Events

Arts

Lunar New Year in Malden marked with joy and Chinese cultural flair

February 3, 2023 NeighborhoodView 0

By Jinghe Zhong, special to Neighborhood View MALDEN, MA — The Chinese Culture Connection (CCC) held its 14th annual Lunar New Year Celebration at Malden High School on January 14, 2022. For the Asian community in Malden, this was a momentous occasion. The event was finally presented in person after three years, bringing together hundreds of local residents and businesses of diverse cultural backgrounds. A spectacular lion dance performance by Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy set the festive mood, and Mei Hung, Executive Director of the CCC, was joined by Malden mayor Gary Christenson to officially open the event. The nearly four-hour celebration featured over 20 performing groups and individuals from across the Greater Boston Area. A major highlight was Thousand Hands Guanyin, a large-scale dance performed by the Boston Chinese United Dance Group, whose members range in age from eight to 80. Together, they harnessed the power of dance to raise awareness of the importance of goodwill and selflessness in today’s society. There were also performances by students from the CCC’s […]

Education

Indigenous wisdom, poetry and history guide community event at Malden River

November 15, 2022 annedr 1

By Anne D’Urso-Rose I know that our ancestors are really happy for the work that we’re doing. It’s been a 400-year fracture – with colonization and assimilation – and it’s really going to take all of us to come together, in ways like this, to bring balance back to the land and to the water. Andre StrongBearHeart Gaines, Jr. – Malden, MA, 9-24-22 As the country recognizes indigenous Peoples Month this November, Neighborhood View reflects on a recent community event that embodied the spirit of remembering, understanding and connecting with Native people, history and culture. “Words on the Water” (morning) and “Project Misik” (afternoon) was a combined day-long event on Sept. 24 in a spot along the banks of the Malden River that is generally hidden from public view. In that space, more than 200 residents, a sampling of Malden’s diverse community, gathered over the course of the day to take part in an Indigenous blessing ceremony, paddle canoes on the waterway, share a meal of Haitian food from “The Island” restaurant, and learn how […]

Arts

CD Collins aims to “move mountains” with spoken word

November 8, 2022 Michael Cao 1

By Michael Cao “I want to take you take on a journey deep into the hills, up the hollows into the mist and mystery to Hazard, Kentucky, a drumming heart of the planet. Where we have so much treasure —the mountains, minerals, music and the people of Appalachia.”  – CD Collins Light drums and keyboard chords punctuated the words. The sounds were of music, poetry, stories. People were not sitting in a traditional concert hall, rather they were gathered in the backyard of a historic house in Malden to experience art in a myriad of forms.   In early October, musician, writer, and poet CD Collins organized a spoken word event, entitled “Words Move Mountains” at the Wilson House of Visitation, a historical house at 68 High Street in Malden. According to Bahai history, Abdu’l-Baha, the son of Baháʼu’lláh, visited the house in 1912. David Weigert, a retired professor from Berklee College of Music and caretaker of the house, co-produced the event with Collins. (Urban Media Arts did a podcast with Weigert talking about his story and […]

Events

Malden hosts Brazilian election site: Ex-pat voters weigh in on candidates

October 4, 2022 annedr 3

By Anne D’Urso-Rose I heard several warnings not to drive on Salem Street on Sunday, Oct. 2, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Malden was hosting a polling site – one of only two sites in Massachusetts – for Brazil’s fiercely contested presidential election for the country’s expats in the area. According to WBUR, many of the more than 37,000 Brazilian citizens who live in New England were preparing to cast their ballots in the presidential election at these two Massachusetts voting locations. On a whim, I rode my bike down to do a story for Neighborhood View. The outside of the Salemwood School was abuzz with energy.  Lots of bright yellow and Brazilian flags waved in the breeze. Voters were checking the polling information outdoors before heading inside to cast their ballots.  A woman stood atop a safety block in front of the school, using it as a podium, holding the head of a Trump doll and shouting excitedly in support of Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, the current rightist Brazilian president, is being challenged by […]

Events

Malden anticipates Orange Line reopening but will the commute be better?

September 16, 2022 Michael Cao 1

By Michael Cao As Malden residents anticipate the promised re-opening of the Orange Line by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), commuters expressed mixed feelings about the suspension, which was intended to facilitate major repairs and upgrades of the transportation system.  The MBTA’s Building a Better T 2022 program suspended the Orange Line on Aug. 19. This included three stations that could impact Malden residents. Passengers were provided with shuttle bus service as alternative travel options.  William C., interviewed by Neighborhood View outside the Malden Center Station and who asked that his last name not be used, said he has been riding the T for more than four decades. “The shuttles are nice to ride on, luxury buses are nice and comfortable,” he said. “But it’s still not as quick as the train at the Orange Line, which goes directly to stops.” He also said that he has seen the MBTA fixing the same track many times over the years. He expressed disappointment. “I hate to say this, but they are doing a lot of work […]

Arts

“Between Two Worlds” album highlights the immigrant experience and reframes stereotypes

August 31, 2022 Madiha Gomaa 0

By Madiha Gomaa Earlier this summer at St. Paul’s Parish in Malden, upright bass and trumpet collided with zikr, a Sufi tradition based on repetition, creating mesmerizing music from internationally renowned percussionist and composer George Lernis. The occasion was a June 16 concert that launched Lernis’ new album “Between Two Worlds,” which weaves his Middle Eastern/Mediterranean musical traditions into his jazz composition. He has been dreaming about creating this fusion for years. Finally, he got to see his dream come true. Lernis chose Malden for the album release concert because of the city’s long history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world, making it one of the most diverse cities in the Commonwealth. The album’s metaphoric name, originally inspired by a Sufi poem from the 15th century, holds more than one meaning. The two worlds could be jazz and Mediterranean music, or home country and the U.S, or both of these. For Lernis, this album is about his journey as an immigrant. “It’s about depicting my journey and rediscovering myself as an immigrant and […]

Arts

Doggone Good Summer Fun for our Best Friends

July 20, 2022 Keren He 0

Story and photos by Keren He Everyone loves a cool treat on a hot day and that includes dogs. During Malden’s first Dog Appreciation Day on June 25, canines at Pine Bank Park could get a dog-friendly free ice cream from a JB’s Indoor Dog Park truck parked there for the morning. When a dog parent asked owner Jackie Brady about the recipe for the ice cream, Brady said it was homemade with healthy ingredients and no sugar. Kevin Alkins, Malden police animal control officer, had an idea for a dog appreciation day when he met Brady, the owner of the dog ice cream truck, which is based in Norwell. In January, Alkins had some health issues, yet he still kept working. People from the neighborhood showed great concern for him while receiving his help on animal control, and that’s when he decided to give back to the community. Dog Appreciation Day is not only Alkins’ brainchild, he also financially sponsored the event. Brady and Alkins plan to hold another Dog Appreciation Day in September, […]

Education

Local Tibetans mark New Year with celebration and a protest march

March 30, 2022 Keren He 0

By Keren He Tibetans in the Boston area celebrated Losar, the Tibetan new year, with cultural food, dance, and conversation. Celebrations were later followed by a protest on March 10, as Tibetan community members rallied in Boston outside the Massachusetts State House against the brutal treatment of Tibetans under Chinese rule. March 3, 2022, marked the first day of the new year on the Tibetan lunisolar calendar, called “Losar,” which means “new year” in Tibetan. Tibetans living in the greater Boston area preserved this tradition by holding an annual ceremony for the most important holiday in their culture. Roughly 150 Tibetans gathered in a community center at Chelsea for morning prayers and later held an evening celebration in Watertown. Although no official census data exists, members of the Tibetan community say that there are approximately 800 – 1000 Tibetans living in the greater Boston area with the highest concentration in Malden and Medford. The Tibetan new year has been celebrated since the enthronement of the first emperor of Tibet, Nyatri Tsenpo, in 127 BC. This […]

Events

Malden residents join protests against reported human rights atrocities in China 

February 17, 2022 Nikita Sampath 0

By Nikita Sampath  Two days after the Olympic Games began in Beijing, Chris Choi, a Malden nursing student originally from Hong Kong, was standing in the bitter cold in Copley Square  with a group of protesters calling for a boycott of the games to draw attention to reports of human rights violations in China.  “Any kind of participation in the games is equivalent to being complicit in the atrocities China is committing,” said Choi who has been organizing for No Beijing 2022  in the last few years. Choi’s family left Hong Kong following the Anti-Extradition Law protests in 2019-2020.   A few miles away in Medford, a group of protesters, including some from Malden, have been gathering every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., in front of the Colonial Volkswagen dealership on Mystic Avenue. The protests started in reaction to the allegations that Volkswagen has been using forced laborers of Uyghur descent, an ethnic minority in China, in the company’s factory located in Urumqi, Xinjian, built in 2013.  Organized by Maya Mitalipova, the president of the Boston Uyghur Association, the weekly demonstration […]