Skyscrapers soar up from Congress Street in Boston's Financial District. File photo
Making good on a proposal she unveiled earlier this month, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced a formal date for a party to mark downtown Boston’s “reopening” after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic – and hopefully lure many workers back to still-empty office buildings.
The mayor announced yesterday the “Boston Blooms Block Party” will take place Wednesday, April 13. The event is being co-produced by the city, the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and the Greenway Business Improvement District.
“As we plan for our long-term economic recovery, bringing people back together in person will help our small businesses, restaurants, and arts and culture scene grow. We look forward to highlighting the vibrant community possible by revitalizing our downtown with events, arts, and place-making,” Wu said in a statement.
For the event, food trucks, live music, local performers, street art and a pop-up beer garden will dot downtown between South Station and Summer and Winter streets in Downtown Crossing from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The event will be a kick-off for a summer of downtown events aimed to lure workers and residents back, Wu’s office said, to make sure the city’s commercial core is “flourishing.”
“Downtown Boston is a vital Boston neighborhood; the crossroads where businesses, restaurants and retail meet culture and tourism,” Downtown Boston Business Improvement District acting co-director Anita Lauricella said in a statement. “We are working closely with Mayor Wu’s office to ensure that Downtown Crossing, the Theatre District and the Financial District remain vibrant for the thousands of workers, shoppers, diners, tourists and families who visit us each day of the week.”
Wu had hinted at plans for the event during a March 16 appearance on WGBH’s Boston Public Radio show where she said the drop-off in office workers downtown was threatening many businesses’ survival. Real estate industry leaders have also worried that reduced demand for office space downtown could result in lower property valuations for the city’s office towers, potentially imperiling the city’s financial health. Boston relies on property taxes for around 70 percent of its budget.
Wu’s office provided a full event schedule with the announcement:
7:30 – 10:00 a.m.
- Music & breakfast food truck from North American Catering, hosted by the Greenway Conservancy and the Greenway BID
- Free Coffee, hosted by the Downtown BID
- Music by Fabiola Mendez and DJ Dephase
11:30 – 2:00 p.m.
- Music and food trucks at Dewey Square hosted by the Greenway Conservancy and Greenway BID
- Performances by OrigiNation and JunkMusic, hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture
- Plant giveaways, hosted by the Boston Parks & Recreation Department and the Downtown BID
- Street Theory- 2 Walls, hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture
4:00 – 8:00 p.m.
- Beer garden at Downtown Crossing hosted by Democracy Brewing and the Downtown BID
- Lawn Games, hosted by the Downtown BID
- Performances headlined by the rapper Oompa, hosted by the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture
- Mural crew and a photo booth, hosted by Boston Parks & Recreation
- Plant giveaway, hosted by Boston Parks & Recreation
