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.
Ann Babbitt, co-chair of this celebration, spoke about the Columbus Day event. “To encourage year-round activity at our Park, The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park fund and sponsor many free events throughout the year, including the Winter Trellis lighting, the Independence Day celebration, Sunday Free Movie nights, and others. This month’s Columbus Day event, however, is one of our most special events because we are celebrating our Park’s namesake. We are proud to have the support of responsible and generous corporate sponsors for this event. Thank you to Al Dente Restaurant, Boston Pushcart, Benevento’s, CL Waterfront Properties LLC, and Tia’s Restaurant. We also thank our membership whose yearly contributions help fund this and other events.”
The Christopher Columbus Day Celebration is the final free event sponsored by the Friends of Christopher Columbus before our annual fundraiser, to be held on Saturday, November 16 (7PM) at the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel. The many free events and other Park-building activities of the Friends, including the upcoming $100,000 refurbishment of the trellis lighting, are entirely member and sponsor funded. We hope all neighbors and fans of the Park will consider buying a ticket to our November 16 event (tickets available at www.foccp.org) in addition to coming to the Columbus Day Celebration.
The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park (FOCCP) is an all-volunteer non-profit organization comprised of North End and Waterfront residents and businesses whose purpose is to further the restoration, protection, preservation, care, enhancement, improvement, and maintenance of the Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. The FOCCP works closely with the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department to keep the Park clean and well maintained, and with other city and state organizations to improve the Park to enrich the lives of both residents and visitors to Boston.
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The current FOCCP officers are Joanne Hayes-Rines (President), Anne Babbitt (Vice President), Virginia Kimball (Treasurer) and Audrey Tortolani (Clerk). Board members are Joe Bono, Ford Cavallari, Meghan Denenberg, Beverly Knight, Robyn Reed and Christina Sperry.
