Boston Sunflower Garden Party Set For Friday

This year's Roxbury celebration will feature a mural designed to celebrate Black historical figures important to Boston's history.

By Benjamin Pierce, Patch Staff

Aug 27, 2026 4:13 PM EDT | Updated Aug 27, 2026 5:00 PM EDT

Children will be given the opportunity to plant sunflowers. (Carlos Taveras)

BOSTON, MA — The annual Roxbury Sunflower Project Garden Party is returning to Grove Hall this week.

Hosted by Madison Park Development Corporation, the Roxbury Sunflower Project, and community partners, the event is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 639 Warren St. The free celebration will bring neighbors together for an afternoon of music, art, food, history, and family activities.

The celebration will feature live jazz from The Makanda Project, music from DJ Kitzner, food from Mig's Dogs, art making with MassArt's sparc! The ArtMobile, children's activities, and community resource tables. This year's Garden Party is dedicated to Candelaria Silva Collins and Judge Leslie Harris, longtime advocates for arts and justice.

The celebration comes as MPDC and its partners work to document the history of the Grove Hall Post Office mural and explore options for its future preservation. The mural features eight influential Black leaders with connections to Boston: Malcolm X, Melnea Cass, Martin Luther King Jr., Ruth Batson, Elma Lewis, Frederick Douglass, Ella Collins and Crispus Attucks. With support from The Legacy Fund for Boston, MPDC and its partners have researched the mural's history, collected archival materials, and documented the artists and residents involved in creating it.

"The Roxbury Sunflower Project has always been about planting beauty, pride, and possibility in our community," Roxbury Sunflower Project founder and lead artist Ekua Holmes said. "The mural does something similar. It puts the faces and stories of people who shaped our city right in the heart of Grove Hall. When we gather here among the sunflowers, music, art, and neighbors, we are celebrating that history while continuing to create something beautiful together."

MPDC is planning a mixed-use affordable housing development at 639 Warren St., adjacent to the mural. Plans include a pedestrian connection intended to maintain public access to the artwork as the property is redeveloped.

"As we plan for the future of 639 Warren Street, our community has been clear that the Grove Hall mural is an important part of this neighborhood and its history," MPDC CEO Monica Dean said. "MPDC is committed to investing in much-needed affordable housing while honoring the people, culture, and stories that make Grove Hall what it is. Preserving the mural and keeping it accessible to the community is an important part of that vision."

The Roxbury Sunflower Project is now in its ninth season. Approximately 250 to 300 residents and visitors attended last year's Garden Party. Madison Park Development Corporation was founded in 1966 and works throughout Roxbury and surrounding Boston neighborhoods on affordable housing, economic development, arts and culture, community organizing, health and wellness, and youth and family programs.

The event will take place at the corner of Warren and Crawford streets and is free and open to the public. The Garden Party will be held regardless of weather.