We want to thank everyone who made last month’s Community Chill Night a great event! If you couldn’t make the event, check out these great photos:

• Laura Scarlett Tavares, Points of Light Lantern Celebration
• Katherine Dubose Fuerst, Park(ing) Day and Downtown Decorations

The second, Community Transformation Award, goes to a community group or nonprofit that went above and beyond transforming or activating an underutilized or overlooked public space, as chosen by the DIY Lowell Advisory Committee. Congratulations to the No Bully Zone for winning! See all the nominees here:

• UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center
• Maria Dickinson

Thanks to all our sponsors and volunteers, who made the event shine! It’s still not too late to donate, just click here to donate by Paypal or check! Thanks to:

• Paul Marion and Rosemary Noon
• Greater Lowell Community Foundation
• Studio 26 Architecture
• Enterprise Bank
• Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union
• Mr. & Ms. Joe Smith
• Yun-Ju Choi
• Made in Lowell
• Coalition for a Better Acre
• Lowell Film Collaborative
• Lowell Bike Coalition
• Points of Light Committee
• Humanity Boutique
• Brew’d Awakening
• Sweet Lydia’s
• St. Anne’s Episcopal Church
• Christine Bruins, Tom Hood, Chuck Arnold, Mary Tauras, and many more!

We want to send our sincere thanks to UTEC, Lowell Cultural Council, all our performers and speakers, the community experts, and especially the participants who made another great summit happen. If you missed it, don’t worry! Each of the project groups has chosen a meeting date, and it’s not too late to start helping them! Reply to this email if you’re interested–or just show up to their upcoming meetings–one of which is next Wednesday!

Canal Trash-Eating Monster
A smaller-scale artistic barge that skims trash off the canals to be launched next year.
Meeting August 8, 6:30 pm, at Mill No. 5

Trash Awareness Project
An interactive, temporary art installation made out of trash pulled from canals.
Meeting next Wednesday, July 26, 7 pm, at Coffee & Cotton (Mill No. 5)

Lowell Voices
A podcast filled with perspectives and stories from the Acre.
Meeting August 15, 12:30 pm, at Sizzling Kitchen

Rooftop Dining Activation
A special evening event on top of a garage or private roof next summer.
Meeting Thursday, August 24, at Coffee & Cotton (Time TBD)

Wildcard: Rooftop Garden Installation
A pop-up demonstration of a green roof open to the public.
Meeting September 11, Location & Time TBD

Email info@diylowell.org if you’re able to pitch in on any of the above projects! We’re very excited to see them move forward!

The votes are tallied and we’re excited to announce the winning four ideas to be discussed at our summit next Thursday, 7/20, 6:30 pm, at UTEC.

Canalways Trash-Eating Wheel – Research and Demo
Trash Awareness Project – Artistic Refuse Installation
Lowell Voices – Podcast Series
Rooftop Dining and Drinking – Special Evening Event

We’ll kick off the summit with opening musical and dance performances. Once everyone is energized, NPS Staff Christine Bruins and Resi Polixa will give insider information on their recent projects. Lowell historian and Lowell Walks coordinator Dick Howe Jr. will give an inspirational keynote. Then we’ll break into groups to discuss the winning projects and the wildcard.

Want to get inspired? Join us next Thursday, 7/20, 6:30 pm, at UTEC (15 Warren St). Add it to your calendar:

iCalendar  •  Google Calendar  •  Outlook  •  Outlook Online  •  Yahoo! Calendar

…and please RSVP on Facebook and share with your friends!

Community Chill Night was an amazing success with an estimated 100 participants, ten chilis, six projects featured in a community video, Do-it-Yourself nametags, and a “Chilly” DIY Dessert: an Ice Cream Sundae Bar! The remarkable evening was capped by a special performance by Lowell’s one and only Party Band.

For our image gallery, click here!

Chhavy Sinuon won Volunteer of the Year for her dedicated work on the lovely Domestic Violence Survivor Gallery of Hope. The interactive galler showcased survivors’ stories and art interpretations of their journey. More than 150 visitors found art that they could read, touch, see, feel, and hear in the three days it was active. It started conversations and connected people to resources. Check out a Lowell Sun report here and a photo gallery here.

Acre Coming Together Improving our Neighborhood (ACTION) won the Community Transformation Award for Decatur Way, a five-year project of building partnerships and bringing together hundreds of people to transform a forgotten alley that hid crime into a vibrant pedestrian way filled with art and vibrancy. Artists, Poets, and Citizens are continuing to come together to create art that will spill from the walkway into the neighborhood. Check out a Sun story here.

The shocking winner of the chili contest was a 3-way tie between 110 Grill Chelmsford, Maxine Farkas, and Dave Ouellette! An instant run-off was held by audience applause with Maxine just barely edging the others out for our coveted certificate.

Co-Sponsors

Lowell Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, for supporting in part our 2017 activities and providing a grant to the Onyx Room to give scholarships to nonprofits like DIY

Coalition for a Better Acre, providing fiscal agent services and in-kind donations

Cultural Organization of Lowell, providing in-kind donations for Volunteer of the Year and Chili Contest winner prizes

Made in Lowell, providing in-kind donations

Onyx Room for hosting us and being great partners

Chili Participants

Cafe UTEC‘s Vegetarian Black Bean
Maxine Farkas’s Chili Verde with Pork
Lowell Film Collaborative‘s Vegan Film Lover’s Special
The Party Band‘s Temptation
110 Grill Chelmsford‘s Chili
Jennifer Myers’s Gobble Gobble Great Turkey Chili
Purple Carrot Bread Co. Spicy Black Bean and Jalapeño Chili
Dave Oullette’s Daveyo Chili
Chas’s “What’s in the Fridge”

Volunteers

Amrith Fernandes Prabhu
Christine Bruins
Russell Pandres
Henry Marte
Rithy
Carolyn delehanty
Chhavy and Vytha
Claudia DeFuria
Allyson
…and the DIY Lowell Steering Committee!

Join us  Friday, March 3, 6:30 – 9:00 pm at the Onyx Room in Western Avenue Studios for “Community Chill Night,” a chili contest fundraiser and the kick-off for the 2017 DIY Lowell Season. Celebrate with community connections, music, and other fun surprises including a “Chilly” Do-it-Yourself dessert. Feel free to RSVP and spread the word on Facebook!

We will honor a DIY Lowell volunteer and an outside community group at the event:

Chhavy Sinuon won Volunteer of the Year for her dedicated work on the lovely Domestic Violence Survivor Gallery of Hope. The interactive galler showcased survivors’ stories and art interpretations of their journey. More than 150 visitors found art that they could read, touch, see, feel, and hear in the three days it was active. It started conversations and connected people to resources. Check out a Lowell Sun report here and a photo gallery here.

Acre Coming Together Improving our Neighborhood (ACTION) won the Community Transformation Award for Decatur Way, a five-year project of building partnerships and bringing together hundreds of people to transform a forgotten alley that hid crime into a vibrant pedestrian way filled with art and vibrancy. Artists, Poets, and Citizens are continuing to come together to create art that will spill from the walkway into the neighborhood. Check out a Sun story here.

Please join us in honoring Chhavy, ACTION, and our other DIY Lowell volunteers and community groups. $5 suggested donation, but we won’t turn anyone away who wants to meet cool people and learn about community. RSVP on Facebook or by emailing info@diylowell.org. Fun for the whole family!

Add the Community Chill Night to your calendar:
iCalendar  •  Google Calendar  •  Outlook  •  Outlook Online  •  Yahoo! Calendar

Photo by Christine Bruins

Last Friday, September 16, the Park(ing) Day Parklet group and community partners transformed three parking spaces into a mini-park, changing the meaning of parking space, if just for a day! The theme was “Words Matter,” and over 300 people came to drop off or pick up books, read, play Jenga, take downtown selfies, participate in Lowell National Historical Park’s story-sharing station, and otherwise have fun.

The group and DIY Lowell hope this starts a conversation about how we can creatively use space downtown. The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to demonstrate the need for urban open space, engage in community conversations around how and where these spaces are created, and improve the quality of human experiences on a block level… at least until the meter runs out! In 2016, 160 cities across the world participated in #parkingday

The group is already discussing next year, as several business owners expressed interest in having Park(ing) Day parklets of their own. At least for a single day, it seemed that nobody missed the parking spaces: Christine Bruins, a group member, said, “It’s great, you can see people begin to smile halfway down the block!”

Photo by Christine Bruins

The group wants to thank the following groups and individuals:

• Permission – City of Lowell Parking and Garages Department (Nicholas Navin, Director)
• Trees – Lowell Park & Conservation Trust, Inc (Jane Calvin, Executive Director) and City of Lowell Public Works Department (Steve Benoit)
• Donated Books – Pollard Memorial Library (Sean Thibodeau, Coordinator of Community Planning); Friends of Pollard Memorial Library; Loom Press Web (Paul Marion); many private individuals
• Logistical Support – Humanity Style Boutique (Ani Vong, Owner)
• Fencing Material – Lowell National Historical Park (Michael Fernandes, Grounds Supervisor)
• Benches and carpentry – (Lowell Makes, Jon Goplerud – benches and Mark Hunter- carpentry)
• Cupcakes – Little Delights Bakery (Lee Taing, Owner)
• General support, press, and promotion – DIY Lowell; Lowell National Historical Park

Visitors left messages about “What makes a downtown community thrive?” Photo by Christine Bruins.

Photos

The group included Christine Bruins, Katherine DuBose Fuerst, Brian Meade, Corey Sciuto, and Katie Stoll.