Campus & Community

Community Affairs fills fall with free family fun

2 min read

Among the abundance of fun and free offerings for the public in and around Harvard Square this fall are two upcoming events sponsored by Harvard’s Office of Community Affairs.

The first of these events — Harvard University Museums Community Day — will be held Sunday (Sept. 16) from 1 to 5 p.m. All seven museums, along with Gund Hall and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments in the Science Center, will throw open their doors at no charge.

A week later (Sept. 23), the fourth annual RiverSing, which celebrates the autumnal equinox, will be held along the banks of the Charles at the Weeks Footbridge. Free and open to the public, RiverSing is a collaboration of the Revels and the Charles River Conservancy and is also being sponsored by the Allston Development Group.

This year’s edition will feature the music of Nick Page’s Mystic Chorale, the Revels Circle of Song, and the Halalisa Singers, among other Boston-area choruses. Additionally, local saxophone players Ken Field, Chris O’Brien, and Stan Strickland will play antiphonally across the Charles. The public is invited to bring a bell (to accompany the peal of the 40-pound River Bell) to ring in the new season and to join the many singers and musicians.

Picnics are encouraged, with area restaurants offering pre-ordered meals at Winthrop Park beginning at 5 p.m. A procession to the Charles, led by larger-than-life puppets created by the Puppet Collaborative, and local jazz legends the New Orleans-style Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band, will begin at 5:45 p.m. The event is scheduled to run until 7:30 p.m.

For a complimentary program including a musical score and lyrics, e-mail riversing07@yahoo.com.

Sponsors of the RiverSing include the LEF Foundation, Harvard University Community Affairs and Allston Development Group, the Alchemy Foundation, Anchor Capital, the Harvard Square Business Association, Titan WorldWide, and Flagraphics of Somerville.