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harvardsquarekiosk · 7 years ago

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Suggested Programming Opportunities for Harvard Square Kiosk

By the Harvard Square Business Association

The Kiosk should be staffed every day from early in the morning until and throughout the evening all year long.

These events should take place throughout the year, as appropriate.

Voter registration, Wayfinding, Maps, Public Toilet locations, Tours, Harvard Square business listings, City-wide festival and events listings, Historical information etc.

Community Partners:

Cambridge Arts Council curates art shows.

CCTV records BeLive from Harvard Square.

Alternating Museum Schedules…Harvard Art Museum, Peabody Museum, Museum of Natural History, Museum of Science, etc. (displays, information etc.)

Friday Forums – similar to TED talks….but done by Cambridge people.

Saturday night – Meet & Greets, sponsored by alternating restaurants (food sampling, mocktails, and live music).

Sunday evenings – Alternating concerts….Longy, New School of Music, Passim, Choir of St. Paul’s, Revels, Blue Heron, Cambridge Symphony, Folk New England and the CCAE.

Book readings sponsored by alternating Harvard Square book stores with book groups discussions and featured authors.

Seasonal Programmed Events at Harvard Square Kiosk

All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Winter Carnival

January

January 8 – Harvard Square’s 8th Annual month long Winter Carnival commencing with the Boston Celtic Music Festival & Club Passim – live in Harvard Square Station…..MLK’s I Have a Dream speech, recited by Cambridge public school children.

January 22-23 and 24th – Taste of Chocolate Festival in Harvard Square! Find a chocolate sponsor i.e. (Lindt) to sample at Harvard Square Station….(Lindt is a featured chocolatier at Cardullo’s and other shops in Harvard Square).

January 30th – Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Parade! Parade at 3pm with a stop at Harvard Square Station ….followed by her award presentation and roast.

February

February 6 – Display the trophy and accept the ballots for the 8th Annual “Some Like it Hot Chili Cook-off” from 1pm – 2:30 pm (the day before the Super Bowl)….where the public can enjoy samples of chili from some of Harvard Square’s HOTTEST restaurants while enjoying musical entertainment! Cast your vote for the best “Some Like it Hot” Chili in Harvard Square in the Harvard Square Station.

February 7 – Super Bowl Sunday in Harvard Square! Invite folks to come to watch the Super Bowl in various Harvard Square establishments….however, invite them to stop by Harvard Square Station to drop off canned and boxed goods to replenish Cambridge food pantries…

February 14 – 15 – 16 – Lovin’ the Square. This year’s Valentine’s event will feature fabulous food and drinks from Harvard Square’s restaurants, romantic and fun deals from our retailers and a variety of interesting, cozy and entertaining things to do from all of our cultural icons. Meet at Harvard Square Station to create a special valentine. (Partner with an appropriate sponsor who will provide all the necessary arts supplies.)

February 23 - Chinese New Year. Come celebrate Chinese New Year in Harvard Square! 2014 is the year of the Horse and the 59th Anniversary of the Hong Kong in Harvard Square. As usual, Massachusetts Avenue from the Hong Kong to Harvard Square Station will be festooned with red and gold lanterns hanging from our wrought iron lampposts as we prepare for our grand Chinese New Year procession through Harvard Square and our cultural "Open House" at the Hong Kong! Lion Dancers will stop at Harvard Station for a special performance.

Early Spring

March

March 1st – Women History Month in Harvard Square. Breakfast meet and greet at Harvard Square Station with Harvard Square’s civic, business, academic and political leaders.

March 2nd – The 86th Annual Academy Awards Oscar Sunday – Harvard Square establishments will be hosting viewing parties. Prior to the party, please come by Harvard Square Station with your gently used gowns and evening wear…which will be donated to Belle of the Ball. Belle of the Ball/Anton’s Cleaners will clean your gowns and donate them students unable to afford Prom gowns.

March 16th – March 21st & March 23rd – March 28th – Winter Restaurant Week in Harvard Square! Come by Harvard Square Station to sample delicious restaurant offerings.

March 17th – Harvard-Go-Brach events! Join us in Harvard Square as we celebrate our Irish Cultural Heritage! Come by Harvard Square Station to take an Irish step-dancing class…dance the Irish jig…and listen to live Irish music and poetry!

Spring

April

April 18th – 27th – The 9th Annual Cambridge Science Festival. Harvard Square is full of scientific surprises! Come by Harvard Square Station where science projects created by Cambridge public school children will be on display.

April 26th – The 7th Annual Bookish Ball and Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebration! Partnering with the Cambridge Public Library, Actors’ Shakespeare Project and Harvard Square’s bookstores, please join us for bookstore strolls, music, dancing, performances, and birthday cake which will be served in Harvard Square Station from 2:00 until 3:30 p.m. along with a fun and surprising round of POP- UP SHAKESPEARE!

May

May 1st – May 4th – The 24th Annual Harvard Arts First Festival – Join hundreds of Harvard undergraduates, graduates and faculty in Harvard’s annual celebration of the arts! Join us at Harvard Square Station where art work created by Harvard students will be on display.

May 4th – The 33rd Annual Mayfair Featuring six stages of live entertainment, dozens of restaurant vendors, hundreds of street vendors selling artwork, jewelry, vintage clothing, neighborhood sidewalk sales, and the Rotary Club of Cambridge’s Annual Chalk on the Walk! From noon – 6pm. Harvard Square Station will be the information center of the festival. Lost and Found, Information, Command Central.

May 5th – Cinco de Mayo – Mexican heritage celebrated in the restaurants of Harvard Square. Join us at Harvard Square Station for a performance by Mariachi’s de Veritas….a fabulous Mariachi band made up entirely of Harvard Students.

May 11th – Mother’s Day! Stop by Harvard Station to leave a post-it note message for mom. Messages will be placed on the walls of the building. Post-it notes will be provided….

May 29th – 367th Harvard Commencement. Harvard Square Station will be the centerpiece of the activity….with plenty of outside seating, planters overflowing with flowers and street musicians playing to the crowds.

Patios in Bloom

June

June 2nd – Harvard Square’s Annual Patios in Bloom Festival. Come celebrate as we officially open patio season with the installation of our Victorian Flower Baskets both on the lampposts….and at Harvard Square Station.

June 6th – June 15th – Gay Pride in Harvard Square. Public discussion held in Harvard Station led by GBLT groups from the City of Cambridge.

June 15th – Father’s Day! A father and child(ren) walk around the Square will begin and end at Harvard Square Station. Followed by a light breakfast sponsored by the Harvard Square Business Association.

June 21st – 7th Annual Make Music Harvard Square, Fete de la Musique! A square wide musical celebration held in every nook and cranny, park and plaza and street and patio throughout the day and evening…with special musical performances at Harvard Square Station.

Summer

July

July 4th – Harvard Square Station, festooned with red, white and blue balloons…is a reception center for all the visitors coming in for the firework celebration on the Charles River.

July 13th – Bastille Day! Join us on Holyoke Street for a stormin’ French street festival featuring fabulous French food, music and dance! Harvard Square Station will feature French music and French coffee and mini croissants…(we will find a sponsor for this event.)

August

Summer Restaurant Week in Harvard Square. Samplings from some of Harvard Square’s finest restaurants will take place in Harvard Square Station.

September

September 1st – 30th – 6th Annual Revival Month in Harvard Square. Join us at Harvard Square Station for a 50’s style Hootenanny, and old-fashioned jam session….in partnership with Passim.

September 21 – 4th Annual Folk Music Festival in Harvard Square.

Some of today’s hottest up and coming folk artists will be playing our free festival on Palmer Street….and in Harvard Square Station.

September 21 – 13th Annual Riversing, presented by the Revels. Morris dancers will be on hand to give a performance at Harvard Square Station!

September 27 – The 6th Annual Americana Music Festival in Harvard Square. 3 days of music and activities…with special performances at Harvard Square Station.

Fall

October

October 9th – 38th Annual Oktoberfest and HONK Festival features six stages of 8live entertainment, dozens of international food vendors, hundreds of street vendors selling artwork, jewelry, and vintage clothing, neighborhood sidewalk sales and HONK! bands from around the country. Harvard Square Station will be the centerpiece of the event. (Information, Lost & Found, Command Central)

October 18th – 19th – The 52th Annual Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day rowing event, brings 7,500 athletes from around the world to compete in 55 different race events. Harvard Square Station will be the “Welcome Center”….to the thousands of visitors.

October 31st – November 2nd – Harvard Scare! Spooky and fun activities throughout the Square. Costumed children of all ages are invited to join us at Harvard Square Station where we will gather to parade around the Square….and join us as we trick-or-treat at numerous Harvard Square restaurants and shops where goodies await.

November

November 1st – 30th – 6th Annual Folk Music Month in Harvard Square. This month-long event will feature special displays of FOLK memorabilia (think Bob Dylan, Joan Baez) at Harvard Square Station…..culminating in a very special folk music performance at the end of the month….also in the Station.

November 22nd – 13rd Harvard/Yale Game at Harvard. Meet your friends at Harvard Square Station for complimentary hot chocolate or hot cider before the game!

November 27th – Thanksgiving! Starting November 12th and running through November 25th, the Harvard Square Station will be set up to receive your donations of frozen turkeys, fresh veggies and thanksgiving fixings….which will be distributed to various social service agencies and food pantries throughout the city.

Sparklesfest

November 28th – Kick-off the holiday shopping season with Plaid and Black Friday events. Get your Harvard Square recycled Holiday Shopping bag at Harvard Square Station.

November 29th – Join us at the Annual Tree Lighting at the Charles Hotel….and later on walk over to Harvard Square Station for a Victorian Caroler Sing-along!

December

December 1 – December 24th – We will hire (or get volunteers) to Christmas wrap presents in Harvard Square Station….All proceeds from the wrapping will go to Youth on Fire.

December 4th – Harvard Square Station will feature a giant community-wide “Make Our Own Cambridge Gingerbread House” which will be displayed until Christmas.

December 20th – The “Some Like it Hot” Everyone Loves Latkes Party! From 1pm – 2pm, the 8th annual Everyone Loves Latkes Party features the most delicious, most creative and best-looking latkes and condiments around! This free event features latke donations from the fabulous restaurants of Harvard Square. There will be a very special Klezmer music performance….and a reading of the Runaway Latkes, by Leslie Kimmelman, Paul Yalowitz (Illustrator) at Harvard Square Station.

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creativeardagh · 8 years ago

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A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bilberry Sunday, Summer Camps, workshop weeks and lots more! Exciting summer ahead!

We have so much happening this summer that it is hard to keep up ourselves! Whether you want to book a last minute school tour, a summer camp spot or perform in A Midsummer Night's Dream with us the latest news is always on our Facebook page

www.facebook.com/creativeardagh

and our website

creativeardagh.blogspot.ie

School Tours and Summer Camps

We have very limited slots available for schools who want to book a fun day out for their pupils before the summer holidays. Contact us by phone or email for more details. Summer Camps are also filling up fast so get in touch to book.

2017 Summer Camps: 3rd to 7th July; 17th to 21st July; 14th to 18th Aug.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Come along next Sunday 21st at 12pm for your last chance to get involved in our production of Shakespeare's famous comedy. We are looking for anyone aged 12+ to adult who would like to perform. No experience necessary.

Performance on 1st July in our woods and garden.

Bilberry Sunday and the King at the Back of the Hill

We will be launching an anthology of poetry, prose, fact and fiction, photography and art based on the King at the Back of the Hill on Bilberry Sunday. This year's event falls during the Cruthú Arts Festival on 30th July and celebrations wil include the annual walk up Brí Leith.

Deadline for submissions from all ages is this Friday 19th May.

Workshops for the Fleadh and Heritage Week

The Leinster Fleadh takes place in Ballymahon starting on 16th July. We will be running workshops for families and individuals to coincide with the event each day at 11am and 2pm. Full details on our website soon.

Watch out for details of our Heritage Week celebrations too We have our 6th anniversary on 20th August.

#Summer Camps #A Midsummer's Night Dream #Bilberry Sunday #Heritage Tours

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newyorktheater · 5 years ago

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These posters are from the Federal Theatre Project, a massive government program during the Great Depression to offer relief to artists, writers, directors, and theater workers by employing them. The just-passed $2 trillion stimulus deal, called CARES, does nothing close to that. The FTP created a system of regional theaters, encouraged experimentation, and made it possible for millions of Americans to see live theatre for the first time.

Congress passed, and the president signed, a $2 trillion stimulus deal that includes specific relief for arts organizations and artists, although advocates say not enough.

Officially titled CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security), the law gives $75 million each to The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to pass on to institutions that need it and $50 million to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. There was also $25 million for the John F. Kennedy Center (although it didn’t stop the Center from laying off all 96 members of the National Symphony Orchestra with only a week’s notice.)

Arts advocates had asked for $4 billion.

“Germany has rolled out a staggering €50 Billion ($54 billion) aid package for artists and cultural businesses, putting other countries to shame” –Artnet

“Although $150 million isn’t chump change, it’s only 3.75 percent of the original ask. You could film a season of Westworld with that money; you will obviously not be able to restart an entire sector.” – Helen Shaw, New York Magazine.(who is counting just the NEA and NEH grants.)

“,,,the institutional damage done by the coronavirus looks at first glance to be especially devastating to theater. Even the biggest regional theaters have either laid off staff or are days away from doing so…Imagine, then, the plight of the smaller companies, the no-budget storefront and off-Broadway houses whose risk-taking productions supply the artistic fertilizer for America’s theatrical culture. Many of these groups—perhaps most of the smaller ones—simply won’t reopen when the crisis abates. As for the actors, directors, playwrights, designers and other professionals who make sure there’s a show onstage when the curtain goes up…well, they’re in can’t-pay-the-rent trouble…” — Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal

Still, other provisions in CARES will likely aid these theaters and individual theater artists (F.A.Q. on Stimulus Checks, Unemployment and the Coronavirus Plan – NY Times.)

The $1,200 “paycheck” to individuals making less than $75,000.

Calculate how much your stimulus check will be (likely, $1,200)https://t.co/sKLsGs6yES

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 26, 2020

$377 billion for small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, which may offer a boon to eligible arts businesses and nonprofits – Jamine Weber, Hyperallergic

Expanded Unemployment Insurance that includes coverage for furloughed workers, freelancers, and “gig economy” workers, which describes, for example, almost all actors, directors and playwrights. The bill increases such payments by $600 a week for four months, in addition to what one claims under a state unemployment program. – Hayley Levitt, Theatermania

What the theater industry would hope for the future:

“One of the things we’re talking about internally,” TCG’s Corinna Schulenburg told Helen Shaw, “has been the way in which the scale of this catastrophe — a wholesale shutting down of the field — is only really comparable is the Great Depression. We’re looking at 20 percent or higher unemployment! So what lessons can we find in the Federal Theater Project?” Under the New Deal, the government’s super-spending effort that put America back to work in the ’30s, the Federal Theater Project only accounted for 0.5 percent of the Works Progress Administration spending, which, if you applied that to the current bailout, would come to $10 billion. Schulenburg has dreams for that money. And oh, oh, oh — a new New Deal is a heady thought. We’re still surrounded by the structures the WPA gave us, including dams, bridges, airports, roads — and, yes, our regional theater system. Maybe a new one could bring it back.”

Summer theater canceled too?

Three Broadway shows that were scheduled to open in April are facing facts, and moving to sometime in the Fall: Roundabout’s “Caroline, or Change” and “Birthday Candles” and Lincoln Center Theater’s “Flying Sunset.” Since both “Hangmen” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” announced they would not be returning at all when Broadway resumes, that leaves 11 shows still officially scheduled to open in the 2019-2020 Broadway season.

No surprise: The 74th Annual Tony Awards will be postponed to a date that will be determined after Broadway reopens. It was originally scheduled for June 7th

A bad news/good news announcement: Ars Nova has canceled the remainder of its 2019-2020 season, originally set to conclude on June 30, 2020. But it’s committed to paying all 150 staff, crew and cast through June 30th.

New York City Center has announced the cancellation of Thoroughly Modern Millie, an Encores concert scheduled for May 6-10,

“As nonprofits around the country cancel all spring programs, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival halts performances through Labor Day, and will lay off 80 percent of its staff….Lincoln Center Theater has decided to move two summer productions to next season; the Public Theater says it is awaiting guidance from local officials before determining what impact the pandemic might have on its popular Shakespeare in the Park program. And in the Berkshires, a summer destination in Western Massachusetts with a rich concentration of cultural institutions, Barrington Stage Company has already canceled its first production, which was scheduled to run from mid-May to early June….“ — Michael Paulson, NY Times

To avoid any more little jolts of disappointment, perhaps we should just assume the following for all theater: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, __ (theater) has announced the cancellation of __ (show) which was schedule for __ (months from now!)

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 29, 2020

Hope Goes Online

A huge amount of theater is going online, which I’m trying to track by continually updating my roundup, Where To Get Your Theater Fix Online, Old Favorites and New Experiments

Some highlights in the last week:

TrickleUp, a new “grass-roots subscription platform” for $10 a month, hopes to raise money for artists in need. Launched March 23 by a group of downtown artists and artistic directors, It promises “videos of solo performances, conversation, and other behind-the-scenes goodies,” Its catalogue so far features such fare as Taylor Mac reading scenes from “Gary”, Sarah Ruhl reading some of her poems, Mia Katigbak singing La Vie En Rose, Dominique Morisseau doing a monologue from Skeleton Crew, Suzan-Lori Parks singing “Colored All My Life,” Lucas Hnath reading material cut from his play “A Doll’s House Part 2″

Starting April 2nd, and every Thursday thereafter, ‘National Theatre at Home” will stream FOR FREE on its YouTube channel a production from its NT Live collection, recordings of their stage productions that are such high quality that they are normally presented in cinemas worldwide. The first production online April 2 (and for seven days after that) is “One Man, Two Guv’nors,” the slapstick comedy with a Tony winning performance by James Corden.

PBS has unlocked a selection of its shows in its Live From Lincoln Center and Great Performances series, from April until the end of May. These includes a few of my favorite things (yes, “The Sound of Music” — not the movie — as well as “Red” and “Present Laughter.”)

Playing on Air, a decade-old podcast of original radio plays, announces its star-studded season of ten plays, unfolding each week through the end of May.

There is new immersive theater for the age of self-distancing. For details on these and other virtual theater, again, check out Where To Get Your Theater Fix Online, Old Favorites and New Experiments

My reviews of Theater Wit’s Teenage Dick and Rattlestick’s The Siblings Play, both stage plays that were recorded right before the theaters were shut down, and now presented online.

Anne (Courtney Rikki Green) teaching Richard (MacGregor Arney), who has cerebral palsy, how to dance, in “Teenage Dick,” Mike Lew’s update of Shakespeare’s play Richard III, streaming online through April 19.

Ed Ventura as Leon/Lee/Chookie. and Cindy De La Cruz as his sister Marie/Rie-rie/Sweet-pea, in “The Siblings Play” by Ten Dara Santiago, now available online

Other Theater News:

a closeup of the Coronavirus

Broadway and the Coronavirus: Updated Questions and Answers

Hey everyone. I just wanted to update you all that I’ve found out that I’ve tested positive for Covid-19. I’ve been in quarantine since Broadway shows shut down on Thursday, March 12th, and I’m feeling much better.… https://t.co/KwJSPgcRct

— Aaron Tveit (@AaronTveit) March 23, 2020

Congrats to playwright @willarbery, winner of $50K @WhitingFdn Award “intellectually audacious, formally sly, w/ the courage to let characters seize the stage with impassioned arguments” My review of his “Heroes of the 4th Turning”https://t.co/pSA2Ebywgj pic.twitter.com/OxCHztANU2

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 26, 2020

On #WorldTheatreDay2020, a look at the world’s gorgeous theaters. We can’t enter them right now, but we can still celebrate theater in our hearts (and online) Theater is more than buildings. It’s 2,500 years of history, & literature, & tradition & lovehttps://t.co/i2RtwDGU3H pic.twitter.com/3tdoqBYHHM

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 27, 2020

NY Theater Blog Roundup: Responding to COVID-19 in unexpected ways https://t.co/mRwicA4Sz5 pic.twitter.com/BX2ZgZchL3

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 29, 2020

Great idea from @BroadwayWorld & @jenashtep — #BWWBookclub. First up Jennifer’s book, Untold Stories of Broadway Vol. 1 — free on Amazon via Kindle, and then discuss each chapter on Broadway World’s message board weekly starting Monday, March 30https://t.co/D8hyYZyrPM pic.twitter.com/7QpVSsPIBJ

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 26, 2020

Advice and Uplift

Step-by-step advice for surviving isolation from an astronaut, a journalist, and a political prisoner, who each spent long stretches alone: Read. Exercise. Laugh.

Message from the medical personnel of an Emergency Room, via @MaudNewton, whose sister is an ER nurse. (My brother is an ER doctor) pic.twitter.com/1XmpE10gR2

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 28, 2020

Cheerful https://t.co/g7TKl7rMgH

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 29, 2020

Isolation latino style… pic.twitter.com/17AlnYHYIk

— Enrique Acevedo (@Enrique_Acevedo) March 28, 2020

What The World Needs Now….are virtual choirs and orchestras https://t.co/OrTJrNGMuH https://t.co/ijv1Z0wbOK

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 29, 2020

Rest in Peace

McNally as a young man

Terrence McNally

Playwright Terrence McNally standing in front of Martin Beck Theater where “The Rink” was playing in 1984, the Kander and Ebb musical for which he wrote the book, his first musical on Broadway

McNally receiving Doctor of Fine Arts from NYU in 2019

Playwright Terrence McNally, 81, from complications of the coronavirus. (“Theater Changes Hearts…”:My gallery of scenes from some of his 36 plays and 10 musicals, plus his Tony Award acceptance speech..)

We love this quote from Terrence McNally—his response to Jonathan Mandell (@NewYorkTheater) asking, “Can theatre change the world?” We are sending love and light to his family, friends, and collaborators today.https://t.co/7pfmi99yqy pic.twitter.com/2A1vrEjU4q

— HowlRound Theatre Commons (@HowlRound) March 25, 2020

Mark Blum

Actor Mark Blum, 69, from complications of the coronavirus.A familiar presence on the NY stage: nine-time Broadway veteran (Assembled Parties), 26 Off-Broadway plays (Rancho Viejo, Amy and the Orphans),teacher (HB Studio)

With love and heavy hearts, Playwrights Horizons pays tribute to Mark Blum, a dear longtime friend and a consummate artist who passed this week. Thank you, Mark, for all you brought to our theater, and to theaters and audiences across the world. We will miss you. pic.twitter.com/NMVZFB5hPb

— Playwrights Horizons (@phnyc) March 26, 2020

David Schramm, 73, Broadway veteran and founding member of The Acting Company best known for playing Roy Biggs in the television series Wings

What the $2 trillion stimulus means for the arts and artists. Summer canceled too? Hope goes online. #Stageworthy News of the Week Congress passed, and the president signed, a $2 trillion stimulus deal that includes specific relief for arts organizations and artists, although advocates say not enough.

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kansascityhappenings · 5 years ago

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Smoke from US wildfires boosting health risk for millions

BILLINGS, Mont. — Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent to affect tens of millions of people and cause a spike in premature deaths.

That emerging reality is prompting people in cities and rural areas alike to prepare for another summer of sooty skies along the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains — the regions widely expected to suffer most from blazes tied to dryer, warmer conditions.

“There’s so little we can do. We have air purifiers and masks — otherwise we’re just like ‘Please don’t burn,’” said Sarah Rochelle Montoya of San Francisco, who fled her home with her husband and children last fall to escape thick smoke enveloping the city from a disastrous fire roughly 150 miles (241 kilometers) away.

Other sources of air pollution are in decline in the U.S. as coal-fired power plants close and fewer older cars roll down highways. But those air quality gains are being erased in some areas by the ill effects of massive clouds of smoke that can spread hundreds and even thousands of miles on cross-country winds, according to researchers.

With the 2019 wildfire season already heating up and fires breaking out from Southern California through Canada to Alaska, authorities are scrambling to better protect the public before smoke again blankets cities and towns. Officials in Seattle recently announced plans to retrofit five public buildings as smoke-free shelters.

Scientists from NASA and universities are refining satellite imagery to predict where smoke will travel and how intense it will be. Local authorities are using those forecasts to send out real-time alerts encouraging people to stay indoors when conditions turn unhealthy.

The scope of the problem is immense: Over the next three decades, more than 300 counties in the West will see more severe smoke waves from wildfires, sometimes lasting weeks longer than in years past, according to atmospheric researchers led by a team from Yale and Harvard.

For almost two weeks last year during the Camp Fire , which killed 85 people and destroyed 14,000 homes in Paradise, California, smoke from the blaze inundated the San Francisco neighborhood where Montoya lives with her husband, Trevor McNeil, and their three children.

Lines formed outside hardware stores as people rushed to buy face masks and indoor air purifiers. The city’s famous open air cable cars shut down. Schools kept children inside or canceled classes, and a church soup kitchen sheltered homeless people from the smoke.

Montoya’s three children have respiratory problems that their doctor says is likely a precursor to asthma, she said. That would put them among those most at-risk from being harmed by wildfire smoke, but the family was unable to find child-sized face masks or an adequate air filter. Both were sold out everywhere they looked.

In desperation, her family ended up fleeing to a relative’s vacation home in Lake Tahoe. The children were delighted that they could go outside again.

“We really needed our kids to be able to breathe,” Montoya said.

Smoke from wildfires was once considered a fleeting nuisance except for the most vulnerable populations. But it’s now seen in some regions as a recurring and increasing public health threat, said James Crooks, a health investigator at National Jewish Health, a Denver medical center that specializes in respiratory ailments.

“There are so many fires, so many places upwind of you that you’re getting increased particle levels and increased ozone from the fires for weeks and weeks,” Crooks said.

One such place is Ashland, Oregon, a city of about 21,000 known for its summer-long Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

During each of the past two summers, Ashland had about 40 days of smoke-filled air, said Chris Chambers, wildfire division chief for the fire department. Last year, that forced cancellation of more than two-dozen outdoor performances. Family physician Justin Adams said the smoke was hardest on his patients with asthma and other breathing problems and he expects some to see long-term health effects.

“It was essentially like they’d started smoking again for two months,” he said.

Voters in 2018 approved a bond measure that includes money to retrofit Ashland schools with “scrubbers” to filter smoke. Other public buildings and businesses already have them. A community alert system allows 6,500 people to receive emails and text messages when the National Weather Service issues smoke alerts.

“We really feel like we’ve made a conscious effort to adapt to climate change,” Chambers said. “But you can’t just live your whole life inside.”

The direct damage from conflagrations that regularly erupt in the West is stark. In California alone, wildfires over the past two years torched more than 33,000 houses, outbuildings and other structures and killed 146 people.

Harder to grasp are health impacts from microscopic particles in the smoke that can trigger heart attacks, breathing problems and other maladies. The particles, about 1/30th of the diameter of a human hair, penetrate deeply into the lungs to cause coughing, chest pain and asthma attacks. Children, the elderly and people with lung diseases or heart trouble are most at risk.

Death can occur within days or weeks among the most vulnerable following heavy smoke exposure, said Linda Smith, chief of the California Air Resources Board’s health branch.

Over the past decade as many as 2,500 people annually died prematurely in the U.S. from short-term wildfire smoke exposure, according to Environmental Protection Agency scientists.

The long-term effects have only recently come into focus, with estimates that chronic smoke exposure causes about 20,000 premature deaths per year, said Jeff Pierce, an associate professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University.

That figure could double by the end of this century due to hotter, drier conditions and much longer fire seasons, said Pierce.

His research team compared known health impacts from air pollution against future climate scenarios to derive its projections. The results suggested smoke will spread to become a dominant pollutant even in areas not typically associated with wildfires, such as the South and Northeast.

Even among wildfire experts, understanding of health impacts from smoke was elusive until recently. But attitudes shifted as growing awareness of climate change ushered in research examining wildfire’s potential consequences.

Residents of Northern California, western Oregon, Washington state and the Northern Rockies are projected to suffer the worst increases in smoke exposure, according to Loretta Mickley, a senior climate research fellow at Harvard University.

“It’s really incredible how much the U.S. has managed to clean up the air from other (pollution) sources like power plants and industry and cars,” Mickley said. “Climate change is throwing a new variable into the mix and increasing smoke, and that will work against our other efforts to clear the air through regulations. This is kind of an unexpected source of pollution and health hazard.”

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2019/06/25/smoke-from-us-wildfires-boosting-health-risk-for-millions/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2019/06/25/smoke-from-us-wildfires-boosting-health-risk-for-millions/

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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Jump in wildfires means smoke’s health impact will spread

Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent to affect tens of millions of people and cause a spike in premature deaths.

That emerging reality is prompting people in cities and rural areas alike to gird themselves for another summer of sooty skies along the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains — the regions widely expected to suffer most from blazes tied to dryer, warmer conditions.

With the 2019 fire season already heating up with fires from southern California to Canada, authorities are scrambling to better protect the public before smoke again blankets cities and towns. Officials in Seattle recently announced plans to retrofit five public buildings as smoke-free shelters.

For almost two weeks last year during the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and destroyed 14,000 homes in Paradise, California, smoke from the blaze inundated the San Francisco neighborhood where Montoya lives with her husband, Trevor McNeil, and their three children.

In desperation, her family ended up fleeing to a relative’s vacation home in Lake Tahoe. The children were delighted that they could go outside again.

“We really needed our kids to be able to breathe,” Montoya said.

“There are so many fires so many places upwind of you that you’re getting increased particle levels and increased ozone from the fires for weeks and weeks,” Crooks said.

One such place is Ashland, Oregon, a city of about 21,000 known for its summer-long Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

During each of the past two summers, Ashland had about 40 days of smoke-filled air, said Chris Chambers, wildfire division chief for the fire department. Last year that forced cancellation of more than two-dozen outdoor performances. Family physician Justin Adams said the smoke was hardest on his patients with asthma and other breathing problems and he expects some to see long-term health effects.

“It was essentially like they’d started smoking again for two months,” he said.

“We really feel like we’ve made a conscious effort to adapt to climate change,” Chambers said. “But you can’t just live your whole life inside.”

Death can occur within days or weeks among the most vulnerable following heavy smoke exposure, said Linda Smith, chief of the California Air Resources Board’s health branch.

In the past decade as many as 2,500 people annually died prematurely in the U.S. from short-term wildfire smoke exposure, according to Environmental Protection Agency scientists.

The long-term effects have only recently come into focus, with estimates that chronic smoke exposure is causing on the order of 20,000 premature deaths per year, said Jeff Pierce, an associate professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University. That figure could double by the end of this century due to hotter, dryer conditions and much longer fire seasons, said Pierce. His research team compared known health impacts from air pollution against future climate scenarios to derive its projections.

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Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MatthewBrownAP .

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cincinnatiartmuseum · 7 years ago

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2017 Year in Review

From Dressed to Kill samurais, to fresh flowers paired with our permanent collection, to a newly renovated Schmidlapp Gallery, what an incredible year it’s been for the Cincinnati Art Museum!

CAM adds expertise and vibrancy with three new curators

The Cincinnati Art Museum appointed Ainsley M. Cameron as Curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art, and Antiquities; Peter Jonathan Bell as Associate Curator of European Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings; and Nathaniel M. Stein as Associate Curator of Photography this past spring.

New award-winning chef leads CAM culinary team

The Cincinnati Art Museum welcomed Executive Chef Sean White to lead its culinary team last spring. Taste Chef Sean’s passion for food during your next visit to the museum! The Terrace Café is open Tuesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and Thursday, 11 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

Art organizations come together to honor the life of Frida Kahlo

The Cincinnati Art Museum Emerging Leaders Council and Cincinnati Opera Center Stage celebrated the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in May 2017. The Cinco de Mayo-inspired festivities included Mexican cuisine from Mazunte, music and dancing, self-guided tours and after-hours access to the museum’s permanent collection.

CAM recognizes Alice Weston with 2017 Cincinnati Art Award

Alice Weston received Cincinnati Art Museum’s 2017 Cincinnati Art Award for her lifetime contribution to the arts in Cincinnati and beyond. The museum honored Weston at its annual Director’s Circle Dinner on April 26, 2017.

Weston is a renowned Cincinnati contemporary art collector, educator, collaborator and artist, who, along with her late husband, Harris, created an ongoing legacy of philanthropy and support of the arts in Cincinnati.

Alice Bimel Endowment for Asian Art established to advance CAM collections

A landmark $11.75 million gift to the Cincinnati Art Museum to establish the Alice Bimel Endowment for Asian Art was announced at the museum’s 137th Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Cincinnati Museum Association on May 15, 2017. The largest single monetary gift in the museum’s history, the endowment will enhance collections in the arts of South Asia, Greater Iran and Afghanistan.

Newly appointed Curator of South Asian Art, Islamic Art and Antiquities, Dr. Ainsley Cameron, adds, “The opportunity to build an ambitious collection in a public museum today is rare. Alice and Carl Bimel have made that possible for Cincinnati. With this endowment, we can create an exceptional collection, one that represents the vibrancy and vitality prevalent in the arts of the region, from both the historic period and the contemporary.”

A Taste of Duveneck Presents: The Art of Wine

A Summer favorite with a new twist! The new name drew attention to the event’s wine-focus with samples available for tasting and fine wine for sale at the silent auction, along with other popular items. Also new, guests were able to experience exclusive access to the entire museum, including special exhibitions. In addition to an extensive assortment of premium and sparkling wine, The Art of Wine also included a variety of craft beer, Cincinnati’s best gourmet food and live music from the Naked Karate Girls. Save the date for next year’s event: June 8, 2018!

CAM enhances visitor experience with Schmidlapp revitalization

The Cincinnati Art Museum opened its newly renovated Schmidlapp Gallery, the central gallery linking the museum’s Front Lobby and the Great Hall, on October 12, 2017. The innovative transformation, funded partially by a $1 million grant from the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trusts, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee along with additional financial support from the State of Ohio, invites visitors to pause, converse, linger and discover the museum’s collection. Have you seen the new gallery space?

BLINK! Light installation partnership

The Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company presented Anila Quayyum Agha’s art installation Alhambra Nights as part of BLINK, the four-day light and art event on October 12–15, 2017.

The pop-up exhibition, located inside the Bridgeland Performance Studio on the second floor of The Otto M. Budig Theater, featured five laser-cut tetrahedrons lit from within to create an immersive installation. Showcased in the theatre’s corner windows, the work was a shining beacon visible from the BLINK-activated Washington Park across the street.

Art in Bloom returns

A biennial fall celebration of fine art and floral designs, Art in Bloom, returned to the Cincinnati Art Museum October 26–29, 2017. The 9th Art in Bloom event featured four days of special events, family friendly activities, docent-led tours and demonstrations by curators and floral arrangers. Mark your calendars for our next Art in Bloom in October 2019!

New Board Offices and Trustees for 2017–2018

The Cincinnati Art Museum was pleased to announce the election of new Board Officers including President of the Board Andrew DeWitt, President/CEO of Dewey’s Pizza. Jon Moeller, Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Procter & Gamble, was named Chairperson.

Amy Hanson, strategic consultant and former Macy’s Exective Vice President serves as Vice President. Polk Laffoon IV, freelance writer and civic volunteer, serves as Treasurer. Cheryl Rose, Senior Vice President, Hawthorn, PNC Family Wealth, serves as Secretary.

In addition to the appointment of new Officers, five new Trustees have been elected: Michael Chasnoff, Dr. G. Anton Decker, Madeleine (Mady) Gordon, Tony Roberts and George Vincent.

CAM welcomes graduates from its new docent class

The Cincinnati Art Museum inducted 24 enthusiastic, commited and knowledgeable volunteers into its docent program on November 8, 2017. The new graduates will build upon and diversify the museum’s current team of more than 110 active docents.

“Graduates will be joining a team that connects new audiences to art and enriches the museum’s bond with members and visitors,” says Assistant Director of Docent Learning Andrew Palamara. “We’re confident that the class of 2017 will expand the scope of what we do while making a positive impact on the Cincinnati community.”

What exhibitions did you see?

Special Exhibitions

Transcending Reality: The Woodcuts of Kosaka Gajin (February 11–May 7, 2017)

Dressed to Kill: Japanese Arms & Armor (February 11–May 7, 2017)

Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light (April 1–August 13, 2017)

Mementos of Affection: Ornamental Hairwork in Jewelry and Portrait Miniatures (May 27, 2017–November 2018)

A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America (June 10–September 3, 2017)

Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers are For Me (June 17–October 15, 2017)

William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance (April 26, 2016–May 20, 2017)

Ana England: Kinship (September 8, 2017–March 4, 2018)

Iris van Herpen: Transforming Fashion (October 13, 2017–January 7, 2018)

Albrecht Dürer: The Age of Reformation and Renaissance (November 17, 2017–February 11, 2018)

Special Features

Personas: Color Portraits, 1979–1985 (January 28–April 2, 2017)

Mementos of Affection: Ornamental Hariwork in Jewelry and Portrait Miniatures (May 27, 2017–November 2018)

Fashion and Technology (July 1–December 31, 2017)

In Bloom: Floral Prints from the Permanent Collection (July 11–November 12, 2017)

The Woman’s Art Club of Cincinnati (October 6, 2017–December 31, 2017)

Made in America, Curtis Goldstein and Matt Lynch (October 12, 2017–January 14, 2018)

Digital Exhibitions

Mementos of Affection: Ornamental Hairwork in Jewelry and Portrait Miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum

Frida Kahlo: Photographic Portraits by Bernard Silberstein

Rembrandt: Master Printmaker

The Art Academy of Cincinnati and World War I

CAM by the Numbers

Voted #1 art museum in Cincinnati by CityBeat readers

253,561 TOTAL fiscal year (September 1, 2016–August 31, 2017) attendance (the highest attendance for CAM in the last 6 years!)

993 NEW memberships

Over $3 million raised in grants

Facebook followers: 48,720+

Twitter followers: 54,930+

Instagram followers: 19,300+

CAM Moments to Remember

Closing Van Gogh: Into the Undergrowth (Oct. 15 2016–Jan. 8, 2017) with record breaking attendance

Actor Christian Slater visiting the art museum in February

Warrior Wednesdays with the Cincinnati Museum Center

Autism Family Exploration Days

1,533 Art After Dark: Dressed to Kill attendees

The Folk Art in America FOLK YEAH! float in the Reds Opening Day Parade

15th Annual Summer Teacher Institute: The Art of Craft

First annual Fright Night in partnership with the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

Interactive experience MyCAM debut

Loving Vincent Cincinnati premiere at the Cincinnati Art Museum

Apollo International Art Magazine naming the museum’s Weisman gift in their shortlist of Acquisition of the Year

Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Founders Society

CAM in the National News

The Samurai Way | The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 10

Tiffany Studios: Painting with Glass | Art & Antiques, March

Notable Museum Openings This Spring and Summer | The New York Times, March 15

The Perfect Three-Day Weekend in Cincinnati | Travel + Leisure, March 21

9 Can’t-miss Points of Interest in Cincinnati | Travel + Leisure, July 7

Iris van Herpen’s Hi-Tech Couture | The New Yorker, Sept. 25

William Kentridge: Officially Africa’s Most Powerful Artist | Huffpost, Oct. 11

Here are 21 of the week’s best photos | Washington Post, Oct. 15

Word of Mouth | Cool Hunting, Nov. 6

Ana England | Wall Street lnternation, Nov. 29

THANK YOU to our donors, members, visitors, volunteers and staff for an amazing year! Be a part of the fun in 2018! Become a member or donate to help us use the power of art to contribute to a more vibrant Cincinnati.

Image credits: New curators (CityBeat), Alice Weston (David Sorcher, WCPO)

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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Jump in wildfires means smoke’s health impact will spread

“There’s so little we can do. We have air purifiers and masks — otherwise we’re just like ‘Please don’t burn,'” said Sarah Rochelle Montoya of San Francisco, who fled her home with her husband and children last fall to escape thick smoke enveloping the city from a disastrous fire roughly 150 miles (241 kilometers) away.