SC Community Update
Dear Spontaneous Celebrations Community,
We were thrilled to have a wonderful Wake Up the Earth parade and festival this spring, and we hope you were able to be a part of it!
We are writing to share some important (and exciting) changes at Spontaneous Celebrations. It’s a lot of news, but please take a moment to read.
Staffing Change / Restructuring
Exciting Renovations
New Building Rental Process
Upcoming Events
Volunteer Help and Your $upport
Staffing Change / Restructuring
As part of a restructuring, our Program Director Mark Pelletier (aka Maaak) was laid off in June. We want to take a moment to thank Maaak for his 20+ years of work as a staff member at Spontaneous Celebrations, including the past ten years as Program Director.
Over the years, Mark Pelletier has held many roles: teaching kids to stilt walk; teaching lantern making for the lantern parade; putting innumerable hours into the recent building renovations throughout COVID; helping produce the festivals; and managing and supporting the many rentals, events and programs that come through our doors.
As Spontaneous Celebrations works on restructuring itself as an organization during this time, we appreciate the time and dedication Mark has put in over the years.
Exciting Renovations
If you’ve been to Spontaneous lately, you’ve noticed changes that go well beyond the beautiful and secure new front door, and the purple and orange front hallway tiles. Thanks to your contributions and a grant from the City of Boston, we now have an accessible lift from the first to the second floor. Upstairs, we have a sparkling new wood floor, and a totally rebuilt stage, complete with large pull-out rolling trays for storing chairs underneath. There was new structural work done, and a new rear stairway to access the basement added. And we are nearly done with installing a brand new and redesigned kitchen with industrial grade equipment. More about the kitchen another time.
Again, all of these changes were made possible with your capital gifts (yes, we still need them…our coffers are low), and with grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the City of Boston (DND) and a $150K state earmark,thanks to former state rep Jeffrey Sanchez. And most of the above has a fresh coat of paint (and beautiful murals) thanks to volunteer Jenny Jones.
New Building Rental Process
We invite you to come visit! Stop by to check out the renovations. Plan a birthday party or event or regular class in the space, or join one of the many regular classes already happening in the space: toddler drumming, capoeira, SingPositive (intergenerational choir), dog training, Kids Together in the Arts, Girls Rock Camp, and more.
If you would like to rent the space for a one-time event or ongoing rental (either the first floor or second floor, or both…..and the driveway space is also an option!) we have a new intake process. Please visit the Building Rentals page to see if your desired time is available and fill out an inquiry form. If we can host your rental, you’ll be able to sign a contract and make your payments online. For questions or a tour, e-mail spontaneouscelebrations@gmail.com. Building rentals make up close to 1/3 of our budget, so we encourage you and your families & organizations to use the space.
Upcoming Events
2nd Annual Golf Tournament to benefit Spontaneous Celebrations. This time we will be at Franklin Park (William J. Devine) on Thursday, September 22nd at noon, followed by dinner & program. Please register today here and consider being a hole sponsor. Contact mikelapham123@gmail.com for further information.
The Spontaneous Celebrations Annual Meeting & Potluck will be held on September 29th. Please keep an eye out for more details and please join us!
Save the dates for this year’s Lantern Parade! October 22nd and October 23rd.
Volunteer Help and Your $upport
YOU are a part of a tremendous and diverse community that surrounds Spontaneous Celebrations that is dedicated to its success with all your support. We could really use your support with a few things:
Share your ideas: Click here send us your thoughts. We’d love to hear about how we can make things better.
Volunteer: Do you like working with your hands? Cleaning? Chaperoning events? Please get in touch at spontaneouscelebrations@gmail.com.
Donate: It takes a lot to run this organization and the 45 Danforth St. building, and to put on the festivals, and every cent we receive goes a long way! We need operating support and we need one-time capital gifts to replenish our building fund after all the recent renovations! We’ve set a $10k goal for the summer, you can see our progress on our new donation page, here. Help us reach our target!
Sincerely,
The Spontaneous Celebrations Board and Staff
Mike Lapham (Chair)
Linda Muir-Robinson (Treasurer)
Adanarys Barragans
Kalamu Kieta
Gerry Lake (Staff)
Nancy Rodriguez
Femke Rosenbaum
Luiza Santos
De’en Tarkpor (Staff)
