It was another amazing Peabody Square Tree Lighting ceremony. This eclectic mix of Dorchester neighbors gathered around a new attraction, the Peabody Square Moon Sculpture dressed in a amazingly fun Santa hat! It was a great night of carols and of course a visit from the Santa Trolley, while everyone enjoyed the refreshments from local businesses.
We drove by this sign on Dot Ave. today for a new Mexican restaurant north of Peabody Square. We are so excited, because there are no Mexican restaurants on our side of Dot. We hope to review them soon...
As we had previously posted, the Trustees of the Boston Public Library are threatening to close the Lower Mills Branch. Where they should be finding ways to equally distribute the budget issues caused by the poor economy across the system, instead they are targeting a vibrant part of our community for closure. There will be an important public working session on Monday October 25 at 6:30 pm at the Lower Mills Branch (27 Richmond Street in Dorchester) and we encourage everyone to come and make their voice heard.
Embracing Dorchester's growing art community, the new and improved Peabody Square will include a sculpture by local artist and Ashmont Hill resident Joseph Wheelwright. Come join the mayor and Boston City Singers in celebrating this new Dorchester monument (will it rival the giant Clapp pear in Edward Everett Square? Can anything rival that pear?). The ceremony starts at 4:00 pm on Tuesday, October 26th (DATE CHANGE) and will be held at Ashmont Station Plaza at the corner Ashmont Street and Dorchester Ave.
We were incredibly disappointed when the Boston Globe discontinued the City Weekly section (we must admit we even canceled our subscription over it - well that and their negative depiction of urban teachers, which is an important part of who we are). We use to love drinking a fresh brewed cup of coffee and looking over the pages describing what was going on in the other 'hoods of Beantown. However, deep down inside we have always rooted for the Globe to turn itself around. We know they have the potential and there is still nostalgia there. So we think this may be the first step...
It has been almost two decades since WGBH discontinued its nightly program called The Ten O'Clock News focusing on urban Boston, so we were excited when Emily Rooney's Greater Boston decided to examine why neighborhoods like Dorchester are experiencing a surge in housing sales in the middle of tough times for real estate. 
The Dorchester Arts Collaborative (DAC) has an open call for participants in their 2010 Open Studios on October 23rd and 24th. Please consider registering for Open Studios. For more information, go to www.thedac.org and click on “Open Studios.” Registration before September 1st is only $40 and guarantees that your name and site location will be on the map and all collateral materials (registration after September 1st goes up to $65).
It is farmers' market time again in Dorchester. We highly recommend forgoing your trip to the supermarket when you can buy the freshest locally grown produce at one of the three farmers' markets in Lower Dot. With locations at Ashmont/Peabody Square (which has moved to its rightful place in the plaza at the northern entrance of the new station), Milton Lower Mills Wharf (just over the bridge from Dorchester - behind the store fronts on Adams Street), and Fields Corner (in the parking lot across the street from Town Field). 
There is Fenway Frank and South End Sally, and now Boston's best neighborhood (and the one where they park the off-duty boats) has its own duck boat to travel the streets of Beantown having tourists quack ridiculously at all they pass by. Introducing "Dorchester Dottie" and her lovely pink polka dotted paint job. To celebrate her maiden voyage, Ashmont Grill will be hosting a bar-b-que lunch on Saturday, August 14 from 11-2 in her honor (with all proceeds to Quack Quack Give Back Program, which contributes to the Boston Public Library and other local charities). It will include all kinds of summertime food, and yes, they will be serving duck kebabs (both humorous and a little disturbing like Charlie the Tuna). Here is the best part, meals as cheap as $5 and you can eat them aboard the new duck boat.
Have you ever walked out of the Ashmont T station after work and craved a coffee from Flatblack, but when you walked over to the door it was closed? Well, the folks at Flatblack have a solution for you! They are extending their hours to 7 pm. Now you can sip a latte or munch on a ham and cheese croissant from 6 am to 7 pm weekdays (but still only 7-2 on Saturdays) making this an even better place to meet up friends or study in the early evening (and perhaps they will play some Radiohead over the stereo system making it near perfect).
It is time once again for Dorchester Day, when the neighborhood celebrates its very own holiday. If you are new to the neighborhood then get ready for one heck of a party commemorating the founding of Dorchester as a town in 1630 (Dorchester was later annexed to Boston in 1870). The parade starts Sunday, June 6th at 1 pm in Lower Mills and heads north up Dorchester Avenue, ending at Columbia Road. 
A cool new event is happening in the 'hood this June. MyDotTour is a program that helps local teens in the community learn about Dorchester’s multicultural history. After going through this program, neighborhood kids will serve as tour guides for a tour of Fields Corner. The MyDotTour kick off event is happening on Saturday, June 5th 2010, Dorchester Day Weekend! For more info: mydorchester.org/youth/mydottour
Word on the street is that there is a new Asian-Cajun fusion restaurant in the Fields Corner section of Lower Dot (You heard me right, Asian-Cajun fusion!). Brother's Crawfish has recently opened their doors on Adams Street and if it is up to our standards we will be reviewing them soon...
The Trustees of the Boston Public Library have made a purposeful choice to close the Lower Mills library (and branches in East Boston, Brighton, and South Boston) and we are asking that as community members you take action to help prevent this from happening. In Lower Mills, the library serves such an important role as place for both education and community building and closing it jeopardizes the centerpiece of this section of the neighborhood, one that has existed since 1875.
Ashmont Grill will be holding an Easter egg hunt on April 4th at 10 am. They say come one come all. It sounds like fun...
We forgot to post these pictures, but here is the Peabody Square Tree Lighting in December 2009! Better late than never. Happy holidays!
