Martin Luther King, Jr. luncheon draws crowds year after year

With Halloween creeping around the corner, the team from What’s New? assembled a motley crew of spooktacular events scattered throughout the Bay State. With our seven deadly picks for Halloween, we promise plenty of tricks and treats throughout October. MATV’s HAUNTED STUDIO: Coming in at No. 7 is Malden Media Center’s annual event the Haunted Studio. Kids and parents from the Malden Community trick or treat their way through MATV’s creepy maze of spooks held on Halloween weekend. OLD SCHOOL GAME SHOW: At No. 6 is Old School Game Show’s Halloween edition in Cambridge. Michael D’Angelo, host of the devilishly camp Old School Game Show, serves up 1970s-era slasher-flick sensibility in this killer live theater/game show cacophony which includes Boston’s burlesque queen Ginny Nightshade. Based on D’Angelo and Nightshade’s previous Halloween creations, Old School Game Show deserves two Freddy Krueger-style thumbs up. 7 p.m. Saturday, October 15. Oberon, 2 Arrow St. Harvard Square in Cambridge, oldschoolgameshow.com. HAMMOND CASTLE: For 29 years, this Gloucester haunt transforms into one of the most spooktacular haunted houses in New […]

The holidays may be long over but I’m left with a memory of a special event in my neighborhood, a pop-up (private) party featuring crafts from local artists in the basement of a home transformed into a Moroccan-style bazaar. On behalf of the seven artists that banded together to create this special event, I wanted to share photos and some video highlights that have not yet been shown to the public. Local artist and community activist Elena Martinez says it all started with a “WHAT IF moment.” She and local artist Bonnie Blanchard were discussing the lack of space where artists could collectively work together. As the holiday time approached, they were looking for venues to sell their work. They decided to hold a “pop-up” event in the basement of Bonnie’s home and invite guests to attend. It would be a small neighborhood event that would offer holiday arts and crafts for a two-day stint just before the holiday shopping frenzy began. It would also be a showcase for a handful of locally renowned artists […]

By Sky Malerba “Anyone who likes my books are like me in some way.” –Ed Emberley Malden Arts kicked off a new program “Malden Arts Mondays” on July 8-9 with a celebration of the illustrator, Ed Emberley, who was born in Malden in 1931. Activities included a walking tour to see his childhood home and the local mural dedicated to his art, as well as a list of fun arts, reading and discussion activities. Known for writing and illustrating educational children’s books with  bright colors that awaken the senses and a rare type of charm accessible to both children and adults, 88-year-old Ed Emberley has delighted audiences for more than 50 years. Notable successes include his first book The Wing on a Flea, which educated children on shapes in a narrative format. It not only made the New York Times list of best illustrated books of 1961 but was an ALA Notable Book. Ed Emberley’s A.B.C, is a fine example of Emberley’s identity as an author and artist. It is an interactive book in which […]