Arts & Culture * Beautification * Service
Upcoming Fall Village Concerts

Mark your calendar! Newton Community Pride presents the first performance of our Fall Village Concert Series:


Newtonville, 28 Austin Street Plaza  

Hankus Netsky & Janice Octavia Allen

September 11, 3:00 - 4:00PM


Hankus Netsky & Janice Octavia Allen

Newton's own Hankus Netsky and soloist Janice Octavia Allen bring their impressive talents to Newtonville to kick off the Fall Village Concert Series. They wowed the crowd during the 7th Annual Newton Festival of the Arts in July and NCP is delighted to invite them back for an encore performance.  

A multi-instrumentalist and composer, Hankus Netsky is co-chair of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Musical Arts Department and founder and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, an internationally renowned Yiddish music ensemble.


NCP invites you to fill your upcoming Sunday afternoons with community and music. Free and accessible to all! Click here for the full schedule & learn more about the artists.


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Concerts To Come... 


Newton Upper Falls, Depot Coffee Shop Courtyard

1225 Chestnut Street

Chad Perrone & Dennis Caroll

September 18, 3:00 - 4:00PM


Newton Corner, Farlow Park

129 Church Street

George Russell, Jr. & Lydia Harrell

September 5, 3:00 - 4:00PM


Nonantum, Ciociaro Social Club

144 Bridge Street

Olga Lisovskaya, Giovanni Formissano, & Max Lubarsky

October 2, 1:00 - 2:00PM


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Arts Advocacy 

Attention artists, creatives, and art organizations! The Mass Cultural Council has launched two one-time covid recovery grant programs. One is intended to assist Massachusetts cultural organizations, collectives, and businesses with ongoing pandemic recovery needs. A second is to provide similar financial assistance to Massachusetts artists, creatives, and gig workers. The grant application is now open and the deadline for submission for organizations is September 28, and for Individuals, it is November 1.

Learn more here.

Beautification

Hooray and a huge thank you to the hard-working NCP Beautification Committee! Our crew of dedicated volunteers has been tending to our award-winning gardens in Newton Centre, the Highlands, and other smaller garden and planter locations in unprecedented and prolonged high temperatures all summer long. Thank you so much for your green thumbs, hard work, and loving care to make our Garden City look so lovely with blooming flowers all summer long for all of us to enjoy. To support our gardens and contribute to the restricted Leo Levi Fund used solely for NCP Beautification efforts please click here and choose Leo L. Levi Fund from the drop-down menu.

In center photo: Pat Rand, Jay Cradle, Binnie Estrada, Howie Sholkin, Mary Ann Reuys.

Donor and Volunteer Spotlight:

Meryl Kessler

Hi! My name is Meryl Kessler, and I am a lawyer, nonprofit leader, arts advocate, and a volunteer Board Member for Newton Community Pride (NCP). I first served on the NCP Board from 2003 to 2008, and I re-joined the Board in 2020. Over the last two years, I have served as both Secretary and Treasurer.

 

I first became involved in NCP through my interest in public art and after I co-founded the Newton Halloween Window Painting Contest (which has been supported by NCP for 22 years!). Since re-joining the Board, I have chaired two other NCP public arts projects: Newton Out Doors (in 2021) and Sit & Let Your Spirit Soar (in 2022). I have also been involved in mural projects here in Newton. 

 

NCP plays a unique and vital role here in Newton, building community and connection through its arts and culture programming, beautification activities, and service. Though NCP is not a large organization, it has a huge impact on the life of our city, fueled by the hard work of our volunteers and the support of a wide array of donors (individuals, businesses, foundations, and government). I am incredibly proud when I see Newton come alive with NCP supported and organized events such as the fall concert series, Linda Plaut Newton Festival of the Arts, WinterFEST, city wide public art projects, and the beautiful flower gardens in Newton Centre and the Highlands.

 

It has also been exciting to see NCP expand its mission in recent years. I’ve been especially delighted that we have recently created two grant/scholarship programs—our Community Micro Grant Program and the Nancy Quint Schön Arts Scholarship—that are designed to support community builders and creatives in our city. Through these grants, NCP is able to extend our reach and amplify our impact.

 

I am proud to support Newton Community Pride as a Board member and Benefactor of the Arts donor, and I look forward to seeing the organization continue to grow and flourish in the years to come.

In photo: Meryl Kessler, her husband Scott Oran and daughters Rebecca and Julia. 

Support Our Impactful Programming


At Newton Community Pride we love what we do and hope you do too!  From city-wide public art & free music festivals to tending to our award-winning gardens, and supporting great ideas & events with micro grants and operational support, our small nonprofit couldn’t do any of it without your help. Please consider donating today to help us continue to bring arts, culture, beautification, and service to Newton.

Donate to NCP Today!

Newton Community Pride is a 501c3 nonprofit. Tax Id # 22-2793743

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Thank You to our 2022 Major Sponsors!

Presenting Sponsor
Gold

Kazuko & Bill Oliver

Silver

Plaut Mahoney Family

Bronze
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Gavris Family

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