THE MOVEMENT THAT STOPPED A HIGHWAY
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THE MOVEMENT THAT STOPPED A HIGHWAY 〰️
Join Us for The 47th Annual Wake Up the Earth Festival and Parade!
10:30am - Center Street Parade @ Curtis Hall
11:00am - Egleston Parade @ Robert Lawson Park
12-6pm - Wake Up the Earth Festival @ Southwest Corridor Park, Stonybrook T Stop
LEADING UP TO THE FESTIVAL!
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VOLUNTEER!
Join the team that makes this festival a reality! Carry a puppet, marshal a parade, support performance stages, run anarchy mini golf and cardboard slides, operations, setup, breakdown, we have it all!
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Wed 4/30 - Party at the Peace Garden
Join us 5-8pm for a kick off party at the Peace Garden at Washington Street and School St. We will have music, crafts, friends, and members of the local community to celebrate the now city owned park and the lead up to the festival.
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Sat 5/3 - Center St and Egleston Sq Parades
Join us for the parades that kick off the festival. Grab a puppet, join the march, bring your neighborhood to the festival.
FESTIVAL NAVIGATION
The first Wake Up the Earth Festival took place in 1979 on land that had been cleared for the Highway (I-95), but was stopped by a strong grassroots movement embodied in the South-West Corridor Coalition. Close to Jackson Square along Lamartine Street, a community garden and greenhouse (The Farm) were built on the rubble left by the demolition that had already started. The Festival served as a celebration of the defeat of the highway. It brought the different communities that lived on both sides of the (then) wall and railroad tracks together in celebration of spring and an appreciation of the piece of earth that was saved. The music, performances, banners, parades, and celebrations spring from the diversity of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.
FESTIVAL MAP
Past Years at Wake Up The Earth Festival
Hosted By Spontaneous Celebrations
The mission of Spontaneous Celebrations is to create and sustain a community cultural life that unites and empowers people for positive change through the arts; to produce seasonal celebrations in the Jamaica Plain and Roxbury neighborhoods; and to maintain a Community Cultural center for all.