Inside Malden Archives - Neighborhood View

Coffee for a Community: Choices abound in Malden Center

April 8, 2022 Nikita Sampath 1

By Nikita Sampath In Malden, there is a cup of coffee for everybody. The city’s downtown has five spots to grab a cuppa joe, all within a short walk of one another. Each spot tells a story about the people who live here. Tous Le Jour Right across from the Malden Station on Commercial Street is Tous le Jour, a spot that offers French-style bread and pastry with Asian inspired flavors. It’s the only place in Malden where you can get a kimchee-filled croquette and a taro latte. Owner Dennis Diao was a longtime resident of Malden when he first came to the United States from China for a program at Northeastern University. Despite moving away from the city, he chose to open a branch of Tous le Jour in the J Malden luxury apartment complex in June, 2021. “Malden is a city with potential. Everybody who lives in J Malden and everyone who takes the T is a customer,” he says. Tous le Jour allows for customers to grab a quick bite or spend extended […]

screenshot of Women Making a Difference opening slide during event

Zonta Club of Malden Recognizes Female Activists in Annual Ceremony

April 9, 2021 Anne Bennett 0

By Annie Bennett Five Malden activists whose advocacy covers issues as varied as the environment, girls education, child marriage, anti-Asian bias, and the arts were honored March 25 by the Zonta Club of Malden as part of the annual “Women Making a Difference” event. “Every day there are women in our community that are doing amazing things,” said Ari Taylor, Zonta Malden’s Recording Secretary and Chair of the Finance Committee. “Little (and) big things that you don’t even realize advance the status of women… and this event is to honor them, these everyday heroes.” The “Women Making A Difference” event, traditionally held during Women’s History Month in March, honors those who are pushing forward Zonta International’s mission within Malden, which includes “empowering women through service and advocacy.” This year’s honorees were Naomi Brave, Lisa Cenca, Kay Kahn, Marcia Menong, and Mei Hung. Last year’s event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and this year’s event was held virtually. The goal of “Women Making a Difference” is to inspire others, Taylor said. Members of Zonta […]

Malden Pops Up: A Festive Shopping Experience Brings Sparkle Downtown

October 31, 2017 shrier58 1

By Robin Inman Do you dread holiday shopping? Do you have trouble finding a special gift amid the mass market clutter? Malden Pops Up is coming to the rescue. Malden Pops Up is a temporary gallery gift shop featuring unique wares by local artisans. It will spring to life on Nov. 16 in an empty storefront at 480 Main St., Malden, and run through Dec. 24. Even your fussy sister will be mesmerized by the selection of paintings, jewelry, photography, textiles, ceramics, glass, carved wood, sculpture, CDs, cards and books. The experience will be enriched by musical and spoken word performances, presentations and special receptions. New this year will be a children’s art corner, where young artists can sell their work and sit down to create things while Mom or Dad enjoy shopping. Malden Pops Up is spearheaded by Ose Schwab, the principal of Malden Creates, LLC, which is “a small business that partners with local groups, businesses, and individuals to initiate arts and culture opportunities that nourish Malden economically and socially.” The inaugural Malden […]

“Inside Malden” interviews Interim Superintendent of Malden Public Schools, Dr. Charles Grandson IV

February 6, 2017 Ose Schwab 0

Driven by a desire to give back and to offer educational opportunities to young urban learners, Dr. Charles Grandson IV, Interim Superintendent of the Malden Public Schools, reflects on his journey with education. He says his success is a “testament to what is happening every day in the public school systems across the nation.” In his case, though he had trouble and at one point could not read, his teachers did not dismiss him but did what they had to do to help him become what he is today. Though Grandson never imagined he would be a superintendent or principal, he says he has always had a bit of a teacher within. This inclination was nurtured by important learning encounters that would shape his future. His mother, a single parent, arranged for Grandson to be schooled away from the crime close to home. In a school district closer to Georgetown, Grandson experienced a “different” kind of education than he would have had in his own neighborhood on the South East side of Washington D.C. Throughout […]

“Inside Malden” features Idle Hands on Commercial Street

October 20, 2016 neighbormedia 0

A real husband and wife team, Chris and Grace Tkach pool their experience and sensibilities as founders and owners of Idle Hands Craft Ales. Their story speaks to the power of doing what you love and infusing business with collegial and caring practices. Like a community center, which just happens to offer amazing craft brews, the Idle Hands microbrewery that Chris and Grace began in Everett in 2010, now stands at 89 Commercial Street in Malden. And it bubbles — with connection, conversation, and great beer. There’s no TV, but there is a room full of communal tables and cards to prompt discussions if you’re shy. Yoga classes, beerunch, 5k runs, and a coming Oktoberfest are also offered as opportunities to gather and meet others in Malden. The beer, made in true artisanal fashion to produce a range of flavorful Belgian and American styles, offers hints of lemon, or orange, chocolate, or even sweet potato. These beers are brewed with just enough experimentation to keep things interesting, but are first and foremost created for the […]

“Inside Malden” interviews executive director Mei Hung

June 7, 2016 Ose Schwab 0

The power of cultural diversity to unite and intrigue is something Mei Hung has spent a lifetime pondering. Raised in rural Taiwan, she arrived in the United States because of a voracious appetite to learn about the world. Over the years, this hunger that she describes as “like wanting to swallow the entire dictionary in one gulp,” has inspired her work as executive director of the Chinese Culture Connection. The Chinese Culture Connection, an important presence in Malden for the growing Chinese-speaking community, offers experiential programming that includes mentorship, performances, East-Meets-West lectures and dialogues. And yet, more than bridging East to West and West to East, Mei’s mission is to invite all of Malden to join a parade of humanity, sharing culture along the way. For though the differences may pose challenges of communication, tradition, and perspective, the presence of differences, combined with a spirit of curiosity and exchange, builds community that is based on the universal questions surrounding what it means to be human. From a small office on the fourth floor of the […]

“Inside Malden” interviews musician Peter Moore

May 7, 2016 Ose Schwab 0

When asked what a song about Malden would be, singer songwriter, producer, performer Peter Moore gave the perfect answer, “It depends on who asks for it.” Peter Moore is as versatile, creative, edgy, and adaptive as artists get… able to bend styles, experiment with sound, inject quirks, and apply variety to the need. He intrigues listeners whether singing on stage with Blue Man Group or performing with his current rock band Count Zero, producing a kickstarter-funded rock opera, Heterotopia, writing songs that were picked up by video games such as Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero, or songs like Hire a Bird that rail against the destruction of the earth and reach the Top 500 Songs of All Time on Boston radio station WFNX. There is no doubt, Peter Moore could provide a number of songs for Malden in styles to suit our colorful demographic makeup and sensibilities. His voracious creativity and addiction to keeping himself and the audience curious and intrigued is what keeps him out of any one category. Yes, he writes pop […]

“Inside Malden” interviews pianist Yelena Beriyeva

April 3, 2016 neighbormedia 0

Traveling all the way from the Republic of Georgia to Malden, pianist Yelena Beriyeva brings us notes – of all kinds – that are worth listening to. With melodies that glisten and phrasing thoughtfully timed, her playing echoes some hard-learned and practiced principles that resonate and inspire, both on the stage and in conversation. There is a quiet yet deliberate positive vibe and a collaborative spirit you feel in Beriyeva’s presence that is born out of years of tireless work and the string of hardships she and her family endured in the Republic of Georgia after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Beriyeva’s life of music began at age three in Tbilisi, when her mother, a musician, observed both her daughters’ natural musical abilities and began to groom the sisters for lives as professional musicians. Through the upheavals in political and daily life, her family stayed close, and the two Beriyeva sisters, both professional pianists today, played through the turmoil. The family was eventually able to come to the United States, first to […]

“Inside Malden” with Ose Schwab profiles Sifu Mai Du

February 7, 2016 neighbormedia 0

Mai Du, Founder and Sifu of the Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi Academy in Malden, jokes that her American dream started out as a nightmare at Logan Airport. Only eight, exhausted from a long trip from Vietnam via the Philippines, she arrived with her family in the United States on Halloween night. Despite this spooky start, Du has established herself in the United States not only as a Vietnamese-Chinese-American but a nationally recognized youth organizer and activist, one of the few female certified Wah Lum Kung Fu instructors in the Greater Boston Area, Founder and Sifu of a thriving award-winning Kung Fu and Tai Chi academy in Malden, owner/teacher of a math and reading school, and founder of numerous local and national advocacy groups and coalitions. Learning and education, or as Mai puts it “sharing,” is a constant theme in all she does. Passionate about youth and education, she is what she calls others to be, “relentless in the work of instilling hope and inspiration in our younger generations so that they have […]

Souad Akib | We are different and we are one

January 2, 2016 Ose Schwab 0

VIEW ON YOUTUBE | LISTEN | DOWNLOAD PODCAST Watch the episode on local cable (Comcast 3, Verizon 28) Sundays at 7:30 pm and Thursdays at 11:30 am through January. In a day of troubling reports of terrorist attacks around the world, refugee crises in Europe and the US, war, and the trends of racial, ethnic, and religious profiling, Souad Akib, a native of Morocco and a vibrant and well-loved presence in Malden, offers a concerned but optimistic voice of reason and hope to us all in Malden and beyond. In 2010, Souad Akib founded the American Association for Arab Women (AAAW). In collaboration with other organizations in Malden, this non-profit organization helps women from Arab countries access the resources needed to navigate the systems, culture, and language of their new home. By this empowering support of women, the AAAW helps families to thrive in Malden. Malden benefits by this service as immigrant families become engaged residents. In addition, the AAAW sponsors events that invite all of Malden to workshops that raise awareness about important topics […]