A Weekend Celebrating Arts in Arlington

This weekend saw a celebration of life in the Town of Arlington starting with Town Day in the Center, but it didn't stop there. Although a brief unforecasted bout of rain put a quicker than usual end to the annual street fair , it caused only a temporary glitch in one of the most-anticipated events of the day: the GARAGE BAND pop-up dance party at the town's coolest new arts venue, Arlington Global Service Station on Mass Ave.

Presented by the Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture, it was the second of the GARAGE BAND "Signature Events" staged at the gas station, fantastically painted by artist-activist Johnny Lapham. The event was part of the Commission's new Live Arts Arlington series, one of the initiatives designed to activate new spaces where the public can encounter and enjoy free visual, interactive, and performing arts around town.

Although the rain temporarily delayed the party, forcing one act to bow out -- Odaiko New England, the Japanese-style taiko drummers whose wooden and skin instruments can be damaged by moisture -- the skies cleared and hundreds of celebrants of all ages came out again to dance and party. Kicking things off with a set of swing music was The Dan Fox Foxtext, headed up by the owner of Arlington's Morningside Music Studios.

Next, the pavement dried and things heated up with the joyous latin rhythms of Grupo Fantasia, shifting from salsa to merengue to cumbia and calypso. Stirring up the crowd were Latin ballroom dancers from Dance Caliente, which teaches a variety of dance styles in Arlington and Medford.

"GARAGE BAND is becoming one of the most diverse, joyous events in our Town," said Commissioner Stewart Ikeda, who lives in the neighborhood. "Artists, businesses and town planning are coming together to fill in the gap between Capitol Square and the Center with something great!"

The event was sponsored by host venue, Arlington Global Service Station, which earned a 2018 Chamber of Commerce Business Award for its support of the arts, and by Column Health, a region-wide network of outpatient addiction treatment clinics emphasizing ethical patient treatment throughout the region, with a branch across the street.

[Find live concert videos on Facebook here]

CELEBRATING PUBLIC ART ON THE BIKE PATH

The next day, the Odaiko New England got another chance to show its stuff in another venue, the small plaza in front of Kickstand Cafe -- kicking off an afternoon celebration and tour of public art installations all along the Minuteman Bikeway.

Organized by Arlington Public Art -- a subcommittee of ACAC -- the celebration began with a dazzling demonstration of the highly athletic Japanese festival drumming style, followed by a ceremony recognizing the contributions of the artists and patrons behind this summer's campaign to colorfully decorate Transformer Boxes throughout the town. Recognized were artists Aubrey Cloutier, Chi Yun Lau, Laurie Bogdan and Karen McCarthy, Molly Scannell, and Shunsuke Yamaguchi, who were supported by businesses Kickstand Café, Arlington Center for the Arts, Custom Contracting, Inc., Zen Ren Chuan/Alton Street Boxing, and Ellenhorn.

The afternoon's activities then migrated to Spy Pond Park, where art enthusiasts and casual passers-by alike enjoyed New Orleans-style jazz by The Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, then toured several Pathways art installations, narrated by artists Freedom Baird, Resa Blatman, Christopher Frost, and Johnny Lapham.

For more information, see ArtsArlington.org