo Classico’s Annual Jingle Ride.  Of course there are various opportunities to shop.  If you need a bigger mall experience for some of your Christmas and Holiday Shopping the CambridgeSide Galleria also has some events like picture taking opportunities with Santa Claus.

We included the Ice Skating Rink a the Charles Hotel above but there are other ice skating options in Cambridge.  The Kendall Square Holiday on Ice event takes place on December 15th, the day before the rink at the hotel does.  Ice skating, especially outdoor ice skating is a great family event that gets everyone in the Holiday spirit.  The Kendall Square event puts on performances by world class professional skaters that you can watch with a “nice hot cup of cocoa” in your hands.  You can keep up to date with the Kendall Square Ice Skating rink by following their fan page on facebook. They also have their Twitter information there too.

The last event we want to highlight for enjoying the Holiday Season around Cambridge is Nashoba Valley’s Festival of Lights.  Not only can you participate in relatively close skiing they have a family friendly park with rides, games, food and wagon rides around a wonderfully lighted and decorated “winter forest”.  They are already open and plan to be open through December 23 for this festival but be sure to visit their events page which highlights what days and hours (evenings) they are open.

Enjoy the 2012 Holiday Season!

Here is a video which shows some of the happenings at the Festival of Lights at Nashoba:

The City of Cambridge has updated their list of activities more centered around children’s Halloween activities.  It includes activities in the Community Schools, the Cambridge libraries , youth centers and Cambridge Fire Department.

Halloween Happenings 2012 in Cambridge you will need to click the link for the schedule of events on the above linked to page in order to download a list of the events.

There are 2 other events that are not included in the list of events document that they did include on the city website.  They are the Halloween StoreFront Window Painting in Central Square and the Inman Square InmanWeen event .  The sign up for the storefront window painting is midnight tonight so don’t hesitate if you are interested in that.

InmanWeen takes place tomorrow and is described as follows:

Calling all ghosts and goblins!  The Inman Square Business Association and Cambridge Arts Council are hosting a ghoulish gathering this Friday, Oct. 26 from 4-8 p.m. at Vellucci Plaza in Inman Square.  The event includes FREE pumpkin give-aways, Jack-o-Lantern and decorating contests, FREE food and Trick-or-Treating at local businesses.

SuperHero 5k – dress and run like a SuperHero for a good cause.  Races for both kids 1k and adults 5k.  Race from Central Square on Sunday October 28th.

Harvard Scare - Takes place from October 26 to the 31st and features a variety of Halloween inspired events in the Harvard Square area of Cambridgel

Nashoba Witch’s Woods continuing events thru Halloween, including a Costume Party, Band and Fireworks this Saturday, October 27th.

Upstairs on the Square Annual Halloween Party on October 31.  This year they are including a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show which many might miss from its longtime regular showings in the Harvard Square Cinema that was closed this year.

Brattle Theatre Featuring showings of Cabin in the Woods and Nosferatu

GoreFest X: 28 Days Latte at the ImprovBoston in Central Square.  This is actually a musical comedy and it is showing from October 24 to October 31.  Per their site the new musical comedy is described as:

The Zombie Apocalypse is upon us, and a bunch of hipsters and two senior citizens are trapped inside a coffee place as they fight back the rampaging hordes. The show is dripping with tasteless dialog, juvenile humor, memorable music. Like every GoreFest, this year’s show features copious amounts of fake blood, gore and other bodily fluids, not all of which ends up on the actors.

The Middle East Haunted Mansion and Halloween Costume Party  is taking place next Tuesday October 30 and Wednesday October 31.  It is being put on by Throwed which throws parties for the 18+ crowd around New England.

Cambridge Brewing Company’s Great Pumpkin Festival Saturday October 27th.  This event features a variety of close to 40 pumpkin beers including DogFish Head and Elysian.  There will also be a pumpkin inspired menu which is making my mouth water (Pumpkin Ravioli..)

Enjoy the Halloween season and stay safe.  For more on Halloween read some of our previous Cambridge Halloween articles.

Looking forward to next year’s Oktoberfest!

Thanks to 1130am on YouTube.

Most people know that the Head of the Charles Regatta is the premier race for rowing but if you are an avid rowing fan you know shopping is also a big part of the event.  This year’s 48th Head of the Charles Regatta that takes place tomorrow and Sunday, brings with it the Rowing and Fitness Expo near and at the finish line.

The Expo offers not just Regatta related merchandise but it also offers vendors selling anything from racing shells to slick rowing boats.  Though we have written about special access options for higher end dining you will also find plenty of food vendors to satisfy your hunger and your taste.

The Rowing & Fitness Expo is the retail destination of the Head Of The Charles Regatta. Located in the heart of the athlete staging area near the finish line the Expo boasts over 70+ vendors including rowing equipment, boat manufactures, food vendors and corporate display and sales.

As readers of the DOC news blog know we are big fans of the Head of the Charles rowing event.  Watching the races is a big part of attending the event but for our family it is one of the last hurrahs for a nice outdoor day trip on the Charles before it gets too cold.  It is a great event whether you are big rowing fan or not.

If you are taking kids in be sure to plan not to tire them out.  We usually plan to stay in the area of the Weeks bridge where you get to see the racers heading into the finish.  You also get to see the Cambridge Boat Club.  If you really want to catch a glimpse of the final push to the finish though you do need to be further up either near the Expo tents or across the river which is headed toward Watertown.  If you want to inspire a future rower that is definitely the place to go.

For more details including maps and schedules visit the official HOCR website.  They offer plenty of information and tips on how to best enjoy the event.  One thing I will also add is to be ready for the weather.  As of right now things are supposed to clear up mid morning tomorrow and the rest of the event will be clear.

DOC Related Articles:

Head of Charles 2011 – Special Access Options

Cambridge’s Head of the Charles – The Olympics of Rowing

Here are some other articles I found this year on the Head of the Charles that you might be interested in:

Related articles

• Head of the Charles, by the numbers
• Hot Buttons Headline at Head of the Charles Regatta
• Head of the Charles: The Super Bowl of Rowing

I have to confess I am a big fan of romantic movies myself and though the logical part of ourselves knows that most of these idealistic versions of men, women and romance aren’t that realistic we still strive to head in that direction.  The Mindy Kahiri character is trying to do just that.  The show seems to be a comedic slant to her quest to become the perfect woman and find the perfect relationship.

I was impressed by her performance at the end of the first show where she is shown as a competent OB/GYN performing a complex procedure for a breached baby.  This shows me that the show might not be all about the “lighter” side of Mindy’s quest but also a look at how to still be looked at as a competent professional woman in her field.

The cast includes Chris Messina who I remember most from his role in Damages, which seems like this role might be a leap.  So far he seems to be doing great in his role as tough guy/possible romantic interest.  This is counterbalanced by Mindy’s less than deep attraction to the British doctor Jeremy Reed, played by Ed Weeks.

The show is airing on Fox at 9:30pm Eastern and it is definitely worth a look(especially if you like to laugh) and I am not saying this just because she is a Cambridge actress.

In the past it seemed that these were touted more as a lunchtime series but the concerts take place on both Tuesday and Thursdays but on Tuesdays the time is 4:30pm while on Thursdays they are at 12 noon.  Whether in Cambridge or Boston we are lucky to benefit from the talents of up and rising stars from the Berklee College of Music.  They are cosponsors of the series with the Kendall Square Corporation.  These concerts are a great way of breaking up the work day and bringing these performers across the river.

The remaining concerts are:

• 19 Jaime Woods and Nick Hakim

• 24 Becca Stevens Band

• 26 Adrianne Lenker

• 31 Ricky ‘King’ Russell & the Cadillac Horns

August

• 02 Hamish Napier Band

• 09 Tamsin and Hannah Read Band

• 16 Holiday Mountain

• 23 Helicopria

• 30 The Yesberger Band

September

• 06 Samantha Schultz

Please be sure to check the official Kendall Square concert series schedule for updates.

If you like Jazz you are in for a treat tomorrow.  I am including a video of Jaime Woods and Nick Hakim performing Sleep at the 6B Lounge.

This event is free and makes for a great time as the video I am including will show you if you’ve been to shy to attend in the past.  The video is from 2011 by Cambridge resident Matthew Glidden.

Other things to consider not just for Friday but for the weekend include trying to catch a last movie at the AMC Loews Harvard Square Theatre which is set to close next weekend.  Others may be thinking the same thing and this weekend will probably be less crowded.  According to the Cambridge Chronicle nothing has been slated to replace it yet so we will see if another theater is even possible there.  The Boston Globe wrote an article today about how the tradition of the Saturday showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show will be missed as a rite of passage for new students.  As of right now there is still a showing being advertised for this Saturday night June 30th at midnight.

Friday will also be the Walk/Ride Day for Cambridge.  According to the City Hall website:

Mayor Henrietta Davis invites all Cambridge green commuters to celebrate Walk/Ride Day this month on Friday, June 29 with live music in the AM by Patrick Coman and the Lo-fi Angels, fresh foods from Harvest Co-op and Iggy’s, bike safety check-ups, raffle check-ins for the corporate challenge, information tables outside of City Hall and more!  Come stop by to say hello, mingle with other green commuters, and hear what the Mayor, and the City’s transportation and public health leaders and advocates have to say about active, sustainable transportation.  Learn more and share ideas about plans for future Walk/Ride Day events!

This is just the start of summer fun in Cambridge especially with July 4th coming on Wednesday.  We look forward to posting more ideas for enjoying the Summer in and around Cambridge!

Here is the video from last year’s Cambridge Dance Party.  Thanks for the HD Matt!

We put together some videos recently where we showcased some Elementary School Students singing some wonderful American classics. Though they were performed as a tribute to  Memorial Day they also fit the bill for Independence Day.

This is the Grand Ole Flag. Enjoy!