(Photo courtesy of DIY Lowell) “Poster of the Lowell Open Streets event.”
Makayla Mahoney
Connector Contributor
The city’s very own grassroots foundation DIY Lowell is hosting their debut Open Streets Lowell on Oct. 4 in downtown Lowell.
The road along Merrimack Street, between Kirk and Central, will be closed to traffic from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. for the event, allowing pedestrians to walk the street and discover local artists, businesses, nonprofits, participate in activities and watch performers. There will be something for everyone, and the event is free. Students can walk, bike or take public transit to downtown Lowell to explore the festivities.
DIY Lowell is a Lowell-based grassroots foundation with the goal of “helping community members make small-scale projects and events happen together.” After having been founded in 2015, the organization has helped start many community events and projects, encouraging art, diversity, and civic improvement and engagement.
Open Streets Lowell is one of the organization’s new projects, originally proposed by DIY committee member Veronica Holmes almost a year ago. She explained, “the initial goal was to create a permanent downtown pedestrian mall, similar to that in Salem, MA… This would infuse the revitalization of downtown Lowell. Step by step it will grow.” It plans to close the street for sidewalk sales at the arts and crafts fair, music and dance, and interactive activities.
The event will showcase many local artists and are looking for more volunteers and vendors to apply. Local small businesses will be selling goods such as embroidery art, specially designed accessories, hand-knit hats and bags, natural skin care products, permanent jewelry and original children’s books.
Other organizations will be hosting activities including clay tile decoration, watercolor painting, pom-pom making, caricature drawing, face painting, coloring, book giveaways and pinback button making.
Over 30 local businesses and organizations will be participating in Open Streets Lowell, creating a large space for community and fun. For the art lovers out there, the event will also be showcasing an exhibit of photos by Annie Powell, a photographer whose work centered around Lowell in the late 1800s.
UMass Lowell students should take note of the many opportunities that the event has for them. The event is working in collaboration with many businesses in downtown Lowell to provide discounts and giveaways.
As of now, students can receive a discount at El Potro with presentation of their student ID. Tea Do will be providing free samples of their tea and other giveaways will include a $25 gift card to Lowell’s local small businesses.
Ethan Yang, a member of DIY Lowell’s advisory committee shared what he is most excited for at Open Streets Lowell, “I’m looking forward to seeing a street filled with people of all ages and backgrounds just enjoying themselves on the main street without the constant traffic. I see it as a celebration of the fall season!”
Oct. 4 has two other Lowell-based events going on as well, including Western Avenue Open Studios 20th Celebration and the Fall Volunteer Fair, which is available by a free shuttle (COOL bus) from Open Streets Lowell. LRTA buses, as well as UMass Lowell’s shuttle buses, are available for students to request drop off downtown to get to the event.
For more information on the event or to get involved, visit their website https://diylowell.org/openstreets/.
