Howdy, DIY Lowell friends and fans!

There are three projects seeking your input this week: Helping Centralville Connect  Visualize Lowell's Black History, and the City of Lowell's Revitalizing Lower Locks study. Read on to learn about all three--and please take a moment to provide your input on one or all of them!

Helping Centralville Connect

We kicked off the project with a community cleanup of Blue Star Park (3 First Street, also known as Ferry Landing Park) on October 10, 2020. You can still help!

Take a survey through October to tell us what to name the path, how to improve the path, and also to weigh in on our partner City of Lowell’s project to create “Healthy Trails” in Centralville.

Thanks to Britt Boughner for photos.  

Visualize Lowell's Black History

We're excited to kick off planning for Visualize Lowell's Black History, a temporary exhibition, with Free Soil Arts Collective!

Last week, Christa of Free Soil Arts Collective facilitated a visioning meeting with a group of community members including Mona Tyree, Maritza Ivette, Maria McDuffie Clark, Thaddeus Miles, Antionoe-Kaye Stephens, Veronica Holmes, Jennifer Balala, and Curtis Ambe. Thank you everyone!

The project will include a pop-up Black History Trail, temporary sculpture, an art walk, Socially Distant Theatre, business directory and kiosk, and art projections. This project  is supported by a Commonwealth Places grant from MassDevelopment. Our goal? Revitalizing the downtown Lowell community while showcasing under-told Black stories.

We want to hear neighborhood voices as we begin implementing the project! Email info@diylowell.org or christa@freesoilarts.org if you have questions, comments, or just want to hear more! 

Revitalizing Lower Locks Community Workshops

The City of Lowell's Revitalizing Lower Locks Virtual Community Workshops will give folks a chance to work with design consultants to guide a vision for the dramatic falls, lock chambers, and public walkways and plazas at the heart of downtown. They ask us to spread the word, inviting all community members to consider attending or sharing with others who may be interested.

This is a two-workshop series free and open to the public to provide direct input into a new vision for the public spaces between the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, Middlesex Community College, and the businesses on Prescott Street. It’s your chance to help shape the heart of downtown! You can come to one or both workshops on Wed, 10/28, 2020 and Thu, 11/12. Both workshops start at 6 pm.

• Share the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/351336156283933/
• Register for one or both the workshops here: http://lowerlocks.eventbrite.com/

Finally, one last important way you can have a voice in the community: Vote if you're eligible, and if you aren't eligible for voting, find a way to get involved!

Information on voting can be found at the Lowell Votes website. Today is the last day in Massachusetts to register to vote if you haven't already!

- Chris and Aurora
 DIY Lowell Co-founders

Thanks to Enterprise Bank and Trust and Greater Lowell Community Foundation for being Comet-level Sponsors and to Lowell Cultural Council for a 2020 LCC grant!