Today is the last day of summer, so it seems like perfect timing to write about a big event that capped off the summer season — Dîner en Blanc , which is French for dinner in white.
I wrote about this event back in 2015, but had never attended it. If you’re not familiar with the event, it’s basically a dinner where everyone dresses in white. Plus, the location is secret until a couple of hours prior.
When the location is emailed to the attendees, they gather up everything that they need for their dinner — tables, chairs, place settings, food, etc., and quickly go to the now revealed location. Then they set up their tables and have their meals.
Dîner en Blancstarted in Paris nearly 30 years ago and events are held in cities all over the world with thousands of people attending each one.
This year I finally attended! A friend of mine happened to mention that she was on the waiting list and wanted to go. Since I was invited to go as media, I brought her along as my guest.
We had a great time! That’s me in my new white outfit! One of the perks of going as an invited guest was that we didn’t have to bring anything with us. We got to hang out in the comfy media lounge and enjoy sandwiches and champagne courtesy of Bon Me and Taittinger.
One of the best things about this event was the diversity of the crowd.
There were many people of color and people of all ages too. The range was probably from 20s to 60s. I feel like this doesn’t happen too often. It was nice to see, especially considering all that is happening in this country right now.
When the dinner started, it was light out. If you can’t tell where we are, it was at the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The location was perfect. The weather was perfect. It was maybe mid 70s, so it was warm enough out even as the sun set.
We were near the Rings Fountain, which lit up and spewed steam and water. With everyone dressed in white and walking around, the effect was just magical. Dreamy. Enchanting. It’s hard to describe.
There was live music playing during dinner, with singer John Everett Martin featuring Bob Christopherson and Gregory Holt. Click here for some video that I took so you can see, listen and get a feel for the ambience. It was so very nice. Smooth and jazzy. Singing one of my favorite Sinatra tunes — Witchcraft.
After dinner the band left, then DJ Ryan Brown got everyone up and dancing. He played music that appealed to the whole crowd and everyone really seemed to have a good time. Including me! What a night!
+ + + Disclosure: I attended the event as invited media. My guest and I were admitted free of charge.
Since the election, I’ve been trying to find ways to resist and fight this current administration. Some of it has been by blogging about it here. Amplifying other voices on Twitter. Contacting my elected representatives. Donating to causes that I believe in.
I have not been to any protests though — even though there have been many. Many people who know me and are aware of my political activism are shocked by this and assume I’m out there. Sometimes it makes me feel guilty.
Like many others, I have a lot on my plate and am aware of how much I can handle at a time. An article called 12 Ways You Can Be an Activist Without Going to a Protest gives some doable options for those of us who because of time and other factors, like being an introvert, choose not to be in huge crowds.
As the article states and I believe, we can resist in different ways. Sometimes smaller and quieter ways. But we can all have a positive impact.
It was one of the hottest days of the summer and we were melting, so we weren’t out that long, but we received positive and enthusiastic responses. Many people signed the postcards and were thrilled that we were there. One woman even hugged me, thanking me for doing this work!
Of course, there were some who were not fans of the ACLU and were supportive of Trump. It was to be expected. Quincy has a fair number of Republicans. During the campaign, I remember seeing several Trump signs on lawns and MAGA bumper stickers on cars, usually trucks. They still make me shudder every time I see them.
After we finished getting our signed postcards, we met with several other Quincy residents to share information. The postcards will be sent to Massachusetts legislators to let them know the priorities and beliefs of their constituents.
If you’re wondering about the ACLU Freedom Agenda, here’s some information below that ACLU of MassachusettsVolunteer CoordinatorOlivia Santoro would like you to know.
Donald Trump said many things during the campaign that raised serious constitutional concerns. Mass deportation, restricting reproductive freedom, persecution of Muslims, weakening the press, etc. We think we have a special responsibility—and opportunity—right here in Massachusetts.
Our federal system permits state constitutions to be more protective of human rights than the federal constitution. So we’ve put together a “Massachusetts Freedom Agenda” that lays out ways that Massachusetts can do this.
Reproductive freedom
The Massachusetts constitution made possible our Moe victory in 1981, protecting state-funded Medicaid coverage for abortion despite laws denying federal funding. We need to ensure that access to contraception in Massachusetts remains consistent and affordable in anticipation of attacks against the Affordable Care Act.
Immigrants’ rights
Several cities and towns have passed Trust Acts (which restrict local cooperation with federal deportation efforts) — Amherst, Boston, Cambridge, Holyoke, Lawrence Northampton, Somerville. We need to defend and expand these protections, and ensure that state and local authorities do not participate in federal immigration enforcement, raids and roundups.
We also need to protect the “dreamers”—the young people who immigrated to this country as minors, and who the bi-partisan federal “DREAM Act” aims to protect—to make sure young people are able to safely and fully participate in American life.
Religious freedom
In a similar way, we need to begin working now to restrict local cooperation with any federal efforts to persecute Muslims or other groups.
Privacy and free speech
Especially in Massachusetts, with its centers for education and our high-tech economy, we need to update laws to keep pace with technology, preserving the First and Fourth Amendments in the digital age.
That means updating search and seizure laws, and set clear limits on collecting and sharing information about First Amendment-protected activities (speech, associations, and religious affiliation). We also need to strengthen the right to dissent and speak out.
If you live on the South Shore and would like to become involved, there will be a meeting to discuss the Freedom Agenda on Saturday, September 16th at 1pm.
Click here for registration information. If you register in advance, there will be a boxed lunch. A free lunch! Check out the event on Facebook too.
Registration opens at 9:3am. The program starts at 10:30am and continues through the afternoon.
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Can’t attend either of these events, but still want to be involved? You can still support the Freedom Agenda by telling your legislator online. Click here.
Hopefully you can find a way to get involved that works with your schedule and comfort level. All of us are needed at this vital turning point in our country’s history!
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*Update 9/17/2017*
Yesterday, I attended the meeting in Quincy mentioned above. There were around 30 people, all from different parts of the South Shore, including Quincy.
Gavi Wolf, Legislative Director for ACLU of Massachusetts
The key takeaway from the meeting was for us to take action. Gavi Wolf spoke about how just a few people can make a big difference when we speak to our legislators. We voted them in and they want to continue to get our votes.
We formed small groups based on our common state Representatives. I found this discussion quite interesting. He said that because Massachusetts is such a Democrat heavy state, many legislators who would be considered Republicans in other states, run as Democrats here, because they think that is the only way they will get elected.
What I’ve long suspected! Based on the conservative stance and policy of some, they are Democrat in name only.
Because of this disconnect between party and policy, we have many conservative Representatives who are “Democrats” and the focus now is to lobby them and let them know how their constituents feel about certain issues.
Those of us who were at the meeting will be contacting our legislators and hopefully meeting them in person to discuss the Freedom Agenda.
After tweeting about the meeting, I received an email from someone who is interested in getting involved. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. Stay tuned!
Are you excited about the total solar eclipsetoday? I am! Unfortunately I don’t have glasses, but I’m hoping to enjoy the event anyway.
Also, today I learned that my family has eclipse history. Who knew?
My aunt found a clipping from her aunt’s scrapbook with a portion of a poem called “The Total Eclipse Of The Sun Of Two Centuries Ago.”
I found the full poem online called, “On The Eclipse Of The Sun, April 1715.” It was written by Allan Ramsay, who was born in Scotland in 1686 and died in 1758. With a quick search, I found that the eclipse was on April 22, 1715.
However, with some further digging it seems that because of changes with the calendar that the date of this total solar eclipse, called Halley’s Eclipse, may have actually been on May 3, 1715. Below is portion of the article from The Guardian.
[A] total solar eclipse was visible across a broad band of England. It was the first to be predicted on the basis of the Newtonian theory of universal gravitation, its path mapped clearly and advertised widely in advance. Visible in locations such as London and Cambridge, both astronomical experts and the public were able to see the phenomena and be impressed by the predictive power of the new astronomy.
So this 1715 eclipse was special. It was predicted based on recent scientific developments and the public was ready and waiting to see the spectacular sight. Ramsay, who was about 29 years old at the time, must have been deeply moved by the eclipse, because his poem is quite epic.
Below is a portion, edited for length. See the full poem here.
Now do I press among the learned throng,
To tell a great eclipse in little song.
At me nor scheme nor demonstration ask,
That is our Gregory’s or fam’d Halley’s task;
‘Tis they who are conversant with each star,
We know how planets planets’ rays debar;
…
When night’s pale queen, in her oft changed way,
Will intercept in direct line his ray,
And make black night usurp the throne of day.
The curious will attend that hour with care,
And wish no clouds may hover in the air,
To dark the medium, and obstruct from sight
The gradual motion and decay of light;
Whilst thoughtless fools will view the water-pail,
To see which of the planets will prevail;
For then they think the sun and moon make war,
Thus nurses’ tales oft-times the judgment mar.
When this strange darkness overshades the plains …
What’s especially fascinating about the clipping of this poem, besides the coffee stains, is that my great aunt wrote on it. She wrote that on August 31,1932, she and two of her sisters stood together on Tremont Street in downtown Boston at St. Paul’s Cathedral across from the Park Street T station to view the eclipse.
I’m assuming that they had glasses, because none of them lost their vision from what I know. This story is new to me and gives me some insight into my great aunts’ lives that I didn’t have before. They were really into the eclipse!
Also, my mother pointed out that the names mentioned did not include my grandmother. So now I wonder. Where was my grandmother? And why wasn’t she with her sisters?
As someone who is very much into the idea of time travel, this also makes me think about how I have an approximate time, date and place to go back to to meet some family members!
An article from Science Magazine says that the 1932 total solar eclipse was a path about 100 miles wide that included New England, so they had the real deal, unlike what we will have here in New England later today.
The picture above is from a short video that I found showing the preparation for and actual video from the 1932 eclipse. Today will be full of wonder and no doubt will be history for those looking back at this someday.
Hope you have a wonderful day and Happy Solar Eclipse!
Happy National Ice Cream Day! One of my favorite days! Although, I celebrate by eating ice cream far more than once a year.
If you’re in Boston today, you might be able to get some free ice cream. Today, between noon and 4pm, the Vice Cream Truck will be patrolling Boston streets and walking around the areas where people are outside enjoying this beautiful summer day.
Plus, they will meet anyone who tweets “Today is National Ice Cream Day and I want @eatvicecream” along with their location.
The Vice Cream Truck will be giving out samples of their most popular flavors: Choc of Shame, Bourbon Mash, Toffee Wife, Breakfast in Bed, Higher Grounds, Afternoon Delight and Minted while supplies last. The company also has an interesting back story.
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Vice Cream is all about unapologetic indulgence with eight super premium flavors and tagline “Live Life, Dig In.”
When Vice Cream Founder Dan Schorr was in college, he paid for school by driving a Good Humor ice cream truck during the summer. It was during those hot summer months that he saw first-hand the joy ice cream could bring people. Years later in 2015, life threw Dan a curveball when doctors told him he had cancer – an aggressive form of lymphoma.
After undergoing treatment that included chemotherapy at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Dan beat the disease and made a decision to not just live life, but indulge in it, which led him to create Vice Cream in Boston.
To Dan, ice cream is, and always should be, about unapologetic indulgence. Through the “Nice Vice” program, Vice Cream aims to bring smiles to cancer patients and their families by supporting various cancer charities nationwide, and at events like the Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl and sampling Vice Cream at hospitals.
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I haven’t tried Vice Cream — yet. I’ve been trying to be good with Halo, but I’m intrigued and may indulge at some point.
Well, as I write this, it’s close to 1pm. They only have one truck, but they will do their best to get to everyone who tweets in the 4-hour timeframe. So time to get tweeting!
Tomorrow is the Friday before the 4th of July and there’s a delicious free treat in store for you! If you’re in the Canton area around lunchtime or sometime after, head over to The Chubby Chickpeafood truck. It’s all about the love of the chickpea!
According to a press release, they are celebrating their seventh anniversary and will be giving away 350 orders of their signature falafel sandwiches. Find them outside Trillium Brewing Company in Canton, where they are located everyFriday, from 12pm to 9pm.
We gave away 50 free falafels the day we launched in Canton Center seven years ago,” said Chubby Chickpea founder Avi Shemtov. “After seven years of delicious food and great memories, we’re giving away seven times as many falafel sandwiches here in 2017 to say thank you to our loyal customers.
I’ve never had one of their falafel sandwiches, but they sound delicious!
The falafel is fried to order, paired with house-made hummus and tahini sauce, an Israeli salad of tomato, cucumber, scallion, parsley, lemon juice, salt and black pepper, then served on imported Israeli pita pockets.
Shemtov also recently launched the TAPPED beer truck, Greater Boston’s first and only independent mobile craft beer bar. Last Saturday TAPPED hosted its first public event, a pop-up beer garden in Squantum as part of PorchFest Quincy. There must have been a lot of beer drinkers, because they sold out of all their six draft offerings in just three hours!
If you won’t be in Canton for the free sandwiches, but you’re in the Boston area, you can find the food truck each weekday at different locations, including Liberty Square, Dewey Square, Rose Kennedy Greenway and Stuart Street at Trinity Place.
If you want to know exactly when and where, follow them on Twitter!
