Blog

Dec 29, 2023

Friends of Crite Park To Hold Father’s Day Event

Special to the Sun Some changes have occurred at Crite Park. Originally, the

Special to the Sun

Some changes have occurred at Crite Park.

Originally, the groundbreaking was scheduled for June 18, but a few last-minute construction details arose as they always do. Thus, the groundbreaking will be on Saturday, September 23 with a September 24 rain date.

In lieu of the proposed June 18 groundbreaking, Crite Park will be holding a Father's Day celebration which is being organized by members of the community and led by Meagan Dichiara, a Crite Park Board member.

The Father's Day celebration will be momentous as it is the first Crite Park community event in the six and a half years of initiating the Crite Park Revitalization project.The project is a grassroots effort that has been spearheaded by seven neighbors and supported by over 500 people in the community.

In keeping with the theme of a new beginning for the park site, children will be decorating planters and planting flowers to give to their fathers. This event will be a casual family celebration with art projects, ice cream, and a chance for neighbors to mingle.

Crite Park has more good news in that a $125,000 grant was received from the Edwin Ingersoll Browne Fund which is dedicated to open space beautification projects in Boston. The money will be used to purchase furniture arrangements that will populate the six seating alcoves that will line the park. The attached renderings display the furniture groupings which consist of love seats, side tables, armchairs, and game tables.

The furniture groupings link to Allen Crite's description of the everyday events of his neighbors playing, working, and mingling as being scenes from living rooms. Monique Hall, Crite Park landscape architect, designed the seating alcoves within the park to reflect those living rooms scenes that Allen Crite captured in his paintings.

And one more bit of news –

Finally, the bidding process for the park construction officially began on June 5 when the City publicly advertised the project. By July the City will have selected a contractor so that the first phase of construction can begin in the fall. The dead trees at the site are already marked for removal and the Groundbreaking planning is almost finished.

To celebrate the beginning of a long-anticipated Groundbreaking, the Friends of Crite Park will have a block party on September 23 at the Crite Park site. Appleton Street will be closed to allow for family events, food, and music.