Sunday, October 13th
1:00 pm – Columbus Day Parade, North End Boston
The annual Columbus Day Parade will be held on Sunday in Boston. Marchers will step off from City Hall Plaza at 1 PM. They will proceed to Court Street, to State Street, left onto Atlantic Avenue, straight onto Commercial Street, left onto Battery Street, left onto Hanover Street, right onto Cross Street, right onto Endicott Street, right at North Washington Street and onto Commercial Street for dispersal.
Parking will be restricted on all streets surrounding the parade.
11:00 am – Stephen’s Run – 1st Annual 5k race through historic Downtown Boston
Pre-registration at 10:30 am ($30) on the Prado (Paul Revere Mall) at Hanover Street, North End (More Information)
The Stephen Perez 5K Memorial Race will begin at 11:00 AM on Hanover Street at the Paul Revere Mall. An estimated 150 runners will proceed right onto Cross Street right onto Endicott Street, right onto Commercial Street, straight onto Atlantic Avenue, right onto India Street, left onto Franklin Street, right onto Congress Street, right onto Hanover Street, right onto Fleet Street, left onto Commercial Street, left onto Hanover Street.
Monday, October 14th
10:45 am – Columbus Day Celebration with Family Fun at Christopher Columbus Park
The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park (FOCCP) continues its tradition of marking Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America with a free Columbus Day Celebration, this year to be held on Monday October 14 from 10:45AM to 3PM. Events will kick off with our annual Christopher Columbus Kids Parade, where kids of all ages are invited to bring their decorated bikes, scooters, or strollers at 10:45AM for a promenade through the Park. At the conclusion of the parade, there will be a short ceremony at the Christopher Columbus statue, including a wreath laying ceremony led by Mayor Thomas Menino and Italian Deputy Consul Luigi Munno. Entertainment through the day will include performances by Jenny the Juggler, Peter O’Malley the Magician, Boris the Pennyfarthing Bicyclist and T-Bone the Interactive Pied Piper, as well as readings by Eliot School students and a patriotic musical performance by the North End Music & Performing Arts Center. Other fun activities will include face-painting, NEMPAC’s famous crafts table, lawn games with prizes, and tours of a real working fire truck. (More Information)
The Greenway is getting involved this year with special activities on Monday, October 14th. Here are the details from the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy:
9:00 am – 2:00 pm Rings Fountain to the Max
You’ve never seen the Rings Fountain like this … turned all the way up! The staff will blast water to the maximum in a Greenway-First. Stop by and see the show.
11:00 am – 1:00 pm Buy One Get One Free on the new Custom Carousel!
This is also the last weekend of Play Me I’m Yours – Check out the Pianos! (More Information)
View more community happenings on the Events Calendar.
Did anybody else get towed today from a spot along the parade route that was not marked ‘No Parking’ on Saturday? I parked on the north side of Commercial near the corner of Hanover around 5 pm on Saturday, and the street was not marked ‘No Parking’. Apparently it was marked sometime before the parade started and it was towed at 1 pm today (Sunday). I was just curious if anyone else was caught off guard by this?
I was towed on Endicott st. with no warning. I’m not sure when the sign was posted but his doesn’t seem right! I went to check on my car this morning and it was gone. The whole street had “no parking on Sunday” posted.
The NO Parking signs were posted on Thursday on all the streets that were used to either the parade route or vehicles. The BTD also came down the streets with bull horns alerting people to move their cars.
Jason- thank you for the details on the ‘No Parking’ postings. When we parked, we saw plenty of signs on the south side of Commercial, but none on the north side. This was the reason that we decided to park on the north side, because it was a long stretch that was not marked, so we thought it was safe and we assumed it would have been marked like the other streets. When we checked last night, the signs were also on the north side by where we parked, and they would have been unmistakable if they had been their on Saturday. I suspect they were put up after we parked, which is frustrating.
As we were not parked there Thursday, we did not receive a notice on our vehicle, and we were having lunch in Charlestown on Sunday, so we would not have heard the bullhorn announcements. While I appreciate that the city went to this effort, it is not an adequate alternative to clearly marking every street several days in advance. I find it disappointing that the city did not put in more effort to clearly mark the streets in advance, but the most frustrating part is that the tow yard was closed yesterday and again today because of the holiday. As a result, my wife and I will now be out over a hundred dollars for the towing and a missed day of work (the tow yard does not open early enough tomorrow to pick it up before work, so it means taking the day off).
Call the mayors hotline and register a complaint today. And follow up with BTD tomorrow.
Between street sweeping, snow removal and special events, it’s almost an absolute necessity to pay for an off street parking space in the North End so all of this stuff doesn’t come into play. Sad but true.
Not everyone can afford the hundreds of dollars for off street parking. Government center has a pretty good commuter deal (which I use) for $110 a month you need to have it out by 9:30 AM, BUT wk ends are free. NorthendNeighbor I feel your pain! Sometimes it doesn’t matter how careful you are, I know I have had my car towed in similar circumstances with no warning.
It might have been nice if the BPD had done a simple sweep of some of the main NE streets to ticket the out of towners that took valuable spaces over the weekend. I know I best this drum every chance I get, but until people start to understand that it’s not ok to park in the North End on the weekend, they’ll keep doing it.
It may not be a big deal to some, but if you have small kids, finding parking in times like this is a disaster. And the solution is NOT to pay for parking like some of the other posters frequently suggest. We live here, we have resident stickers, they should mean something.
I don’t mind blocking off streets for parades, feasts, whatever. Just take care of the residents before the tourists please.
Parking problems in the NE come with the neighborhood & territory its been this way for over 50 years.The meter maids don’t work on the weekends so it would require a cop to get out of their cruiser & physically place a ticket on the the illegally parked car.[don’t bet on it] This is another reason they need beat cops
Michael’s right, it does come with the neighborhood. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Beat cops is a great idea for more reasons than just parking problems.
Oh, and when I say beat cops, not the statue sitting on his bike at the head of Hanover. You can stay right where you are, the head of Hanover is safe under your watch.